LGBTQ+ @ Barnard
LGBTQ+ @ Barnard
LGBTQ+ @ Barnard is an online hub of resources for navigating Barnard as an LGBTQIA+ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Intersex, Asexual+) community member.
LGBTQ+ Academics & Student Orgs
Barnard students interested in exploring queer theory, trans studies, and other academic lenses on sexuality and gender can pursue courses, workshops, degrees, and more through both Barnard College and Columbia University.
Barnard Students have access to student groups at both Barnard College and Columbia University campuses. Here are some LGBTQ+ highlights. Check out Columbia LionLink and Student Experience & Engagement for more.
Chosen Name Information
Where your chosen name will appear:
- University ID card
- Class Rosters and Grading Rosters (myBarnard and SSOL)
- Courseworks
- Barnard and Columbia Public Directories (unless the student has asked that information be blocked)
- Communications (for example, if Barnard sends mail to the student at the student’s home address, it will be addressed to your chosen name)
- Diploma
Please note that Barnard and Columbia professors will only see chosen names on class rosters.
If you have not changed your legal name, your legal name will still be used for:
- Office of International and Intercultural Student Programs
- Office of Financial Aid
- Bursar’s Office
- Federal or State Requests for Information (including tax forms)
- Transcripts
- Academic certifications (of enrollment, good standing, degree completion)
- Athletics rosters
- Furman Counseling Center
- Primary Care Health Services
Click here for information and resources on pursuing a legal name change in New York City.
The Registrar's Office manages student records where a students, faculty, and staff can register their chosen name. To start the process, please fill out this form for the Registrar's Office. Once your chosen name has been updated with the registrar, most other campus offices will receive this information.
Gender Inclusive Campus Facilities
All Barnard community members and visitors are entitled to use facilities that best align with their gender identity.
Campus Housing
Housing accommodation request process: If you have a specific housing accommodation need, please contact housing@barnard.edu as soon as possible upon submitting your housing materials to discuss your request and possible options.
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All-Gender Bathroom Maps
Additional Bathroom Maps
Floor plans for Residence Life buildings. Each corridor-style housing building (the Quad and Elliot Hall) has an all-gender restroom on each floor.
Check out this resource list for the locations of All-Gender bathrooms in the residence halls.
Columbia University Morningside Campus Map
The Morningside Campus has all-gender bathrooms in most buildings, including near the locker rooms in Dodge Fitness Center.
Affirming Healthcare for Students
Barnard College is committed to providing identity-affirming, on-campus medical support and resources for LGBTQ+ students.
Primary Care Health Service
Primary Care Health Service provides affirming, safe, trauma-informed, and inclusive healthcare for all patients. As part of this mission, we provide comprehensive patient-centered medical care to transgender, non-binary, and gender-diverse (TGD) individuals.
We partner with each patient to create individualized treatment plans specific to their goals and priorities. For those seeking hormonal treatment for gender affirmation, we offer initiation, ongoing management, and supportive services. We collaborate closely with our colleagues at Furman Counseling Center and trans-serving community groups to foster community building and provide ongoing support. For those interested in surgical care, we collaborate with trusted community partners to ensure linkage to further specialized care.
Barnard College's student health insurance through Aetna Student Health provides hormonal and surgical healthcare coverage according to their outlined benefits. Log-in with your Barnard information here to view the details of your plan each year. For those with another form of insurance, we will work closely with you to review the best options available so that cost is not a limiting factor to treatment.
Trans Health Services Include:
- Primary and Preventive Care
- Chest/Breast Health
- Gender Affirming Hormone Therapy (GAHT, also referred to as HRT)
- Pelvic Wellness Exams; PAP Tests
- Sexually Transmitted Infection (STI) Screenings & Treatment
- HIV/AIDS Testing
- Guidance on safe binding and tucking
- Referrals to gender-affirming surgeons and vocal therapists
All treatment plans are in accordance with the World Professional Association of Transgender Care (WPATH) Standards of Care.
Furman Counseling Center
Furman Counseling Center provides many services, including free short-term confidential counseling, referrals to transgender-identified or transgender-affirming providers on your insurance panel for long-term treatment, and therapy letters when needed for gender-affirming medical treatments or surgeries. When reaching out, you may request to speak with a clinician within the queer and/or trans community if desired.
Off-Campus Healthcare
These healthcare options are available to the public and have free or low-cost programs.
Callen-Lorde is the global leader in LGBTQ+ healthcare. Since the days of Stonewall, Callen-Lorde has been transforming lives in LGBTQ+ communities through excellent comprehensive care, provided free of judgment and regardless of ability to pay. In addition, Callen-Lorde continuously pioneers research, advocacy, and education to drive positive change around the world, because we believe healthcare is a human right.
Callen-Lorde Community Health Center provides sensitive, quality healthcare and related services targeted to New York’s lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender communities — in all their diversity — regardless of ability to pay. To further this mission, Callen-Lorde promotes health education and wellness, and advocates for LGBTQ+ health issues.
Contact information: 356 West 18th St., New York, NY 10011, (212) 271-7200
Apicha Community Health Center’s mission is to improve the health of the community and to increase access to comprehensive primary care, preventative health services, mental health, and supportive services. Apicha is committed to excellence and to providing culturally competent services that enhance the quality of life. Apicha advocates for and provides a welcoming environment for underserved and vulnerable people, especially Asians and Pacific Islanders, the LGBTQ+ community, and individuals living with and affected by HIV/AIDS.
