Resources

The EDI Research Fund was introduced in 2020-2021 and two awards were made to support Research in this area:

The following colleagues were awarded EDI awards in 2020-2021:

Award winners for Championing EDI 

Yvonne Cornejo nominated by Cristina Hidalgo-Orihuela and Andrea Pastor-Torres 

“constant efforts to make us aware of the differences of learning among our students and the need to adapt our teaching to make it accessible to all.  

“shared good practice and suggested ad hoc bibliography to all members of the team…consistently highlighted webinars and workshops about Neurodiversity and teaching, assessment or related matters taking place online. “ 

James Esson nominated by Heike Jons and Sarah Mills 

“Founding and running the BAME staff network as a co-leader has not only raised the profile of BAME staff in the School and across the university…supported both colleagues and students with diverse cultural backgrounds and contributed in very important ways to their empowerment in research, teaching and academic as well as professional service and management.” 

“his work on the Race Equality Charter, and a recent collaborative project and report on the attainment gap and student experience. His external leadership in this area has been recognised by a Royal Geographical Society award for his contributions to teaching and learning in higher education, exemplified in his excellent work with the RACE working group of the RGS-IBG.” 

Emma Nadin nominated by Gillian Collard  

“Chair of The Staff Inclusivity Group... for any member of staff who identifies as having or being affected by physical or invisible disabilities.  The Group meets regularly throughout the year and provides a forum for members of staff affected by physical or invisible disabilities, allowing them to raise issues and seek support.”   

“plays a fundamental role in increasing the profile of the group and ensuring its commitment to raising awareness of both physical and mental disabilities as well as making positive suggestions to improve current practices and policies at Loughborough University. Emma has also recently volunteered to join the EDI committee representing the Inclusivity Group and Professional services.” 

Elizabeth Peel nominated by Steve Rothberg   

“her leadership in creating LEADING (Loughborough Equality Diversity and Inclusion Networked research Group) initiative. LEADING aims to foster collaboration on EDI research across disciplines and Schools, and raise the profile of Loughborough’s EDI research nationally and internationally.”  

“LEADING’s origins are in the University People Strategy and the possibility of a research network was raised towards the end of 2019. Since then we have seen the differential effects on the careers of women in lockdown and, of course, the powerful emergence of the Black Lives Matter movement. What was an important initiative back in 2019 now incorporates some of the defining matters of our times.” 

Team award for EDI Support for Students category goes to the Language Centre 

Some of the many personal citations for Language Centre staff received are shared below. The EDI Committee decided that, because of the many staff from this team nominated, and because of the collaborative way in which they have approached supporting students, that a Team Award is most appropriate. 

Birthe Richter-Wilson “always been very aware of the needs of neurodiverse students and has adapted her teaching in a consistent and constant fashion over the past few years. She has attended a number of courses including a four-week course on teaching students with dyslexia and has been applying and sharing the outcomes, for example developing a multi-sensory approach to support students with special learning differences.”  

Cristina Hidalgo-Orihuela “for the huge efforts to develop all her materials in line with best practice across the board”. 

Andrea Pastor-Torres “reflects a diverse range of cultures in her teaching and is extremely creative in designing multisensory, playful materials – to suit all learners.”  

Michel Cornette  “his commitment with students' effective learning goes above and beyond… Michel worked closely with one of his students who was hard of hearing to meet his needs… it has been impressive to see how Michel managed to adapt the aural comprehension test effectively.” 

Elizabeth Mavroudi and Iris Wigger gave 2 presentations on ‘Enhancing the student experience through building a diverse community’.

• Elizabeth Mavroudi focused on ‘Inclusive teaching and teaching for neurodiversities’ and
• Iris Wigger talked about ‘Reflections and discussion on Broadening, Diversifying and Decolonising the Curriculum’

If any colleagues have any ideas for training they would like to see then please contact the EDI Leads who would like to encourage all colleagues to undertake any relevant EDI training. Relevant University-wide EDI training can be found on the Organisational Development Hub.

All EDI SSH training events were held in a hybrid form (i.e. online and in person) and will continue to be. PPTs of these talks are available on the SSH intranet under people and culture.

The second such event happened virtually in January 2021.Colleagues from Loughborough shared their expertise in incorporating EDI matters in the classroom. David Roberts (SBE) shared tips on making our teaching as accessible as possible to neurodiverse students. James Esson (Geog) and Catherine Armstrong (POLIS) reflected on racial inclusivity, and Sarah Williamson (CAP) shared some practical tips on making our online learning as inclusive as possible to all.

