Sir Nick Partridge, OBE, is a leading British health care and HIV/AIDS care activist who graduated in International Relations from Keele University in 1978 and was awarded the Honorary Doctor of Letters in 2008. He worked for the Terence Higgins Trust, the UK’s first HIV/AIDS charity, from 1985 and was Chief Executive from 1991 to 2013. He served as Chair of INVOLVE, an advisory group promoting public involvement in NHS, public health, and social care research. He was also Chair of the Clinical Priorities Advisory Group at NHS England, Deputy Chair of the UK Clinical Research Collaboration, Deputy Chair of NHS Digital, and a volunteer at his local Citizens Advice Bureaux in Peckham. Sir Nick is enjoying retirement and is a Patron of Queer Britain, the national LGBTQ+ museum, and Switchboard, the national LGBTQ+ support line.

Q. Why do you think it’s important to have out and visible LGBT+ people in the University?

When I arrived at Keele in 1974, there were almost no visible LGBT+ people at the University and virtually none in public life or the media. Our invisibility delayed my coming out and enjoying life to the full. It’s still rare for LGBT+ young people to learn about gay life from their families, schools, and local communities. Getting away to university should open up the world in all its diversity. Out and proud LGBT+ students and staff are vital to creating a vibrant, dynamic, and inclusive experience for everyone.

Q. What advice would you give to other LGBT staff or students who may be facing difficulties because of their sexuality?

Talk to someone! If you don’t want to go along to the Keele LGBT+ Soc, call Switchboard on 0800 0119100. It’s the LGBT+ support line, a place for calm words when you need them most. I was a volunteer there in the mid-1980s, and it’s still free, confidential, and wonderfully supportive.

Q. Why are allies important in the workplace?

Workplaces can be very competitive, and some ‘colleagues’ may stoop to using anti-LGBT+ slurs to try to diminish, undermine, or intimidate you. They always must be called out, and this is often most powerfully done by your straight friends and allies. And who wants to work somewhere with no allies anyway?!