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Climate Survey 2021

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

University of Detroit, Mercy School of Law

March 22, 2021

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?
No
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
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:

In the application for admission and in a post-enrollment demographic survey, specific questions ask about gender identity and sexual orientation.

b. If 'yes,' how many students are currently enrolled at your law school in total?:
Answer left blank
c. If 'yes,' how many self-identified LGBTQ+ students are currently enrolled at your law school, in total?:
Answer left blank
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:

We recruit via minority bar associations and listserves and use welcoming language in our job postings.

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?
24
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?
3
Lesbian?
We do not collect this data
Gay?
We do not collect this data
Bisexual/Pansexual?
We do not collect this data
Transgender / Nonbinary?
We do not collect this data
Queer or member of gender/sexual orientation minority group?
We do not collect this data
11. How many staff/administrators (not faculty) are employed by your law school in total?
36
12. How many self-identified LGBTQ+ staff/administrators are employed by your law school in total?
1
a. With reference to #12, how many LGBTQ+ staff/administrators self-identify as people of color?
We do not collect this data
Lesbian?
We do not collect this data
Gay?
We do not collect this data
Bisexual / Pansexual?
We do not collect this data
Transgender / Nonbinary?
We do not collect this data
Queer or member of gender/sexual orientation minority group?
We do not collect this data
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.)?
Unsure
c. If you answered 'yes' to #13a AND/OR if you answered 'yes' or 'unsure' to #13b, please summarize or reproduce your policy here:

Answer left blank

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?
Unsure
a. If 'yes' or ‘unsure,’ please summarize or reproduce your policy here:

Answer left blank

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.)?
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

Answer left blank

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?
No
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?
Unsure
b. If you answered 'yes' or 'unsure' to #17a, please provide the basis for your answer (i.e., counseling center language, etc.):

Psychological and Counseling Services Offered

Professional outpatient counseling and psychotherapeutic treatment is available to students at no charge. Services are provided by a clinical psychologist, clinical social workers and mental health counselors who are licensed in the state of Michigan at the highest level of practice. Students seek counseling for many different reasons including:

Anxiety and depression

Mood swings

Adjustment and developmental concerns

Self-esteem concerns

Relationship Concerns

Stress: academic and social pressures

Troublesome feelings including loneliness, shyness, fear and anger

Grief and loss

Academic performance and motivation

Drug and alcohol use issues

We are committed to enhancing the physical, psychological, emotional and relational well-being of the student in an attempt to promote personal growth and the achievement of academic success.

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

We have single stall, handicapped accessible all gender restrooms on each floor of each building of the law school and legal clinic. These restrooms are labelled “all gender” and have a handicapped accessible icon on the sign. The text under the sign reads “This restroom may be used by persons of any gender identity or expression.” They are located next to the single gender restrooms. In our library, all restrooms are all gender, single stall, handicapped accessible restrooms.

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 signage for the single-gender restrooms reads “People born or identifying as female welcome. Lockable all-gender single stall restrooms are available on every floor for anyone to use.” The same language, with “male” substituting for female is outside men’s restrooms.

20. 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.)?
Yes
a. If 'yes,' please list course names:

Gender Law

21. Does your law school have an active LGBTQ+ law student group that is supported by the 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:

Answer left blank

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, sexual orientation only
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, mandatory for all faculty/staff/administrators
Yes, mandatory for all students
26. 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:

Our dean, faculty, and administration are committed to maintaining a welcoming and inclusive environment for LGBTQ+ students, administrators, and staff. In the past five years, we have established all gender restrooms one every floor of every building at the law campus; we have hired four new faculty who self-identify as members of the LGBTQ+ community; we have established a equity and inclusion position within the student affairs office; and we have seen our OutLaws student group grow and become a strong contributor to student life at Detroit Mercy Law. We regularly have speakers on issues relevant to the LGBTQ+ community, and in planning programming, we are conscious to include this perspective. One of our school’s core values is the recognition of the inherent dignity of every person, which necessarily includes the dignity of every member of the LGBTQ+ community.