The Lord Mayor of Liverpool Anna Rothery has been appointed as a Visiting Fellow of Liverpool Hope University, a position that recognises her long-standing commitment to the institution.
The Lord Mayor, Councillor for Princes Park, has become a Visiting Fellow of the School of Social Sciences.
She’ll also work closely with the University’s Business School and with Teacher Education.
And the appointment comes after Cllr Rothery spearheaded a unique collaboration between Hope and Liverpool City Council in the form of the Black Access to Social Work programme - an extension of the University’s Social Work degree offering whereby 15 extra places have been created exclusively for students from diverse communities and Global Majority groups.
Speaking of her new role, Cllr Rothery said: “It’s an absolute honour and privilege to become a Visiting Fellow of the School of Social Sciences at Hope. The work that I have done with them up to this point shows that they have a real commitment, not only to the education of people of colour, but also to their economic equality.
“I am looking forward to continuing the work that we’ve started in order to challenge the racial disparities which exist. It takes much more than policy, research and reports.
“I am really proud to say we have a united vision of implementation via solution based practise. By committing to the end-to-end model not only we will be able to support people educationally, it will also ensure sustainable employment for people from our diverse communities.”
In September 2019, Cllr Rothery became the first Black Lord Mayor in the history of the city of Liverpool and has been the mayoral lead on equality and race equality since 2018.
She was reappointed to the role of Lord Mayor in May of last year, making history as the first person to be appointed for two consecutive years.
And in 2012, Cllr Rothery also became the first Liverpool councillor to address the United Nations, where she spoke on religious, linguistic and minority rights at a prestigious summit in Geneva, Switzerland.
Professor Michael Lavalette is Head of Hope’s School of Social Sciences and has been working closely with Cllr Rothery to launch the Black Access to Social Work pilot, with the first group of students commencing their studies this September.
He said: “We’re delighted to appoint Cllr Rothery as a Visiting Fellow. And the fellowship itself not only cements a long-standing relationship between Anna and the University but also strengthens our ties with Liverpool City Council.
“Cllr Rothery has been instrumental in the launch of our Black Access to Social Work initiative, having first approached the University with this unique and important idea.
“She’s passionate about ensuring that more individuals from diverse backgrounds take up roles in Social Work within Merseyside and she’ll have a hands-on role in the implementation of that programme in the months and years ahead.
“Meanwhile she also brings a wealth of professional and educational experience to Hope, which will only benefit our students.”
You can read more about Black Access to Social Work .
Earlier this year Cllr Rothery took part in a special webinar debate to mark International Women’s Day, where she and Paula Barker, Labour MP for Liverpool Wavertree and Lindsey German, Convenor of the anti-war organisation Stop the War Coalition, discussed ‘Women’s Oppression Today’.
Meanwhile, March 2020 also saw Cllr Rothery speaking at the Liverpool Sport and Physical Activity Awards event, which was hosted at Hope.
Professor Gerald Pillay, Vice-Chancellor and Rector of Liverpool Hope University, said of Cllr Rothery’s appointment: “Cllr Rothery has a deep commitment to race equality and social justice, which she has clearly demonstrated through her collaboration with the University in the launch of our new Black Access to Social Work - a Route Into the Profession for Diverse Communities undergraduate programme.
“She has also spent the last 30 years working with local industry on important business and community development initiatives.
“We are proud to welcome her into the Hope community and we are sure she will be an excellent role model and mentor for our students.”