Campus Pride Reveals "Best of the Best" Colleges and Universities for LGBTQ Students

Foremost Authority on LGBTQ Higher Education Also Spotlights Community Colleges, Religious Schools

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Campus Pride, the preeminent resource for LGBTQ leadership development, diversity inclusion and advocacy within higher education, today announced the annual Best of the Best Colleges and Universities for LGBTQ students in the United States. The schools featured in this year's Best of the Best are listed in alphabetical order by state, and organized according to region.

"More than ever colleges today want to be viewed as LGBTQ-friendly and a welcoming place for all students. LGBTQ students and their safety impacts the recruitment efforts of the entire campus," said Shane Windmeyer, Campus Pride Executive Director. "Upper-level administrators are now understanding how LGBTQ-friendliness is key to academic success of students and the future institutional success of the campus."

The announcement features 30 four-year campuses from across the country that have shown themselves to be deeply committed to LGBTQ students, earning a perfect score of 5 out of 5 stars on the Campus Pride Index, the definitive national benchmarking tool tracking LGBTQ-friendly policies, programs, and practices.

This year, Campus Pride is putting a spotlight on two-year colleges and religious schools with two separate lists focused on community colleges that are leading the way on LGBTQ inclusivity, and religious schools living up to LGBTQ-inclusive values. These campuses were selected by the Campus Pride Index team showcasing campuses with inclusive policy, program and practice and who scored 3.5 or higher stars in their respective categories.

"Seeing the representation of schools from every corner of the country, and highlighting the efforts of community colleges and even religious institutions really underlines the successes Campus Pride has had over our 20 years," said Tom Elliott, Campus Pride Board Chair. "The work we've done with student leaders, and the resources Campus Pride continues to provide them, is making the higher education experience safer and more welcoming to LGBTQ students nationwide."

Campus Pride's 2021 BEST OF THE BEST Colleges & Universities is online at http://campuspride.org/BestoftheBest.

The Campus Pride Index, cataloguing more than 430 LGBTQ-friendly colleges and universities, is available at https://www.campusprideindex.org/.

2021 Best of the Best LGBTQ-Friendly Colleges and Universities

(Listed by region, in alphabetical order by state)

Mid-Atlantic Region

Midwest

New England

Southeast

Southwest

West

Community Colleges Leading the Way

(Listed in alphabetical order by state)

Religious Schools Living Up to LGBTQ Values of Inclusion

(Listed in alphabetical order by state)


ABOUT CAMPUS PRIDE

Celebrating its 20th anniversary year in 2021, Campus Pride is the leading national nonprofit organization dedicated to building future leaders and creating safer, more inclusive communities for LGBTQ people and allies at colleges and universities. Founded in 2001 by nationally-recognized LGBTQ civil rights leader and campus pioneer Shane L. Windmeyer, Campus Pride offers a wide variety of programs and resources for students and prospective students, including the Campus Pride Index, HBCU Clearinghouse, Trans Policy Clearinghouse, Lambda 10, Stop the Hate and Safe Space trainings, and the annual Camp Pride leadership camp.www.campuspride.org

Connect with us