The last of Indiana's four publicly supported four-year universities will offer domestic partner benefits after January 1st. Kudos to Projector Chad Tew for pushing the University of Southern Indiana to institute partner benefits for LGBT employees; he's been a driving force behind the updated employee policies.

Effective Jan. 1, the University of Southern Indiana will offer full benefits to same-sex domestic partners of university employees.

The decision, made by outgoing USI President H. Ray Hoops, brings a conclusion to an issue that's been controversial on the West Side campus for more than a year.
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In a column published July 15, 2008, in the Courier & Press, Tew wrote that USI needed the policy change to remain "competitive as an employer with all of the other four-year state universities, as well as other universities in the region."

Tew also argued that the issue was one of fairness. "Those who can legally marry in Indiana can get benefits for their spouses. Those who cannot legally marry and who do the same work should be offered the same benefits for their partners that are currently present in the marketplace."