Simpson College in Indianola was recently awarded the Partner in Progress Award from Iowa Safe Schools for its efforts in protecting the safety and well-being of its LGBTQ students. According to a news release, after receiving a grant in 2022 from the Office on Violence Against Women aimed at reducing sexual assault, school officials recognized the heightened risk faced by LGBTQ students. Jordan Mix, director of educational programming at Iowa Safe Schools, partnered with the private, four-year liberal arts college to earn the OVW grant and later served as an LGBTQ content expert on the college’s coordinated community response team. “When Simpson was awarded the grant, I was truly impressed by the level of buy-in from all areas of the campus,” Mix said in the release. “From campus security to faculty and students, from college athletics to college leadership — every stakeholder made it a priority to learn how to better support LGBTQ students. They approached this work with open hearts and a genuine desire to create a safer, more inclusive campus for everyone.”