A progressive College which values its international and diverse community
We have made a commitment to promote equality, value diversity and maintain an environment for study, work and living in which the rights and dignity of all our members are respected. We acknowledge that the responsibility lies with each of us to robustly challenge discrimination and we stand together with anyone in our community who is adversely affected by discrimination, and will provide comprehensive support.
Students, staff and Senior Members come from a wide range of backgrounds and we are proudly multinational, with students and Seniors from more than 80 countries. Everyone at Hughes has arrived by a different route and brings different experiences, strengths and stories to their studies. That’s what makes life here so varied and fulfilling.
We are very proud of our diversity – the 117 marigolds on our College gates represent all the different countries that our students have come from.
Celebrating diversity
Hughes Hall is proud to celebrate Black History Month, Transgender Awareness Week, and LGBT+ History Month every year. We work with student equality officers to hold a themed Formal Hall for each, amongst other community events, as well as for other dates such as Lunar New Year, Diwali, International Women’s Day, Thanksgiving, Burns Night and Christmas.
You can read in more detail about LGBTQ+ at Hughes Hall, the wider university environment, and in Cambridge.
We also aim to be accountable in terms of race and gender across our College communities. This page summarises our efforts in this area and links to survey data regarding diversity at Hughes Hall in terms of race and gender. Papers with more detailed figures, can be found here (staff and Senior Members) and here (students).
Disability and access
You can find out more about arrangements for those with disabilities at Hughes, including those with specific learning difficulties, in the Access section. Students and potential applicants can also check the student Disability page for useful links. You are welcome to contact the Senior Tutor, Dr Tori McKee, or the Tutorial Office to discuss your needs in more detail.
Hughes Hall provides comprehensive access guides to our site in the widest sense; for everyone in our community and for every visitor to our buildings and grounds. Please see the AccessAble Access Guide to Hughes Hall.
Inclusion and support
Hughes Hall students are encouraged to speak with their tutor if they have any concerns or questions about equality and inclusion matters. There is further information on support at Hughes Hall in our Student Welfare section, including how to contact our Head of Welfare, College Nurse and Counsellor, and how to report problems. We encourage reporting of discrimination and harassment by those who witness it as well as those who suffer it.
We have tutors who lead on support for specific groups and can be contacted if you are encountering specific difficulties or have things you would like to see in terms of tailored support:
- Race Equality Champion: Dr Othman Cole (ocole@hughes.cam.ac.uk)
- Parent and Caregiver Champion: Meena Singh (msingh@hughes.cam.ac.uk)
- Disability Champion: Alison Nicholson (anicholson@hughes.cam.ac.uk)
- LGBTQ+ Champion: Prof Arthur Hibble (ahibble@hughes.cam.ac.uk)
- Gender Equality Champion: Dr Fatmah Mish Ebrahim (febrahim@hughes.cam.ac.uk)
- Harassment Support Tutor: Annemarie Young (ayoung@hughes.cam.ac.uk)
- Harassment Support Tutor: Martin Hadley Brown (mbrown@hughes.cam.ac.uk).
There are MCR Welfare and Equality Officers, (including a Female and Non-binary Welfare Officer, Male and Non-binary Welfare Officer and an Equality and LGBTQ+ Officer) whose roles include support and promotion of inclusion and equality.
And Dr Tori McKee, Senior Tutor, is always available to discuss all welfare matters with students: senior.tutor@hughes.cam.ac.uk.
Contact details for all our tutors and the Tutorial Office are available on our Tutors page.
