Chicago universities rank in top LGBT-friendly campus survey

Two Chicago universities have been named among the top 25 most LGBT-friendly campuses in the country, according to a survey released Tuesday by the Campus Pride organization.

University of Chicago and University of Illinois at Chicago received high marks for LGBT-friendly programs, policies and practices on their respective campuses based on results of a voluntary survey submitted to Campus Pride. More than 300 colleges and universities participated in the survey, “Top 25 List of LGBT-Friendly Colleges and Universities,” presented in partnership with the Huffington Post, according to a media release.

“Praise and accolades are deserved for these ‘Top 25’ colleges and universities. Each has demonstrated in policy, program and practice inclusion and safety for LGBT and ally student populations,” said Campus Pride Executive Director Shane Windmeyer in the release. “… Every student deserves to feel safe on campus, and all of these colleges are committed to creating a more LGBT-friendly campus.”

University of Chicago received 5-star ratings for its overall sexual orientation score and its gender identity/expression score. It also garnered the highest ratings in the LGBT Academic Life, LGBT Student Life, LGBT Campus Safety, LGBT Counseling & Health and LGBT Recruitment & Retention categories. The university scored lowest in the LGBT Housing & Residence Life category, netting three and a half stars.

UIC earned similar scores with 5-star ratings for both of the overall categories and in the LGBT Police & Inclusion, LGBT Support & Institutional Commitment, LGBT Student Life and more.

Other Chicago schools included in the index include The Adler School of Professional Psychology (3 stars), Columbia College Chicago (4 stars), DePaul University (4 stars), Illinois Institute of Technology (2.5 stars) and Roosevelt University – Chicago campus (4 stars).

In addition to collection the survey results, Campus Pride’s Campus Climate Index takes into account comments made by students, faculty, staff and alumni of the institutions to determine its rating.

A message was left with Jeffrey Howard, director of the Office of LGBTQ Student Life at University of Chicago seeking comment Tuesday afternoon. Chicago Phoenix will update as more comments become available.