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Climate Survey 2019

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

Western New England University School of Law

Western New England University School of Law

January 21, 2019

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

Marketing brochure, Center for Gender and Sexuality, Gender and Sexuality concentration, Lavender Law Conference attendee each year

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

Mention all diversity groups at the law school and post description on website

3. Does your school offer students the option to self-identify as LGBTQ+ in admissions applications or post-enrollment forms?
Yes

We ask in our admissions application, we ask preferred pronoun and name

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

see above

5. Does your law school provide any annual scholarships specifically for LGBTQ+ students?
Yes
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.

funds students to attend the Lavender Law Conference each year

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

statement, AALS conference, holistic review of application

8. Please identify, to your knowledge, how many out LGBTQ+ faculty your law school employs (if any)
4
a. If you answered 'yes' or 'unsure,' please describe your school's process for collecting this data
Lesbian
3
Transgender
1
9. Please identify, to your knowledge, how many out LGBTQ+ staff/administrators?
1
Gay
1
How many out LGBTQ+ staff members/administrators of color does your institution currently employ in total?
1
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

Western New England University is committed to the principle of equal opportunity in education and employment. The University prohibits discrimination against any employee, applicant for employment, student or applicant for admission on the basis of any protected class. Protected classes include: age, color, creed, disability, ethnicity, gender identity, gender expression, genetics, national origin, pregnancy, race, religion, ancestry, sex, sexual orientation, genetics, active military or veteran status or any other protected category under applicable federal and state or local law.

The University provides equal access and participation in all University activities without regard to sex. Sexual misconduct including sexual harassment, sexual assault and sexual exploitation are forms of sex discrimination and prohibited under Title IX of the Higher Education Amendments of 1972, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and Chapters 151B and 151C of the Massachusetts General Laws. If this conduct occurs off campus, it may fall under the purview of Title IX and Title VII and the University reserves the right to act on incidents occurring off campus.

In addition to the above mentioned regulations, the University also complies with the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2013 (VAWA)1, The Clery Act2 and The Campus SaVE Act3.

WHO MAY PARTICIPATE      WHEN YOU BECOME ELIGIBLE    WHEN COVERAGE ENDS

Medical and Prescription Benefits

  • Full Time employees (employees regularly scheduled to work 30 hours a week) – your spouse, domestic partner, and your eligible dependent children.
  • Part Time employees (regularly scheduled to work at least 17 hours per week) must pay full premium.
    You are eligible on the first day of employment.
  • On the day your employment terminates.
  • Dependents are eligible until age 26 regardless of student status, which state they live in or if they are married.
  • Coverage will end of the month in which they turn 26.
11. Does your law school offer the aforementioned health benefits to students and their same-sex spouses/partners?
Yes
a. If so, please summarize or reproduce your policy here
12. Does your law school offer transition-related health benefits to transgender and/or transitioning employees?
No
a. If so, please summarize or reproduce your policy here
13. Does your school offer the same transition-related healthcare benefits to students and their partners/spouses?
No
a. If so, please summarize or reproduce your policy here (or you may email a copy of your policy to rishell@lgbtbar.org):
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

we have a counseling center

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
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.)?

signage, policy, and maps

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

Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity and Law;  Title IX: sex discrimination in education;  Sexual Orientation and the Law

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

OUTlaw

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?

https://www1.wne.edu/law/current/doc/Handbooks%20Policies/law-and-university-handbook-final.pdf

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:

N/A