About BAN
Founded by Dr. Yaz Osho, Black Academic Network is a membership network exclusively for black academics. We aim to provide a safe space for black scholars to network, collaborate and receive peer support.
Through our activities, Black Academic Network provides our members with a range of opportunities to support their development and progression within academia.
Black Academic Network seeks to address the lack of support particularly for black academics, as most initiatives for black academics and black people, generally is provided under the umbrella of BAME / BIPOC / POC / BME, which is hugely problematic.
The BAME catch-all category fails to take into account the differences between various ethnic groups under the umbrella of ‘BAME’. Black Academic Network was founded in response to this tendency to homogenise difference and conflate the differences of diverse people.
Our Purpose
Black Academic Network is committed to holding the space for black academics to gather to heal, unite, thrive, and progress in higher education and beyond.
Our Mission
Our mission is our work on behalf of black academics to be recognised in their own right, on their own terms without limitation in academic spaces.
Our Vision
An academic landscape where black academics can thrive, progress and have pathways to the same opportunities as non-black peers.
Integral to BAN are our values of:
Empowerment
We provide our members with a space to feel empowered, supported, acknowledged, and validated in their experiences and aspirations.
Achievement
We celebrate our successes collectively and drive each other towards their goals.
Integrity
Central to our work is our honesty, openness, and strong moral principles.
Equity
In our focus on social justice, we work towards the goal that everyone should have the same range of opportunities and benefits to progress, not only in higher education but also in wider society.
Entrepreneurial
We use entrepreneurial competencies to achieve social action, such as action-based initiatives, creativity, innovation, and problem-solving.
Meet the Team
Who is behind Black Academic Network?
Dr. Yaz Osho
Dr. Yaz Osho is a senior lecturer in Entrepreneurship at the University of Westminster. She also holds the position of EDI School Lead and BAME attainment gap project lead at the institution.
Yaz is the founder of the membership group Black, Asian, and Minoritised Ethnic Women in Academia (BAMEWA) which currently has 720 members from 56 countries worldwide.
Yaz is passionate about fostering safe virtual and offline spaces where academics of colour can come together for peer support, foster collaboration and powerful networks that create empowerment.
Yaz has held a number of posts within academia over the last twenty years, including EDI Lead, Course Leader, Enterprise Lead, Senior School Fellow, and Module Leader. Yaz gained her PhD from Goldsmiths College, University of London, and her post doctorate from Kings College, University of London.
Outside of higher education, Yaz has worked in varied roles in industry and the charity sector, including Social Media Lead, Research Associate, Social Research Interviewer, Freelance Writer, and Blog Writer. She has worked on behalf of high-profile companies such as NCT Trust, Marie Curie, IHG Hotels, and Reckitt Benckiser.
Our Testimonials
What are people saying about BAN?
