Goshen College will now hire openly GLBTQ people and offer benefits to an employee’s same-sex spouse after the college updated its non-discrimination policy to expand protections to people based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

The updated policy was announced Monday, July 20, and came after much prayer, consideration and conversation involving college leaders and key stakeholders, according to 95.3 MNC’s news partners The Elkhart Truth.

The college previously hired gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and queer/questioning individuals, but school officials expected those employees to remain celibate, according to The Elkhart Truth.

That policy in 2014 led to Tabi Berkey’s decision to resign from her job as a librarian at Goshen College because she often worried that she would be fired if someone found out that she was a lesbian, according to previous reporting from The Elkhart Truth.

Goshen College’s new policy puts a focus on hiring the best people who will help the college live out its core values and mission, according to a news release from the college.

Read the full text of the updated policy and more in the full story from The Elkhart Truth.