Working to Create a Place for All Students
For the fourth year in a row, Rutgers University-New Brunswick is on Campus Pride’s ‘Best of the Best’ list of LGBTQ-friendly colleges and universities
Jewel Daney was one of the first Rutgers staff members to join the LGBTQA Liaison Referral Network, and she has worked for many years to create an inclusive environment for all students and to let LGBTQA students know about available support and resources.
“We want students to know we’re here in many different places on campus in many different professional capacities,” said Daney, a senior case manager in the Rutgers-New Brunswick Office of the Dean of Students. “The liaison referral network crosses many areas so students always feel that no matter where they are, there’s a place for them.”
More than 150 faculty and staff serve are liaisons, who are trained by the Rutgers Center for Social Justice Education and LGBT Communities to build visibility, resources and practices that are more inclusive of LGBTQA students in their schools, departments and units, said Zaneta Rago-Craft, the center’s director.
The growing network is one of many the reasons why Rutgers continues to earn high marks for efforts to create an inclusive community. For the fourth year in a row, Rutgers is on the Campus Pride “Best of the Best” list of LGBTQ-friendly colleges and universities.
The list is based on the Campus Pride Index, a free self-assessment and national benchmarking tool that any college can participate in. More than 235 colleges and universities are listed online so students can learn more about LGBTQ-related policies, programs and services.
“Rutgers continues to be a good place for LGBTQ and ally communities because we’re willing to learn and grow and listen to our students,” Rago-Craft said. “LGBTQ inclusion is a growing field on college campuses. Some institutions are very responsive, others may not be as responsive. Rutgers is doing our best to be responsive to what students are expressing as needs."
While the center coordinates happenings for the LGBTQ community and handles the Campus Pride assessment, Rago-Craft said on a campus the size of Rutgers-New Brunswick, many are responsible for making Rutgers the inclusive place it strives to be.
Over the past four years, several hundred faculty and staff participated in the center’s SafeR Space training program, which provides updated language and insights on issues LGBTQA students face while navigating university life. And requests for training are on the rise, Rago-Craft said. Last year, 120 trainings were conducted for faculty and staff, up from 80 the year before.
Rutgers earned a spot among Campus Pride’s top 30 universities and a 5-out-of-5-star rating with a nod to the center’s educational and social programs, leadership development and policy consulting throughout the university. The center’s team keeps students informed about happenings through LGBTQ student organizations, including Queer & Asian and Out in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (oSTEM), and upcoming opportunities across Rutgers and in surrounding communities.
One of Rutgers’ first LGBTQ student groups emerged in 1969. The center was founded in 1992, and Rutgers has continued to build support through programs and policies including trans-inclusive student health insurance, a preferred name system, expanded housing options and self-selected LGBTQ markers on enrollment forms for incoming students.
One of the center’s most popular programs, RU Ally Week, has grown so much it is evolving into Ally Month in October.
“We wanted to expand RU Ally Week into our RU Allyship campaign so we can partner with departments around the university to highlight how they stand for social justice and how they pursue a mission of inclusivity in their areas,” said Keywuan Caulk, assistant director of the Center for Social Justice and LGBT Communities.
As part of the RU Allyship campaign, look for the annual photo booths at cultural centers throughout Rutgers-New Brunswick where you can write, photograph and share on social media what being an ally means to you. Programs exploring spirituality and sexuality, community healing and domestic violence within the LGBT community also are being planned, Caulk said.
The Campus Pride listing for Rutgers points to the center’s extensive programming and its efforts “to provide an inclusive campus experience for all members of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Gender Non-binary, Queer, Questioning, Asexual and Ally community.”
Here’s the 2016 Campus Pride Top 30, in alphabetical order:
Cornell University
Elon University
Harvey Mudd College
Hobart and William Smith Colleges
Indiana University, Bloomington
Ithaca College
Macalester College
Montclair State University
Portland State University
Princeton University
Rutgers University-New Brunswick
San Diego State University
Southern Oregon University
The Pennsylvania State University
Tufts University
University of California Los Angeles
University of California, Davis
University of California, Santa Barbara
University of Illinois at Chicago
University of Louisville
University of Maine at Machias
University of Maryland, College Park
University of Massachusetts, Amherst
University of Minnesota Twin Cities
University of Pennsylvania
University of Vermont
University of Washington
University of Wisconsin – Green Bay
University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee
Washington State University
Media contact: Dory Devlin, dory.devlin@rutgers.edu, 973-972-7276