Neha and Kevin lead the way
The University’s two new Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Faculty Leads will take up their posts fully on August 1 after a period of transition.
Dr Neha Gopinath will serve as EDI Faculty Lead for Arts and Divinity, while Professor Kevin Lala takes up the role for Science and Medicine.
The EDI Faculty Leads play a core part in progressing the University’s EDI activities, initiatives, and goals. They work closely with, and report to, Dr Rebekah Widdowfield, Vice-Principal People and Diversity.
Alongside the Directors of EDI (DoEDIs) within Schools, the EDI Faculty Leads support the visibility of EDI activities across the University, share and embed good practice, and promote opportunities for collaborative working. They also help enhance opportunities for the EDI Directors’ Group networks and DoEDIs to be engaged in the development of relevant educational, research and HR policies and processes.
Neha is a lecturer in the Department of Management within St Andrews Business School. Her research primarily focuses on exploring entrepreneurship and workplace wellbeing. Neha is also interested in the wellbeing and mental health of students in Higher Education and is currently the DoEDI in the Department of Management.
Neha has worked on various EDI related projects, including work on decolonising the management curriculum, and a recent Summer Team Enterprise Programme (STEP) project with EDI Faculty leads and the Race Equality Charter (REC) Chair on student experiences of microaggressions at the University. The STEP project produced tangible outcomes including suggested improvements to student engagement platforms and active bystander training materials.
Neha said: “I am excited about the opportunity to actively contribute and enhance the ongoing efforts to foster a diverse and inclusive culture at the University, particularly by supporting the work of DoEDIs in Schools. I eagerly anticipate the chance to play a role in advancing the University’s strategic commitment to diversity, alongside a dynamic team of like-minded DoEDIs and my esteemed co-Faculty Lead, and the VP People and Diversity.”
Kevin is a Professor in the School of Biology, where he studies evolutionary biology and behavioural science. He is particularly interested in the evolution of human cognition, and in how the activities of organisms affect their own evolution, publishing 12 books and over 300 scientific articles on these topics. He is an elected Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh and Royal Society of Biology, and his work has been cited over 50,000 times.
Throughout his career, Kevin has been active in EDI initiatives. He was a member of the School of Biology’s EDI Committee since its inception, was Deputy Director of for seven years, and Director for 2022-23, helping the School to achieve an Athena Swan Gold award in 2021. He is also a member of the University’s Race Equality Charter SAT committee, and is Antiracism Advocate within the School of Biology, where he leads on anti-racist initiatives.
Kevin said: “I am really excited by the initiatives this university is currently taking to promote equity, diversity and inclusion amongst staff and students. I particularly appreciate our institution’s overt commitment to be a leader in this regard and to create an environment in which everyone can flourish, irrespective of their individual characteristics. I will do what I can to help St Andrews achieve this aspiration”.
Rebekah said: “I am delighted to welcome Neha and Kevin to the EDI team as they take up these vital roles. The key importance of our EDI Faculty Leads is around supporting a coherent and connected approach to EDI across the University. The Faculty Leads provide a two-way communication channel and a bridge between School-level and University-level EDI discussions and activity. This enables us to increase impact by sharing experience and learning, identifying opportunities for joint working, and making best use of our collective capacity.”
Neha succeeds Dr Anna Brown from the Department of Management, and Professor Gillian Brown from the School of Psychology & Neuroscience who served as EDI Faculty Lead for Arts and Divinity and EDI Faculty Lead for Science and Medicine respectively since 2020. Their key achievements include working with colleagues in OSDS to develop a programme of Active Bystander Training for Schools; supporting the relaunch of the University’s EDI Project Fund; initiating PGT student internships within the EDI team; alongside enhancing support for DoEDIs and developing the EDI Directors’ Group networks to facilitate the delivery of EDI in Schools.
Recognising their contribution to the University, Rebekah said: “As the initial incumbents of the EDI Faculty Lead roles, Gillian and Anna have demonstrated the value of these positions, providing a vital connectivity across and between Schools and with central EDI initiatives. I am grateful to them both for their guidance and support and for all their work to help deliver the University’s commitments and ambitions for a Diverse St Andrews.”