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Social Justice

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Social Justice

Newcastle is committed to social justice in all that we do. We are dedicated to working together to create a fairer and more just society.

Social justice is about the distribution of society's benefits and burdens. Social justice is about addressing the unfair outcomes that result from the coming together of social inequalities and institutions.

Children, youth and lifecourse

We promote social justice in our focus on the inequalities and injustices negotiated by children and young people.

Poverty, welfare and social class

Our commitment to social justice includes drawing attention to issues of poverty, welfare inequalities and socio-economic marginalisation.

Race, religion and migration

Our work about race, religion and migration promotes social justice. This includes challenging inequalities in the asylum process.

Gender, sexuality and relationships

We are dedicated to exploring diverse genders and sexualities. We press for social justice when it comes to gender equality and LGBT+ rights.

Health, well-being and care

We underpin our focus on health, well-being and care with the promotion of social justice. We tackle health inequalities across people's lifecourses.

Education, work and employment

We explore how to advance social justice through diverse forms of education and in access to, and experiences of, work.

Housing, neighbourhood and region

We are committed to demonstrating the consequences of housing inequalities. Our work also promotes place-based (territorial) justice.

Peace, reconciliation and human rights

We are devoted to promoting human rights and peace. This includes opportunities for reconciliation as advanced by Dr Martin Luther King.

Environment, nature and landscape

We are dedicated to environmental and climate justice. We explore ways to promote social justice through our work about the natural world.

We are committed to embedding principles of social justice in all that we do here at Newcastle.

Professor Peter Hopkins, Dean of Social Justice

Dean of Social Justice

Professor Peter Hopkins is the University Dean of Social Justice. Professor Hopkins provides focused strategic leadership on social justice and works to embed this within our teaching, research and engagement activities.

The Dean co-chairs the Social Justice Advisory Group with the University’s Engagement Manager.

Professor Peter Hopkins, Dean of Social Justice at Newcastle University
Social Justice Advisory Group

The Social Justice Advisory Group steers the University’s strategy in addressing social justice issues. Membership of the Advisory Group includes representatives from the voluntary, community and social enterprise sector as well as academic and professional services staff and students. 

External members

  • Parveen Akhtar (Angelou Centre)
  • Victoria Armstrong (CEO, Disability North)
  • Anne Bonner (CEO, Riverside Community Health Project)
  • Barbara Douglas (Elders Council of Newcastle)
  • Georgina Fletcher (Chief Officer, Regional Refugee Forum North East)
  • Anne Fry (Deputy Chief Executive, Voluntary Organisations’ Network North East)
  • Tom Johnston (Chief Executive, Glendale Gateway Trust)
  • Sarah Longlands (Director, IPPR North)
  • Neil Munslow MBE (Service Manager: Active Inclusion, Newcastle City Council)
  • Siobhan O’Neil (CEO, Cygnus Support)
  • Mark Pierce (Director Of Community Knowledge And Funding, Community Foundation)
  • Elaine Slater (CEO, Tyneside Women’s Health)
  • Aby Tayeb (Project Manager, Islamic Diversity Centre)

Professional services staff members

  • Bob Allan (Engagement Support Co-ordinator, Corporate Affairs)
  • Lucy Backhurst (Director Student Recruitment, Admissions and Progress, Student and Academic Services)
  • Trevor Bedford (Head of Engagement and Enterprise, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences)
  • Katie Blundell (Students Union Volunteering Manager, Newcastle University Students Union)
  • Brett Cherry (Science Communications and Marketing Manager, Faculty of Science, Agriculture and Engineering)
  • Eve Forrest (Impact Officer, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences)
  • Jenny Hasenfuss (Engagement Manager (Patient and Public Involvement), Institute for Cellular Medicine)
  • Andrea Henderson (Engagement Manager, Corporate Affairs)
  • Vijaya Kotur (Race Equality Officer, Human Resources)
  • Marc Lintern (Director of Student Experience, Student and Academic Services)
  • Dr Vi Parker (Research and Impact Facilitator)
  • Lucy Pritchard (Alumni Relations Manager, Corporate Affairs)
  • Alex Robson (Institutes Officer, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences)

Student representatives

  • Daniel Barwick (PhD student)
  • Sara Elkhawad (Welfare and Equality Officer, NUSU)

