The University of Iowa becomes the
nation's first public institution of higher learning to add
LGBT-inclusive language to its admission forms.
“Do you identify with the LGBTQ
Community?” the new college admission application asks. An
additional “Transgender” option is also included. Both questions
are optional.
“The move by the University of Iowa
administrators to include these specific LGBT identity questions
represent a growing paradigm shift in higher education to actively
recognize out LGBT youth populations and to exercise greater
responsibility for LGBT student safety, retention and academic
success,” Shane Windmeyer, executive director of Campus Pride, the
nation's leading advocate for LGBT students, said
in a statement lauding the university's move. “For the first
time, a major, public and national research university has taken
efforts to identify their LGBT students from the very first moment
those students have official contact with them. This is definite
progress in the right direction – and deserves praise.”
“Asking LGBTQ students to identify
themselves demonstrates that we value this aspect of identity just as
we value the other categories for which students check boxes,” said
University of Iowa Chief Diversity Officer and Associate Vice
President Georgina Dodge.
Last year, Elmhurst College, a private
four-year liberal arts college in Illinois, became the first
institute of higher education to include such questions on its
admission forms.