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Willamette updates pronoun and gender identity options

by Andrea Doyle Hugmeyer,

Willamette University supports people of all gender and sexual identities in pursuit of their educational and professional goals. We continue striving to achieve inclusive practices in our community by giving students and employees opportunities to indicate their preferred name, pronouns, and gender identity if they choose. 

Creating a safe and respectful community means that we acknowledge there are some behaviors or situations where individuals experience heightened risk and vulnerability. This is often the case for transgender, genderqueer, or nonbinary individuals. Indicating pronouns and gender identity as a student or employee are small, but significant, actions that support the normalization of pronoun usage or gender identities. Such behaviors lead to more respectful interactions and foster a community where everyone feels affirmed and valued.

Pronoun and gender identity options have been updated for the new year. If you are a student or employee who has already submitted your information in either Workday or SAGE, you may want to update your information as more options are now available.

Pronoun options include:

  • She/her/hers
  • He/him/his
  • They/them/theirs
  • She/her or They/them
  • He/him or They/them
  • Other*
  • Prefer Not to Answer

*If someone’s pronouns are indicated as “other,” take the opportunity to kindly ask the student or employee how they would like to be addressed. 

Gender identity options include: 

  • Woman (Cis or Trans)
  • Man (Cis or Trans)
  • Trans Nonbinary
  • Nonbinary
  • Two Spirit
  • Genderqueer
  • Other
  • Prefer Not to Answer

For additional information about which computer applications will display pronouns, visit the WITS website. Employees can locate instructions here and students can find name updating instructions online.

If you would like more information about the usage of pronouns, support in understanding the concepts of gender identity and expression, or are a student needing more resources about name changes, updating ID cards, etc. please contact the Gender Resource & Advocacy Center at grac-info@willamette.edu.

About Willamette University

Our historic campus next to the State Capitol in Salem houses a renowned residential liberal arts college, and our downtown Portland campus houses the flagship Pacific Northwest College of Art. Professional graduate programs in Portland and Salem include the Northwest's oldest law school, Oregon's top-ranked MBA program, MA and MFA programs in the arts, writing and critical studies, and our Computing and Data Science program.

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