The University of Texas at Dallas has been named one of the “Best of the Best” colleges and universities in the nation for LGBTQ students for the second year in a row.
UT Dallas was one of only two universities in the Southwest to make Campus Pride’s 2021 Best of the Best list of 30 LGBTQ-friendly colleges and universities. The list includes institutions with the highest scores on LGBTQ-friendly benchmarks for policies, programs and practices.
The University has earned five out of five stars on the Campus Pride Index benchmarking tool since 2019. In June, BestColleges, in partnership with Campus Pride, ranked UT Dallas the 19th-best college in the nation for LGBTQ+ students.
“The team in our Galerstein Gender Center is demonstrating outstanding leadership for gender and LGBTQ+ inclusion,” said Dr. Yvette E. Pearson, vice president for diversity, equity and inclusion at UT Dallas. “We will continue to build on the foundation they’ve laid, with the aim of equipping individuals from all backgrounds, identities and roles to recognize and fulfill our shared responsibility for cultivating and sustaining a culture of equity, inclusion and belonging.”
The Galerstein Gender Center offers a range of resources and support for the LGBTQ community, including Safe Zone Ally training, Campus Pride Alternative Spring Break and Lavender Graduation. UT Dallas also offers services to the LGBTQ community through the Student Counseling Center and gender inclusive housing.
“We’re proud to be part of the ‘top 30’ this year, thanks to our students, faculty and staff who own their stories and shine a light on gender equity,” said Lauren DeCillis, gender center director.
Matthew Winser-Johns, assistant director of LGBT+ programs at the gender center, said the University could not have achieved the rating without a campuswide commitment to cultivating a welcoming environment.
“It truly is a team effort across the entire campus to ensure our LGBTQ+ community feels affirmed in everyday life here at the University,” he said.
BrainHealth Project Recognized in Design Contest
The BrainHealth Project, a large-scale scientific endeavor created by The University of Texas at Dallas’ Center for BrainHealth, along with technology partner Dialexa, to improve brain health and performance nationwide, was a finalist in Fast Company’s 2021 Innovation by Design Awards. The project was recognized in the wellness category for its innovative, easy-to-use online platform.
The BrainHealth Project offers a multifaceted approach to brain health and fitness, combining self-directed content with virtual live coaching and featuring a multidomain measure of the brain’s upward potential, called the BrainHealth Index. The project uses a proprietary machine-learning algorithm to collect and assess data in real time, which is then used to enhance protocols for brain-fitness improvement.
“Our team has set an audacious goal of launching the next health revolution, focused on extending peak brain years,” said Sandra Bond Chapman PhD’86, chief director of the Center for BrainHealth and the Dee Wyly Distinguished University Chair in BrainHealth. “It would simply be impossible without an online platform that is both easy for all ages and tremendously engaging for participants from all walks of life, as well as technically sophisticated to enable a personalized experience at population scale.”
The Innovation by Design Awards honor companies that are helping to solve the problems of today and tomorrow. The wellness category included consumer products, services and environments that use innovative design to promote a healthy lifestyle. Entries, including the category-winning therapy app The Guardians from MIT Media Lab, were judged on functionality, originality, beauty, sustainability, user insight, and business and cultural impact. Companies such as Therabody, Nike, Fitbit, Samsung and Lululemon were also honored in the category.
Accolades is an occasional News Center feature that highlights recent accomplishments of The University of Texas at Dallas faculty and students. To submit items for consideration, contact your school’s communications manager.