IOE academic is BERA’s first ever Academic Citizen of the Year

The BERA Academic Citizen of the Year award was created to honour a member of the wider academic community who has gone above and beyond in supporting colleagues and contributing to the wider discipline. In their announcement, the judging panel noted Dr Showunmi ‘epitomises what this award celebrates’. 

Dr Showunmi is an Associate Professor at IOE, UCL’s Faculty of Education and Society, and participates in the American Educational Research Association (AERA), the British Educational Leadership, Management & Administration Society (BELMAS) and the Gender and Education Association, as well as serving as an associate editor for the International Journal of Leadership in Education, and Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Equality & Diversity.

She said: "This award means so much to me would like to thank BERA for this honour. The recognition inspires me to pursue my passion with even greater enthusiasm."

Her work with schools, local authorities and the voluntary sector has served to promote representation and leadership amongst underrepresented groups and raise awareness and understanding of issues round racial and sexual inequality, which she discusses in the Research for the Real World podcast, ‘Black identity, intersectionality and leadership in education, research and beyond’. 

This builds upon Dr Showunmi’s leadership and support of equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) at IOE, including Dr Showunmi’s active efforts to support the career progression of diverse staff within UCL, overseeing the faculty’s Athena Swan strategy toward achieving a silver award, and further initiatives to enhance EDI by focusing on issues of gender, race, disability, LBGTQ+, and age.

Dr Showunmi will receive her award at the BERA 2023 Awards Ceremony on 8 November 2023 in London. 

Links

• About the BERA Academic Citizen of the Year award 
• Spotlight on... Dr Victoria Showunmi 
• Dr Showunmi’s research profile 
• Department of Education, Practice and Society
• British Education Research Association (BERA)