Affirming LGBTQ+ Students in Higher Education

This book will guide institutions of higher learning in making practical and effective changes at many levels to better support LGBTQ+ students and, ultimately, improve the campus climate for all. For college students with marginalized gender identities and sexual orientations, simply getting through a day of study-not to mention work, exercise, and social life-can be taxing in the extreme, due to the additional weight of minority stress. However, there are many steps higher education leaders can take, both to boost students' resilience and to dismantle the very structures that create minority stress. These steps may involve changes to facilities, student health and resource centers, housing, administrative policy, faculty training, curriculum, and other areas. This book presents research-based needs assessment frameworks and best practices for integrating a broad array of institutional changes to improve LGBTQ+ students' higher education experience. Chapters describe student populations with multiple intersecting identities: transgender students, students of color, students with disabilities, student athletes, international students, and first-generation college students. The authors also address issues unique to different settings, including community colleges, religious institutions, and historically Black colleges and universities.