The Honourable Lord Herman Ouseley Kt has a career spanning over 40 years as a champion of equality and diversity.
Knighted for his services to government relations and local communities and appointed as a member of the House of Lords, Herman uses his position to eliminate inequalities and injustices in the workplace, in sport and in the community.
He also undertakes charitable and voluntary work, as patron of dozens of local organisations, former chair of a housing association, and supporter and founder of many community projects. He is a council member of the Institute of Race Relations, a trustee of the Manchester United Foundation, and Chair of Kick It Out, a national campaign to achieve equality in football.
He said: “My proudest achievement is to be acknowledged for doing a good job in whatever I do. It provides me with enthusiasm to do more and to serve with pride.
“My successes relied on being in the right place at the right time, being helped by other people, having a work ethic and always persevering in spite of obstacles, being lucky, being inspired by others and recognising that you have to take personal responsibility for your actions and not get bogged down by looking to blame others.”
Herman came to England from guyana with his family in 1957. He attained a Municipal Management diploma after studying at Catford College in Lewisham.
Between 1978 and 2000, Herman achieved a number of firsts within the UK black community. He was the first black person to gain the positions of Race Equality Advisor, and eventually CEO in the London Borough of Lambeth, Policy Advisor for Ethnic Minorities for the greater London Council, Chief Executive of a local authority in England and Executive Chairman of the former Commission for Racial Equality.
After he stepped down from the latter position, Herman set up his own business, Different Realities Partnership, which looks at institutional discrimination, organisational change, people management, community cohesion and equality.
The Award of Honorary Doctor of Staffordshire University is bestowed upon Herman in recognition of his expertise in equality and diversity matters, for challenging institutional racism, for being
an advocate of people from disadvantaged and deprived backgrounds and for tackling racism
in sport.