About Us
Why SBA
The Society of Black Academics (SBA) was formed due to the under-representation of Black academics at the Professorial and Senior Leadership levels in UK Universities.
Since our inception in 2021, we have launched several impactful initiatives and organized numerous events (including Workshops and Conferences) with the goal of promoting Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) in the UK’s Higher Education sector.
Our Mission
We continue to identify prevalent issues confronting Black academics in the Higher Education sector and address them by providing a safe space for personal reflection, knowledge sharing and dialogue, collaboration, and networking, all of which will have a long-lasting positive impact on Black academics’ career development and success.
Our Vision
Justice, Equity, and Fairness (JEF) are at the heart of SBA’s values. Therefore, we aim to see a better level of JEF embedded in the progression opportunities for Black scholars in the UK’s Higher Education sector.
Our Values
We pride ourselves in promoting Justice (broader ethical standards and procedures), Equity (encouraging equal opportunities, inclusivity, diversity, and respect), and well as Fairness (focusing on specific outcomes and treatment).
What we are doing currently
Through the development of EDI and career development programmes, safe spaces for learning and knowledge exchange, as well as other progressive campaigns, we are attempting to improve the career advancement of Black academics. Our goal is to increase the number of Black academics employed at the professorial and senior leadership levels in the UK’s higher education system.
Meet our team.
Our team is made up of academics and practitioners from various fields who are enthusiastic about advancing the progression of Black academics and enhancing equality, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) in the UK’s higher education sector.
Dr. Ade Oyedijo
Founder & Director
Dr Oyedijo is a Scholar who is currently based at the University of Leicester School of Business where he lectures in Operations and Supply Chain Management. Ade founded SBA and overseas its current activities.
Dr. Mercy Denedo
Project Manager
Dr. Denedo is an Assistant Professor in Accounting at Durham University. She manages all SBA’s projects and she also assists in the planning of SBA’s annual conferences.
Dr. Bola Babajide
Partnerships & External Engagement Manager
Dr. Babajide is a Senior Lecturer in Accounting and Finance at De Montfort University. She is responsible for SBA’s partnerships and external engagement activities.
Steven Iorfa
Operations & Events Manager
Steven looks after SBA’s events and coordinates its operational activities. He is a doctoral researcher at the University of Portsmouth, looking at sustainability transitions in food systems.
Juliet Ocheja
Company Secretary
Juliet is a qualified lawyer with extensive experience in a variety of fields, including the public sector, oil and gas, finance, and energy. She assists SBA and offers guidance on compliance and regulatory matters.
Oyebola Toyese
Marketing Manager
Oyebola Toyese is a specialist and consultant in branding, marketing, communications, and business growth. She provides support on SBA’s marketing and branding approach.
Dr Opeoluwa Aiyenitaju
Education Manager
Dr. Ope is an enthusiastic academic. She lectures in Business Information Systems at Manchester Metropolitan University. Additionally, she takes an integral role in SBA’s student outreach initiative and holds the role of Education & Engagement Manager.
Our Advisory Board
The members of our advisory board are industry leaders with extensive experience in higher education who are authorities in their fields. In addition to offering advice on SBA’s long-term direction, they contribute their special skill set and knowledge to support the organization’s vision and objectives.
Professor Sally Everett
Professor Sally Everett is Vice Dean, Education, Deputy Dean (interim), and Professor of Business Education at King’s Business School.
Professor Sally Everett was appointed as the inaugural Professor of Business Education for King’s Business School in January 2019 and became the Vice Dean (Education) in September 2019. Professor Everett is also the academic lead for Inclusive Education at King’s College London. Previous to these roles, she was the Deputy Dean (Quality and Student Experience) for the Faculty of Business and Law at Anglia Ruskin University (2013 – 2018) where she also co-led the university’s Women’s Network and BME staff Network.
Sally is a National Teaching Fellow (2017) and a Principal Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (HEA) (2013). She was awarded these fellowships in recognition of her work championing pedagogic practice in areas including internationalization, employability, and inclusive learning, teaching, and assessment. She also led a team that won a Collaborative Award for Teaching Excellence from Advance HE in 2016 for their student engagement work. Sally is the Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion Officer for the Committee of the Association of National Teaching Fellows (CANTF) and is an active member of the Equality and Diversity Committee for the Chartered Association of Business Schools.
