In the Chron:
… My experiences in higher education with my partner of 21 years have helped me understand how the environment and culture of a campus is crucial for gay and lesbian employees and their partners or spouses. Certain experiences, like how we have been treated in the hiring process, have shaped our views about academe and our career decisions. We’ve learned that some elements of a dual recruitment may be more important to gay and lesbian couples than to their straight counterparts.
In mulling all of that, it occurred to me that it might be helpful to my institution:and give us a competitive advantage in hiring:if we could strengthen our support even more for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered applicants and attract top candidates. So I tried to locate a list of practical suggestions and strategies.
But I couldn’t find a good list. So I decided to make one myself. I reflected on my own experiences, when my partner and I were on the job market, and surveyed many of my colleagues (both straight and gay) across the country to pull together some best practices. …
