Ƶ was selected to present recent advancements in LGBTQIA inclusion as part of Harvard University’s Alumni Speaker Series in Higher Education.
Moderated by Judith Block McLaughlin, chair of Harvard University’s higher education program, the alumni panel on advancing diversity in higher education included the current president of DePaul University, the Rev. Dr. Dennis Holtschneider, as well as Judy Jackson, vice president for institutional diversity at the University of Kentucky, and Matthew Antonio Bosch, director of the Gender & LGBTQIA Center at Ƶ.
A 2003 Harvard alumnus, Bosch spoke on co-chairing the Presidential LGBTQIA Task Force, as well as leading new efforts regarding policy inclusion and LGBTQI education through Ƶ’s 3-Year Strategic Plan for LGBTQIA Inclusion. Bosch currently serves on the national Governing Board of the American College Personnel Association and came to Ƶ in 2013 to open the new Gender & LGBTQIA Center.
Attendees of the series built collaborations across their respective campus stakeholders as Ƶ did with Ƶ, Campus Safety & Police, and the Registrar’s Office. Ƶ has accomplished several goals, including the placement of an optional LGBTQIA category on the admissions application and prospective inquiry cards, training of safety officers and law enforcement on LGBTQIA topics, name changes for transgender students on university documents, and re-issuing degrees for alumni who have transitioned post-graduation who want to showcase their Ƶ degree with their correct name.
Harvard sought out Bosch after hearing of Ƶ’s national progress on the CampusPRIDE Index for LGBTQIA Inclusion, a national ranking of 450 universities.
From 2013 to 2014, Ƶ catapulted over 250 schools thanks to efforts all across campus to advance LGBTQIA visibility, education, and campus climate for students, faculty, staff and alumni. In one year, Ƶ has advanced its national ranking from the 360s to the 110s and currently holds a 4.5 out of 5 star overall ranking from CampusPRIDE.