The most recent Diversity Mark Awards, organised by Student Success (Central) team and presided over by William Collier (Director of Education Directorate), took place on Wednesday 1st November 2023 at the University of Kent’s Canterbury campus.
This annual event has been established in order to celebrate the collaborative work of participant convenors, their associated Diversity Mark Officers (DMO) and divisional liaison librarians on ensuring that the modules offer a diverse reading list, value the student voice and ultimately offer a more inclusive learning experience for all.
The Diversity Mark Award was presented to:
- Dr Margrethe Bruun Vaage and Dibra Thapa Magar (DMO) for module FILM6350 Film, Politics and Identity (Division of Arts and Humanities)
- Iain MacKenzie and Bunmi Omojuwa (DMO) for module POLI6890 Who do you think you are? (Division of Natural Sciences). (Unfortunately, Bunmi was unable to attend the event).
- Professor Robert Green and Paige Sharma (DMO)for modules FSCI3010 Introduction to Forensic Science and FSCI6120 Advanced Topics in Forensic Science (Division of Natural Sciences)
- Lucy Panesar and Rachel Gefferie (Senior DMO) for module UELT8330 The Inclusive University (Centre for the Study of Higher Education)
William Collier, Director of the Education Directorate stated: “It was a pleasure to be at the Awards ceremony today and be part of the celebrations that recognise all the hard work and dedication of these convenors and the Diversity Mark team. Diversity Mark is key to enhancing inclusivity, identity, and academic performance at the University of Kent. It ensures that the Student Voice is heard, demonstrates that a diverse curriculum matters, is proactive towards narrowing the awarding gap, and contributes towards the University’s Access and Participation goals. A very positive experience for all involved and a programme which I hope will continue to flourish with the enthusiastic support of all those involved in Student Success.”
Dr Margrethe Bruun Vaage commented: “I’m so grateful for the way Rachel and Dibra have helped me reflect on how I can make my module more inclusive and diverse. It has been reassuring for me to engage in this process, in the sense that it was a confirmation to me as convenor that the work I have put in so far is on the right track, and also really helpful to get feedback on what I can do in the future to improve my module further. This is a fantastic opportunity for lecturers to work on their modules in a collaborative and supportive atmosphere with a team with excellent expertise. It has been a rewarding learning process that has made me more confident in exploring further changes to my teaching practice.”
Iain MacKenzie added: “The Diversity Mark process is a wonderful opportunity to deepen one’s reflective practice with the aid of structured and thoughtful interventions from colleagues and students. As a political theorist who was taught the canon of dead white Western men, but who then had his eyes opened by feminist interventions in the history of ideas, the Diversity Mark conversations encouraged me to continue in this vein both by enabling students to bring their own sense of what makes them different into the classroom and by ensuring that they were then met by a newly diversified reading list which gave priority to critical thinkers from minoritized cultures and the global south. It is, of course, just the beginning.”
All the convenors have found this to be a truly positive and rewarding experience. Professor Bob Green affirmed: “Actually, for me Diversity Mark has been the catalyst to thoroughly review all my materials (above and beyond the reading list/diverse resources), after reflecting on the reviewers’ comments. As a result, my materials are immeasurably better in respect of student engagement and well-being, opportunities for interaction and feedback now much more at the forefront, as well as being able to promote opportunities for student voice and taking forward ideas particularly from BAME students. Our Padlet of diverse resources is regularly kept up-to-date and keeps the process live. All of this, and more came out of my engagement with Diversity Mark which provided me with the impetus to change and to make some substantial improvements along the way”.
Lucy Panesar undertook the newly introduced auto-review process in order to gain the award: “My experience of Diversity Mark,” commented Lucy, “has been very enriching and prompted me to really deepen my thinking and practice as a lecturer and educational developer. I’ve been working in the area of curriculum diversification for the past few years, prompting and supporting others to review and codevelop their curricula with students. It was great to be doing this myself for Diversity Mark as the convenor of Kent’s PGCHE module ‘The Inclusive University’. And it was great to have such excellent support and guidance from Senior Diversity Mark Officer Rachel Gefferie throughout the process. For me, Diversity Mark isn’t about the award or recognition; it’s about demonstrating a commitment to the process of ongoing curriculum co-development, to ensure what and how we teach fully celebrates the rich diversity of our academic communities.”
The Diversity Mark panel was made up of Student Success Development Officers, a Student Success Central team member, representation from the Library Liaison department and Diversity Mark Officers.
The Student Success team would like to extend special thanks for the on-going collaboration with the library team who work tirelessly to make Diversity Mark a success. DMO Ola Ozoemena’s continued contribution to the programme was also recognised at the ceremony.
Module convenors interested in the Diversity Mark process can find out more here or via the new Diversity Mark moodle page and are warmly encouraged to register their interest by emailing studentsuccessproject@kent.ac.uk .
Pictured from l-r: Professor Robert Green, Paige Sharma (DMO), Lucy Panesar, Rachel Gefferie (Senior DMO), Ola Ozoemena (DMO), Iain MacKenzie, Dr Margrethe Bruun Vaage, Dibra Thapa Magar (DMO).