The University at Buffalo strives to provide as many resources as possible to allow individuals to be identified as they identify themselves.
On June 8, 2022, the State University of New York (SUNY) Board of Trustees directed all 64 SUNY campuses, including UB, to update their policies regarding the use of a chosen name and pronouns to ensure that transgender, gender non-conforming, and non-binary students' identities are fully reflected and represented in campus systems. This historic change is the next step taken in SUNY's mission to create a more diverse, equitable, and inclusive environment for students within the LGBTQIA+ community.
The full announcement can be found on the SUNY website.
Everyone has the right to be addressed and referred to by the chosen name and pronouns that correspond to their gender identity, including the use of non-binary pronouns (e.g., they/them).
Students can enter their pronouns into HUB and have those pronouns displayed in the system.
More information, including details about where pronouns appear in University systems, is available on the Office of the Registrar website.
A gender marker represents an individual's gender identity, most commonly in the abbreviations F (female), M (male), or X (non-binary, intersex, or gender non-conforming). Some of UB's data systems have the ability to capture gender identity information in addition to legal sex demographic data.
UB students can update their gender identity marker in the HUB Student Center under the biographical tab. More information is available on the Office of the Registrar website.
UB Faculty and Staff can update their gender marker in the on-line Employee Demographic Survey.
Gender identity marker data is confidential personal information and may only be accessed by a limited number of users within the University.
According to the Oxford Dictionary, an honorific is a title or word implying or expressing respect.
Terms like Mr., Miss, Mrs. and Ms. are all honorifics traditionally based on gender or marital status. Gendered honorifics become problematic for individuals who identify as non-binary.
The University is working toward including more gender-neutral honorific and salutation options in student and employee systems such as M. and Mx.
New York State Civil Rights Law Section 79-Q requires New York State agencies, including UB, to allow individuals the option to mark their sex or gender as "x" whenever data about sex or gender is collected. Where applicable federal law requires the University to collect sex or gender data as either "m" or "f", UB must create a separate field to allow individuals to have the option to mark their gender or sex as "x.”
UB has assembled a team representing UB Information Technology, Student Life, Human Resources, the Office of the Registrar, the Office of Institutional Analysis, and the Office of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion to promote compliance with this requirement. Our progress is reflected in the New York Civil Rights Law Section 79-Q Compliance Plan.
While UB has identified and updated major systems and processes in compliance with Section 79-Q, there may be areas that are not yet updated. You may notify EDI of areas that do not yet allow for an "x" option through EDI's Contact Form.
