Goldman Sachs Gives to join Birkbeck in an ongoing partnership to improve racial equity and tackle barriers to education
For nearly 200 years Birkbeck has been committed to ensuring access to education for all, regardless of background or circumstance. While inequality continues to be a complex and systemic issue, we are proud to have the continued support of Goldman Sachs Gives to help further our inclusive founding vision. Our partners and supporters play a pivotal role in enhancing Birkbeck programmes and initiatives that bring about lasting change by tackling inequality through access to education.
We are delighted to announce the launch of the Goldman Sachs and Birkbeck Diversity Scholarship, following the success of the Goldman Sachs and Birkbeck Diversity Fund, which supported over 500 students studying at Birkbeck. Goldman Sachs Gives has now committed over £1m as part of their partnership with Birkbeck to address the challenges facing the higher education sector.
This philanthropic and holistic partnership will build upon Birkbeck’s expertise as an institution that meets the needs of a highly diverse student body: 41% of Birkbeck students are people of colour, 40% have a household income of less than £25,000 and 17% have one or more declared disabilities.
“Birkbeck holds a unique space in higher education,” says Professor David Latchman, Vice-Chancellor of Birkbeck. “Since our founding in 1823, we have served a diverse and ambitious community of working people by providing a place to thrive and transform lives through education. The lived experiences of our graduates and the expertise of our community partners have helped shape and inform the support we offer to our students. Our multi-year approach ensures that our programmes can focus on long-term outcomes for students, facilitating meaningful and lasting change. We are delighted that Goldman Sachs Gives are stepping alongside us again to further this important work.”
This partnership will allow Birkbeck to enhance its suite of comprehensive support programmes, with a particular focus on providing opportunities and support for students of colour. This will include amplifying the scholarship programme, extending our ambitious outreach in communities with low university participation rates and strengthening our important work to address the attainment gap for students of colour.
“We are delighted to extend our work with Birkbeck and to continue our commitment to addressing the challenges of racial equity in higher education. Birkbeck is a premier institution for life-long learning and have been ensuring access to education for all, for almost two centuries. We are excited to see the impact of the next stage of this programme,” says Anna Skoglund, Partner at Goldman Sachs.
Further Information
More about the Goldman Sachs and Birkbeck Diversity Fund
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