Academic staff members

  • Dr Alison Atkinson-Phillips (Research Associate in the School of History, Classics and Archaeology)
  • Professor Deborah Chambers (Professor of Media and Cultural Studies in the School of Arts and Culture)
  • Dr Jenny Davidson (Senior Lecturer in Leader Development and Organisation Futures)
  • Dr Elena Katselli (Senior Lecturer in the Law School)
  • Dr Ahmed Kharrufa (Lecturer in Human-Computer Interaction in the School of Computing)
  • Dr Karen Laing (Senior Research Associate in the School of Education, Communication and Language Sciences)
  • Dr Ruth McAreavey (Senior Lecturer in Sociology in the School of Geography, Politics and Sociology)
  • Dr Suzanne Moffatt (Reader in Social Gerontology in the Population Health Sciences Institute)
  • Dr Anil Namdeo (Reader in Air Quality Management in the School of Engineering)
  • Professor Rachel Pain (Professor of Human Geography in the School of Geography, Politics and Sociology)
  • Professor Tracy Shildrick (Professor of Inequalities in the School of Geography, Politics and Sociology)
  • Professor Sally Shortall (Duke of Northumberland Chair of Rural Economy in the School of Natural and Environmental Sciences)
  • Professor Mark Shucksmith (Professor of Planning in the School of Architecture, Planning and Landscape)
  • Professor Liz Todd (Professor of Educational Inclusion in the School of Education, Communication and Language Sciences)
Social Justice Fund

The Newcastle University Social Justice Fund is currently closed. Contact socialjustice@ncl.ac.uk for queries and information on future deadlines.

The Fund is developing a portfolio of successful relationships between the University and the Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise (VCSE) sector. Funded projects will focus on key social justice issues. They will take a long-term view to enhancing the relationship between Newcastle University and the VCSE sector.

We are particularly interested in applications that will contribute to meaningful and mutually beneficial relationships between the University and VCSE partners and that are co-produced.

2019-2020 awards

  • Forest School for wellbeing: addressing children and young people's mental health
    • Scotswood Garden collaborating with Lucy Tiplady, School of Education, Communication and Language Sciences
  • Developing a User Led Support Network for Disabled People and Personal Assistants: Recognising the Value of Interdependent Care
    • Disability North collaborating with Professor Janice McLaughlin, School of Geography, Politics and Sociology
  • Reducing farm fatalities and accidents in England
    • Farm Safety Foundation collaborating with Professor Sally Shortall, Centre for Rural Economy, School of Natural and Environmental Sciences
  • Supporting Roma in Newcastle: Access to Higher Education
    • Roma Right Path Project collaborating with Dr Heather Smith, School of Education, Communication and Language Sciences
  • Inclusive and Safe Spaces: Transgender and Non-Binary Survivors and Domestic Abuse Services
    • Tyneside Women’s Health and Cygnus Support collaborating with Professor Rachel Pain, School of Geography, Politics and Sociology
  • Into the Swim of Things: Well-being in older adults in North Tyneside, a case-study
    • Panama Swimming Club collaborating with Dr Simon Woods, Policy, Ethics and Life Sciences
  • Beyond 2020: A vision for the People’s Kitchen at 35 years
    • People’s Kitchen collaborating with Dr Ruth McAreavey, School of Geography, Politics and Sociology
  • The West End Refugee Service at 20 (1999-2019): Building Sanctuary in Complex Times
    • West End Refugee Service collaborating with Dr Silvia Pasquetti and Professor Cathrine Degnen, School of Geography, Politics and Sociology
  • The investigation of allegations of torture: Towards a more effective framework
    • International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute collaborating with Professor Gavin Oxburgh, School of Psychology

2018-2019 awards

  • Foodbank Histories
    • Northern Cultural Projects CIC and Newcastle West End Foodbank collaborating with Dr Alison Atkinson-Phillips, Oral History Unit and Collective
  • Growing up in Disadvantaged Neighbourhoods: Young People, Place and Belonging in Southwick, Sunderland
    • Southwick Neighbourhood Youth Project collaborating with Dr Robin Finlay, School of Geography, Politics and Sociology, Newcastle University 
  • Shieling: Co-designing a community research hub
    • Shieldfield Artworks (SAW) collaborating with Dr Julia Heslop, School of Architecture, Planning and Landscape
  • Women Warriors
    • Workie Ticket Theatre Company collaborating with Dr Alice Cree, School of Geography, Politics and Sociology
  • Tribalism is Killing Us (TIKU): A Collaborative Research Platform and Film
    • Bridge + Tunnel Productions collaborating with Dr. Tina Gharavi, School of English, Language and Linguistics
  • Tackling Loneliness through Playing Out
    • Playing Out CIC collaborating with Professor Alison Stenning, School of Geography, Politics and Sociology
  • Girl Kind Screen Takeover
    • Little Big Butterfly collaborating with Dr Sarah Winkler-Reid, School of Geography, Politics and Sociology
  • Campus-Community Engagement
    • VODA (Voluntary Organisations Development Agency) North Tyneside collaborating with Dr Helen Jarvis, School of Geography, Politics and Sociology
Sanctuary Scholarships

Newcastle University is proud to support equal access to higher education and is pleased to offer Sanctuary scholarships consisting of full tuition fee support and a bursary for living expenses for applicants wishing to study at the University.

The scholarships have been designed to enable students from asylum-seeker and refugee backgrounds to progress to higher level study.