University of Iowa Becomes 1st U.S. University to Include LGBT Status on Admission Application

The University of Iowa recently became the first U.S. public university to ask potential student to about their sexual orientation and gender identity when they complete their admission application. This plan will go into effect in Fall 2013:

UI Chief Diversity Officer and Associate Vice President Georgina Dodge says inviting students to provide this information will help with both student success and retention... Dodge adds that UI administrators recognize that not everyone will wish to identify.

"But for those who do, we want to demonstrate our appreciation of the diverse contributions they bring to our community," Dodge says. "Our ultimate goal is to create an environment where all personal identities are celebrated, and increased visibility is certainly one way to help eliminate stigma..."

The new UI application for admission asks an optional question—“Do you identify with the LGBTQ Community?”—and offers “Transgender” as an additional gender option.

The questions will be used to determine incoming students’ needs, track retention rates, potential interest in campus programs, and to offer support resources. The optional identity question appears in a section of other optional questions asking students about family connections to the university, parents' educational background, interest in ROTC programs, and interest in fraternities and sororities.

"From a political and social perspective, this has been a long time coming," Dodge says. "Asking LGBTQ students to identify themselves demonstrates that we value this aspect of identity just as we value the other categories for which students check boxes."

I asked a University of Iowa instructor about this new optional item on the UI admission application. He thought it was a good thing. He noted that many potential undergraduate and graduate students -- particularly those coming from the two coasts -- have this idea that both Iowa and Iowa City are LGBT-hostile. This despite the fact that we are the only state that allows marriage and despite the fact that there are multiple student, faculty, and community organizations that actively represent LGBT issues.

Asking applicants if they identify with the LGBTQ Community and then reaching out to those who opt in with an affirmative answer will hopefully educate new potential students and faculty that there is a place for them at the University of Iowa, as well as Iowa City itself.