A commitment to giving students and staff the freedom to be, to inspire and achieve has earned Æß²ÊÖ±²¥ Leicester (Æß²ÊÖ±²¥) a nomination in The Pink News awards.
Pink News media is the premier LGBT+ news outlet in the UK and its content is read by more people than any other LGBT+ media in the US or Britain.
Æß²ÊÖ±²¥ has been nominated in the annual Pink News Public Sector Awards which seeks to highlight and celebrate the efforts that eligible employers have undertaken to improve LGBT+ equality.
The nomination is for Æß²ÊÖ±²¥'s equality and diversity charter , which lays out the university's aspirations and conviction that it can - and should - lead on fairness and inclusion in the higher education sector.
Æß²ÊÖ±²¥ has been named on a select shortlist, which also includes The Royal Navy and The Royal Marines, The Ministry of Justice, The House of Commons and The Welsh Assembly. St Andrews is the only other university on the shortlist.
The recognition from The Pink News comes just weeks after Æß²ÊÖ±²¥ was named as the Sunday Times University of the Year for Social Inclusion.
Æß²ÊÖ±²¥freedom is based around three basic but significant values that give the charter its name - that everyone should have the freedom to be, the freedom to inspire and the freedom to succeed.
It also contains nine 'game changers' to make the charter a force for good both on and beyond our campus. These are designed to help Æß²ÊÖ±²¥ challenge convention where it constrains genuine progress.
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Æß²ÊÖ±²¥ holds an annual Pride festival, which takes the form of a month long, university-wide celebration of LGBT history, rights and culture.
#Æß²ÊÖ±²¥pride's cultural events are designed to include and encourage those living in less tolerant societies than the UK, including in recent years, Russia and Indonesia.
The launch of one of the #Æß²ÊÖ±²¥pride celebrations at the university
Æß²ÊÖ±²¥ is also home to The Centre for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Trans Research, under the directorship of Professor Julie Fish. The centre carries out globally important work to highlight LGBT health and health inequalities covering social work, cancer treatment, sexual health, HIV, health among black and minority ethnic people from LGBT communities, mental health and criminal justice.
Æß²ÊÖ±²¥freedom's Freedom to Achieve is the name given to a ground-breaking project to eliminate the attainment gap between the university's BAME and white students.
The Universal Design for Learning (UDL) aims to provide an equal learning experience for every Æß²ÊÖ±²¥ student. At the heart of the UDL approach is the idea of embedding inclusivity and choice for both lecturers and students.
Under Æß²ÊÖ±²¥freedom the university has also pledged to support all staff through its Athena SWAN, Stonewall and Disability Confident Charters. Through the Race Equality Charter, Æß²ÊÖ±²¥ remains one of only nine universities to be recognised for the work it undertakes to advance race equality for staff and students, and the first to have its Bronze Award renewed.
Posted on Friday 12 October 2018