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Climate Survey 2020

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

University of Akron School of Law

April 28, 2020

Question 1 provided each school with a field to confirm or update their nondiscrimination statement.
 
2. Does your law school intentionally seek out LGBTQ+ prospective students?
Yes
a. If ‘yes,’ how and where are your efforts directed?

At Akron Law, we strive to enroll as diverse a class as possible, and this includes welcoming LGBTQ+ students. We participate in a number of general diversity events in an effort to recruit a diverse class, which includes LGBTQ+ diversity.

3. 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?
No
4. Does your school offer students the option to self-identify (also known as "Self-ID") as LGBTQ+ in admissions applications or post-enrollment forms?
No
a. If 'yes,' please describe your student Self-ID process:

Our current application does not have a specific question for self-identification as LGBTQ+. We are in the process of changing our application to allow such self-identification. Our current application includes an open Personal Statement that students can use to self-identify or they can attach a separate diversity statement.

5. Does your law school offer transgender and nonbinary students who have not legally changed their names the ability to have their name-in-use reflected on their admission applications or post enrollment forms?:
Yes
6. Does your law school provide any annual scholarships specifically for LGBTQ+ students?
No
7. Does your law school actively seek to employ diverse staff/faculty/administrators, including openly LGBTQ+ individuals?:
Yes
a. If 'yes,' please detail how and where diversity recruitment efforts are directed:

The University of Akron School of Law seeks to employ diverse faculty, staff, and administrators.

8. Does your law school conduct a "Self-ID" program which allows staff/faculty/administrators to voluntarily and (if they desire) confidentially identify their gender identity and sexual orientation?:
No
9. How many faculty (not staff/administrators) are employed by your law school in total?
19
10. How many self-identified LGBTQ+ faculty are employed by your law school in total?
Unknown
Lesbian
Unknown
Gay
Unknown
Bisexual/Pansexual
Unknown
Transgender /Nonbinary
Unknown
Queer or gender/sexual orientation minority
Unknown
11. How many self-identified LGBTQ+ faculty of color does your law school currently employ in total?
Unknown
12. How many staff/administrators (not faculty) are employed by your law school?
25
13. How many self-identified LGBTQ+ staff/administrators are employed by your law school in total?
1
Lesbian
1
Gay
Unknown
Bisexual/Pansexual
Unknown
Transgender/Nonbinary
Unknown
Queer or gender / sexual orientation minority
Unknown
14. How many self-identified LGBTQ+ staff/administrators of color does your law school currently employ in total?
Uknown
15. Does your law school provide employee benefits such as health insurance, family medical leave, parental leave, and nontraditional family planning like assisted reproduction and/or adoptive benefits?
Yes
a. If 'yes,' are those employee benefits available on equal terms to employees in same-sex marital/domestic partnership relationships as they are to employees in different-sex marital/domestic partnership relationships?
Yes
b. If you answered 'yes' to #15, are those employee benefit plans inclusive of the specific needs of LGBTQ+ employees (i.e., are assisted reproductive benefits offered without the need for extended traditional attempts at pregnancy, are care techniques such as mammograms, prostate exams, hysterectomies, etc. available to employees of all genders, are parental leave policies equal for people of all genders, etc.)?
Unsure
c. If you answered 'yes' to #15a AND/OR if you answered 'yes' or 'unsure' to #15b, please summarize or reproduce your policy here:

Benefits information is available at this link: https://www.uakron.edu/hr/benefits/2020/

16. Does your law school offer transition-related health benefits including hormone therapy, gender counseling, gender-affirming surgeries, etc. to transgender employees and/or employees who are undergoing gender transition?
Unsure
a. If 'yes' or ‘unsure,’ please summarize or reproduce your policy here:

Benefits information is available at this link: https://www.uakron.edu/hr/benefits/2020/

