Update on Chosen Name and Gender Identity Policy

In Spring 2020, University of Nebraska President Ted Carter created a working group to address gender inclusion within the university system. Several members of UNO were identified as campus experts and leads in this endeavor. He received robust recommendations that address daily culture and infrastructure. In Fall 2020, President Carter signed Executive Memorandum No. 40 that supports gender inclusion of all campus members.

Since this time, the campuses have been working together to diligently build the system infrastructures that will enable faculty, staff, and students to easily acknowledge and change their chosen name, pronouns and gender identity.

As of Monday, Aug. 23, 2021, all members of the UNO campus community have the ability to update their chosen name, pronouns, and gender identity across university systems. Students can make these changes using MavLINK and faculty and staff can do so in Firefly. A video is available here to walk through the process.

Jay Irwin, Ph.D., remarked that, “These changes enabled through this policy allows UNO to be more responsive and inclusive for our campus community. Names and pronouns are such key pieces of our identities, and allowing our students, staff, and faculty an easy way to indicate these is a great step forward.”

The UNO Gender and Sexuality Resource Center Inclusive Campus Policies and Procedures page provides information on how this policy is being implemented, where any changes will be reflected, and more. Further resources related to gender identity, utilizing these systems to make changes, and NU policies may be found below.

On the UNO campus, thanks are due especially to Dan Shipp, Ed.D., Vice Chancellor for Student Success, and Jessi Hitchins, Ph.D., Senior Director of Student Life, for bringing this initiative to the System level for policy development, as well as the Non-Binary Gender Values Steering Committee for their tireless efforts to make our university and all universities in the University of Nebraska system more equitable and accessible. Those from UNO who served on the committee include:

• Trent Fredericksen, (he/him), Assistant Dean of Conduct and Resident Life

• Jay Irwin, Ph.D, (he/they), Associate Professor of Sociology

• Matt Schill, (he/him), Director of the Office of the University Registrar

• Jen Skidmore, (they/she), College of Engineering Director of Student Development

If you need assistance with gender inclusion on campus as it relates to this policy or beyond, please contact UNO Gender and Sexuality Resource Center Queer and Trans Coordinator, Audre Bedford Hansen, abedfordhansen@unomaha.edu.

Resources

• Gender Identity at NU (How-To Video)
• MavLINK Instructions (Students)
• Firefly Instructions (Faculty/Staff)
• Executive Memorandum 40
• Gender Values: Identity Questions and Definitions/Terminology
• University of Nebraska Training Videos, Values and Policies