Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Committee
The Equality Act was introduced to make UK organisations (especially public authorities such as Universities) more transparent as well as try to harmonise the various current equality strands into one single piece of legislation.
The Act proposed a general public equality duty on public authorities. Universities, as well as the funding councils, are subject to this duty. It replaced the three existing duties (relating to race, gender, disability) with a single duty covering the protected characteristics of race, sex, pregnancy and maternity, gender reassignment, disability, age, sexual orientation and religion or belief.
The duty requires HEIs to have due regard to the need to:
- Eliminate discrimination, harassment, victimisation.
- Advance equality of opportunity between persons who share a protected characteristic and persons who do not share it.
- Foster good relations between persons who share a protected characteristic and persons who do not share it.
The College’s Equality, Diversity & Inclusion Committee (EDIC) was established over eight years ago and oversees all aspects of equality, diversity & inclusion. The committee provides annual reports for the College Executive Committee and College Council. The Committee is made up of representatives from each department, who are named Equality & Diversity Champions with the remit to drive forward the equality, diversity & inclusion agenda at the College. Each Champion is working with their department to produce a departmental Equality, Diversity & Inclusion Action Plan based on the requirements set out in the Athena SWAN Action Plan and the College Equality Objectives and Action Plan. For further information please contact the EDI office on EDIOffice@rvc.ac.uk.
Equality and Diversity Champions
Below is the list of the Departmental Equality and Diversity Champions. The champions are members of the Equity, Diversity and Committee, whose remit is to promote equality and diversity across the College, some of the members have an additional role, which is highlighted within the list. The role of the Equality and Diversity Champions is to support their department to develop and promote an environment in which principles of equality and diversity are embedded as part of the departmental working culture. For further information about what your department is doing towards implementing the equality and diversity agenda you can contact one of your departmental champions.
| Name | Dept/Role |
| Christine Thuranira-McKeever | PPS/VP for EDI & EDC Chair |
| Ana Faro | PSD |
| Nina Davies | PSD |
| Rebecca Costello | HR |
| Jackie Cardwell | PPS |
| Sonja Jeckel | PPS |
| Kim Stevens | PPS |
| Lucy Brunton | PPS |
| Dong Xia | PPS |
| Charlotte Lawson | CBS |
| Donald Palmer | CBS |
| Caroline Pellet-Many | CBS |
| Renato Previdelli | CBS |
| Michele Milner | PSD |
| Jon Parry | PSD/TU |
| Steve Short | PSD |
| Revd. Andy Marshall: Chaplain and Interfaith Advisor | PSD |
| Vicki Baldrey | CSS |
| Hayley Carne | CSS |
| Steven De Decker | CSS |
| Jessica Gilby | CSS |
| Lauren Hemmings | CSS |
| Rosie Hudson | CSS |
| Aarti Kathrani | CSS |
| Melanie Perrier | CSS |
| Androniki Psifidi | CSS |
| Lucy Garnsworthy | BUS |
| Anna Riddle | BUS |
| Elizabeth Goodwin | Research Support Office |
| Melanie Hay | Research Association |
| Alexis Cooper | SU/E&D Officer |
| Claudia Murphy | SU/Welfare Officer |
| Nicola Menzies-Gow | AS (SAT co-Chair) |
AS: Athena SWAN
TU: Trade Union
SU: Student Union
* Only 4 members of CSS will be present at each EDC meeting.
Equality & Diversity Objectives and Action Plan
Equality Policies
The College has developed the following Equality Policies:
Dignity at Work and Study
It is the intention of The Royal Veterinary College to provide a working and learning environment which promotes equality and diversity in all aspects of College life and activity, and to be a community which is safe, supportive and free of intimidation, bullying or harassment.
The Dignity at Work and Study policy applies to all employees and students of the College and they are expected to comply with it. Its purpose is to:
- Promote an ethos and culture that is inclusive and safeguards the dignity and well-being of everyone
- Create a climate in which harassment and bullying are unacceptable behaviours which will not be tolerated
- Give individuals the confidence that any concerns they may have will be considered fairly and appropriately and that complaints can be brought in good faith without fear of detriment
Employees, students, visitors, consultants, clients and contractors to the College should be treated with courtesy, fairness and respect and are expected to treat others in the same way. This policy applies to all College premises, and all College Employees and Students working at other premises. Click this link to read the full Dignity at Work and Study policy.
Dignity at Work Ambassadors
Dignity at Work Ambassadors are members of staff from different parts of RVC. They have been trained to offer informal support and information to anyone at work who feels they have been inappropriately treated, bullied, or harassed, whether this is by a peer, someone junior to them, or someone senior to them.
Refer to the Dignity at Work Policy for further information which is available on the RVC intranet. Alternatively, you can contact the EDI department on EDIOffice@rvc.ac.uk
| Name | Contact Details | Department/Campus |
| Nicola Read | nread@rvc.ac.uk | CSS/Hawkshead |
| Sally Burton | sburton@rvc.ac.uk | PSD/Hawkshead |
| Karen Humm | khumm@rvc.ac.uk | CSS/Hawkshead |
| Holly Smith | hssmith@rvc.ac.uk | CSS/Hawkshead |
| Jackie Cardwell | jcardwell@rvc.ac.uk | CSS/Hawkshead |
| Daniel Ngugi | dngugi@rvc.ac.uk | PPS/Hawkshead |
| Natalie Hubble | nhubble@rvc.ac.uk | PSD/Hawkshead |
| Caroline Pellet-Many | cpelletmany@rvc.ac.uk | CBS/Camden |
| Tom Moody | tmoody@rvc.ac.uk | PSD/Camden |
| Rebecca Wombwell | rwombwell@rvc.ac.uk | PSD/Camden |
| Rebecca Geddes | rgeddes@rvc.ac.uk | CSS/Hawkshead |
| Serena Maini | smaini@rvc.ac.uk | CSS/Hawkshead |