Bath Spa University’s vision is to be a leading
university in creativity, culture and enterprise.
Through inspirational teaching and research,
we transform students’ lives. Based in a World
Heritage city and connected to a network of
international partners, Bath Spa University
will ensure that its graduates are socially
engaged global citizens.
We are committed to providing a learning,
working and social environment in which
the rights and dignity of all its members
are respected, and which is free from
discrimination, prejudice, intimidation and all
forms of harassment including bullying. We
look to engage and support, students, staff and
the wider community through our Diversity
Champions, policies, online tools, training and
events run throughout the year.
We held our first Equality and Diversity Week
from 26th - 30th October 2015, which was a
blend of events to mark international black
history month and to celebrate the excellent
work Higher Education undertakes around
equality and diversity issues.
Events included film ‘Girls in the Band’,
followed by discussion with female Jazz singer,
Joan Davis, Presentation and discussion
sessions, such as Dr Victoria Showunmi ‘So
Who Am I?’, exploring the notion of gender,
race, class and identify through the lens of
‘difference’. The week was drawn to a close
with our Students Union hosting documentary
maker Fox Fisher, who presented short films
from his project My Genderation, a film
project set up to record the experiences of
gender variance. Fox also brought along
friend and special guest Jack Monroe, writer,
journalist and activist to further add insight to
discussion and debate around gender.
The University Library has played an integral
part as a champion for Diversity issues,
launching a thought provoking project
entitled Reads & Rights - celebrating equality
and diversity in the library collections. The
project runs throughout the academic year
2015/16. Each month the campaign focuses
on a specific theme including race, gender
reassignment, disability, religion and beliefs,
sexual orientation, gender, dyslexia, and
mental health. Crowdsourcing ideas from the
University community and beyond, asking
the question: ‘Thinking about equality and
diversity, which books or people do you
feel have been most influential in changing
attitudes and beliefs in society or have had an
impact on you personally?’
spring 2015
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