Supporters acknowledge the change is a small one and doesn’t create new protection but said it speaks volumes about the University of Georgia community to current and potential students or faculty. It also brings the Athens campus, located about 60 miles northeast of Atlanta, in line with other universities.
“It says we do not discriminate, and we do not put up with discrimination,” business management professor Janine Aronson said.
A UGA spokeswoman said president Jere Morehead hasn’t reviewed the faculty council’s recommendation, which calls for making gender identity a specific protected category. Morehead must sign the recommendation for it to become effective.
