Georgia Southern listed on the Campus Pride Index

December 2, 2020

Since 2007, the Campus Pride Index has been a national bench marking tool by which parents and students can assess the LGBTQ+ inclusivity of university campuses. To make the Index a university has to prove their LGBTQ+ friendliness based on a series of criteria, including inclusive curriculum, events, housing, health center, spaces, and resources, as well as some administrative activities. The Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Program (WGSS) was awarded a donor grant from Ted Tucker in 2017, and one of our goals was to increase our LGBTQ+ plus research, classes, and resources.

The application to join the Index began in 2018 and was completed in fall of 2019 by Director Lisa. A. Costello and student worker, Akalah Favors. In January 2020, we received a 3.5/5 rating and became one of only four schools in Georgia to be listed on the Index. The Index is important as a national ranking that sends a message to continuing and prospective students that Georgia Southern is committed to gender inclusivity. The WGSS Program, which has a BA and minor, will begin to offer an LGBTQ+ focused minor in the fall of 2021, which includes classes from WGSS, Public Health, Sociology, Human Ecology, and Writing.