BLACKSBURG, Va. (AP) — Virginia Tech has added transgender students, faculty and staff to its policy banning discrimination.

The university also is restructuring its diversity initiatives.

The Roanoke Times (http://bit.ly/1yGYDdq ) reports that Virginia Tech President Timothy Sands announced both changes last week to about 400 employees.

Sands tells the newspaper the university wants to send a message that it is an inclusive campus. He says Virginia Tech often is stereotyped because of its rural location, its engineering and technical focus and its history as a predominantly white school.

The school’s Board of Visitors voted in September to revise the discrimination policy to protect gender identity and gender expression.

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Information from: The Roanoke Times, http://www.roanoke.com

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