In 2019, a Boston University task force issued a report with recommendations to make the University a safer, more inclusive environment for LGBTQ faculty and staff. Nearly three years later, several of these recommendations have yet to be put in place.
The report was released ten months before the University sent students home following the initial outbreak of COVID-19. Jean Morrison, University provost and chief academic officer, said the switch to a remote work setting slowed the task force down, adding it was “frustrating” for the team.
“I hope that the return to the in-person community will really accelerate the things we’ve been doing remotely,” she said.
The task force gathered information about practices in peer organizations, discussed methods on how to expand current formal and informal activities on campus involving LGBTQ faculty and staff and brainstormed ways to connect with Boston-based LGBTQ groups.
After eight months, they proposed a series of 18 recommendations in a 38-page report.
However, almost three years since the task force’s report was released, a majority of the recommendations on the list have yet to be implemented. For example, BU has not had public discussions on renaming Silber Way — named after former BU president John Silber, whose legacy is marked by his homophobia.
Nonetheless, BU’s progress in increasing inclusivity is “well underway,” according to Morrison.
“It’s not a matter of ‘How long?” Morrison said. “It’s a matter of ‘What do we prioritize?’”
The report focused on addressing visibility, communication and community, making employment practices more inclusive and making benefits more equitable for LGBTQ faculty and staff.
Morrison said the first recommendation the task force made was the establishment of the LGBTQIA+ Center for Faculty & Staff or “The Q-Center,” located at 808 Commonwealth Avenue.
“The Q-Center… is now staffed and is a locus of support and information that is, at this point, primarily focused on faculty and staff and is an important place in terms of how we communicate with the community,” Morrison said.
Q-Center director Debbie Bazarsky said they are certain that BU is on the right track to implementing all the report’s recommendations after the development of the center.
“The center is helping realize not just the goals of the task force, but the goals of the institution,” Bazarsky said. “I think when it comes to diversity, equity and inclusion work, there’s always more that we can do. And I think that’s a good thing.”
Bazarsky said some of the goals of the task force are worked into either the Q-Center or BU’s 2030 Strategic Plan — a set of priorities the University is focusing on throughout the decade.
“Every single thing on that list has either been achieved or is being worked on currently,” Bazarsky said.
Terence Keane, a professor of psychiatry and clinical psychology in the School of Medicine and former task force member said, prior to the task force’s creation, there had “never been anything specifically centered on the LGBTQ faculty” at BU.
“We canvassed the literature. We surveyed other universities, peer institutions across the country. We met regularly and discussed what we thought would happen, what would help and what needed to be done,” Keane said.
Sara Mar, a graduate student in the School of Public Health and chair of the LGBTQ student organization Queer Alliance at BU, said they were not aware of the task force’s report, but added they believe there is much work left to be done.
“There’s some indication that they’re moving in a more positive direction towards LGBTQ inclusivity and representation, but I don’t think it’s nearly where it needs to be,” Mar said.
Speaking for the Queer Alliance, Mar said BU should add more gender-neutral bathrooms to its Medical Campus — one of the recommendations posed by the task force yet to be implemented.
“We have [gender neutral bathrooms] in the talent building on SPH, but not in the other instructional buildings where a lot of students have their classes,” Mar said.
Some students noted steps the University could take to be more inclusive towards LGBTQ students at BU.
Maria Nino-Suastegui, a sophomore in the College of Communications, said she personally hasn’t witnessed the University make any steps towards being more inclusive of sexualities.
“When [BU’s] groups are trying to make the space more inclusive, you really need the support of the University to establish that inclusivity,” Nino-Suastegui said. “Endorsement on their part would be good.”
Grace Rodriguez, a freshman at Sargent College of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, said she is unaware of inclusivity efforts by BU administration, adding she feels the University could do more to continue the conversation, but it’s up to students to raise awareness.
“I feel like [BU should offer] more support and sponsorship for more clubs or programs that are open to mental health resources for LGBTQI students. The same way that certain cultural clubs get together to form a community, [BU should] have the same thing for the LGBTQI community,” said Rodriguez.
