Why State College, Penn State were again named among nation’s best for being LGBTQ+ friendly

In what’s become an annual honor, both State College and Penn State have again been named among the country’s top communities for being LGBTQ+ friendly and inclusive.

State College earned a perfect 100/100 score earlier this week in the 2023 Municipal Equality Index (MEI), which measures the inclusivity of municipal laws, policies and services for the LGBTQ+ community. (That annual report is issued by the Human Rights Campaign, the largest LGBTQ+ advocacy group in the country.) Penn State also discovered earlier this year from Campus Pride, a separate nonprofit, that it earned a 5-out-of-5-star rating on the Campus Pride Index that takes into account schools’ LGBTQ+ policies, programs and practices.

With those rankings, Penn State was named to Campus Pride’s “Best of the Best” LGBTQ-friendly Colleges and Universities list, making it one of 30 institutions — out of more than 240 — chosen for cultivating “a safe, welcoming environment for students, faculty and staff alike.” Similarly, State College was one of 129 cities nationwide to earn a perfect MEI score, with the average score of the 506 rated municipalities coming in at a 71.

It is the fifth straight year State College has earned a perfect score. It is at least the fourth consecutive year Penn State has made Campus Pride’s “Best of the Best” list.

“The work that the Human Rights Campaign is doing with the Municipal Equity Index is very important for improving our community,” added Chiluvya Zulu, State College Borough’s DEIB (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Belonging) director. “Achieving a score of 100 does not signify completion. The borough acknowledges the evolving needs of the LGBTQ+ community and is committed to finding new ways to adapt to the changing needs.”

State College’s score wasn’t always so high. In 2017, the borough earned an above-average score of 73 and, in response, it implemented an LGBTQ Advisory Committee that helped spark change. It was headed by longtime borough employee Kevin Kassab, who retired earlier this year and was recently elected to Borough Council.

Since that committee’s creation, the resulting impact has seen State College’s score rise to a 98 followed by five straight 100s.

The LGBTQ+-related changes over the years include increasing the number of gender-neutral bathrooms, implementing an all-inclusive workplace policy, ensuring domestic partners of borough employees receive work and health benefits, hanging Pride banners downtown, supporting an annual Pride Parade, having transgender-inclusive health benefits, banning conversion therapy for minors and establishing a liaison for the LGBTQ+ community.

Likewise, Penn State has also earned acclaim for its commitment to safety, inclusiveness and on-campus resources. In Campus Pride’s 50-point report-card checklist, the land-grant university failed to check just three boxes — for not having an LGBTQ social fraternity/sorority, not providing gender-inclusive housing for new students (although PSU does for returning students) and not giving LGBTQ-inclusive training to admission counselors.

In eight subcategories that included titles like policy inclusion, campus safety, and student life, Penn State never finished with fewer than 4.5 stars. In four subcategories, it finished with 5 stars and, in the other four, it earned 4.5 stars — for an overall perfect score of 5-out-of-5 stars.

“The work of creating a welcoming campus environment is ongoing and very much student led,” Sonya Wilmoth, Director of PSU’s Center for Sexual and Gender Diversity, said in an August statement. “We are welcoming students to Penn State who have a more defined sense of who they are, the identities that they hold and what they want from their collegiate experience. Providing co-curricular experiences, opportunities and spaces for them to engage, find community, and develop a sense of belonging is at the heart of our work.”

Of the Big Ten’s 10 flagship campuses that were rated, all received at least 4 stars. Five others also joined Penn State on the “Best of the Best” list in Indiana, Maryland, Ohio State, Purdue and Rutgers. Last year, for comparison’s sake, only three of the SEC’s seven rated schools earned over three stars — and, this year, only three SEC schools received ratings at all in Alabama (4.5), Ole Miss (3) and Tennessee (4).

In the Human Rights Campaign’s municipal ratings, nine other Pennsylvania cities were rated with State College — and every Pennsylvania municipality either saw its score remain level or increase from last year. They included Carlisle (100), Erie (100), Harrisburg (100), Philadelphia (100), Pittsburgh (100), Allentown (96), Reading (91), New Hope (90) and Wilkes-Barre (82).

The Human Rights Campaign spotlighted Harrisburg as a success story, pointing out it previously ranked in the low 70s. Mayor Wanda R.D. Williams said both she and the police department made improvement a priority.

Although both State College and Penn State haven’t been immune to a handful of acts of hate — including what many deem “hate speech” in and around campus — both areas continue to support the LGBTQ+ community on a daily basis, with positives appearing to far outweigh the negatives.

Although officials have acknowledged more work needs to be done, they’ve also emphasized the rankings reflect the fact that hate is not welcome in the community.