I am honoured to celebrate Professor Myrtle Emmanuel, whose work is underpinned by a deep commitment to social justice. Through her teaching, research and leadership at the University of Greenwich, she has challenged inequality and helped create an environment in which students, colleagues and communities can contribute and succeed.
Her approach begins in the classroom. Myrtle draws on students’ experiences and stories to inform teaching and the curriculum, encouraging them to become active participants in their education. Her collaborative approach challenges the assumption that knowledge should be understood through a predominantly European perspective.
Students from different backgrounds have embraced this work, and it has provided a model for teaching elsewhere within the university and beyond. By recognising what students bring to their studies, she helps create opportunities for their experiences to be heard and valued.
Her contribution has also supported efforts to reduce differences in degree outcomes between Black and White students. In Greenwich Business School, the awarding gap fell from 18 percentage points to six in 2025. Her work formed part of the wider effort to address these inequalities and advance the university’s Student Success Strategy.
Students have recognised her dedication through nominations and awards in the university’s Student Led Teaching Awards. In 2022, Greenwich Students’ Union also presented her with an Officer’s Choice Award.
Myrtle spearheaded the Decolonising Academic Pedagogy Special Interest Group, bringing staff and students together to identify and challenge Eurocentric biases in teaching, learning and course content. This has created a network through which colleagues can share ideas and develop more inclusive approaches.
She also helped develop participant-led “unconferences” involving postgraduate Human Resources students, academics, university leaders, professional services staff and employers. These events gave participants a more equal role in shaping discussion and exploring the future of their profession.
Topics included reimagining Human Resources and recognising differences that are too often devalued. The work helped shape institutional HR practices, build mentoring partnerships with companies and generate work-placement and internship opportunities.
Her commitment to racial equity extends across the university. Myrtle has played an important role in developing its Race Action Plan, contributing to work on equality policies, allyship and training. She also made a substantial contribution to the university’s achievement of a Bronze Race Equality Charter award.
The same commitment informs her research and community partnerships. As Principal Investigator on the Arts and Humanities Research Council-funded Re-igniting Windrush Folk Stories and Songs project, she has worked with partners to address disparities affecting African Caribbean communities.
These partners have included Greenwich and Lewisham councils, the Caribbean Social Forum, Partisan Media and Everyone’s a Singer. The work produced a mental health toolkit incorporating a short film and workshop plans, bringing cultural experiences and community perspectives into conversations about wellbeing and care.
Her contributions have also been integral to the Black Mental Health and Windrush Manifesto, presented to the UK Parliament. This reflects her determination that research should inform public discussion and bring attention to people whose experiences are too rarely heard.
In 2023, Myrtle led GRE Windrush 75: Connecting Generations, supported by National Lottery Awards for All funding. A Windrush film and intergenerational panels brought people together across Lewisham and Greenwich, strengthening connections through shared history and conversation.
The work led to further academic contributions and partnerships with the University of the West Indies to develop nursing exchanges and international placement opportunities.
Myrtle has also contributed to anti-racism work in policing. Her research has included reviewing evidence to inform Police Scotland’s Policing Together Strategy. She led knowledge-exchange events with Kent Police, culminating in the Medway Race Dialogue in February 2025, which brought together 80 stakeholders.
It is heartwarming to see her dedication recognised. Alongside student recognition, she has received university awards for inclusion and excellence and was Highly Commended at the Black Talent Awards in 2025. Recognition by the St Lucian High Commissioner as a leading figure in education and skills also led to an invitation to the King’s Garden Party in May 2025.
What connects these achievements is Myrtle’s determination to turn a commitment to fairness into practical change. She works with integrity and courage, bringing people together to challenge exclusion and create opportunities.
Professor Myrtle Emmanuel has made an outstanding contribution to Black Britain through her university, her community partnerships and her wider influence. I am proud to see her work honoured and confident that she will continue to make a difference through the knowledge, care and purpose she brings to everything she does.