Sally was Head of the Department for tourism, hospitality, and marketing at the University of Bedfordshire (2009-2013). Before this, she spent several years as a tourism and transport researcher at the University West of England and as the Development Officer for the SS Great Britain Trust in Bristol, UK. Sally has also worked for Pearson Education plc. developing online courses (e-commerce, marketing, and MBAs) with university partners.
Sally is widely published and has produced a significant body of work including her latest co-authored textbook ‘The Tourism, Hospitality, and Events Student’s Guide to Study and Employability’ (Sage Publications, 2020) and a previous single-authored book: ‘Food and Drink Tourism: Principles and Practices’ (Sage Publications, 2016) and numerous journal articles on tourism and education (including publications in Tourism Management, Teaching in Higher Education, Tourism Geographies, and Journal of Sustainable Tourism). Recent publications include work on food tourism, community resistance, disruptive methodologies, inclusive teaching, and destination marketing.
On the 4th of November, 2022, Sally served as the host of the 3rd SBA Global Workshop, which was titled Breaking Glass Ceilings: Mentorship and Collaborations as Tools for Navigating Academic Careers and was held at the King’s Business School, King’s College London.
Professor Kevin Ibeh
Kevin Ibeh, PhD, FCIM, FRSA, is Professor of Marketing and International Business and Pro Vice Chancellor (International) at Birkbeck, University of London. His research has mainly focused on advancing knowledge of how non-dominant firms, including SMEs, leverage growth opportunities in international markets. He is considered a leading authority on emerging African Multinational Enterprises and is regularly invited to speak on this and other topics at major international meetings. Professor Ibeh has undertaken consulting/advisory roles for a range of international organisations, including the World Bank Group, the OECD, Scottish Enterprise, Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Department of Trade and Investment of Northern Ireland. He has had professional stints in the US, Canada, Germany, China, India, Finland, Spain, Singapore, Bahrain and Oman, and has presented to academic, practitioner and policy audiences around the world. Professor Ibeh currently serves (or has served) as external examiner/assessor for institutions in Poland, Finland, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, China, Ghana, Malaysia, Nigeria, UK, and USA. He is Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, Chartered Institute of Marketing, a former Commonwealth Scholar, among others. He recently guest-edited three major scholarly journals, sits on the editorial advisory board of several international journals, and currently serves as Lead Editor of Palgrave Series on Entrepreneurship in Africa. Author of over a hundred academic papers, Professor Ibeh’s work has appeared in the Journal of World Business, British Journal of Management, International Business Review, Journal of Business Research, Management International Review, among others. He has also published four books, the latest of which appeared in 2017.
Professor (Associate) Gillian Stokes
Gillian is an Associate Professor of Inclusive Social Research at the UCL Social Research Institute, University College London (UCL).
Prior to pursuing a career in academia, Dr Stokes had extensive experience in the commercial world, working in media and television. She now conducts health focused systematic reviews, with topics ranging from impact of medical conditions on various demographic groups to health benefits of improved domestic services. Her PhD research focused on children’s participation in medicines research and development.
Alongside her academic career, Gillian Stokes is a qualified herbal practitioner and medical ethnobotanist, with qualifications in environmental, medical, and social anthropology. She is a trained professional coach, with experience in coaching both staff and students, as well as a mentor for young people particularly to support African-Caribbean young people pursuing careers in STEM.
Gillian is also a published poet who writes creatively to explore issues of being Black and British. Her poetry focuses on sociological issues, particularly the experiences of African and Caribbean women, and the impact of forced adoption on young lives and minds. She supports and encourages Black writers both within UCL and in the wider academic and creative communities.
