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OU Touts LGBTQ-Friendly Ranking; Removed From List One Day Later
By: Allie Eldredge
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ATHENS, Ohio — A day after sending out a press release touting inclusion on a list ranking the most LGBTQ-friendly online colleges in the nation, Ohio University has been removed from the list.
The removal comes after WOUB News reached out to SR Education Group, who published the list, and inquired about the methods used to create the ranking.
Nicole Hopler, a representative of the organization, said the list is based off data from the Campus Pride Index. The index is a resource for students in the LGBTQ community to utilize in their search for a LGBTQ-friendly college. According to their website, the index tool includes 50+ self-assessment questions, which correspond to eight different LGBTQ-friendly factors. SR Education Group says on its website that universities on the list need to have at least a four out of five star ranking on the index.
But in April the university was suspended from the index following an inquiry by Campus Pride into the termination of former LGBT Center director delfin bautista.
“Since Ohio University was still included on Campus Pride Index when we were doing the research for the 2019 LGBTQ rankings, we were not aware that they had been removed from Campus Pride Index a few weeks after we had completed our research,” Hopler said. “We strive as a company to have transparent, accurate rankings, so we will be removing Ohio University from our 2019 LGBTQ rankings.”
OU spokeswoman Carly Leatherwood said the removal “does not alter the institution’s steadfast commitment to strategic investment in LGBTQ programming that is inclusive of all members of the community.”
Before the university was removed from the list, WOUB reached out to interim LGBT center director Micah McCarey for an interview regarding the ranking but did not receive a response.