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Climate Survey 2022

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

Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, Law School

March 23, 2022

Question 1 provided each school with a field to confirm or update their nondiscrimination statement.
 
a. If you answered 'it is incorrect,' please provide the URL from your school's website with the corrected version

https://law.rutgers.edu/non-discrimination-policy

b. Does your law school (or larger University, if those policies are binding upon the law school) have a "code of conduct" which prohibits same-sex relationships (including but not limited to physical/sexual activity, marriage or registered domestic partner status, etc.) for employees or students?
No
2. Does your law school intentionally seek out LGBTQ+ prospective students?
Yes
a. If ‘yes,’ how and where are your efforts directed?

As part of our institutional mission to recruit and enroll applicants from marginalized and underrepresented populations, members of the LGBTQ+ community are included in these efforts.

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?
Yes

As part of our recruitment efforts, student affinity groups provide individual outreach to admitted students of color, LGBTQ+ community, and members of other marginalized groups. These student groups participate in Orientation events throughout the summer. Our Associate Dean for Student Services works with law student groups and other campus organizations to promote available services for these specific student groups. Included in this effort are faculty members who are members of the LGBTQ+ community.

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?
Yes
a. If 'yes,' please describe your student Self-ID process:

The “gender” question in the application includes the following choices: Female; Genderqueer/Gender non-conforming; Male; Trans female/Trans woman; Trans male/Trans man. Applicant has the option to leave this question blank.

The following question is in included in the application:

“The faculty recognizes that having a diverse student body with a broad range of backgrounds, experiences, and accomplishments enriches the intellectual experience for the entire law school community. If you wish to identify as a member of the LGBTQ+ community, please indicate below. (Yes/No answer)”

In addition, LGBTQ+ applicants my select to be included in the Minority Student Program.

b. If 'yes,' how many students are currently enrolled at your law school in total?:
1346 across the Camden and Newark locations as of October 5, 2021
c. If 'yes,' how many self-identified LGBTQ+ students are currently enrolled at your law school, in total?:
153 at time of original matriculation. We do not track the number throughout their law school attendance.
d. If 'yes,' how many of your currently enrolled LGBTQ+ students also self-identify as people of color?
42 at the time of matriculation.
Lesbian?
We do not ask students this specifc question.
Gay?
We do not ask students this specifc question.
Bisexual/ Pansexual?
We do not ask students this specifc question.
Transgender / Nonbinary?
7
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

If they choose, applicants may include their “preferred name” in the application. They do not have to choose a prefix. Mx. Is included in prefix options. The university also has a system whereby enrolled students can use their preferred name on their university records.

6. Does your law school provide any annual scholarships specifically for LGBTQ+ students?
No

No Institutional aid is specifically earmarked for LGBTQ+ students, but we actively promote outside scholarship resources to the student body.

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:

Yes. Our ads indicate that we are eager to hire individuals who are LGBTQ+ and we work to identify such people in any pool to ensure that we build a strong collection of candidates. We also share our ads on listservs for various affinity groups as a way to cast a wider net.

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?
118
10. How many self-identified LGBTQ+ faculty are employed by your law school in total?
5
a. With reference to #10, how many LGBTQ+ faculty self-identify as people of color?
1
Lesbian?
4
Gay?
1
11. How many staff/administrators (not faculty) are employed by your law school in total?
84
12. How many self-identified LGBTQ+ staff/administrators are employed by your law school in total?
1
Transgender / Nonbinary?
1
13. 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 #13, 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.)?
Yes
c. If you answered 'yes' to #13a AND/OR if you answered 'yes' or 'unsure' to #13b, please summarize or reproduce your policy here:

https://www.state.nj.us/treasury/pensions/documents/guidebooks/hb0814b.pdf, pp. 9, 47

