Surprise! Re-Visiting Whitworth University, Which Now is Welcoming of LGBTQIA2S+ Staff, Faculty, and Students

Amid the tragic news of last week re: the decision made by the Supreme Court of the US, siding with a Christian web-designer, who has never made a website for a gay couple, in which, in a 6-3 victory, opened the door to a new way of discriminating against LGBTQIA2S+ couples and people, a good news story. A few weeks ago, I reported on Whitworth College/University, where I was a student for two years, and faculty member for two years. In that blog, I posted that for too-long the Board and President of Whitworth were sitting on the fence re: welcoming and affirming of LGBTQIA2S+ students, faculty, and staff.

Good news! Whitworth’s Board and President revised and affirmed its new policy, adding LGBTQIA2S+/sexual orientation to its non-discrimination statement.

Yonat Shimron of religionnews.com wrote that the change was made last week, June 20, 2023 following a year long study.

From the article: “'After careful consideration of this broad input, the board voted yesterday to resolutely uphold the Christ-centered commitments required of Whitworth staff and faculty; safeguard the campus environment to allow for civil discourse on topics about which faithful Christians disagree, including God’s design for sexual expression; and add “sexual orientation” to the university’s list of protected classes, which already includes color, gender, ethnicity, social or economic class, and nationality,' the statement from Whitworth President Scott McQuilkin and Board Chair Brian Kirkpatrick said.”

Dr. Kathy Lee--who was interviewed in the New Yorker about being a closeted faculty member of Whitworth last year--applauded the change at Whitworth.

And I, too, applaud the change at Whitworth! Though surprised at this change, I applaud it, and affirm it.

May other small colleges and universities with ties to major mainline denominations and non-denominational churches make these changes as well. The future is welcoming and affirming LGBTQIA2S+ students, faculty, and staff.

Here’s a link to the article: https://religionnews.com/2023/06/30/whitworth-university-drops-its-ban-on-lgbtq-faculty/

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