The phrase “better late than never” springs to mind, but that would excuse the tardiness.

Oakland University added the phrases “gender identity” and “gender expression” to its equal opportunity policy, which guarantees equal benefits for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender employees.

“Inclusion of these terms further advances the university’s commitment to diversity and inclusion and fosters a campus community where all are respected and valued,” said Joi Cunningham, director of university diversity and compliance.

Tim Larrabee, the LGBTQA Employee Resource Group chair, said the policy provides recourse for employees in the event they feel discriminated against.

“People have protections that they didn’t have before,” Larrabee said.

Policy 712, “which defines the University’s goals for diversity and inclusiveness and the roles and responsibilities of all faculty and staff in achieving those goals,” was updated in October.

The insertion of those two phrases had been cause for debate since at least during last year’s faculty negotiations, when equality for the LGBTQ community became a sticking point.

Following a campaign that sent 800 postcards to OU President Gary Russi’s office, the president said at a March 2 Board of Trustees meeting that he fully supported the policy change and Cunningham said she expected the policy to be changed by fall.

At a faculty forum held a week later, Russi instructed Cunningham to work with Larrabee to develop a policy that reflects university support for the LGBTQ community.

Larrabee said he’s been working to get such a non-discrimination policy passed since he came to OU in 2004.

When the administrative change was finally made in October, however, it flew under the radar.

A Nov. 3 press release from OU simply listed policies that were either updated, new or deleted, without any additional details.

Plus, OU, which has been on top of social media as of late, never sent word out via Facebook or Twitter. An OU student wrote on Oakland University’s Facebook page on Nov. 18 to announce it. OU commented back, linking to an article by Between The Lines,  an LGBT publication.

Larrabee said the administrative policy doesn’t have any legal binding, but the Board of Trustees, whose next formal session is Dec. 9, will be looking into an Equal Opportunity Policy soon.

The board passing a policy, Larrabee said,  is “a more arduous task” as it would be legally binding and therefore entail bargaining contracts and negotiations.

Still, he said he doesn’t expect push back from the board.

All the same, we hope the board is able to quickly pass a policy that is a long time coming.

While the rest of us promise ourselves to lose 10 pounds, quit smoking or study more in 2011, let’s applaud OU for the steps they’ve taken so far and hope they resolve to finish the deal.