The August member spotlight is on Felicity Morley, who is an Equality and Diversity moderator for conference session proposals. Felicity is also an AUA Advocate at Birmingham City University and on the Board of Studies for the AUA’s PgCert in Higher Education Administration, Management and Leadership.

Why do you do it?

When I joined the AUA approximately six years ago I responded to a request to moderate session proposals for the following year’s annual conference. The idea of looking at what would be presented and making sure they had considered their session from an equality and diversity perspective was really appealing, and I’ve done it every year since.

What has been the best bit so far?

I always love to see the variety of sessions that are being put forward. They are so diverse, it’s great to see that the Annual Conference really does have something for all HE professionals; from process improvements to student experiences to national and international collaborations! It’s also good to be able to make recommendations to improve sessions from an equality perspective; sometimes it can be as simple as suggesting that printouts of presentation slides are available but I know that this could make a real difference to someone attending the session.

Would you recommend the role?

Definitely! The AUA are always on the lookout for volunteers to help with moderation. But if this role doesn’t appeal to you I would recommend putting yourself forward for any of the roles the AUA advertise; it’s a great way to learn more about the HE sector, expand your networks and make new friends. To me, these are the biggest strengths of the AUA.