The Roman Catholic institution Marquette University has pledged to offer medical, dental and vision benefits to the domestic partners of employees, starting next year, The Chronicle of Higher Education reported.
Officials at Marquette, which is based in Milwaukee, Wis., said they had been considering extending benefits to same-sex couples for years and applauded the move. They did, however, note that the decision was unrelated to recent publicized pressures from students and faculty members who advocated the benefit extension.