All information mentioned or described in this report is available upon request at the Division of Equity and Diversity.

1. University of Texas – Austin;
2. Rice University;
3. Texas Women’s University; and,
4. University of Houston.

The Division of Equity and Diversity at UNT has contacted the following Texas university that also includes sexual orientation in its non-discrimination policy:

1. Texas Christian University (TCU)

The non-discrimination policies including sexual orientation for the Texas universities noted above are available in the Division of Equity and Diversity.

The Texas Tech University Student Affairs handbook includes sexual preference as a protected category in the section entitled "Assumptions and Beliefs."

Another list the Division of Equity and Diversity has on file illustrates universities, businesses, cities, etc., which include sexual orientation in their non-discrimination clauses. There are many different lists available from different sources. Publication dates and information vary.

As a next step, telephone calls were placed to those who did not receive the e-mail or did not respond. Fifty-five U.S. universities belonged to this consortium as of February 1999, when the research was conducted, with sixty-three universities belonging to the National Consortium of Directors of LGBT Resources in Higher Education, September 1999. The research objectives were to determine if each university:

1. includes sexual orientation as a protected category;
2. has a GLBT ally or safe zone program and whether the program has been successful; and,
3. has had lawsuits against the university as a result of the program.

The list of directors and corresponding universities is available in the Division of Equity and Diversity.

Twenty-nine (52.7%) directors responded by providing the requested information, which is available in the Division of Equity and Diversity. Summary information included the following:

1. Twenty-four (82.8%) of the respondents indicated their universities include sexual orientation as a protected category.
2. Seventeen (58.6%) of the university respondents have ally and safe zone programs. The need for training was noted when establishing the program, and at least two (6.9%) of the respondents, UCLA and University of Minnesota, who do not have this program, indicated they believe the program may not be appropriate for their campuses. UCLA has numerous university organizations supportive of the GLBT community including several organizations representative of different ethnicities and gender and even an alumni group. The respondent from the University of Minnesota stated this is particularly true for a large university with more than 40,000 students and 20,000 faculty and staff. However, this was not the case at the University of Texas at Austin which has a very successful GLBT ally and safe zone program.

• Metropolitan State College of Denver;
• University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign;
• Indiana University;
• University of Oregon;
• Washington State University;
• University of Maryland;
• Emory University;
• Texas A&M University;
• Penn State University;
• Bucknell;
• University of Colorado;
• University of Michigan at Ann Arbor;
• Iowa State University;
• Morningside College;
• Duke University;
• Western Michigan University; and,
• Brown University.

• University of Texas – Austin – safe space program;
• Texas A&M University – ally program;
• Texas Christian University - allies; and,
• Southern Methodist University - allies.

1. In reference to the universities belonging to the National Consortium of Directors of LGBT Resources in Higher Education, one university (3.4%) was faced with a lawsuit, with only talk of a potential lawsuit at one (3.4%) other university.

When sexual orientation is included as a protected category at the surveyed universities, it is specifically and clearly included in the policy listing the protected categories. The non-discrimination policies state that the university provides a welcoming environment for everyone and does not tolerate discrimination. There may or may not be a reference to federal, state or local laws.

Universities utilizing this approach are the following:

1. University of Minnesota;
2. University of Oregon;
3. Washington State University;

1. University of Maryland (University System of Maryland);
2. University of Illinois at Chicago;
3. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign;
4. UCLA;
5. Bucknell;
6. University of Michigan – Flint;
7. University of California – Riverside (University of California System);
8. Cornell University;
9. Metropolitan State College of Denver;
10. Emory University;
11. Penn State University;
12. University of Michigan at Ann Arbor;
13. Iowa State University;
14. Morningside College;
15. Brown University;
16. Duke University;
17. University of Connecticut;
18. Western Michigan University;
19. Wayne State University;
20. University of California – San Francisco; and,
21. University of Northern Colorado.

Specific non-discrimination policies for the universities noted above are on file in the Division of Equity and Diversity. The University of Maryland (University System of Maryland) has a considerable number of policies and procedures, which include sexual orientation. In fact, July 11, 1997, the Board of Regents approved a separate policy of non-discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.

Examples of precise policies, among many others, are the ones from the University of Michigan-Flint and University of Illinois at Chicago. The University of Illinois at Chicago’s policy reads as follows:

The University of Michigan-Flint’s policy reads: