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Policy inclusion
Charlotte-area colleges and universities and their non-discrimination policies. An asterisk by the school’s name indicates a strong warning about the campus’ anti-LGBT religious doctrines and affiliations. See second section, “Local Anti-LGBT Colleges” for more.
School / Policies Include: Sexual Orientation/Gender Identity
Barber Scotia College / N/N
Belmont Abbey College* / N/N
Carolinas College of Health Sciences* / N/N
Catawba College / Y/N
Central Piedmont Community College* / N/N
Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary* / N/N
Hood Theological Seminary / N/N
Johnson & Wales University / Y/Y
Johnson C. Smith University / Y/N
King’s College / Y/N
Livingstone College / N/N
Montreat College* / N/N
New Life Theological Seminary* / N/N
Northeastern University Charlotte / Y/Y
Pfeiffer University at Charlotte / Y/N
Queens University of Charlotte / Y/N
Reformed Theological Seminary-Charlotte / N/N
Southern Evangelical Seminary* / N/N
University of North Carolina-Charlotte / Y/Y
Wake Forest University / Y/Y
Winthrop University / Y/N
High-ranking colleges
Charlotte-area schools and their rankings in the Campus Pride LGBT-Friendly Campus Climate Index:
Davidson College
4.5 out of 5 stars
Scored best (5 stars): LGBT Support & Institutional Commitment, LGBT Academic Life, LGBT Student Life, LGBT Campus Safety, LGBT Counseling & Health
Scored worst: LGBT Housing & Residence Life (3 stars), LGBT Policy Inclusion (3.5 stars)
University of North Carolina-Charlotte
4.5 out of 5 stars
Scored best (5 stars): LGBT Academic Life, LGBT Student Life, LGBT Campus Safety, LGBT Counseling & Health, LGBT Recruitment & Retention Efforts
Scored worst: LGBT Policy Inclusion (3 stars), LGBT Housing & Residence Life (3 stars)
Other Carolinas schools:
Appalachian State University, 5 stars
Brevard College, 1.5 stars
Clemson University, 2 stars
College of Charleston, 3 stars
East Carolina University, 4 stars
Elon University, 4.5 stars
Fayetteville State University, 3 stars
Francis Marion University, 2 stars
Guilford College, 4 stars
For more details on these rankings and more visit campusprideindex.org.
Local anti-LGBT colleges
Belmont Abbey College
Belmont Abbey College is affiliated with the Roman Catholic Church. Official school policy institutes a “Christian Sexuality Policy” recognizing marriage as the union of one man and one woman; additionally, the policy states, “Other licentious, salacious, or sexually immoral behavior, depending on the facts and circumstances of the case, may result in disciplinary action including possible dismissal from the College.”
Carolinas College of Health Sciences
Carolinas College of Health Sciences is a subsidiary of Carolinas HealthCare System, which has long neglected to include sexual orientation and gender identity in its corporate equal employment or other non-discrimination policies. Additionally, the medical system does not offer equal health benefits or recognition for LGBT employees’ spouses.
Central Piedmont Community College
Central Piedmont Community College faced controversy over alleged discrimination and harassment of a transgender student in the spring of 2014. The college has never included sexual orientation or gender identity in its non-discrimination policies and has failed to add them following allegations of discrimination on the campus.
Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary
Official campus policy states, “We renounce behaviors such as distortion of God’s Word, deception, falsehood, drunkenness, stealing, and sexual immorality such as premarital intercourse, adultery and homosexual behavior.”
Montreat College
Official campus policy states, “Premarital and extramarital intercourse and homosexual activity clearly violate God’s standards and therefore are considered unacceptable behavior.”
New Life Theological Seminary
Campus curriculum includes courses describing homosexuality as an “addiction” and “modern societal problem,” alongside divorce and physical, sexual, emotional and mental abuse.
Southern Evangelical Seminary
Campus policies forbid homosexuality, stating: “Since conditions of our day focus on certain issues, we take note also that the Bible not only forbids ‘drunkenness’ (Prov. 20:1 cf. 23:30–32) and homosexual acts, declaring: ‘Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God’ (1 Cor. 6:9–10; cf. Rom. 1:26–28).”
Be sure to read our full cover feature on local college students’ campus experiences…