Oct. 27, 2020 — Northern Kentucky University is one of the nation’s premiere campuses for the LGBTQ community, according to Campus Pride.
Campus Pride, a leading national LGBTQ benchmarking tool for colleges and universities, highlighted NKU on its annual Best of the Best LGBTQ-friendly schools. The list showcased the top 40 schools that rate the highest for creating safe LGBTQ-inclusive policies, programs and practices. This is the first time NKU has received the honor of making the Best of the Best list, and it’s the region’s only university to do so.
“This is an effort made by our entire campus community. It’s the partners across campus shifting the culture and integrating LGBTQA support into their work.”
“What makes NKU unique is that we only have an office, whereas many other institutions have dedicated centers and numerous staff members,” said Dr. Bonnie Meyer, director of NKU’s LGBTQ Program and Services. “However, inclusivity doesn’t just happen solely in an office. This is an effort made by our entire campus community. It’s the partners across campus shifting the culture and integrating LGBTQA support into their work.”
Early this year, NKU received its first 5-star ranking from the Campus Pride Index, the resource's highest designation. The Campus Pride Index assesses nearly 400 institutions' LGBTQ-inclusion efforts from academics, student life, housing and recruitment and retention activities. NKU ranked as one of the nation's best 30 campus, receiving high remarks for its advocacy and resources like the Name Change Form and a new P.R.I.D.E. Mentor Program that connects students with alumni.
“At NKU, we strive to have an inclusive campus community that welcomes students of all sexual orientations, gender identities, and gender expressions,” said NKU’s Chief Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Officer Darryl Peal. “Moreover, we invite students to self-disclose a gender identity or sexual orientation on our Admissions application and in University Housing, so they are able to be their authentic selves and live in a community that celebrates their orientation, protects their inherent dignity and guards their equal and inalienable rights.”
NKU continues to celebrate LGBTQ History Month with events throughout October. Community members are invited to play “Drag Bingo” with Roxxxy Andrews, from RuPaul's Drag Race, on Oct. 27 at 6 p.m.
To learn more about NKU’s Office of LGBTQ Programs and Services, visit its website.
About NKU: Founded in 1968, we are a growing metropolitan university of more than 15,000 students served by more than 2,000 faculty and staff on a thriving suburban campus near Cincinnati. Located in the quiet suburb of Highland Heights, Kentucky—just seven miles southeast of Cincinnati—we have become a leader in Greater Cincinnati and Kentucky by providing a private school education for a fraction of the cost. While we are one of the fastest growing universities in Kentucky, our professors still know our students' names. For more information, visit nku.edu.
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Atley Smedley
smedleyj1@nku.edu
Cell: (606) 923-0013
