Elite Company

By Patrick Bohn, August 24, 2023

IC named to Campus Pride’s “Best of the Best” list for 2023.

Ithaca College has once again been named one of the top colleges and universities for LGBTQ+ students, according to Campus Pride, the leading national organization dedicated to building future LGBTQ and ally leaders and creating safer communities at colleges and universities. The college was one of the select few to earn the organization’s Best of the Best honor for 2023.

“Earning a spot on Campus Pride’s Best of the Best list recognizes an institution’s efforts to create a safe and welcoming campus for their LGBTQ+ students, staff, and faculty,” said Campus Pride Founder, CEO and Executive Director Shane Mendez Windmeyer. “In the current climate, in which LGBTQ+ identities have become political talking points and laws are being weaponized against LGBTQ+ people, the commitment to creating campuses that welcome and protect LGBTQ+ students cannot be taken for granted.”

The Top 30

The full Campus Pride 2023 Best of the Best list is available online here.

The organization’s 2023 Best of the Best LGBTQ-friendly list includes 30 four-year colleges and universities from around the country, each of which earned 5 out of 5 stars as well as the highest percentage scores on the Campus Pride Index (CPI), the premier national benchmarking tool measuring LGBTQ-friendly policies, programs, and practices on college and university campuses.

A school’s percentage scores are based on their reporting of LGBTQ-friendly features. Campuses are scored on eight LGBTQ-friendly factors, including housing, campus safety, academics, student life, and recruitment and retention efforts.

Ithaca College has significant resources and programming available for the LGBTQ community on campus. The Open Pages Residential Learning Community (RLC) is specifically for transgender and nonbinary students and designed to foster meaningful peer connections and belonging through shared interests and lived experiences.

“This designation is not merely a static distinction to be proud of. It's a testament to the collaboration, commitment, and vision of active and evolving LGBTQ+ inclusion. This honor is about our work to recognize, support, and invest in LGBTQ+ student success for over two decades. For prospective students who are just now imagining what a welcoming and affirming college could be, this honor plays a big role in their interest in becoming an IC student -- and an IC graduate.”

Luca Maurer, Executive Director of Student Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging

Additionally, the IC Pride Fellowship provides recent graduates and young professionals the opportunity to gain access and insights into the fields of LGBTQ campus resource professionals, higher education, and student affairs.

The Walter Bradhering ’79 and Daniel Kluchinski Scholarship is available to a sophomore, junior, or senior in the Roy H. Park School of Communications who has shown demonstrated leadership, achievement, or service to the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer community. Additionally, the Jack H. Dembow '77 Scholarship For LGBTQ Leadership, Achievement, or Service is available to students who embrace equity and inclusion by demonstrating above average leadership, achievement, or service to the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) community.

The annual Rainbow Reception celebrates graduating students by giving them rainbow cords and stoles to wear during Commencement.

(Photo by Patrick Bohn)

This past spring, the IC Trombone Troupe hosted a panel on dealing with LGBTQ+ bias, while the annual Rainbow Reception celebrated graduating LGBTQIA+ students. This fall’s Jumpstart programming included the “Big Gay Scavenger Hunt” as well as an opportunity for students to meet Crissi Dalfonzo, who took over as the new director of Ithaca College’s Center for LGBT Education, Outreach, and Services on August 23. You can read more about Crissi in this IC News story.

“I am incredibly proud that Ithaca College has received this honor year after year,” said Luca Maurer, the Center’s founding director, who currently serves as Executive Director of Student Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging in the recently established Center for Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging.

“And this designation is not merely a static distinction to be proud of. It's a testament to the collaboration, commitment, and vision of active and evolving LGBTQ+ inclusion,” he continued. “This honor is about our work to recognize, support, and invest in LGBTQ+ student success for over two decades. For prospective students who are just now imagining what a welcoming and affirming college could be, this honor plays a big role in their interest in becoming an IC student -- and an IC graduate. And the work ahead is exciting!”