Exploring perspectives on racial inequalities in higher education, this RACE.ED event will invite local and broader reflections on the Race Equality Charter, locating it within the wider context of racial inequalities in higher education today. Beginning with an overview of key findings from the recently published Race Equality Charter Review, the session will consider how the Charter, managed by Advance HE, provides a framework through which institutions work to identify and self-reflect on institutional impediments for minoritised staff and students. How and in what ways might the Charter address the challenge it sets itself, and what are the obstacles in doing so? This 90 minute symposium will bring together a series of reflections on these questions, and invite audience discussion and feedback.

Advance HE’s Race Equality Charter (REC) provides a framework through which institutions work to identify and self-reflect on institutional and cultural barriers standing in the way of Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic staff and students.

Speakers:

Dr Paul Ian Campbell (University of Leicester)

Dr Paul Ian Campbell is an award winning academic and lecturer in the Sociology of race and inclusion at the University of Leicester. His first monograph won the BSA Philip Abrams Prize in 2017 and he has published widely on the areas of race, identity and inclusion. He has led on a number of HE Race Equality and Education projects, including Tackling Racial Inequalities in Assessment. His current TASO funded project evaluates the University of Leicester Decolonizing the Curriculum Toolkit in relation to its effectiveness for improving the relatability of courses to the lived experiences of students from minority ethnic backgrounds, improving minority ethnic students’ satisfaction and in addressing the award gap between minority ethnic and white students. Paul is also Chair of the University of Leicester Race Equality Action Group.

Dr Ashlee Christoffersen (University of Edinburgh)

Dr Ashlee Christoffersen is a Research Fellow and RACE.ED Early Career Co-Lead at the University of Edinburgh. Ashlee’s research is concerned with the historic and contemporary operationalisation of the Black feminist theory of intersectionality in equality policy and practice: its influence and possibilities, as well as the discursive and material resistance it faces. Formerly, Ashlee was a Researcher at the Equality Challenge Unit (now Advance HE). As an independent consultant she contributed to the Phase 1 Review of REC led by Dr Nicola Rollock, and completed the recent Phase 2 Review with Freya Douglas Oloyede and Tinu Cornish.

Tanatsei Gambura (University of Edinburgh)

Tanatsei Gambura (she/they) is an intermedia artist and cultural practitioner working transnationally. She draws from personal experience, exploring black phenomenology through an anti-colonial and indigenous lens. At the University of Edinburgh, Tanatsei is a project coordinator for UncoverED, a Mastercard Foundation Scholar and a student on the BA Hons Intermedia Art program through Edinburgh College of Art.

Johanna Holtan (University of Edinburgh)

Johanna Holtan is the Program Director of the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program and Co-Convenor of the Race Equality and Anti-Racist Group at the University of Edinburgh. She is also the co-founder of CycleHack, TEDx Portobello and TEDx University of Edinburgh, and currently a Director of the social enterprise Tribe Porty.

Dr Emily Sena (University of Edinburgh)

Dr Emily Sena is a Stroke Association Kirby Laing Foundation Senior Non-Clinical Lecturer in the Centre for Clinical Brain Sciences at the University of Edinburgh. She is passionate about race equality, diversity, inclusion and intersectionality. She is a convenor of The Edinburgh Race Equality Network (EREN), a network for Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) staff and allies committed to creating an environment where race is celebrated and everyone is treated fairly.

Dr Arun Verma (Advance HE)

Dr Arun Verma is the Head of the Race Equality Charter at Advance HE and recently appointed Fellow for the RSA. After completing his PhD exploring intersecting identities in the context of student retention and success in health professions education. Arun has gone onto to integrate and embed anti-racist and intersectional approaches into evidence and learning to inform the re-design of local government services (i.e. domestic violence and mental health). He has worked on national and global programmes to integrate anti-racism and intersectionality to enact change for the most marginalised and deprived communities whilst integrating innovative participatory practice and action for sustainable social change. He is currently working on publishing a guidebook, Anti-racism in Higher Education: An Action Guide for Change, and co-editing the book, Racism in the Aid Sector: An Intersectional Analysis.

Co-chaired by:

Professor Nasar Meer (University of Edinburgh)

Professor Nasar Meer is Director of RACE.ED, and Professor of Race, Identity and Citizenship in the School of Social and Political Science at the University of Edinburgh. Nasar works across a number of related topics that include race and social theory, public policy and how collective membership is conceived and operationalised at city and national levels, as well as theories of action that explain self-definition and political participation.

Dr Omolabake Fakunle (Moray House School of Education, University of Edinburgh)

Dr Omolabake Fakunle is Chancellor's Fellow and Coordinator of the MSc Education General Pathway at Moray House School of Education. She is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. She is a member of the Moray House School of Education, EDI sub-group on Race Equality (2020-21), and a Steering Group member, Institute for Advanced Studies in the Humanities (IASH) Project on Decoloniality (2021-2024). Labake is co-convener ECR Network, Scottish Educational Research Association (SERA), and International Advisory Board Member, Journal of Comparative and International Higher Education (JCIHE). Her award-winning research explores the intersection of internationalisation, inclusivity, employability and education policy. Labake widely disseminates her work via peer-reviewed journals, blogs and as invited speaker at international conferences, seminars, and webinars. She has led and worked with multi-disciplinary teams on national and multi-national qualitative and mixed-method research projects. She is currently PI of a Principal Teaching Award Scheme (PTAS) funded project examining notions of inclusiveness in internationalisation.