MENU

  • Lavender Law

    Annual Conference


  • Membership

    Join Us!


  • DEI

    Consulting Practice


  • Education

    Series

Climate Survey 2019

Connect, Share Knowledge, and Succeed Within the LGBTQ+ and Ally Legal Community.

University of Oregon School of Law

University of Oregon School of Law

January 23, 2019

1. Does your law school intentionally seek out LGBTQ+ prospective students?
Yes
a. If so, how and where are your efforts directed?

We design all of our outreach to highlight the fact that our campus community, our city, and our state is supportive of diversity in gender, sexual orientation, gender expression, and intersections of identities. In addition, we include LGBT law students, staff, and faculty in videos and stories that are featured in our marketing efforts.  The Pacific Northwest is well-known for being a progressive and inclusive corner of the nation for the LGBTQ community. The University of Oregon has frequently been ranked as one of the most LGBTQ-friendly campuses.  Our campus has been recognized as the top college in Oregon for LGBTQ students by the Campus Pride Index. The UO was given five out of five stars by Campus Pride, based on categories that included institutional commitment, student life, campus safety, health and counseling services, and retention and recruitment efforts. All of these things help us build a general reputation as a collegial and supportive place for LGBT students to attend law school; and much of the marketing is done through other news outlets, or even word of mouth.

2. Does your law school's welcome packet for admitted students include mention of identity group support for LGBTQ+ students, as well as for students of color or other minorities?
Yes

Identity group support for LGBTQ+ students and other affinity groups are included in a broader welcome communications plan.

3. Does your school offer students the option to self-identify as LGBTQ+ in admissions applications or post-enrollment forms?
Yes
4. Does your law school offer transgender students who have not legally changed their names the ability to have their name of choice on admission applications or post enrollment forms?
Yes
5. Does your law school provide any annual scholarships specifically for LGBTQ+ students?
No
6. Does your law school provide funding, including travel support, for LGBTQ+ students to participate in LGBTQ+-focused learning and career services opportunities?
Yes
a. If so, please provide details and examples of when and how those opportunities have been utilized.

The University of Oregon School of Law provides financial support: The OUTLaws student organization; travel funding for attending Lavender Law; and funding to support student participation in the National LGBT Moot Court competition hosted by the Williams Institute at UCLA.

7. Does your law school actively seek to employ diverse staff/faculty/administrators, including visible, out LGBTQ+ individuals?
Yes
a. If so, please detail how and where recruitment efforts are directed

We advertise on the University of Oregon career site, Chronicle of Higher Ed, HigherEd Jobs, UniversityJobs.com, Higher Education Recruitment Consortium, Register Guard, and OregonLive. Many of the advertisers have hundreds of sites they forward to, including diversity-related hiring sites. We also purchase additional diversity packages as add-ons. We encourage our employees to forward to additional persons and listservs. We post to Oregon State Bar for positions that require or have preference for a JD.

8. Please identify, to your knowledge, how many out LGBTQ+ faculty your law school employs (if any)
While we have faculty who identify as LGBTQ+, the precise number of faculty who are “out” is not formally solicited or tracked. The law school understands the intentionality behind decisions about when, where, and how to make this aspect of their identity known to others. That said, we have LGBTQ faculty that have served as both informal and formal sources of support for students within the law school community.
a. If you answered 'yes' or 'unsure,' please describe your school's process for collecting this data
9. Please identify, to your knowledge, how many out LGBTQ+ staff/administrators?
Similar to our faculty members, we have staff who identify as LGBTQ but the precise number who are “out” is not formally solicited or tracked. The law school understands the intentionality behind decisions about when, where, and how to make this aspect of their identity known to others. That said, we have LGBTQ staff that serve as both informal and formal sources of support for students within the law school community.
10. Does your law school provide benefits such as health insurance, family medical leave, parental leave, and nontraditional family planning such as in vitro fertilization and/or adoptive benefits on equal terms to same-sex couples who are married or in registered domestic partnerships as are provided to different-sex married or registered domestic partner couples?
Yes
a. If so, please summarize or reproduce your policy here

The UO health insurance benefit program is designed and administered by the Public Employees Benefit Board (PEBB) of Oregon. All benefit eligible employees at the UO are offered the same benefit package. This includes coverage for same or different-sex spouses and domestic partners. All of the medical plans offer some level of coverage for family planning services and although the plans do not pay the fees for adoption, they do provide coverage from date of placement. We are in full compliance with the Family Medical Leave Act as well as the Oregon Family Leave Act. Depending on the employee’s employment classification, additional parental leave benefits may be available.

