Author: Shaun Williams, Executive Director Engagement and Advancement
- UEB continued its discussions of the impact of cost of living and inflation on students and staff and how the University might respond. This week has also seen an announcement that the suspension of car parking charges will be extended until April 2023, and the introduction of a new interest-free Salary Advance scheme for staff. The University and Students’ Union have also made a range of support available to our students.
- The principal discussion this week was around our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion priorities, in the same week that we learned we have been awarded the Race Equality Charter (REC) Bronze Award by Advance HE. Recognising that we are very much still at the start of our journey, UEB discussed potential cross-cutting actions, particularly around student and staff recruitment and development, and which could accelerate our progress towards becoming a truly inclusive University community where we have a diverse student and staff population at all levels.
- There is a recognition that although we have comprehensive action plans underpinning the six different equality charters to which we are a signatory, we also need bolder, cross-cutting actions to address bigger picture issues around EDI and to ensure we achieve longer-term goals and aspirations. A number of options will now be developed for further discussion with the EDI Committee and UEB. UEB also heard that we hope shortly to be in a position to announce the appointment of an Associate Vice-President for EDI and Social Justice, a new role who will working with the University’s senior leadership team to develop individual and collective leadership of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion, and to act as a driving force in establishing and promoting routes for minority voices to contribute to the achievement of our EDI ambitions.
- There was a further update on the planned national industrial action by members of the University and College Union (UCU), relating to pay and working conditions, and changes to the USS pension scheme. Three days of industrial action have been announced for 24, 25 and 30 November. We will seek to minimise the impact of this action on our students.
- Finally, there was the regular review of the University Risk Register.