Central to our efforts has been work to listen to and learn from our BAME students and colleagues, helping us to better understand how racism manifests at Loughborough and to identify measures that can be put in place to address racism.

Things we have done

• Ran an EDI staff survey focusing on Race and Gender, attracting over 1350 responses.
• Improved our reporting around racism and hate incidents, implementing an online reporting tool and improving the support we provide students. 
• Taken disciplinary action in cases involving racist behaviour. 
• Provided specific support to help black and Asian students secure placements. 
• Introduced anonymous coursework marking from the beginning of the academic year 2019/20, as a result of research carried out both at Loughborough and elsewhere, which included feedback from our black students. 
• Supported the reinvigorated BME staff group.
• Worked alongside LSU to host a range of events throughout Black History Month.

Things we will be doing

• Full analysis of the EDI survey:
  • Conducting focus groups prior to the agreement of actions in response to the findings of the survey. 
  • Results will be disseminated at both a School and University level. 
  • A report with the main findings and planned actions will be published on our internal website by the end of October 2020.
  • Continued work towards our REC submission. The University will be completing its REC submission by July 2021, culminating in the generation of a 3-year action plan to enable us to make progress towards eradicating racism at Loughborough.
  • Piloting the implementation of a ‘Race and racism reading and reflection group’ for white colleagues.
  • Engaging an external provider to provide bespoke Race Equality Training for University Senior Leadership.
  • Providing termly updates on the progress of our REC work. 
  • Implementing a transition module for all incoming students which will include an anti-racist section. 
  • Undertaking a review of curriculum to address white eurocentrism.

Notwithstanding the above, all those involved in this work acknowledge that there is still a significant way to go in order to eradicate racism at Loughborough. If you have any ideas, or wish to input then please contact REC@lboro.ac.uk.

If you would like to learn more about what you can do to become a race ally and make progress towards becoming anti-racist, please engage with the resources here.