Campus Pride’s 2013 Top 25 LGBTQ-Friendly Colleges & Universities

Over 380+ colleges with 53 colleges achieving 5 stars overall, the highest number to date 

(Tuesday, August 20, 2013) Campus Pride in collaboration with Huffington Post announced today Campus Pride’s 2013 Top 25 LGBTQ-Friendly Colleges & Universities. The listing highlights the positive work being done in higher education for LGBTQ students and those campuses who are out in front leading the way.

The Top 25 listing is based on the final responses to the Campus Pride Index, a national benchmarking tool provided by Campus Pride, which self-assesses LGBTQ-friendly policies, programs and practices.
Unlike the Princeton Review LGBTQ rankings, the Campus Pride Index is based in research on policy, program and practice and is conducted “for and by” LGBTQ experts in the field of higher education.  Annually campuses update and use the Campus Pride benchmarking tool to improve LGBTQ living and learning on campus.   Over 80% of participating colleges last year improved from their ratings using the index benchmarking measures.

In order to be in the Top 25 this year, a college had to achieve 5 stars in Overall, Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity/Expression categories.  Each campus also had to be 4.5 stars or above in the eight LGBTQ-friendly factor areas.  The final Top 25 had the highest percentage ratings.  The final list reflects colleges with student populations from 2500 to over 25,000, public and private schools alike.

Campus Pride’s 2013 Top 25 Listing (in alphabetical order)

Carleton College
Case Western Reserve University
Connecticut College
Ithaca College
Macalester College
Oberlin College
Portland State University
Princeton University
Rutgers University
Southern Oregon University
Stanford University
The Ohio State University
University of California, Riverside
University of California, Santa Cruz
University of Illinois at Chicago
University of Maryland, College Park
University of Massachusetts, Amherst
University of Michigan
University of Minnesota – Duluth
University of Minnesota – Twin Cities
University of Oregon
University of Pennsylvania
University of Southern California
University of Washington
Washington State University

“Congratulations to the the Top 25 and all 380+ campuses on the Campus Pride Index for coming out for LGBTQ students,” said Shane Windmeyer, executive director of Campus Pride. “Many more campuses today want to be called LGBTQ-friendly but only those who participate in the Campus Pride Index know what policies, programs and practices are important to create safer, more LGBTQ-friendly colleges and universities.”

This year Campus Pride had 53 colleges who achieved 5 stars in the Overall category which is the highest number to date.  The index also grew for the seventh consecutive year to over 380+ colleges and universities, representing both 2 year and 4 institutions.  All the campuses participating in the Campus Pride Index are coming out every day for LGBTQ students and to be LGBTQ-friendly.

Campus Pride this past week also did a “Back to Campus: feature with The Advocate on the “Six Steps for a Trans-Inclusive Campus” and another special Back to Campus feature with the Washington Blade on the “Ties that Bind? — 7 Religiously-Affiliated Campuses that are Leading the Way for LGBTQ Students.”

Campus Pride is the leading national education organization for LGBTQ and ally students and campus groups building future leaders and safer, more LGBTQ-friendly colleges and universities.  For questions or more information, please contact Campus Pride by calling 704-277-6710 or email info@campuspride.org.