Member Handbooks for the medical plans offered by PEBB are available online:

PEBB Statewide: https://healthplans.providence.org/~/media/Files/Providence%20HP/pdfs/pebb/2019/2019%20Statewide%20handbook.pdf (infertility services, page 55)

Providence Choice: https://healthplans.providence.org/~/media/Files/Providence%20HP/pdfs/pebb/2019/2019%20Choice%20handbook.pdf (infertility services, page 55)

Moda: https://www.modahealth.com/pdfs/pebb/handbooks/2019/2019_Moda_Health_Medical_Synergy_Full_Time+100_Handbook_PEBB.pdf (Infertility services,  page 46)

11. Does your law school offer the aforementioned health benefits to students and their same-sex spouses/partners?
No
a. If so, please summarize or reproduce your policy here

The university health plan does not cover nontraditional family planning care for any student.  The student plan can be found here: https://health.uoregon.edu/sites/health1.uoregon.edu/files/2018-19_Student_Guide_Domestic.pdf (excluded services, pg. 48)

12. Does your law school offer transition-related health benefits to transgender and/or transitioning employees?
Yes
a. If so, please summarize or reproduce your policy here

All of our employee health plans offer services to transgender and/or transitioning employees. Information is available in the following Member Handbooks.

Member Handbooks for the medical plans offered by PEBB are available online:

PEBB Statewide: https://healthplans.providence.org/~/media/Files/Providence%20HP/pdfs/pebb/2019/2019%20Statewide%20handbook.pdf (page 43)

Providence Choice: https://healthplans.providence.org/~/media/Files/Providence%20HP/pdfs/pebb/2019/2019%20Choice%20handbook.pdf (page 43)

Moda: https://www.modahealth.com/pdfs/pebb/handbooks/2019/2019_Moda_Health_Medical_Synergy_Full_Time+100_Handbook_PEBB.pdf (page 37)

13. Does your school offer the same transition-related healthcare benefits to students and their partners/spouses?
Yes
a. If so, please summarize or reproduce your policy here (or you may email a copy of your policy to rishell@lgbtbar.org):

Yes (students only). The university student health plan (offered through PacificSource) is different from the university employee health plan (offered through Providence) and only covers the student themselves.  The student plan covers gender affirming care and related procedures, including hormone therapy and gender reassignment surgery.

The policy can be found here: https://health.uoregon.edu/sites/health1.uoregon.edu/files/2018-19_Student_Guide_Domestic.pdf

14. Do all students at your law school have access to counseling and/or therapy services either through the law school or the larger University?
Yes
15. Does your law school provide at least bi-annual mandatory diversity and inclusion training that incorporates robust LGBTQ+ curriculum, for all staff/faculty/administrators?
No

It’s not yet mandatory.  However, a significant number of faculty/administrators/staff have participated in the university’s queer ally coalition training.  In addition, faculty are provided a list of resources each semester on creating LGBTQ+ inclusive syllabi and course curriculum.

16. Does your law school provide a gender-inclusive restroom in any and/or all law school buildings?
Yes
a. How is that restroom identified (i.e., what does the signage say, is it identified on building maps, is there a gender-inclusive restroom policy that applies to all restrooms and where is that statement published, etc.)?

All restroom signs indicate the availability and location of a gender-inclusive family restroom within the building.

17. Does your law school have one or more annual LGBTQ+ course offerings (e.g., LGBT Law and Policy, Sexual Orientation and the Law, Gender and the Law (taught with trans-inclusive and focused materials), etc.)?
Yes
a. If so, please list course names

Course offerings include Women in the Law; Gender and Justice; and Race, Gender, and Bias Law.

18. Does your law school have an active, visible LGBTQ+ law student group that is supported by the institution?
Yes

OUTLaws.

19. Does your law school have a hate/bias incident policy that students are required to follow?
Yes
a. If so, does that process specifically identify sexual orientation, gender identity, or both as protected categories?

There is a university-wide student code of conduct that addresses hate/bias and specifically sexual orientation and gender identity.  One snippet includes: “UO prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, sex, national or ethnic origin, age, religion, marital status, disability, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression in all programs, activities and employment practices as required by Title IX, other applicable laws, and policies.”

b. is there a clear hate bias/incident reporting process for students/faculty/staff to utilize if necessary?
Yes
20. Please describe all additional ways, not identified through your responses, that your law school works to be safe, inclusive, and welcoming to LGBTQ+ students, faculty, and administrators:

Discussions about LGBTQ+ issues are welcomed and addressed widely at our school, whether it be in Constitutional Law, Estate Planning, Family Law, or Employment Law. Our school supports several enrolled transgender students and continues to support our alumni base that identifies as LGBTQIA+. Many staff and faculty members have also attended the University of Oregon’s Queer Ally Coalition training, and some wear name tags and use email signatures with preferred pronouns.

LGBTQ+ law students can use the resources of and become involved with the University of Oregon’s Office of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Education and Support Services (LGBTESS). This office includes transition support, events and programming, panels and educational resources, support and discussion groups, LGBTQ+-specific scholarships, and several student groups.

The University of Oregon affirms and actively promotes the right of all individuals to equal opportunity in education and employment without regard to any protected basis, including race, color, sex, national origin, age, religion, marital status, disability, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression or any other consideration not directly and substantively related to effective performance.