Loughborough University's Race Equity Timeline

2010

  • Respecting Diversity mandatory training at the University is reworked to better include race and LGBT+ matters

2014

  • Race Equality becomes part of formal discussions at the University

2015

  • Unconscious Bias courses are developed at the University in line with Athena Swan

2016

  • The University’s entry for the Race Equality Charter (REC) is proposed

2018

2019

  • Anti-racism module incorporated into the Ready, Set, Loughborough initiative for new students

2020

  • In response to the Black Lives Matter movement, a range of support initiatives are launched at the University, including:
    • A compassionate leave policy for BAME staff experiencing race-based stress
    • Additional funding provided to offer specific BAME counselling for staff
    • A change in the Mitigating Circumstances policy for students took away the requirement for supporting evidence if they were experiencing race-based stress
  • The Careers Network launches the Future Black Talent Programme
  • Alumnus Mike Wedderburn interviews members of the University’s Senior Leadership Team about their commitment to tackling racial inequality

2021

  • The first Race Equity Town Hall event takes place in October 2021
  • Loughborough University signs up to the Halo Code
  • Students invited to take part in survey and focus groups to discuss Race Equality at Loughborough
  • The CARE x Citizens UK anti-racist leadership training begins
  • University endorses the Race Equality Charter Action Plan
  • The BAME Staff Network produces the 10 Race Equity Guiding Principles
  • The BAME Student Council and Doctoral Researcher Consortium are launched to contribute to the race equity agenda at Loughborough
  • The University’s Race Equality Charter application is submitted

2022

2023

  • The EDI Operational Board is established
  • The EDI Committee is established
  • The first Black in Sport Summit takes place in March
  • The first BAME staff network conference takes place in June
  • The first African/Caribbean celebratory event is hosted by the BAME staff network
  • Denise Coles is voted as University Staff Member of the Year at the Loughborough Experience Awards for her EDI officer role
  • The first CITHEI conference takes place in July
  • Professor Sheryl Williams is appointed as Professor
  • Denise Coles is appointed as EDI Manager
  • Veronica Moore is appointed as EDI Director

2024

  • A partnership is established with The Race Equality Centre (TREC) in Leicester
  • The first anti-racism collaboration event at Loughborough Town Hall brought together University staff and students with local organisations
  • Veronica Moore (Director of EDI) has joined the University Executive Board to provide strategic EDI input (whilst the Pro-Vice Chancellor for EDI role is vacant)
  • An anti-racist working group is established as part of EDI governance structures
  • Richard Taylor (Chief Operating Officer) and Veronica Moore (Director of EDI) are appointed as University Leadership Group sponsors for REACH (Race, Ethnicity and Cultural Heritage) Staff Network 
  • The EDI Core plan is approved – including specific targets for improving race equity
  • Rakhee Patel, EDI Officer for Sex, Gender and Sexual Orientation, is nominated for a Vice Chancellor’s Award in EDI Enhancement
  • Professor Sheryl Williams, alongside colleagues from EDI Services, Access and Participation and Student Success Academy, are nominated for a Vice Chancellor’s Award for Enhancing the Student Academic Experience for pioneering a positive intervention programme to address the ethnicity degree awarding gap

2025

  • The representation of minority ethnic groups in the Council and Senate has increased from 9% and 17% in 2021 to 25% and 27% in 2025. Now, half of University committees have over 20% minority ethnic members - an important step toward more inclusive decision-making at all levels
  • Launch of an online EDI toolkit to support inclusive research cultures, developed by the Centre for Postdoctoral Development in Infrastructure, Cities and Energy (C-DICE) in collaboration with the Universities of Birmingham and Nottingham
  • Appointments of new EDI Principals and Associate Deans for EDI, driving progress, aligning with the University’s EDI Core Plan
  • Loughborough University is recognised as a University of Sanctuary, joining a network of UK universities that support refugees and people seeking asylum
  • Professor Rajkumar Roy and Professor Moataz Attallah joined the University Senior Leadership team as Dean of Wolfson School of Mechanical, Electrical and Manufacturing Engineering (MEME) and Dean of the School of Aeronautical, Automotive, Chemical and Materials Engineering (AACME), respectively
  • Ustadha Safra Razeek was appointed Muslim Chaplain in February
  • Executive Director of EDI Services, Veronica Moore, is appointed as trustee for Equality Action Loughborough, strengthening our partnerships with the local community
  • Loughborough's first Symposium for Anti-Racism was held in February 2025, to review progress, celebrate achievements and plan next steps to reinstate commitment to becoming an anti-racist institution