Heading into Vermont Pride Week, University Recognized for Creating Safe and Welcoming Campus
Vermont Business Magazine On the eve of Vermont Pride Week (September 2-10), the University of Vermont has been named one of the top colleges and universities for LGBTQ+ students by Campus Pride, an organization dedicated to supporting LGBTQ students and allies at colleges and universities nationwide.
Campus Pride’s 2023 Best of the Best LGBTQ-friendly list includes four-year public and private colleges and universities from around the country. UVM is among three institutions in New England, and 30 nationwide, to achieve 5-out-of-5 stars and the highest percentage scores on the Campus Pride Index (CPI), a national benchmarking tool measuring LGBTQ-friendly policies, programs, and practices on college and university campuses.
“Making our campus safe and inclusive is among the most important work we do at this university,” UVM Provost Patty Prelock said. “As our community prepares to celebrate Pride Week, this distinction affirms that many individuals and resources dedicated to this work – including our Prism Center that serves the diverse queer and trans communities on campus – are succeeding in ensuring our success and excellence includes all.”
To earn a five-star ranking, campuses receive a percentage score from 90 to 100 based on their reporting of LGBTQ-friendly features. UVM received the maximum score possible in five categories including campus safety, academic life and institutional commitment.
“It is an honor to again be among the best colleges for queer and trans students,” said Kate Jerman, director of the Prism Center. “Now more than ever, we take this commitment seriously as our recent efforts to implement the use of lived names and pronouns in all campus systems and for all members of our community demonstrates. We will continue working to improve because trans and queer students deserve nothing less from UVM.”
The complete Campus Pride 2023 Best of the Best list can be found below and online at CampusPride.org/BestoftheBest.
Vermont celebrates Pride Week beginning on Sept. 2 and culminating with the annual Pride Parade and Festival in downtown Burlington starting at noon on Sunday, Sept. 10. The Prism Center’s calendar of LGBTQ+ events at UVM can be found here, while the Vermont Pride Center’s activities calendar can be found here.
About the University of Vermont
Since 1791, the University of Vermont has worked to move humankind forward. UVM’s strengths align with the most pressing needs of our time: the health of our societies and the health of our environment. Our size—large enough to offer a breadth of ideas, resources, and opportunities, yet intimate enough to enable close faculty-student mentorship across all levels of study—allows us to pursue these interconnected issues through cross-disciplinary research and collaboration. Providing an unparalleled educational experience for our students, and ensuring their success, are at the core of what we do. As one of the nation’s first land grant universities, UVM advances Vermont and the broader society through the discovery and application of new knowledge.
Source: 9.1.2023. BURLINGTON — UVM
