Member of the Board of Governors Dr Ifedapo Francis Awolowo
Member of the Board of Governors
Summary
Dr Ifedapo Francis Awolowo is a National Teaching Fellow, award-winning educator, Senior Lecturer in Financial and Management Accounting at Sheffield Hallam University, and Principal Fellow of Advance HE. His work sits at the intersection of educational excellence, inclusive leadership, and social change, with a commitment to creating environments where students and colleagues from all backgrounds can belong, succeed, and thrive.
His research and teaching span forensic accounting, corporate governance and widening participation in higher education, with a particular focus on addressing structural inequalities affecting Black and other underrepresented students. He is the founding lead of the nationally recognised ASPIRE mentoring programme, which has supported Black students to access postgraduate research and has contributed to institutional and sector-wide changes in doctoral access, mentoring and inclusive research cultures.
Dr Awolowo was awarded a National Teaching Fellowship in 2026 in recognition of his sustained impact on teaching, educational leadership and widening participation. His wider expertise encompasses governance, strategic leadership, equality, diversity and inclusion, organisational development, mentoring and doctoral education.
At the heart of his work is a belief that excellence and inclusion are not competing ambitions: institutions achieve their greatest impact when people are given the opportunity, support and sense of belonging they need to realise their potential.