Historian named Staff Champion in Vice-Chancellor's Diversity Awards
Professor Jane Garnett of the History Faculty and Wadham College has been named Staff Champion in the Vice-Chancellor’s Diversity Awards.
The award announcement pays tribute to Professor Garnett’s transformative impact on equality, diversity and inclusion – both within the Humanities Division and across the University. It says: “Jane has promoted EDI for many years and successfully operates at all levels, from the interpersonal to the institutional. Among her many achievements she has created a robust EDI strategy for the Humanities Division, led the development of UK BME PGT Studentships and established the Divisional Culture Change Fund.
“Jane has been a driving force behind the interdisciplinary MSt in Women’s Studies (now 'Women's, Gender and Sexuality Studies') since its foundation and engages junior scholars in teaching and governance. At Wadham College, Jane has spearheaded numerous initiatives, supporting students individually and collectively, advocating for better support of care-experienced and estranged students and for a graduate disability scholarship.”
Professor Garnett said: “This is an award received on behalf of so many others with whom I have been privileged to work. Everything I have done has been in creative collaboration with others. Enhancing diversity is about self-renewal. It is a fundamental process of increasing critical awareness, challenging assumptions, making new connections and keeping open to learning. It is what being a university means.”
Two undergraduates in Humanities were also shortlisted for the award of Student Champion:
Krisha Hirani, an undergraduate in English Language and Literature: “Krisha is proactive in making Oxford a more inclusive space, frequently engaging with outreach and access, including as UNIQ Ambassador, Asian Heritage Ambassador and Outreach Ambassador. As a columnist for Cherwell, she discusses the beauty of shared language between Hindi and Urdu and the significance of food in culture. Krisha founded the Oxford University Asia Society to embrace Oxford’s Asian diaspora and to promote Oxford as a safe and inclusive space, welcoming non-Asian students and those who want to educate themselves. Krisha also celebrates her culture with those close to her, often cooking dishes that remind her of home and feeding over ten people.”
Georgia Dettmer, an undergraduate in English Language and Literature: “Georgina outlined diversity and inclusion as a central goal for her year as President of the Oxford University Dramatic Society and raised the benchmark for diversity, equality and access within Oxford’s student theatre community. She also founded the Quick Company, a student theatre company devoted to working with first-time actors, many of whom have experienced structural barriers to acting. It has become a staple part of Oxford drama, bridging a gap in a university society often associated with elitism. Georgina collaborated and supported the production 'Intimacies' from 2021-22, showcasing all-Black acting talent in a prominent Oxford space. Many of the cast have gone on to head up their own projects.”
In addition, other students and staff members in Humanities were nominated for the awards of Student and Staff Champion for their outstanding contributions to equality, diversity and inclusion work. They included:
- Christina de Bellaigue, Professor in the Faculty of History.
- Helen Swift, Professor of Medieval French (and the Division’s EDI lead).
- Javaria Abbasi, Madeleine Foote and Mary Newman, postgraduate students in the MML and History Faculties.
- Mohamed-Salah Omri, Professor of Arabic Literature
- Ray Cheung, undergraduate student in the Classics Faculty.
- Sadie Slater, Head of Administration and Finance in the English Faculty.
You can read more about the awards here: https://www.ox.ac.uk/about/oxford-people/vice-chancellors-diversity-awards
