VCU seeks to broaden non-discrimination policy to include gender identity

Announcement comes on the heels of the Supreme Court’s decision allowing same-sex marriage in Virginia.

October 7, 2014; 11:50 AM • by Nathan Cushing

VCU President Michael Rao sent an email to university students, staff, and faculty last night (see below) announcing that VCU intends to broaden its non-discrimination statement to include gender identity, which would expand protection to transgender people.¹

If approved by the Board of Visitors at a meeting next week, the amended statement will read:

Activities of the university are designed to promote the continuing policy of providing equal opportunity for employment and education and access to all programs and services without regard to race, color, national origin, age, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, political affiliation, veterans’ status, or disability.

Rao also said in the email that VCU is awaiting guidance from the Virginia Department of Human Resource Management on how to implement same-sex marriage benefits afforded by yesterday’s Supreme Court’s decision.

Read the full email below.

— ∮∮∮ —

To the VCU and VCU Health System Community:

With the U.S. Supreme Court’s historic decision today to effectively allow same sex marriages to be legally recognized, Virginia Commonwealth University and the VCU Health System will move as quickly as possible to evaluate the benefits currently offered to eligible spouses so that we may also provide a similar package to same-sex spouses.

The governor announced in a statement that state government is proceeding to bring all of its policies and practices into compliance so that marriages between same-sex partners can receive the “full faith and credit they deserve.” We are awaiting guidance from the Virginia Department of Human Resource Management on how the benefits will be implemented at the university, and will provide that information to you as soon as we receive it.

On this important day, we also are announcing our intention to expand VCU’s non-discrimination statement to include gender identity. We will ask the Board of Visitors at its next meeting to approve the following statement:

Activities of the university are designed to promote the continuing policy of providing equal opportunity for employment and education and access to all programs and services without regard to race, color, national origin, age, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, political affiliation, veterans’ status, or disability.

Diversity in all of its dimensions is integral to who we are at VCU. It is part of our fabric. This is a great day to celebrate our commitment to diversity and make it even stronger.

Sincerely,

Michael Rao
President, VCU and the VCU Health System

Including transexuals, cross-dressers, and other gender-variant people whose gender expression differs from the gender assigned to them at birth (via GLAAD). ↩