17. Does your law school offer a student benefit plan including health insurance with nontraditional family planning like assisted reproduction and/or adoptive benefits, and/or any additional benefits such as access to campus facilities?
No
18. Does your school offer the same transition-related healthcare benefits to students and their partners/spouses who are transgender or undergoing gender transition?
No
19. Do all students at your law school have access to on-campus health, counseling and therapy services either through the law school or the larger University?
Yes
a. If 'yes,' are your school's on-campus health care providers trained to ensure they can provide culturally and clinically competent care to LGBTQ+ patients, particularly transgender and non-binary patients?
Yes
b. If you answered 'yes' or 'unsure' to #19a, please provide the basis for your answer (i.e., counseling center language, etc.):

https://www.uakron.edu/counseling/

20. Does your law school provide single-stall restrooms available to people of all genders in each law school building?
Yes
a. If 'yes,' please describe how the single-stall restroom(s) is/are identified (i.e., what does the signage say, is it identified on building maps and online resources), the number of single-stall restrooms available in each law school building, and whether these are accessible for people with disabilities in each building or floor

The University of Akron School of Law has two gender-neutral restrooms that are identified by signs that identify the toilet equipment available in the restroom, not the gender of the person identified to use the restroom.

21. Does your law school have a restroom policy applicable to gender-segregated (i.e., "Women's Restroom" and "Men's Restroom") facilities which ensures that transgender students/staff/administrators/faculty have access to facilities that match their gender identity?
No
22. Does your law school have one or more annual LGBTQ+ specific course offerings (e.g., LGBTQ+ Law and Policy, Sexual Orientation and the Law, Gender and the Law (focused on trans-inclusive materials), etc.)?
No
b. If you answered 'no, but LGBTQ+ content is included in other courses' to #22, please list course names AND approximately how many hours of course time is dedicated to LGBTQ+ content for each course:

Such courses have been offered in the past and may be offered in the future. And we regularly offer a Social Justice Seminar that includes discussion of LGBTQ+ social and legal topics.

23. Does your law school have an active LGBTQ+ law student group that is supported by the administration?
Yes
24. Does your law school provide funding, including travel support, for LGBTQ+ students to participate in LGBTQ+-focused learning and/or career services opportunities?
Yes
a. If 'yes,' please provide details and examples of when and how those opportunities have been utilized in the past three years:

The School of Law’s Office of Career Services promotes the Lavender Law Conference and Career Fair and offers a stipend for students to attend that and other professional development events.

25. Does your law school have a hate/bias incident policy that faculty, staff/administrators, and students are required to follow?
Yes
a. If 'yes' to #25, does that process specifically identify sexual orientation AND/OR gender identity/expression as protected categories?
Yes, both
b. If 'yes' to #25, does the policy set out a clear hate bias/incident reporting process for faculty, staff/administrators, and students to utilize if necessary?
Yes
26. Does your law school provide mandatory anti-sexual harassment training that explicitly covers same-sex harassment and harassment of transgender/nonbinary people, for all staff/faculty/administrators, at least every three years?
No
27. Does your law school provide diversity and inclusion training that incorporates robust LGBTQ+ curriculum as well as anti-racism curriculum, at least every three years? NOTE: Please check all that apply.
No
28. Please describe all additional ways, not identified through your earlier responses, in which your law school works to be safe, inclusive, and welcoming for its LGBTQ+ students, faculty, and administrators:

The University of Akron School of Law seeks to recruit and support students, faculty, staff, and administrators from diverse backgrounds. Diversity and inclusion are important components of a well-rounded education. Additionally, the University of Akron School of Law has appointed Professor Brant Lee as Director of the school’s Diversity and Social Justice Initiatives. Under Professor Lee’s leadership, the University of Akron School of Law has created three initiatives focused on diversity and social justice: (1) a Social Justice Lawyering Seminar and Public Policy Clinic where students examine the role of lawyers in social justice movements and work with nonprofits or government entities on law reform projects; (2) a Social Justice Fellows program; and (3) a new student chapter of the American Constitution Society.