Mission Impossible?: towards a racially just higher education

About this Event

UK higher education has been subject to heightened scrutiny in recent months regarding its engagement with race and racism. This keynote lecture examines the nature of this criticism in light of the speaker’s own research on Black female Professors. It considers whether the sector is ready to think critically about advancing racial justice and whether it is genuinely committed to improving the experiences and success of its Black and minority ethnic faculty, staff and students.

About the speaker
Dr Nicola Rollock is an academic, consultant and public speaker specialising in racial justice in education and the workplace. She was appointed, at the start of 2019, as the Specialist Adviser to the Home Affairs’ Select Committee inquiry – the Macpherson Report 20 Years On – which is examining whether there has been progress in meeting the 70 recommendations published in 1999.

Her most recent research examines the career experiences and strategies of UK Black female Professors, the findings of which were widely covered in the press including WonkHE, The Guardian, Stylist magazine and British Vogue.

Nicola is a member of the Wellcome Trust’s Diversity & Inclusion Steering Group and the British Science Association’s Equality, Diversity & Inclusion Advisory Group. She is also a judge for the JP Morgan sponsored ‘Stories of Black Leadership’ series which showcases successful Black female leaders and for the Powerlist of Britain’s most influential people of African and African Caribbean heritage.