University of Chichester's axing of African history course an 'attack on Black academia'

The union was responding to news that the University of Chichester wants to axe its history of Africa and the African diaspora masters and make professor Hakim Adi redundant. The move is part of a wider review which has put four permanent academic staff under threat of redundancy. Professor Adi is the UK's first and only professor of the history of Africa and the African diaspora. The course was created to train mature students of African and Caribbean heritage as historians. Just 1% of UK professors are Black.

UCU general secretary Jo Grady said: 'The University of Chichester's decision to axe this crucial course and put professor Adi at risk of redundancy is nothing less than an attack on Black academia.

'It is no surprise that only 1% of UK professors are Black when a university like Chichester is willing to sack the UK's first African-British professor of history and shut down a course created to train Black academics. Chichester's management urgently needs to show it is committed to widening access into higher education and reverse this awful decision.'