Campus Pride features forty campuses from six regions of the country that are deeply committed to LGBTQ students and rate the highest for LGBTQ-inclusion in policy, program, and practice.
For nearly two decades, Campus Pride has advocated and supported college and university campuses to improve LGBTQ campus life and change institutional policies, programs and practices. The Campus Pride Index (CPI), located at www.CampusPrideIndex.org, provides an invaluable benchmarking tool to assess LGBTQ-inclusion efforts from academics, to student life, to housing, to recruitment and retention activities. There are nearly 400 colleges who have “come out” on the index and hundreds of thousands who utilize the public search to find LGBTQ-friendly colleges and universities annually.
“Today college campuses must ‘come out’ and be visible as LGBTQ-friendly. Students expect inclusive, equitable learning environments at colleges in all regions of the country. And as a basic standard, they demand campuses have LGBTQ-inclusive policies, programs and services,” said Shane Windmeyer, Executive Director, Campus Pride. “These forty campuses, across six diverse regions, are leading the charge.”
This year Campus Pride chose to put a spotlight on the regional diversity of the list by highlighting colleges and universities by region. Campus Pride works with over 1400 colleges and universities annually to improve the quality of campus life for LGBTQ people and to create safer, more inclusive campus communities. Sixty percent of their work is dedicated to working with colleges in the South, Midwest and campuses within more rural communities. The 2020 BEST OF THE BEST College & University listing is based on the data provided annually through the CPI related to policies, programs and practice. The research is analyzed by the Campus Pride research team using the proven CPI LGBTQ-Friendly factors and knowledge of the LGBTQ higher education landscape.
Campus Pride is the leading national educational organization for LGBTQ and ally college students, as well as campus groups building future leaders and safer, more LGBTQ-friendly colleges and universities. The organization provides resources and services to thousands of college students and nearly 1,400 campuses annually.
2020 Best of the Best LGBTQ-Friendly Colleges & Universities (listed by region, not in particular order):
Mid-Atlantic Region: Ithaca College, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey-New Brunswick, University of Maryland, College Park, Lehigh University, Montclair State University, The Pennsylvania State University, University of Pennsylvania, Princeton University
Midwest: Kansas State University, Southern Illinois University Carbondale, Indiana University, Bloomington, University of Wisconsin – Eau Claire, University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee, University of Wisconsin – Green Bay, The Ohio State University, Kenyon College, Kent State University, Augsburg College, Macalester College, Purdue University, University of Michigan-Ann Arbor
New England: Tufts University, University of Massachusetts, Amherst University of Vermont, MIT
Southeast: Guilford College, Northern Kentucky University, Elon University, University of Kentucky, University of Louisville
Southwest: University of Texas at Dallas, Texas Tech University
West: University of Washington, University of Oregon, Portland State University, University of Colorado at Boulder, Southern Oregon University, San Diego State University, Washington State University, Harvey Mudd College
via Press Release
