Honorary degree: Rowena Arshad

Dr Rowena Arshad has been awarded an Honorary Doctor of Education from Edinburgh Napier University.

Dr Arshad is Head of the Institute for Education, Community and Society, within the School of Education.

She is also Associate Dean for Student Academic Misconduct within the College of Humanities & Social Science.

She convenes the University’s race equality action group, the Centre for Education for Racial Equality in Scotland.

Dr Arshad has worked in the area of equality since 1983 in England and Scotland.

She has been on the Scotland Committee of the Equality and Human Rights Commission and has been a member of the Scottish Further and Higher Education Funding Council.

She has also held the role of Equal Opportunities Commissioner for Scotland.

With colleagues, she set up the Linknet Mentoring Initiative in Edinburgh, which provides minority ethnic people with mentoring support into education and employment.

Her current areas of academic research explore social justice issues and perceptions of on equity, inclusion and anti-discrimination, both within teacher education.

She was awarded an OBE in 2001 for services to race equality.