At a separate event in September 2020, David Wilson (pronouns they/them) ran a virtual training session for all staff and PhD students in the School of Social Sciences and Humanities. We discussed the following questions:

• What do the terms ‘trans’ and ‘nonbinary’ mean?
• What are the challenges that LGBTQ students and colleagues face in our workplace?
• How do I support LGBTQ students and colleagues?
• As a cis gendered person, what can I do to be an ally?
• How can I talk about gender and sexuality without causing offence?
• How do I identify and challenge transphobic language and behaviour?

The Barbara Bagilhole Memorial Award is a School-wide prize, founded by Professor Line Nyhagen in 2017 to celebrate students’ work in Equality and Diversity. It is named after Professor Barbara Bagilhole, a Professor of Social Policy and Equal Opportunities at Loughborough University who contributed to ground-breaking EDI-related research on gender inequalities in the construction industry.

The 2019 Barbara Bagilhole essay prize was awarded by Professor Rachel Thomson (pro-vice Chancellor for Teaching), Professor Nick Clifford (Dean of the School of Social Sciences and Humanities) and Dr Catherine Armstrong (School Lead for Equality, Diversity and Inclusion). The prize winners were Flora Jacobs (part C, Politics with a Minor) and Simi Kolajo (part B, Geography). Flora’s essay explored the role of and perception of women in the 2016 US presidential election, while Simi’s work undertook textual analysis of the film I am Slave.

The 2020 prize was presented in Autumn 2020 by Professor Rachel Thomson, Professor Darren Smith and Dr Catherine Armstrong to Catriona Fida (English) for an essay on gender presentation and identity in contemporary literature.

The 2020 nominations were judged by Dr Richard Bramwell (chair), Dr Alena Pfoser and Dr Fran Azpitarte.  

The winners of the 2021 Prize were awarded at a ceremony held by the School of Social Sciences and Humanities on 25 July. The ceremony was led by the Dean of the School, Professor Lisanne Gibson, and Pro Vice-Chancellor (Education and Student Experience), Professor Rachel Thomson.

New for this year, the prize was split into two categories: Best Student Paper and Best Other Academic Coursework.  

The two winners of the Best Student Paper were:

• Georgina Bryant – ‘Climate Change, Migration, and Injustice’
• Tosin Asaye – ‘What are the most significant ways in which slavery and its legacy has impacted the lives of people of the African diaspora in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries?’

The panel said both essays were extremely well-researched and stood out due to the nuance and complexity of their arguments, as well as the quality of presentation.

Allegra Oduah won the Best Other Academic Coursework for their blog entry ‘Growing up mixed race’. The judges described it as a reflective, well-researched and critical analysis of pervasive racism that interweaves personal experiences with insights from academic literature.

The judging panel were impressed by the quality of submissions received this year and the breadth of EDI related topics addressed.

The EDI committee meets formally 5 times a year. If there is anything colleagues feel should be raised or discussed then please contact the EDI leads.

Within the EDI committee, the EDI leads have also created new working groups around gender, race and disability with EDI committee members belonging to at least 1; these smaller groups meet regularly to discuss relevant issues.

The EDI committee has decided to open up each of these working groups to all colleagues in SSH under what we are calling ‘extended working groups’. This will provide an opportunity for SSH colleagues to share their voice and opinions and to participate in discussions specifically around gender, race and disability. Please contact the EDI Leads if you wish to join one of these extended working groups or have any questions about them. 

The EDI Leads send around EDI Newsletters very few months via email on updates, events and funding opportunities. The newsletters are also available on the SSH Intranet, People and Culture Page

EDI informal chats: The EDI leads hold informal EDI chats roughly once a month which are open to all colleagues. These are an opportunity for colleagues to share any views, raise any issues or ask any questions. These are held online or in a hybrid way and are put on the School Calendar. The EDI Leads also let colleagues know beforehand via email.

Athena Swan: Marco Pino is now the Athena Swan Champion for SSH, with the assistance of Elizabeth Mavroudi. Iris Wigger and the rest of the EDI committee will also be involved where necessary. Marco Pino and Elizabeth Mavroudi are responsible for updating the SSH Athena Swan action plan.

SSH has a Race Equity action plan which is updated by the EDI Leads and members of the race working group.

There is also an SSH EDI action plan which is updated by the EDI Leads.

Elizabeth Mavroudi is currently creating a SSH disability action plan.

All action plans can be found on the SSH intranet under People and Culture.