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Climate Survey 2022

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

Widener University Delaware Law School

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?

Our admissions policy located in our application for admissions states that we welcome diversity in all its forms and welcome applicants to submit an optional diversity statement where they can discuss how their admission will contribute to the underrepresentation of a historically excluded group.

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

Our welcome packets for accepted applicants includes our non-discrimination policy and statement of commitment to diversity. We state in the packet:

“At Delaware Law, you will find a diverse, inclusive, and welcoming community – because we know that what you experience in and out of the classroom matters to your success, overall professional development, and ability to thrive. We are committed to diversity, equity, inclusion, anti-racism, and belonging. Please take a moment to view our Nondiscrimination Policy and the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion page on our website featuring Dean Smolla’s Personal Note on Diversity and Race, along with Delaware Law’s Value Statement on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.”

Within our acceptance letter, we state:

“At Delaware Law, you will find an inclusive and welcoming community – because we know that what you experience in and out of the classroom matters to your success, overall professional development, and ability to thrive. Delaware Law offers a vibrant campus with a diverse student body in full- and part-time programs, a distinguished and accessible faculty, and a dedicated staff. Issues of diversity, equity, inclusion, access, anti-racism, and belonging are of paramount importance to us, and we value the unique backgrounds, experiences, and abilities that each student brings to our law school, the legal profession, and the broader society. We hope that you will join us at Delaware Law and add your unique voice to the incoming class.”

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:

While we do not specifically ask students whether they identify as LGBTQ+ on the application for admission, as indicated above, we do invite all applicants to provide a diversity statement and we do ask the following questions on our application: We invite you to provide your gender identity; Please provide your personal pronoun preferences

Provided in 4a:


While we do not specifically ask students whether they identify as LGBTQ+ on the application for admission, as indicated above, we do invite all applicants to provide a diversity statement and we do ask the following questions on our application: We invite you to provide your gender identity; Please provide your personal pronoun preferences

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

On the application for admission, we ask for preferred or chosen first name.

6. Does your law school provide any annual scholarships specifically for LGBTQ+ students?
Only general diversity scholarships
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:

In all recruitment processes and hiring decisions.

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?
Approx. 30
10. How many self-identified LGBTQ+ faculty are employed by your law school in total?
1
Gay?
1
11. How many staff/administrators (not faculty) are employed by your law school in total?
Approx. 20
12. How many self-identified LGBTQ+ staff/administrators are employed by your law school in total?
1
Gay?
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:

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?
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

16 is n/a – see answer to question 15

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.):

Answer left blank. 

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?
No

Gender-neutral and/or all-gender restrooms are available, but not in each law school building

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:

Answer left blank. 

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?
Answer left blank
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.)?
No, but significant LGBTQ+ content is included in other courses (not including basic law school required courses such as Constitutional Law)
b. If you answered 'no, but LGBTQ+ content is included in other courses' to #20, please list course names AND approximately what percentage of course time is dedicated to LGBTQ+ content for each course:

Dignity Law, Critical Race Theory, Constitutional Law II, Employment Discrimination, Public Health Law & Inequality

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

Funded as with other student groups through the law school’s SBA

22. Does your law school provide funding, including travel support, for LGBTQ+ students to participate in LGBTQ+-focused learning and/or career services opportunities?
No

Policy allows possible funding through the law school’s SBA

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?
No

This policy is currently undergoing review

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?
Answer left blank
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, optional for all students
a. If you selected other, please describe your diversity and inclusion training options:

Current training program is being reviewed and revised regarding student training

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.)?
Other
a. Does your law school capture students' personal pronouns and honorifics as part of the registration process?
Yes
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?
No

Students are invited to indicate personal pronouns during the admissions process. There is a growing push to provide greater visibility and support for using personal pronouns. Some faculty/administrators/staff use pronouns in their Zoom sessions, email signatures, etc. Additionally, discussion of personal pronouns have been included in DEI training

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:

There is LGBTQ+ Safe Space Ally Program offered and available to law school constituents; LGBTQ+ support and resources are provided through the Dignity Rights Project and through the DEI Dean and DEI Committee which is comprised of students, alumni, faculty and administrators. Additionally, there is an LGBT Task Force through the university along with support from the university’s Chief Diversity Officer