Meet Herts academics taking part in this year’s 100 Black Women Professors Now programme
By participating in the Workplace, Education and Higher Education (WHEN) programme strand, the University is strengthening its commitment to racial equity in higher education and to creating pathways that recognise, support and accelerate the progression of Black women within academia.
Across the UK higher education sector, progress has been slow: figures show the number of Black women professors rose from 25 in 2014 to 70 in 2024, out of a total of 25,670 professors nationwide.1
At Hertfordshire, this new support reflects a broader institutional focus on inclusive leadership, academic excellence and the removal of structural barriers that affect career progression.
Professor Wendy Wills, Pro Vice‑Chancellor for Research and Enterprise at the University of Hertfordshire, said:
“The 100 Black Women Professors Now programme is an important initiative that directly addresses long‑standing structural barriers within higher education. We are proud to support our colleagues through this programme and to recognise the contribution they make to research, enterprise, education and leadership. Creating inclusive pathways that enable talented Black women to thrive and progress is essential to building a research and enterprise culture that is innovative, equitable and reflective of the societies we serve.”
Charmagne Barnes, Pro Vice‑Chancellor for Education and Student Experience at the University of Hertfordshire, said:
“Representation matters profoundly for our students and our academic community. Supporting Black women academics to progress into senior leadership not only addresses inequality and equity, but enriches learning, teaching and the student experience. Programmes like this help ensure that our staff and students can see themselves reflected in the leadership of our institution, and that higher education becomes more inclusive for future generations.”
The six Herts women currently being supported through the programme bring expertise spanning education, research and enterprise and make significant contributions to research, teaching, professional practice and policy formation.
They are as follows: [Pictured left to right, top row then bottom]
Dr Nkiruka Umaru, Associate Professor in Learning and Teaching and Principal Lecturer in Clinical Pharmacy
Dr Nkiruka (Nikkie) Umaru, Associate Professor in Learning & Teaching and Principal Lecturer in Clinical Pharmacy, is a pharmacist with practice and research interests in care of older people and supervision in clinical experiential learning.
Her work also spans national policy through NHS England, where she is the deputy head of pharmacy at NHS England East of England Workforce Training and Education Directorate.
Nikkie provides academic and strategic leadership to educate students and trainees entering the pharmacy and healthcare workforce, whilst supporting the continuous development of registered pharmacy professionals.
She is an advocate for the enablement of educational supervisors: highlighting that their vital role provides a cornerstone in providing experiential learning in patient-facing settings. Clinical educators support clinical placements for pharmacy students, pharmacy trainees and registered pharmacy professionals.
Nikkie highlights growing opportunities with current reforms in pharmacy, whilst acknowledging pressures in noticeable areas such as community pharmacies where the range of clinical services delivered has increased with ongoing funding and staffing pressures.
She explains: “A major reform in the initial training and education of pharmacists will lead to the first cohort of newly qualified pharmacists annotated as prescribers on first registration with the regulator.”
“It is a significant milestone in the profession and emphasises both the opportunity and need to develop and nurture early career pharmacists. Their expertise can be used in all aspects of medicines, including in areas such as prevention, diagnostics and even cancer screening.”
Nikkie believes participating in the 100 Black Women Professors Now programme will enable her to engage in meaningful conversations that could open up new and unexpected pathways for progression, as well as support her in stepping into future opportunities.
“I look forward to collaborating with colleagues similarly aspiring to share and learn together, growing that intentional network,” she says. “I also look forward to learning from and with those who have been before to see how we continue to shape the future together.”
Dr Marvelle Brown, Associate Professor in Learning and Teaching, Principal Fellow (PFHEA) and Programme Lead for Master of Public Health at Herts
Dr Marvelle Brown is Associate Professor in Learning and Teaching, Principal Fellow (PFHEA) and Programme Lead for Master of Public Health at Herts. Her academic interests span women’s health, genetics, and cancer, with a particular focus on haematological cancers, especially within ethnic communities where prevalence is higher.
Dr Brown also has a significant interest in and has conducted work on noncommunicable diseases such as diabetes, stroke and cardiovascular disease, exploring their long-term impact on young people amid rising rates of obesity. In addition, her widely cited commentary on the growing threat of antimicrobial resistance highlights the urgent need for greater community awareness, noting that “these bugs are clever” and are adapting rapidly.
Committed to addressing health inequalities, she investigates the relationship between poverty and public health, including the increasing reliance on food banks among groups not traditionally associated with deprivation. In her team she has award winning colleagues such as Dr Franklin Onkwugha undertaking collaborative global research.
Dr Brown was the Lead investigator for the University in 2023 on a QAA Collaborative Enhancement Project, Making the Language of Assessment Inclusive. Working in partnership with colleagues from the Universities of Brighton, Greenwich and the West of England led to the development of a sector‑facing toolkit published by QAA in January 2024.
