Professor Larra Anderson is our Inclusion Champion for Race and to mark Black History Month, we spoke to her about what motivated her to take on the role of Race Champion and her key goals for advancing equality and inclusion for Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic students, faculty, and staff.
What motivated you to take on the role of Race Champion, and what personal experiences have influenced your passion for diversity and inclusion work?
I am aware of inequities that people of colour face in their daily lives and believe that my passion for racial equity and inclusion has to be based on empathy and information. My early childhood exposed me to Black American culture when I attended a school soon after the Civil Rights Act, where I was the only non-Black child. This experience sparked an ongoing awareness of both difference and my own gaps in understanding. During that same period, my father’s mentor - who was the first, and at that time only, Black professor at his university - also showed me how individuals can share institutions yet have very different experiences within them.
During graduate school, I served as Director of Photography on a short film called Black Like Who, which explored personal experiences of race - particularly in educational settings - across the U.S. This project was led by an African American filmmaker and involved a multi-racial crew. Our conversations, contrasting my childhood experiences with hers of being the only Black child in otherwise white schools, deepened my understanding of how allyship and empathy can connect people across different backgrounds. Further work producing media segments for the ‘Lawson Live’ television programme which was hosted by the Reverend James Lawson, who studied with Gandhi and helped bring non-violent resistance into the heart of the Civil Rights Movement, also helped broaden that understanding.
Experiencing gender and sexuality-based bias and harassment as a female and queer person also heightened my understanding and therefore commitment to equity for all. My film career was heavily shaped by this bias, despite some strong credentials. Men with equivalent ones had different professional opportunities, while my female peers and I universally struggled. These parallels across different forms of discrimination underscore the broader need for systemic changes.
I am more than aware that my experiences of my own discrimination and empathy are not enough. My partner is originally from Iran and I have and continue to stand in witness to his own experiences, but I understand that further information, history, continuing education, and influence by others’ personal narratives is just as important. I’ve continued to learn through the works of authors like Bell Hooks, Ta-Nehisi Coates, and Reni Eddo-Lodge, and I have just started reading Leading from the Margins: College Leadership from Unexpected Places by Dr. Mary Dana Hinton, President of Hollins University. Her book examines the uneven experience of women, people of colour, and those from disadvantaged backgrounds in attaining leadership positions—yet also highlights the tremendous benefits of bringing “marginal” perspectives to the forefront in leadership, especially in higher education institutions.
Looking ahead, what are some of your key goals as the Race Champion for advancing equality and inclusion for Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic students, faculty, and staff?
In my experience, every higher education institution has its own culture, challenges, and opportunities. To be an effective Race Champion, I need to understand these specifics especially by engaging with staff through the Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic and Global forums and practicing “working empathy.” This involves not just feeling empathy but actively listening, asking questions, and trying to comprehend both individual and group experiences.
I realise that allyship from outside a community is different from lived experience, but my own career greatly benefited from mentors who believed in creating opportunities for women and those from underrepresented backgrounds. One of my earliest mentors, Professor Bill Dill—only the second Black cinematographer invited into the American Society of Cinematographers—recognised parallels between our experiences and supported my progress. I hope to extend that same understanding to our Black Asian and Minority ethnic staff and students.
For students, my priority is to ensure equal opportunities for achievement and address barriers that prevent students who are ethnic minorities in the UK from reaching their full potential. This work is part of our Access and Participation Plan, and I intend to keep pushing for systemic changes in education across the University which positively impact these students especially.
For staff, I want to listen closely to colleagues about their specific experiences here rather than assuming I already know the issues. I plan to review our current commitments, determine what’s been accomplished, and clarify what still needs to be done. Drawing on lessons from other institutions—particularly around hiring and promotions—can help us diversify applicant pools and ultimately transform the composition of our workforce.
How important is representation in leadership positions, and what can universities do to ensure more Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic voices are in decision-making roles?
Representation in leadership is critical: organisations thrive when they genuinely value diverse perspectives. Yet in academia, a “blocked pipeline” too often prevents Black Asian and Minority ethnic individuals - particularly Black students - from progressing into academia, much less getting to leadership roles within universities. Professor Robert Mokaya, who is the UK’s only Black professor of chemistry, describes this phenomenon:
“If you look at the number of students from Black heritage who are undergraduates, that is healthy - and actually there’s an overrepresentation, I would suggest. But then that pipeline…to more senior levels becomes much, much more challenging. It feels like that pipeline is blocked. Many people have looked at it, and many people have offered solutions, but now there is a need to actually bring about that change, so that higher education is more representative of the population.”
As the first Black president of the Royal Society of Chemistry his words remind us that although the problem is complex, we must turn proposed solutions into real action.
I’m hopeful that our Access and Participation Plan will help narrow success-opportunity gaps for our Black Asian and Minority ethnic students, increasing their pathways into postgraduate education and therefore have more opportunities for future academic roles. But as far as entering leadership is concerned, I believe that mentorship is key: it can open doors and equip emerging leaders with the confidence, skills, and networks they need to advance. By systematically nurturing global majority talent, universities can break down structural barriers and ensure more inclusive, forward-thinking leadership.
What steps can universities take to move beyond symbolic gestures during Black History Month and enact meaningful, long-term change for Black students and faculty?
As part of Black History month in 2023, I attended a lecture by Professor Jonathan Saha from Durham University entitled 'Six Lessons from Reports into Racism in UK Higher Education' where he looked into all of the most up-to-date research into this very issue. His suggestion to senior leadership was that rather than coming up with further action plans that universities take the opportunity to review their current list of commitments in this area and do an audit of activities and thereby measure their success - before embarking on any new action plans, as often it is a lack of action on those that have already been identified that are the challenge to success in this area. I’ll be discussing this approach with our Director of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion, Elaine Brown, to evaluate ongoing projects and identify ways to strengthen them. By consciously auditing our current efforts, we can gauge which strategies work best and which need to be rethought.
