Rockway Institute 

A National Center for LGBT Research & Public Policy

Robert-Jay Green, PhD Executive Director, Rockway Institute

Mission Statement

The nonpartisan Rockway Institute brings together scientific research and professional expertise to counter antigay prejudice and inform public policies affecting lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people. The Institute's view is that public opinion, policies, and programs should be shaped by the facts about LGBT lives, not by political ideology. A primary goal is to organize the most knowledgeable social scientists, mental health professionals, and physicians in the United States to provide accurate information about LGBT issues to the media, legislatures, and courts. The Institute also conducts targeted research projects to address the nation's most pressing LGBT public policy questions.

Focus of the Institute’s Activities

To carry out these programs, the Institute draws on the expertise of its 19-member National Advisory Board, 13 core faculty members at Alliant International University (the largest nonprofit training institution for professional psychologists in the US), and a large group of professionals located throughout the country. We deploy these experts to provide accurate information to the media, legislatures, and the courts. More generally, the Institute serves as a “go-to” resource for other organizations that need experts and research information about LGBT issues in their public education and advocacy activities. Areas of expertise include:

• Same-sex couples (including same-sex marriage, civil unions, and domestic partnerships)
• Lesbian and gay parenting and child development (including adoption and child custody)
• LGBT youth and school issues (including family acceptance, harassment in schools, suicide)
• Evaluating “conversion therapies” and claims by the “ex-gay” movement
• Mental health and substance abuse in LGBT populations
• Discrimination in employment, housing, healthcare, and immigration
• Violent hate crimes against LGBT persons and others perceived to be LGBT
• Behavioral and educational aspects of HIV treatment and prevention
• Religious participation and beliefs among LGBT people
• Aging and the LGBT population

The Rockway Name

The institute is named in memory of the late Alan Rockway, a pioneering psychologist who helped write and defend the first lesbian and gay employment non-discrimination ordinance to be approved in a major urban area in the US (Dade County, Florida, 1977). Passage of this ordinance became a major public event in LGBT history because of the widely televised efforts by Anita Bryant, Jerry Falwell and their antigay followers to repeal it. Dr. Rockway also started two of the nation's first LGBT mental health programs—in Miami, Florida, and Berkeley, California.

Two Ways to Donate

The Rockway Institute, which relies on private donations and grants for its operations, is grateful for your support. You may choose to donate via mail or securely by credit card online:

• To donate online:
  Click this link, which will take you to the Network for Good page for making donations to Alliant.  Fill out the form online, and type “Rockway Institute” in the box for "Designation."
• To mail a donation:
  Tax-deductible contributions also can be made by check payable to “Alliant International University" (specifying "Rockway Institute" in the memo line) or by credit card information mailed along with a completed donation form.)

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For Further Information, Please Contact:

Rockway Institute
Alliant International University
1 Beach Street, Suite 100
San Francisco, CA 94133-1221
Tel: (415) 955-2115
Email: rockway@alliant.edu
Website: http://rockway.alliant.edu