Nearly twenty years ago I wrote an article about the cultural differences I’d experienced as a new starter in two different institutions. (If you’ve got an institutional subscription you can read that here Shinton, S. Rewarding and recognising researchers. Anal Bioanal Chem 389, 349–351 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00216-007-1455-0   and if you haven’t, email me and I’ll send it to you.) There were lots of reflections about how important it is to make people feel welcomed as they arrive and I contrasted the very difference experiences I had on my first day as a postdoc and careers adviser. The article suggested that a lot of made me feel welcome in the second role were individual as well as systemic. They were pretty much all free (this feels pertinent at the moment) and they had a HUGE impact on how I felt when I arrived.

I was reminded of this last week when I went to a thought provoking event hosted by our Chaplain which was a reactivation of a previous series of events under the headline “What is the University For?” I came away with a lot of ideas in my head and having reconnected with a few people that I hadn’t seen for a long time. It’s interesting that we were all drawn to the event which was entitled “The University and the World: Restoring Wholeness in Fragmented Times” and not at all surprising that I met more people who I found common ground with.

The event opened and closed with poems – one from a PhD student, one from a professional services colleague. Both talked about feeling out of place and this being exasperated by the interactions they had with people. Even when people might have felt they were trying to offer useful advice, the effect was of “othering” – you are different, we aren’t used to you here and we aren’t going to change. (As mentioned in the first edit of this piece I hoped to feature these poems at some point and I’m delighted that Augustus Nathaniel who opened the event with such power has given me permission to reproduce his poem, Gates to Academia here. I’ve also put this onto its own page if you want to share it. )

 

Gates to academia by Augustus Nathaniel

 

As I walk through the gates of academia

I wear the cap and gown of grief.

 

I lower my head to the loss of the old me………The loss of my best friend Nathaniel

The loss of my uncle Paul………

 

Upon this staggering entrance

I knock into a Stewart former Celtic

dressed as a professor………who stopped me in my stride.

Provided me with a warning………

I questioned whether he had provided this same warning to another.

Or was it just me because of my colour?

 

They corresponded………To an email which included my proposed thesis

 

“This is a traditional white and Anglocentric university, are you sure you want to bring your research here”.

 

They may have thought they were being kind………but, that kindness had a taste of otherness, apprehension, and anti-blackness………

………which was bitter and hard to digest.

 

Although……… I guess their internal rationale………

Would have been my proposed research interest:

The Black experience……… hold on! Thinking about it again……… isn’t Black a colour to some.

 

The opaque view that others have of the black shade.

………Can be a ball and chain………

holding one and a group of people back………

………into a murky fade

 

The Benevolent are like “what do we say” and “what shouldn’t we say”………

Whilst the malevolent are like “I’m not sitting next to him”………

 

“What is he doing here?” or “I bet you he is a token to the university topping up their scales on diversity”………

 

Imposter syndrome is colourblind yet, unfortunately society is not.

 

So, if you are non-Black, yes because racists are not all white………

 

Please imagine your feelings of imposter syndrome encaged with the colour of Black skin………

Recognise your internal bias, internal micro-aggressions from within………

 

………And support our walk-through academia holding our heads up high………

………rather than your anti-Black palm placing our heads down – Because we just want to grow, rise & shine!

 

Thank you, Augustus for the opportunity to share this and explain the impact it had on the group. 

During group conversations we explored this theme. As an institution, we claim all are welcome here, but when people arrive and start to work or study here, the system doesn’t acknowledge the different needs that they might arrive with. In other words “You are welcome here as long as you behave like the rest of us.” Not so much a welcome as the “terms of our tolerance”.

Another theme that emerged from our conversation was the shared view that the University is full of amazing people. We love our colleagues and they lift us up. We thought about what might be possible with the rich resource of a community of good people who make a difference to each other. What could we do to create a sense of welcome?

This is the idea I’ve taken away from the afternoon (along with some renewed and new connections) and will be thinking about as various changes take place in the coming months which will involve the need to welcome people into new spaces. I’d welcome any thoughts from those reading this about how to do this well.

And if you can’t be bothered to wade through my dated witterings about culture from 18 years ago, these were the highlights:

And the feature image for this blog is the signatures of Sophia Jex-Blake, Mary Pechey, Helen Evans and Matilda Chaplin, four of the Edinburgh Seven. Not our finest moment in terms of being welcoming, but evidence of how far we’ve come.

May 26, 2025