University of Southern Indiana to Offer Domestic Partner Benefits in 2010

The University Of Southern Indiana (USI) has announced that it will offer domestic partner benefits for university faculty and staff effective January 1, 2010.

USI joins a chorus of other state universities in providing domestic partner including Ball State University, Indiana University, Indiana State University, Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, and Purdue University.   Other Indiana private institutions of higher education offering similar benefits include Butler University, DePauw University, Goshen College, Manchester College, Saint Joseph’s College, Saint Mary’s College, University of Notre Dame, and Valparaiso University.

Indiana Equality congratulates and thanks USI President Ray Hobbs and the University of Southern Indiana for this decision.  IE also thanks the many individuals who advocated for this policy with members of the USI board of trustees and administration.

A special thanks goes to the Tri-State Alliance for the organization’s advocacy and countless years of service on behalf of the LGBT community of southwestern Indiana. 

Comments

[Anonymous]

This is terrific news for same-sex partnerships. But what about those who are trans and not married, or opposite-sex and not married? The benefits are not there. The argument has been made that we can simply get married, but it really isn't that simple; there's plenty of legal paperwork to do first, and marriage decisions have a huge impact for those of us in school and seeking financial aid, but who need pesky things like medical benefits or any help at all with tuition. This is *not* service to the T or Ally portion of alliances.

[Peggy]

This is wonderful news. Does anyone know if there are any Ivy Tech Community College efforts underway?

[Kim]

I'm employed by Ivy Tech. A small group of us at my campus (some gay, some straight) have been trying to get a discussion going about domestic partner benefits for a few years now. The college does not appear to be focusing on this just yet, but the time may be coming, and soon. Ivy Tech has already identified the lack of diversity at the college as a problem and has taken steps to address this lack. Since Ivy Tech has adopted a statement of diversity that explicitly includes sexual orientation, it seems reasonable to assume that the college intends to follow the lead of other colleges and universities in providing partner benefits for employees. The only question is when. It would be beneficial if more people would speak up about this matter so that fair treatment for non-heterosexuals at Ivy Tech would come sooner rather than later.