At Fleishman-Hillard, I recognize that I am fortunate to work at a place where my sexual orientation is not an issue, and in fact, it is embraced (they let me blog about it!). Not all members of the LGBT community have the same luxury, whether that means being out at work or out at school.
Here in Cleveland, we have a slew of great colleges and universities. One in particular is John Carroll University. According to its Web site, John Carroll University earned the #7 ranking among Midwest colleges and universities that grant master’s degrees in the 2009 edition of U.S. News & World Report’s “America’s Best Colleges.” This is the 20th consecutive year John Carroll has achieved high rankings in this comprehensive source of college and university profiles.
So, it's seemingly a well-respected institution. However, during the past week, the University has received some intense focus from the LGBT community. Like any academic institution, John Carroll has a "Nondiscrimination Policy" in place to prevent explicit discrimination and wrongful termination of employees based on race, gender, but this one does NOT protect for sexual orientation. Which means that technically, if you are a LGBT employee of John Carroll, you aren't necessarily as protected as your colleagues.
In an effort to address the issue, John Carroll proposed issuing a community standards statement that says the following:
It must be recognized that gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender people and those questioning their sexual identity constitute one vulnerable population within the University Community. Hence, this University states unequivocally that gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender students, faculty, staff administrators and alumni are welcome members of the University community, as the children of God they are…
That's a big first step for a religious institution, right? Well, there's more to it. Students and faculty are still concerned that the University won't change their official nondiscriminatory policy to also protect the LGBT community. While they will issue the statement above, they won't change the actual policy because is based on state and federal statutes, which do not cover sexual orientation. And, students aren't happy about the university not fully changing their policy– they staged a sit-in on the basketball court at a recent game to protest the university's position.
The issue is still under debate, but what's not being discussed are the marketing implications for John Carroll. More and more high school students are coming out, and in doing so, are looking for colleges and universities that provide a safe haven to express their individuality. So, for John Carroll to be willing to issue a statement that essentially says that they are valued members of the community is a good thing. But it's not a full-out policy change. It's almost like "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." Unless they change the non-discriminatory policy to include the LGBT community, the university will lose faith among important constituencies and students will go to competing institutions that embrace and protect us for who we are.
I think back to when I was reviewing agencies for job opportunities. Fleishman-Hillard actively markets the Out Front practice, which is smart business because it attracts LGBT professionals to the agency (and let's face it…this industry has a lot of us). It got my attention, and I sent it my resume. John Carroll has the same marketing opportunity– change the policy, and use it as a way to reach an entire new audience.
What do you think about the situation at John Carroll? Weigh in.
Have a great week.
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