Nottingham Trent University Vice-Chancellor Professor Edward Peck, who is a strong advocate for equality, diversity, and inclusion, has been made a Commander of the British Empire in the New Year Honours List.
Professor Peck, who has been Vice-Chancellor at NTU since 2014, is also a Deputy Lieutenant of Nottinghamshire, a Trustee of the Universities and Colleges Employers Association (UCEA) and Deputy Chair of the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS). He was a member of the Post-18 Fees and Funding Review and is an elected member of the Board of Universities UK.
Professor Peck said: "I have had the privilege of working in two of the institutions that for me characterise all that is best about Great Britain, the National Health Service and our universities. I am profoundly grateful to receive this award and look forward to continuing to play my small part in making our country one where access to health and prosperity are open to all regardless of their background."
Creating an inclusive environment
Professor Peck is an ongoing champion for equality, diversity, and inclusion across the University and in the wider community.
"From the start of my time at NTU, I have made delivering equality of opportunity and outcome one of the standards by which I want the University and myself to be judged," he explains.
For example, Professor Peck helped develop the University's Race Equality Action Plan while, under his leadership, NTU also received the Bronze Award under the Athena SWAN Charter for its commitment to gender equality.
Professor Peck also made a statement for International Women's Day reiterating this commitment to gender equality: "Equlity is pivotal to the success of an organisation. As Vice-Chancellor I have made clear that advancing gender equality is not optional at Nottingham Trent University. More than my strong and abiding personal commitment, a diverse and inclusive environment, where all colleagues are valued for who they are and the contributions they make, are core imperatives within our 2020-25 Strategic Plan," he wrote.
"We champion an environment where the creativity and voice of all our colleagues are both encouraged and heard. We seek to nurture relationships built on respect and integrity."
Multiple awards gained for NTU
Under his leadership, NTU has been Times Higher Education University of the Year in 2017, The Times and Sunday Times Modern University of the Year in 2018 and Guardian University of the Year in 2019. The Guardian award
was based on performance and improvement in the Guardian University Guide, retention of students from low-participation areas and attainment of BME students. NTU was also named University of the Year in the UK Social Mobility Awards in 2019.
An impressive leadership career
After graduating in 1981, Professor Peck joined the National Health Service (NHS) graduate management training scheme and went on to undertake a number of positions in the NHS. He joined the Centre for Mental Health Services Development in 1992, becoming director in 1994 and then joined King's College London in 1995 to pursue this role full-time. Two years later he was awarded his PhD.
He moved to the University of Birmingham in 2002 as director of the Health Services Management Centre and subsequently took up the role of Head of the School of Public Policy in 2006. He was appointed Head of the College of Social Sciences in January 2008.
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Disclosure: Where Women Work researches and publishes insightful evidence about how its paid member organizations support women's equality.