As part of its commitment to social justice, Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh (QMU) has appointed Professor Paul Miller PhD as Equality, Diversity and Inclusion & Anti Racism Adviser to its Principal.

Professor Miller will provide advice and guidance to QMU’s Principal, Sir Paul Grice, and other QMU staff, on the further advancement of equality, diversity and inclusion, and on fostering an anti-racism culture of understanding. He will be supported by Visiting Fellows (Race Equality), Dr Leroi Henry and Dr Kenisha T. Linton.

Building on equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) work being undertaken at the University, Prof Miller will carry out an EDI culture review of the experiences and outcomes of BAME staff and students in particular, as part of the university’s focused anti-racism work.  Through this full EDI Culture Review, QMU will be the first university in the UK to undertake such a broad review looking into EDI issues affecting both staff and students. The findings from this review will enable QMU to strengthen its current EDI strategy and action plan, and develop a meaningful anti-racism strategy and action plan.

Paul Miller, a former Head of the School of Education at the University of Greenwich is Professor of Educational Leadership & Social Justice and Director of the Institute for Educational & Social Equity. He is the first (and still the only) Black professor of educational leadership in the UK. With over 108 peer reviewed publications, he has researched, written and published significantly on the issues of racism and leadership, and how the curriculum can be used to tackle gender-based violence (GBV).

Particularly relevant to his role at QMU is Prof Miller’s experience as a Strategic Adviser for Race, Culture and Leadership at AdvanceHE, where he led the development of ‘Race Equality Training’ for university senior leaders. In addition, his work on racism and leadership has been used by the UK Cabinet Office in policy development.

Beyond that, he is editor of the journal ‘Power and Education’, founding editor of the journal ‘Equity in Education & Society’, convenes the annual ‘Equity in Education & Society’ conference, is President of the Commonwealth Council for Educational Administration & Management (CCEAM), and is a member of Council of both the British Educational Research Association (BERA) and the British Educational Leadership, Management Administration Society (BELMAS). He is a Principal Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences.

Sir Paul Grice said: “Social justice is central to the values of Queen Margaret University, and we recognise that to be anti-racist requires concerted, concrete action, not just words. The appointment of Professor Miller will allow us to deliver meaningful, impactful actions to advance our current work on equality, diversity and inclusion, drawing on best practice, and building on actions that we have already implemented. We aim to ensure that not only does every staff member and student, whatever their background, feel they belong and can thrive at QMU, but that through them we can help propagate anti-racism practices across society more widely.”

Aasiyah Patankar, President of QMU’s Students’ Union, said: “At QMU we pride ourselves on the strong sense of community amongst both students and staff. I’m excited to see what Professor Miller will bring to build on our current efforts. I hope that, through the actions delivered based on his advice, people will choose to study or work at QMU because of its distinctive commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion.”

Professor Miller said: “I am excited to be working with Queen Margaret University in this important role. Having worked with over 16 universities over the last two years, I can certainly say that QMU has taken the most decided and granular approach to EDI and anti-racism. Of course, each institution is on its own journey, but what the leadership of QMU has demonstrated is that effective EDI work requires both bravery and integrity.”