Dartmouth's Tuck School of Business earns top grades in its inclusiveness toward lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender students and faculty members, according to a recent survey.
Tuck earned an "A" grade in the April 2003 Report on the LGBT-Friendliness of the Nation's Top Business Schools, which was conducted by Aplomb Consulting.
Results were based on over 100 interviews with business school students, faculty, administrators and alumni from 21 schools, as well as six months of editing and research.
For the purpose of the study, only schools ranked in the top 20 for 2003 by U.S. News & World Report and/or Business Week were included. Criteria for the 100 point score were based on 10 factors, which are not equally weighted.
Schools were evaluated for LGBT-specific job recruiting opportunities, domestic partner benefits, openly LGBT business school professors and transgender inclusion/representation.
"Understanding LGBT-friendliness was one of the key factors in deciding where I ended up applying to B-School," Aplomb Consulting President, Jason P. Lorber explains.
"Also, I'm continually being asked by prospective students whether they should come out in their applications. That signals that they're very concerned with whether the business school they attend will be LGBT-welcoming. And it presents and opportunity for B-schools to meet those needs."
Last year, the top business schools scored significantly higher on the Aplomb report than they did seven years ago. In fact, many schools doubled their LGBT scores in every category evaluated.
Out of the 21 business schools surveyed, 10 received an "A" grade. Tuck ranked fourth with a score of 95.00. Harvard topped the list with 97.50 points, followed by Stanford and Wharton. Yale earned an "A-" in 11th place with a score of 90.00, while Cornell almost flunked in 19th place with 65.00 points.
Chris Tatro Tu '03 admits that gay friendliness was a factor in his decision to attend Tuck. He recalls that "alums kept talking about the community -- accepting, open, tight-knit no matter who you are."
He had been afraid that the lack of city life would mean not having a community to retreat to after classes, but has since become comfortable in his choice for business school. In fact, other students surprised him with questions about whether he plans to marry his partner and/or have children. While "some people disagree or have certain beliefs, it has never been an issue at work or otherwise."
Tuck missed earning a spot in the report's top three rankings because it does not profile openly LGBT students in its admission brochures, nor is it transgender inclusive, according to Lorber.
Tatro, who is a primary member of GALA, Tuck's Gay and Lesbian Association, said that Tuck's admission materials now include a LBGT profile.
At the time of the study, MIT's Sloan School of Business student group mission statement was the only one to include transgender people.
The survey also provided noteworthy points about Tuck, including the founding of GALA approximately 10 years ago and diversity dinners organized by the career center so students can learn about LGBT-friendly employers.
The school is a sponsor of the fifth annual Reaching Out Conference and offered expense-paid trips to the conference last year.
Additionally, an essay, "Mindful, and Masculine: Freeing Female Leaders from Gender Role Constraints" was written by openly gay Tuck faculty member Judith White, Assistant Professor of Business Administration.
Although business schools have progressed dramatically over the past decade in regards to LGBT issues, there remains a great deal of room for further work, according to the Aplomb report.
The nation's top business schools still deal with an enormous amount of homophobia and discrimination.
The report noted that most campuses rarely see LGBT students and faculty accounting for more than 2 percent of the total campus population. Moreover, transgender visibility and issues are frequently out of sight.
While Thomas Kim Tu '03 has enjoyed his Tuck experience since the school "feels responsible for individuals because it's so remote," he has also seen some negative reactions.
Kim, also a primary member of GALA, recalls an incident last year where a heterosexual student was upset about getting any mail regarding gay events.
However, Kim has generally found an accepting community with gays and straights in a MBA program that "goes out of its way ... to show that it is just as competitive and progressive as other business schools."
