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Climate Survey 2022

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

Western New England University School of Law

March 23, 2022

Question 1 provided each school with a field to confirm or update their nondiscrimination statement.
 
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?

LSAC CRS queries for targeted communications for our Gender and Sexuality Studies concentration

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

We provide information about OUTlaw as well as our affinity student organizations.

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:

We have an optional question on the application asking “Do you identify as a part of the LGBTQ+ community?” We also have a separate optional question that states “So that we might fulfill our reporting requirement to the ABA, please let us know your gender. For purposes of this question, please report the gender with which you identify, even if it is different from the sex on your legal documents.” followed by an optional field entitled “Additional gender category/identity (please specify).” Because these are optional fields, I will report “N/A” to those questions below for which we do not have complete data.

b. If 'yes,' how many students are currently enrolled at your law school in total?:
338
c. If 'yes,' how many self-identified LGBTQ+ students are currently enrolled at your law school, in total?:
39
d. If 'yes,' how many of your currently enrolled LGBTQ+ students also self-identify as people of color?
14
Lesbian?
N/A
Gay?
N/A
Bisexual/ Pansexual?
N/A
Transgender / Nonbinary?
N/A
Queer or member of gender/sexual orientation minority group?
N/A
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

Yes, we provide a “Preferred Name” option on our application and post-enrollment forms. On a side note, the School of Law’s Center for Social Justice has a wonderful initiative called the Gender Affirming Identification Project that provides pro bono legal services to MA residents who require assistance with gender-affirming name changes, birth certificate amendments, and gender marker changes.

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:

Ad-hoc consideration of the hiring committee, individual networking, and referrals.

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?
22
10. How many self-identified LGBTQ+ faculty are employed by your law school in total?
5
Lesbian?
3
Transgender / Nonbinary?
1
Queer or member of gender/sexual orientation minority group?
1
11. How many staff/administrators (not faculty) are employed by your law school in total?
23
12. How many self-identified LGBTQ+ staff/administrators are employed by your law school in total?
1
Lesbian?
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:

I answered “yes” to #13, because we provide most of the benefits listed. We do not provide a fertility benefit. 

Infertility Policy

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:

2021 Gender Reassignment Surgery

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

From our Counseling Services website: “At the Center for Health and Wellness, caring, licensed professionals provide confidential help to students with personal, social, and educational concerns. Common areas of concern include: adjustment to college, anxiety, depression, relationships, issues related to sexual orientation and gender identity, eating disorders, substance abuse, sexual/physical abuse, and test anxiety. Services include individual, couple, and family counseling, as well as crisis intervention. We can provide a list of off-campus therapists when requested.”

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

These restrooms are identified with a sign stating “All-Gender Restroom.” These bathrooms are identified on building maps and online resources. There are four all-gender restrooms available, two with one stall, and two with two stalls. All are accessible for people with disabilities.

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?
No
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

For #19, no policy is necessary, as we have both all-gender and non-gender restrooms. For #19b, no signage is necessary for the same reason. However, we do have signage next to the gender-segregated restrooms indicating the location of the all-gender restrooms.

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:

Gender Law in Israel (study abroad); Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity, and Law; Title IX: Sex Discrimination in Education

We offer a full Gender and Sexuality Law concentration: https://www1.wne.edu/law/academics/jd-program/gender-and-sexuality-studies-concentration.cfm

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

We have an active OUTlaw chapter

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:

Travel support for our “Gender Law in Israel” winter term study abroad session.

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.
Other
a. If you selected other, please describe your diversity and inclusion training options:

Our answer is currently “No,” but we are in the process of hiring a VP of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion who will be tasked with implementing a DEI training. I do not know whether this will be mandatory or optional for faculty/staff/admins and 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?
We capture this data elsewhere
b. If your law school captures students' personal pronouns and honorifics, is that information consistently shared with professors on class rosters with an expectation that it will be used in the classroom?
Yes

Re: 26a, Admissions captures personal pronouns in prospective student and applicant records, so we can properly reflect these if they are registered for an event.

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:

I believe the previous questions and my responses have included all of the information I have to share.