Professor Temidayo Akenroye
Professor Temidayo Akenroye is a Faculty Member at the University of Missouri-St Louis, the USA, and a Senior Visiting Fellow at Lagos Business School, Nigeria. He holds a PhD in Supply Chain Management from the University of Salford; two master’s degrees, one in Sustainability Leadership, from the prestigious University of Cambridge and the other in Supply Chain & Logistics Management from the University of Salford. He has published widely in top-tier academic journals; and his (co-edited) book, “Africa and Sustainable Global Value Chains” was recently published by Springer. Before entering academia, Prof Akenroye was a Senior Manager in public procurement and supply chains with the UK’s National Health Service (NHS). He currently serves as a Member of the Peer Review College @ British Academy of Management, a Research Advisory Board Member for Africa Resource Centre (ARC) in South Africa, an Academic Advisor to Kuehne Foundation, Germany, Visiting Scholar at the University of South Africa, University of Central Lancashire, and Arden university in the UK. He has consulted and provided technical support for several organisations globally. From 2013 – 2015, he supported the governments of Kenya, Ghana, and Mali to design procurement interventions that linked over 20,000 small-holder farmers to the supply chain opportunities in school feeding programs in the countries. In 2019, he was appointed by Cooper/Smith USA to help improve data-driven decision-making culture among health-commodity supply chain leaders (managers) in Kenya and Senegal. Prof Akenroye has been widely sought to comment on supply chain issues on global TV channels including Al-Jazeera and BBC News, as well as on radio on LBC (London Broadcasting Company). He has delivered keynote speeches and invited research seminars and lectures at various universities and professional fora around the world.
Professor Nelarine Cornelius
Nelarine Cornelius is a Professor of Organisation Studies. She was previously Professor of HRM and Organisation Studies and HRM, Associate Dean, Research and Knowledge Transfer and Director, Bradford Centre for Business in Society at the University of Bradford. Professor Cornelius’ research is in the areas of social justice, business in society and the evolution of management practices in emerging, fragile economies.
Professor Cornelius’ obtained her PhD (on an MRC scholarship) from the University of Manchester. She worked in the areas of management and organisational development at General Motors Europe and the London Borough of Tower Hamlets before entering higher education. She has acted as a consultant and adviser to a variety of organisations including the Cabinet Office, Home Office, Fire Service College, Kent Police, Sussex Police, Royal Canadian Mounted Police/ Canadian Police College, Prison Service, and many other for- and non-profit organisations.
She has taught on programmes in Canada, France and Germany. More broadly, she has taught on other programmes in many countries, including Singapore, Hong Kong, and Dubai. At Brunel, she was the recipient of the Vice-Chancellor’s Award for Teaching Excellence for master’s level team teaching (with Dr. Stephen Smith).
Professor Kenneth Amaeshi
Kenneth Amaeshi is a Professor of Sustainable Finance and Governance at the School of Transnational Governance. He is currently on leave from the University of Edinburgh, where he is the Chair in Business and Sustainable Development and Director Scaling Business in Africa. He is also a Visiting Professor of Leadership and Financial Markets in Africa at the London School of Economics and an Honorary Professor of Business in Africa at the Graduate School of Business, University of Cape Town, South Africa.
Kenneth is a leading scholar on sustainable business and finance in the global south. His research interest currently focuses on financial market reforms and governance, as well as on sector-level policies for sustainability and sustainability strategy in organisations. He has an expert level knowledge of developing and emerging economies. His research has a very strong interface between business and society, particularly national governments in Africa, where he has an extensive network. Since 2015, he has significantly contributed to developing the intellectual foundations of Africapitalism – an economic philosophy for the development of Africa – and championed its mainstreaming in the global academia.
Besides teaching and researching, Kenneth works closely with businesses and governments in Africa, Europe, and Asia. He leads executive capacity building engagements and consultancy projects in the broad areas of sustainable finance, sustainability strategy, leadership, ethics, and governance for multinational corporations and institutions. Between 2016 and 2017, he was a Scholar in Residence at the National Pension Commission, Nigeria.
On the 2nd and 3rd of June 2021, Kenneth served as the host of the 1st SBA Annual Conference, which was titled Developing a Successful Career as a Black Academic in the UK and was held at the scaling Business in Africa Consortium, University of Edinburgh Business School (co-hosted with Knowledge Bridge).
Professor Gloria Agyemang
Gloria Agyemang is a Professor of Accounting at Royal Holloway, University of London. She has several years’ management and teaching experience in universities in the UK and Africa. Her research interests are varied and include NGO Accountability and Performance Management issues, Management Control in Public Sector Organisations; Funding Issues in Public Sector Organisations; the management of educational institutions; culture and control issues, and Accounting in Less Developed and Emerging Economies. Gloria’s research is mainly qualitative. She has published in the Accounting, Auditing and Accountability Journal, Critical Perspectives on Accounting, Advances in Public Interest Accounting and in the Social and Environmental Accountability Journal. She holds a PhD in Management from the University of London.