What do you Profess? Lez Henry on his journey to becoming a Professor

BY DAVID MYLES

‘’To be honest I was missing teaching, because I love teaching students from access/foundation which is what I did when I returned as a mature student in my mid-thirties, right through to Ph.D. level. I just love teaching. ‘’ Professor Lez Henry

Research by Advance HE indicates that for the years of 2016/17 out of 19,000 professors within UK universities, only 115 were said to be black. There is a gross disparity when it comes to the ratio of men, women, black people and those classified as ‘ethnic minorities’.

Approximately 14,000 professors are white males, compared with the 115 black professors, or those of African ancestry (Caribbean and African heritage). On closer inspection, 90 of these black professors are males and a dismal 25 are females.  Since the time that these figures were collated by Advance HE, the numbers have only slightly increased in the last several years.

After nearly nine years absent from the ivory tower, Dr William Lez Henry returned to take up the position of Lecturer in Criminology and Sociology at the University of West London (UWL) in 2014, and has just recently been appointed Professor.

Born to Jamaican parents, and raised in the London borough of Lewisham, Professor Lez Henry has devoted a considerable amount of time immersing himself in community activities. In the past, he has worked as a centre manager for a mental health organisation called Family Health Isis, and consults for the NHS ‘BME’ Network.

In 1999 he established his own consulting company Nu Beyond LTD Learning By Choice with his wife Marlene and best friend Dalewyn, and ran BLAK (Black Liberation African Knowledge) Fridays. BLAK Friday sessions were held at least once a month for a number of years, whereby Lez Henry would majestically unpack sociological phenomena and would also give the platform to practitioners and learned individuals to present their knowledge in an interactive fashion.

‘’All that we ask is that you bring your mind and make sure that it is open.’’ Lez Henry

After completing his Sociology PHD in 2002, Professor Henry was on several contracts at a highly regarded London University. Initially, on a contact Henry explains ‘’I couldn’t get shortlisted for the job I was doing. Three colleagues who joined me, they would get shortlisted, I wouldn’t. I was the only black one at the time. I got another one year contract, so this was 2003, 2004, 2005 and I couldn’t get shortlisted again so I basically took a grievance out against them and won it because I basically said how could I not get shortlisted for the job I am delivering?’’

From about 2012 Henry began to apply for positions within universities, but found himself yet again not even getting shortlisted. ‘’I have spoken at so many Russel Group universities and have delivered loads of keynotes, as well as my community stuff, but I just couldn’t get shortlisted.” It would not be until 2014 when a good friend of Henry, Professor Les Back, informed him of a position at the UWL where he was able to progress to the status of Professor.

‘’I got the half time position. It was a permanent contract, but half time, so 0.5. This is really important because most of us African, black or however we want to style ourselves as, invariably end up on these half time contracts, or as hourly paid lecturers, which is how I started at UWL.’’

In 2005 Henry took this opportunity to go on a hiatus from academia and would not formally return to the ivory tower until 2014.During this period, he continued to give lectures globally at prestigious intellectual enclaves such as: Yale University, Queens University Belfast, historically black Howard University, as well as the University of West Indies to name but a few. Additionally, Henry ran projects with the local authorities and gang preventive initiatives, which included various institutions across the UK. He also took the time to deliver engaging presentations with grassroots organisations such as Black History Studies and Black History Walks. Thankfully, this also gave him time to focus more on his former consulting company Nu Beyond: Learning By Choice.

Although being out of the ivory tower for nine years, it became self-evident to others that Lez Henry was one of the most experienced lecturers inside the School of Law and Criminology at the University of West London, so he was promoted to full-time before becoming a Senior Lecturer in 2016. ”I was encouraged by the Head of School to apply for Associate Professor the year after. I got that and then applied for Full Professor and got that within 5 years.”

What I find so remarkable about Professor Lez Henry’s journey is that he was expelled at 15 from a local comprehensive school that he should not have been at in the first place. Professor Lez and his twin brother excelled at the entry exams, which would enable them to attend a grammar school, but his parents were racially persuaded to not enter them for a grammar school.  Expulsion from school led to expulsion from college at 16, but Henry states ‘’I have a voracious appetite for literature and I love education, but hated school. The teachers were racist and it wasn’t hidden then.‘’

To keep up to date with Professor William Lez Henry check his Twitter:  Prof William Lez Henry @DrLezhenry