Rebecca Colquhoun and Hannah Sanderson recognised in the MPLS ED&I Awards 2025

Many congratulations to Earth Sciences DPhil students Rebecca Colquhoun and Hannah Sanderson, who were recognised in the MPLS Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Awards 2025.

The MPLS ED&I Awards honour staff and students within the Division who have made outstanding contributions to advancing ED&I, celebrating individuals and teams whose efforts are creating more inclusive and supportive environments for us all. The ED&I Awards provide a valuable opportunity to highlight the exceptional work being done across MPLS - work that might otherwise go unrecognised. They also serve to raise awareness of impactful and innovative initiatives that support equality, diversity, and inclusion in all its forms, including disability, LGBTQ+, race/ethnicity, gender, mental health, and wellbeing.

Rebecca and Hannah were winners of the Best Team Effort category, having received multiple nominations from staff and students as the “indispensable, two-person team responsible for the impressively active LGBTQIA+ Affinity Group in the Earth Sciences Department".

Among the founding members of the group in 2021, they have led the group this year alongside their final year DPhil studies. They organise monthly meetings for the Affinity Group, along with lots of events throughout the year (including the MPLS annual Pride Picnic and events during LGBT+ History Month), as well as providing support and advice both for members of the group and for the wider Department.

“Institutional change may be long, but institutional memory turns over quickly. Hannah and Rebecca are the reason why any incoming member to our Department enters a space where there has seemingly always been a robust LGBTQIA+ Affinity Group.”

- Nominator

Rebecca was also commended in the Outstanding ED&I Champion – Student category for their impressive legacy of EEDI work during their time in the Department. 

Their nominators said "Rebecca is a fierce defender of inclusivity in Earth Sciences, whether that be working on the Athena Swan plan, or raising issues of inclusivity on fieldtrips, or teaching. They have at some point in their postgrad sat on all committees in the Department, from JCC(G), to the EEDI Committee, to the Teaching Committee, raising the issues on behalf of postgraduates with confidence and determination to pursue an issue until it is resolved.

"They always have time to make this Department more inclusive, including creating the LGBTQIA+ Affinity Group, a safe space for all those in the department to find community and joy together. They also supported undergraduate students through teaching tutorials and demonstrating of fieldtrips. While not an EEDI act itself, being present in the undergrads lives means they have often been a go-to member of Department that students have gone to for help. They have published work highlighting the inequalities in Earth Sciences including "An audit for action" (Colquhoun and Fernando, 2020), showing their dedication to EEDI over the years.

"They are currently finishing up their PhD, and I know the Department will miss them, but they have passed on the EEDI torch to many postgrads in the Department. They have left an impression on all members of the Department that will make them difficult to forget."

Congratulations to both!