Contact information: 400 Broadway, New York, NY 10013, (866) 274-2429
for members of LGBTQ+ and alt sexualities communities, the search can easily become overwhelming. How can you make sure that you find someone affirming of and knowledgeable about your identity, communities, and experience living in the world? The Gender & Sexuality Therapy Center provides the safe, nonjudgmental, and empowering therapeutic space that you deserve. The Gender & Sexuality Therapy Center is a New York City-based group of psychotherapists providing a range of services, including psychotherapy, supervision, workshops, and consultation focusing on gender, sexuality, sex, and relationships for individuals, couples, multi-partner relationships, and families.
Contact information: 850 7th Avenue, New York, NY 10019, (646) 797-4340
Resources for LGBTQ+ Employees
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The LGBTQ+ Employee Resource Group
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An Employee Resource Group (ERG) at Barnard is a voluntary, employee-led group with the purpose of fostering diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in the Barnard community and surrounding community, supporting professional development for ERG participants, and serving as a resource to its participants and Barnard College. Participation in ERG meetings and events are open to all currently employed Barnard staff (including union staff) and faculty. Please email dei@barnard.edu if you have any questions/suggestions or if you would like to be added to a monthly ERG calendar invite.
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Diversity & Professional Development Programs
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Programs for LGBTQ+ and other diverse faculty members at Barnard include mentoring programs, inclusive pedagogy workshops, research talks, orientations, seminars, and more!
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LGBTQ+ Health Insurance Benefits
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Questions? Contact
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Dylan Flynn, Associate Director of Benefits, Office of Human Resources, dflynn@barnard.edu
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Guidance for Allied Faculty & Staff
Center for Engaged Pedagogy Classroom Guide to Gender Inclusivity
- Members of the faculty who would like a one-on-one consultation on this topic are also encouraged to make an appointment with Alex Pittman, senior associate director of the Center.
NameCoach
- NameCoach is a tool in Canvas that allows students and faculty to record their name pronunciations and pronouns. This tool is now default-enabled in the left-hand navigation bar in all Barnard courses, and appears as “Name and Pronoun.” See this guide for using NameCoach, and feel free to email courseworks@barnard.edu with questions.
Consortium for Higher Education: Best Practices for Supporting Trans Students
Gender Identity & Admissions
Barnard College applications are open to any and every prospective student who lives and identifies as a woman at the time of application. This policy includes transgender women and intersex women as well as cisgender women and excludes people assigned female at birth that now identify as men or outside of the gender binary. For the full text of this policy, announced in 2015, please visit Admissions.
Once a student gains admission to Barnard College, they can remain a Barnard student regardless of future changes in gender identity. Barnard students of all gender identities have access to support and resources (academic, medical, and otherwise) that support their identity. Barnard College also provides support to those who wish to transfer out of Barnard (as a women's college) due to changes in gender identity.
LGBTQIA+ Nondiscrimination Policy
Sex, gender identity, gender expression, marital status, and sexual orientation are all protected categories under New York State law and sex is protected through federal law. Barnard’s policy provides additional protections to many categories:
Barnard College is committed to providing an environment free from unlawful discrimination, harassment, or retaliation. As such, Barnard College adheres to all federal and state civil rights laws and regulations prohibiting discrimination in institutions of higher education. Barnard does not discriminate against any employee, applicant for employment, student, or applicant for admission on the basis of race, color, religion, creed, national or ethnic origin, age, disability, sexual orientation, pregnancy, sex, gender identity or expression, or any other protected category under applicable local, state, or federal law, including protections for those opposing discrimination or participating in any grievance process on campus, with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, or other human rights agencies. In addition, Barnard College does not discriminate on the basis of alienage or citizenship status, marital partnership status, military status, arrest or conviction record, predisposing genetic characteristics, caregiver status, or victim status for the following offenses: domestic violence, stalking, and/or sex offense, in its employment practices.
The full text of Barnard's Policy Against Discrimination and Harassment can be found here.
Barnard students and employees are encouraged to report incidents of bias and harassment on the basis of religious identity. The Office of Nondiscrimination and Title IX can provide interim measures for affected students and employees including safety measures, schedule adjustments, and various forms of counseling and performs investigations into incidents when needed.
Click here to report an incident of discrimination or harassment.
Crisis Support Lines
LGBTQ+-identified people are statistically more like to attempt or commit suicide, with people of color and transgender people at the highest risk.* If you or someone you know is suicidal, seek help as soon as possible. These crisis lines can provide support wherever you are, whenever you need it.
+1 (877) 565-8860
Trans Lifeline is a grassroots hotline and 501(c)3 nonprofit offering direct emotional and financial support to trans people in crisis run by and for trans people. Trans Lifeline, unlike other hotlines, does not employ emergency response (911) intervention protocols without caller consent.
+1 (866) 488-7386
The Trevor Project is the leading national organization providing crisis intervention and suicide prevention services to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer & questioning (LGBTQ) young people under 25. TrevorLifeline is a crisis intervention and suicide prevention phone service available 24/7/365.
Text HOME to 741-741
WhatsApp: Message 443-SUP-PORT
Crisis Text Line offers free 24/7 support conversations with live, trained Crisis Counselors through a secure platform. This is not an LGBTQ+ specialized service, but may be a good option for those hesitant to make a phone call. Through WhatsApp, this resource can be accessed around the world with any internet connection.
Contact Information
Prospective students:
Please contact Christina Lopez, Dean of Enrollment Management, at clopez@barnard.edu. More information can also be found in Barnard's transgender admissions policy.
Current students:
Please contact the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at dei@barnard.edu for more information and resources.
Instructors:
Please contact Alex Pittman, Senior Associate Director of the Center for Engaged Pedagogy at apittman@barnard.edu for classroom support and guidance.
Barnard Employees:
Please contact the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at dei@barnard.edu for more information and resources.