The same year, she was also invited by the QAA to contribute to the revision of the Subject Benchmark Statement for Town and Country Planning. She led the integration of public health content into the benchmark, ensuring that future curriculum in undergraduate and postgraduate for Town and Country Planning programmes across UK HEIs reflects the essential relationship between planning and population health. The Subject benchmarks published in 2024
Reflecting on the 100 Black Women Professors Now programme, Dr Brown says she believes it will significantly enhance her capacity to lead change across complex academic environments. “From fostering a culture of continuous improvement to empowering educators through professional development and collaboration, I’m confident that participating in this programme will support my ongoing career development,” she explains. “Engaging in this senior strategic leadership programme will further strengthen my ability to shape teaching and learning at a time when higher education is undergoing rapid transformation.”
Dr Kathlyn Wilson, Associate Professor in Enterprise & Entrepreneurship
Dr Kathlyn Wilson, Associate Professor in Enterprise and Entrepreneurship, is a chartered psychologist within Hertfordshire Business School specialising in how organisations assess people at key career stages, at entry through selection and over time through performance appraisal. She has collaborated with the Home Office on research into performance assessment, contributing to work commissioned by former Cabinet Secretary Mark Sedwill examining the experiences of ethnic minority staff within government performance management systems.
Building on work on bias in performance evaluation, Dr Wilson is currently developing a research programme, alongside Professor Hafiz Alaka, examining how AI is being integrated into performance assessment. A central focus of this work is the consistency between narrative performance summaries and formal performance ratings, and what misalignment means for the validity of performance systems and unequal outcomes across groups.
A member of Herts’ Applied Psychology Research Group, she is interested in historic flaws in intelligence testing, particularly the misclassification of ethnic minority children in the 1960s. Dr Wilson recently contributed specialist questions on selection practices to a wider Business in the Community/YouGov survey to examine the use of psychometric testing in UK organisations. She will be analysing the dataset to generate new insights into how these tools are used in recruitment. She has worked with industry clients to examine the normative data behind UK psychometric tests - an under-examined issue with significant media potential.
Dr Wuraola Bolaji, Senior Lecturer and Admissions Lead for the MSc and BSc social work programmes
Dr Wuraola Bolaji is a trauma‑informed practitioner, educator and thought leader with extensive experience leading Social Work Looked After Children and Leaving Care Teams. As a Senior Lecturer and Admissions Lead for Hertfordshire’s MSc and BSc Social Work programmes, she is deeply committed to improving outcomes for students, care‑experienced young people, and separated children and young people. Dr Bolaji has an impressive track record of driving up standards and transforming services, and her work continues to influence practice and inspire future social workers.
Dr Bolaji completed her Doctorate at the Tavistock and Portman NHS Trust, examining trauma and transitions to adulthood among care leavers who are refugees or asylum seekers. She brings recognised academic expertise in social work practice, student wellbeing and trauma-informed approaches, informing both policy and practice in educational and support settings.
Dr Vida Douglas Associate Professor Learning and Teaching
Dr Douglas is a qualified social worker and experienced educator whose work focuses on wellbeing within the HE sector and the experiences of Black staff in UK universities.
She brings over two decades of professional experience in social work, having held senior and strategic roles across children and family services, including frontline practice, Independent Review Officer (IRO), safeguarding team manager, service manager for children with disabilities and policy officer roles across several local authorities.
Dr Douglas has a particular interest in safeguarding and in research that centres the lived experiences of children and parents within safeguarding processes, informing policy, practice and workforce development. Her academic interests include partnership working, service-user and student engagement in curriculum design and staff development.
“Participating in this year’s 100 Black Women Professors Now programme will be an important part of my career development,” she says. “Having the support of a Sponsor and Ally in senior leadership at Herts - people who understand the purpose and vision of the programme -will help create opportunities for personal growth and progression that align with my aspirations. I’m particularly looking forward to connecting with other Black women and building relationships with Black academics across the sector. I’m also excited about working with a coach in a safe, supportive space to clarify the actions I need to take to realise my future goals.”
Dr Saadye Ali, Senior Lecturer in Adult Nursing
Dr Saadye Ali is an academic and researcher with a background in adult nursing. She is passionate about examining experiences of harm and structural inequality affecting women and girls in underserved and minoritised communities. This commitment is evident across her research, teaching, and advocacy addressing systemic inequalities. Her scholarship is grounded in intersectional and anti-racist frameworks.
Alongside her research, Dr Ali has a strong learning and teaching role. She teaches across undergraduate and postgraduate (taught and research) programmes and supervises MSc and PhD students. Her teaching is underpinned by inclusive, student-centred pedagogies and a commitment to fostering positive student experiences in both classroom and practice placement settings. Research-led teaching informs her approach to curriculum design, assessment, and student support.
Dr Ali has particular expertise in honour-based violence, forced marriage, and domestic and sexual violence. This is reflected in her doctoral research, which developed innovative participatory approaches to preventing female genital mutilation (FGM) by working with second-generation young people in the UK to inform policy and practice. Her broader research examines how gender, racialisation, migration, and health intersect to shape experiences of harm and structural inequality.
She currently leads the Black Women Research Collective and is Principal Investigator on a collaborative research project with Professor Rebecca O’Connell exploring the childhood health experiences of children. Dr Ali also contributes to national research on the mental health experiences of Black students, bringing a critical health equity perspective to academic, policy, and practice debates.