Launched in Hilary Term 2020 to recognise the first Black African woman to graduate with a degree from Oxford, the Lady Ademola Project supports students and scholars of Black, African, or Caribbean heritage.
Kofoworola ‘Kofo’ Ademola (née Moore) (1913–2002) arrived at St Hugh’s College in 1932 to study English, gradauting in 1935. Lady Ademola, as Kofoworola would become, was a lifelong advocate for women’s education and social reform—hence this project, which is intended to keep her legacy alive in the new millennium.
St Hugh’s College organises a range of activities inspired by her achievements and aimed at increasing access as well as meaningful participation in the life of the College for Black, African, or Caribbean heritage scholars and students.
The Lady Ademola Lecture Series
The Lady Ademola Project - More Information
Listen to the University of Oxford’s official podcast series – Women in Oxford’s History – as they explore the life of Kofoworola Moore. You can read the first part of the podcast’s transcript here.
Listen to the podcast
Read Dr Chris Fell’s piece on Lady Ademola, and her role and place as an educator and advocate for women’s education and social reform.
Read the article
Generous contributions from our donors and alumni enabled us to offer a St Hugh’s Ademola Graduate Scholarship in 2021-2022, in partnership with the Africa Oxford Initiative (AfOx). The scholarship supported a student who had otherwise been unable to secure funding to read for one-year Masters in any field supported by scholars at the College. The partnership with AfOx meant that our scholarship holder would benefit from mentoring and academic support, membership of a community of students from Africa, and access to professional opportunities.
We were therefore delighted to welcome our first Lady Ademola scholarship holder, Ndume Ibrahimu, who read for a Master of Studies in Linguistics, Philology and Phonetics and has successfully completed the course.
Meet Ndume Ibrahimu
This project and all its related activities has only been made possible thanks to the generosity of alumni and friends of St Hugh’s College. We are also grateful to the family of Lady Ademola who have been supportive with their time, effort and personal philanthropy.
If you would like to help ensure we can continue to honour Lady Ademola through this project, and help us do more, please consider making a gift today.
Make a gift today
