Debra Benton and delfin bautista have won an Equity and Inclusion Award for their work on the Preferred Name and Pronoun Policy, which was approved in June 2015.
After a three-year absence, the Equity and Inclusion Award was once again given out at the Ohio College Personnel Association Annual Conference, and for the first time, it went to members of the Ohio University faculty.
Debra Benton, who works in the office of the University Registrar and delfin bautista, the director of the LGBT Center, received the Equity and Inclusion Award on Jan. 22 for their work on implementing the Preferred Name and Pronoun Policy in the 2015-16 academic year.
“It’s exciting to see that the efforts around diversity that the university is taking is being acknowledged,” bautista, who uses they and them pronouns and the lowercase spelling of their name, said. “Myself and (Benton) are the ones being recognized, but it was a community effort and we are very mindful of that.”
According to the University Registrar, a preferred name is the name an individual “would like to be called” while a preferred pronoun could be gender-neutral or gender-inclusive.
Ohio University is one of the first institutions to implement both a policy for preferred names and preferred pronouns, Benton said. Miami University, Ohio State University and Case Western Reserve University all have preferred name policies, according to a previous Post report.
“(The policy) has certainly received a lot of recognition,” Benton said. “It’s certainly humbling to get an award but that’s not why we do the things that we do.”
The Equity and Inclusion Award is presented to an individual or campus program that has “demonstrated creativity, innovation, and success in making a significant contribution and impact in the area of multicultural understanding and appreciation,” according to the association’s website.
The Preferred Name and Pronoun Policy has been implemented since June 2015.
“The policy describes and really sets clear expectations that the preferred name is to be used everywhere on campus, and the legal name should be left for legal documents,” Benton said.
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The legal documents, according to Benton, would include official transcripts, diplomas and contractual agreements.
“Students, specifically trans students, would share that they have to go specifically to their professors to inform them about their (preferred) names (and request to be called by that name), … but some professors would say no,” bautista said.
Other universities have asked about OU’s Preferred Name and Pronoun Policy and how to replicate it in their campuses, bautista said.
“By creating a safer environment — a more inclusive environment — and by affirming how students identify, we’re creating a learning environment where students can learn and not worry about (being called the wrong name or pronoun),” bautista said.
To change their name or pronoun, students have to go through the Student Portal.
“We’re treating the students the way they want to be treated,” Benton said.
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