The Pitt Award celebrates graduating students who have demonstrated a commitment to equality, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) through a sustained contribution to EDI initiatives, policies, and activities throughout their time at university. The Pitt AwardThe award is named after David Pitt, who dedicated his life to medicine, politics, and fighting against racism and discrimination.Born in Grenada in 1913, Pitt studied medicine at the University of Edinburgh. After graduating with distinction, he went on to lead a life committed to improving the lives of working-class and racialised people across the globe and became a prominent anti-racist campaigner.Through this award the EDI Committee wishes to acknowledge his and our student’s contribution to social justice.The winnersThe judging panel were impressed by the exceptional quality of nominations submitted and as a result the inaugural award has this year been shared by two graduates from the class of 2025, Grace Clark and Kate Wilson.Grace ClarkGrace, a Philosophy and Politics graduate, was commended for her work in raising awareness of accent bias and linguistic discrimination at the University and her tireless commitment as President of the Edinburgh branch of The 93% Club.The 93% Club is the first and largest network of state-educated students and professionals in Britain, dedicated to democratising the knowledge and opportunities that have traditionally been contained within private school alumni networks.Grace’s campaigning work was recognised earlier in the year when she came runner-up in the Outstanding Leadership category at the Student Awards 2025. She was applauded for her dedication, selflessness and hard work, and for significantly raised the profile of Widening Participation and state school students at the University. I'm so proud of the positive change we have been able to bring about over the last few years, we still have a long way to go but it’s meant a lot to know that I've left the University just a little bit of a better place than how I found it. I'm incredibly grateful to Dr Christian Ilbury for all his support with this project and it has been a pleasure to work alongside him and all the other amazing staff across PPLS. Grace Clark Kate WilsonKate, a Linguistics graduate, was recognised for her impressive campaigning work. She was the co-founder of Sex? On Campus!, an Edinburgh-based campaign focused on promoting greater awareness and education surrounding topics of sex, consent, and relationships."I cannot express enough just how significant my receiving of this award truly is”, she said. “Not only for the time and energy I have committed to tackling the structural facilitation and mishandling of Gender-Based Violence cases throughout my studies, but because it serves as a reminder that I have made at least some of the difference I felt so strongly I needed to make”.However, what meant the most to her was “…the nomination process. To have been trusted by my peers so consistently throughout my campaigning with their plenitude of stories of Gender-Based Violence, and to have been able to act on those stories accordingly has been the greatest honour of them all. I can think of no better way to finish my degree”.Alongside her campaigning, in 2024/25 Kate was the EUSA Disabled Students' Officer. A role in which she was praised for her unwavering dedication to improving accessibility across the University. During her tenure, Kate led on the Students' Association's Disability History Month celebrations and delivered deaf awareness training to over 40 student leaders.Congratulations Kate and Grace! We are so proud of your achievements, and we can’t wait to see what you do next! The PPLS EDI CommitteeThe School's Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Committee aims to foster a supportive environment across the School that enables diversity and equality.Want to find out more or get involved? Contact EDI Director, Dr Christian Ilbury.Related links David Pitt – find out more The 93% Club Student Awards 2025 Sex? On campus! Dr Christian Ilbury – staff page Publication date 23 Jul, 2025
