GLSEN Praises New Book Revealing Top 100 LGBT-Friendly Colleges

New York – With the release of “The Advocate College Guide for LGBT Students” on August 1, LGBT students now have a comprehensive resource to identify the most LGBT-friendly colleges and universities in the United State. The book by Shane L. Windmeyer, executive director of Campus PrideNet, is the first comprehensive campus guide to highlight the 100 most LGBT-friendly.

“Finally! As the first generation of ‘out’ LGBT students prepares for college, they now have the information they need to choose the right campus,” said Kevin Jennings, founder and executive director of the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network. “The product of thorough and thoughtful research, this guide will be an invaluable resource for LGBT students, their families and anyone who wants a progressive campus.”

The book profiles 100 colleges and universities from across the country that offer resources and create a positive living and learning environment for LGBT students

Campus PrideNet, with support from a team of LGBT professionals from the National Consortium of Directors of LGBT Resources in Higher Education, developed the criteria and a questionnaire for nominations to gather feedback from current LGBT students, faculty and staff regarding personal experiences and opinions about their campus.

After receiving nominations from 680 campuses and conducting more than 5,500 online interviews, 100 campuses were selected for the book based on institutional policies, commitment and support, academic life, housing, student life, counseling and health services, campus safety, and recruitment and retention efforts. The list of 100 is broken down in multiple indexes such as region, state, type of institution and size. Individual campus profiles include information on tuition, admission application deadlines, gay-affirmative policies, events, LGBT student groups and resources, housing for LGBT students and more.

“The top 100 colleges and universities profiled in ‘The Advocate College Guide’ lead the way for the rest of higher education to be LGBT-friendly. These campuses take to heart the value of supporting all students, “Windmeyer said. “What better way for a campus to come out as LGBT-friendly?”

About GLSEN
GLSEN, or the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network, is the leading national education organization focused on ensuring safe schools for ALL students. Established nationally in 1995, GLSEN envisions a world in which every child learns to respect and accept all people, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity/expression. For more information on GLSEN’s educational resources, public policy and public education work, student organizing programs, research or development initiatives, visit www.glsen.org.