As Ohio University strives to increase diversity, one of the main proponents has been to offer more scholarships to minorities. But scholarships for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender students are not on the list.
Nationally, the move toward LGBT scholarships has increased in recent years, said Cathy Renna, a spokeswoman for The Point Foundation, a national LGBT scholarship fund for students who want to make a difference.
Some scholarships are for a specific niche, including a scholarship to a lesbian in the Atlanta area who demonstrates leadership qualities. Others are part of larger, more general organizations, such as The Point Foundation or the Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG) National Scholarships.
The university provides scholarships tagged for black, Hispanic and American Indian students to help boost the presence of diverse students on campus, said G. Christine Taylor, the assistant to the president for diversity.
OU created the Urban Scholars program to assist students from Akron and Youngstown, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus and Dayton and the Appalachian Scholars program to aid students from the 27-county area bordering the Appalachian mountains.
OU's Office of Nationally Competitive Awards, which assists students who want to compete for outside scholarships, separates grants and scholarships into categories. Besides scholarships for particular majors, the office lists scholarships for specific races and ethnicities. No such category exists for LGBT students.
It's a little awkward
said Ann Brown, director of the office. You don't want to say 'Are you gay?'
She said LGBT students compete for non-LGBT specific awards and that their sexuality neither hurts them nor gives them an advantage.
I like that (sexual orientation) is not an issue she said.
Ohio State University offers several LGBT-specific scholarships: the Eric Kohring-PFLAG Scholarship, the Mark Moffett Memorial Scholarship and five others. The scholarships are not specifically funded by the university but rather through an endowment given by the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Alumni Society.
There is a hope that we can reach students who have been turned away by their family for 'coming out' and help GLBT students address other financial issues that are unique to them
the GLBT Alumni Society's Web site states.
Miami University also has a yearly scholarship through its LGBT alumni association. Neither Kent State University nor Toledo University, like most universities, offers LGBT-targeted scholarships.
Because an LGBT student's coming out process can mean estrangement from their family without a legal declaration of separation, financial needs can be difficult to assess, said Mickey Hart, assistant director of Campus Life for LGBT Programs.
Hart said while he does not envision his office at OU being able to provide full scholarships for students like OSU, he would like to be able to afford helping students on a quarterly basis, as needs arise.
That's probably the best we can hope for
he said.
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