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

https://www.state.nj.us/treasury/pensions/documents/guidebooks/hb0814b.pdf, p.35

15. 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?
Yes
a. If yes, are those student benefits available on equal terms to students in same-sex marital/domestic partnership relationships as they are to students in different- sex marital/domestic partnership relationships?
Yes
b. If you answered yes to #15, are those student benefit plans inclusive of the specific needs of LGBTQ+ students (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 students of all genders, etc.)?
Yes
c. If you answered yes to #15a AND/OR if you answered yes or unsure to #15b, please summarize or reproduce your policy here

http://socialjustice.rutgers.edu/trans-ru/campus-trans-health-services/

16. Does your school offer the same transition-related healthcare benefits to students and their partners/spouses who are transgender/nonbinary or undergoing gender transition?
Yes
a. If 'yes,' please summarize or reproduce your policy here:

http://socialjustice.rutgers.edu/trans-ru/campus-trans-health-services/

17. 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 nonbinary patients?
Yes
b. If you answered 'yes' or 'unsure' to #17a, please provide the basis for your answer (i.e., counseling center language, etc.):

http://socialjustice.rutgers.edu/trans-ru/campus-trans-health-services/

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

There are 3 gender neutral bathrooms in the law school building and they are identified on building maps and online resources. These bathrooms are identified as “Gender Neutral” with an image of a commode.

19. If your law school is maintaining gender-segregated (i.e., "Women's Restroom" and "Men's Restroom") restroom stalls, does it have a policy applicable to those facilities which ensures that transgender/nonbinary students/staff/administrators/faculty, as well as anyone who does not meet gender stereotypes, have access to facilities that match their gender identity?
Yes
a. If "yes," please provide the language of your school's restroom use policy and details on where this policy may be found by the law school community:

The following signs will be placed on gender-segregated restrooms in early 2022: “Diversity is Welcome Here. All are encouraged to use the restroom that best fits their gender identity.”

b. Do all of the gender-segregated restrooms in your law school buildings have signage specifically indicating that people may use the restroom which best reflects their gender?
No

We will, however have the following signs in early 2022: The following signs will be placed on gender-segregated restrooms in mid-2021: “Diversity is Welcome Here. All are encouraged to use the restroom that best fits their gender identity.”

20. Does your law school have one or more annual LGBTQ+ specific course offerings (e.g., LGBTQ+ Law and Policy, Sexual Orientation Law, Gender Identity Law, etc.)?
Yes, we offer both a Gender Identity Law course and a Sexual Orientation Law course, annually
a. If 'yes,' please list course names:

Sex Discrimination; Sexuality, Gender Identity

21. Does your law school have an active LGBTQ+ law student group?
Yes
a. If you answered "yes," does that group receive annual funding from the law school administration?
Yes
22. 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:

We have provided funding for students to attend the Lavender Law Career Fair within the last past three years.

23. 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 #23, does that process specifically identify sexual orientation AND/OR gender identity/expression as protected categories?
Yes, both
b. If yes to #23, does the policy set out a clear hate bias/incident reporting process for faculty, staff/administrators, and students to utilize if necessary?
Yes
24. 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?
Yes
25. 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.
Yes, optional for all faculty/staff/administrators
Yes, optional for all students
26. Does your school enable and encourage the sharing of personal pronouns (e.g., She/Her, He/Him, They/Them) and honorifics (e.g., Ms., Mx., Mr.) in public communications (email signature blocks, Zoom profiles, nametags, event registration forms, etc.)?
Yes
a. Does your law school capture students' personal pronouns and honorifics as part of the registration process?
No

Several Professors ask their students to provide them with preferred pronouns at the beginning of the semester.

27. 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 Rutgers Center for Gender, Sexuality, Law and Policy (CGSLP) facilitates interdisciplinary and publicly-engaged research, curricular, and programming initiatives in furtherance of gender- and sexuality-based equity in law and policy. CGSLP seeks specifically to examine questions of social inequality from multi-disciplinary and intersectional standpoints, attending to the complex ways in which gender and sexuality interact with a range of social dimensions. A description of the center and its important work can be found here: https://cgslp.rutgers.edu/.

Several of our faculty have signs outside of their offices indicating that they provide a safe space for students who identify as LGBTQ+.

We regularly host events, typically panels, where students can interact with and learn from attorneys who are LGBTQ+ and/or working on issues critical to that community. In the last year, our OUTLaws chapter held a reception for alums and current students and the plan is to continue offering such an event annually.