Sir Lenny Henry steps down as chancellor of Birmingham City University

Sir Lenny Henry has stepped down as chancellor of Birmingham City University. He described his time as chancellor to the BBC: “It’s such an achievement; it’s a huge honour.”

The eight-year tenure of the comedian, presenter, actor, and writer included helping to guide the university through the COVID-19 pandemic.

One of Henry’s most notable achievements was helping to establish the Sir Lenny Henry Centre for Media Diversity. The centre has become a major hub for producing creative professionals.

Henry recently went viral for a video of him having a dance off on stage with a graduate at a recent graduation ceremony.

He handed the reigns to presenter, journalist, disability advocate, and Paralympic medallist Ade Adepitan during a ceremony on Tuesday at the city’s Grand Hotel.

Mr. Adepitan, who shared that he had butterflies at the event, told the audience; “If someone had told me when I was a kid, going to comprehensive school, that one day that I’d be a chancellor of a university, I would’ve said: ‘You’re mad.””

He shared that he considered Lenny Henry to be one of his personal heroes and that Henry had made him feel that he could take on the position.

Henry, who holds a PhD in media arts, said that serving as chancellor had been a privilege, that he was proud of the students, and that he’d also miss the staff who had been “great.”

Mr. Adepitan, a former Paralympin, expressed his excitement to take up the role: “I’ve got ideas – in terms of the fact that I’ve travelled the world, my journalistic background, making documentaries, being an elite athlete, playing at the Paralympics – and the stuff I want to do with disability rights and disability advocacy and getting more disabled kids into higher education.”

Featured image via YouTube

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