Sector: Education

Services: Strategic communications: Crisis communications; Internal relations

Apella helped a leading business school confront the historic links of its previous name to slavery. At the time the issue was generating significant international media attention and understandable emotion, especially within the student body and the further education community.

A renaming exercise for the business school was undertaken in collaboration with students, alumni and staff. Apella advised that it was important not to be rushed into adopting a new name which could be mischaracterised as cosmetic and as papering over the cracks.  Instead, a detailed consultation with key stakeholders demonstrated commitment to equal support, opportunity and fair representation.

Apella  also advised on a new Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) strategy setting out a vision to provide an environment and culture that is truly inclusive.

Ongoing reputation and sentiment tracking by Apella shows that critical audiences have been reassured by the name change. For the university it was ultimately about more than a new name - creating sustainable changes in the way it works and behaves.