Screenwriter, journalist and author Sarfraz Manzoor has officially been installed as Chancellor of the University of Bedfordshire.
Manzoor, who moved to Luton from Pakistan in the 1970s and set his memoir ‘Greetings From Bury Park’ in the town, was chosen for this important role with the University, due to his influence, inspirational career journey and his roots and connection to the town.
As an honorary position, Manzoor will be helping to raise the university’s profile and seek reflective and valuable opportunities for students and the wider community, such as hosting workshops and arranging talks with friends from the creative industry.
He hopes that in this role he will also be able to inspire students from minority backgrounds – or those who would be the first in their family to go to university – and encourage them to shape their path through education.
Ahead of his inauguration, Manzoor said: “I am thrilled to be joining the University of Bedfordshire as Chancellor. I grew up in this town, went to school and college here, spent many teenage days in the central library and the Arndale Centre trying to imagine a life and world larger than the world into which I had been born. The idea that I would one day be asked to become Chancellor of my home town’s university was not even within the realm of imagination.
“I look forward to working with the Vice Chancellor to get to know both the university and its students better. I am keen that my time as Chancellor allows me to contribute in ways beyond simply the merely ceremonial.”
Manzoor’s memoir was adapted into the Luton-based feature film Blinded by the Light, which got its premiere in the town in 2019.
Based on his experience growing up in Luton in the 1980s and his youth shaped by the town and the music of rock legend Bruce Springsteen.
Asked about his experience of filming in the town, he said on Radio LaB, the University of Bedfordshire’s radio station: “It was completely surreal, but it was also surreal to have an entire film crew in Luton, making it. To be in George Street and having over 100 people, actors, cameras and make-up and they’re all there because of the film, I was thinking, ‘this is crazy. They’re all here because of my story.’”
The film also dealt with some of the more unsavoury elements of growing up in Luton in the 1980s, tackling racism in particular.
Manzoor said: “It’s one of those places that is kind of easy to mock, in a way. I think it has got a reputation, but I don’t know how well justified it is because I don’t live here so much now.
“I think some of it is probably justified, but I think it’s probably overdone. I feel there’s other places that have also got problems and they don’t get talked about as much. I think the positive side of things, or the better side of the town, it’s harder to get coverage for that.
“In a way, only the negative stories get covered, so I think there’s a bit of that as well.”
In a University YouTube interview after officially being installed as Chancellor, Manzoor said of his new role: “It’s quite nice coming from a town and then end up being, in some way, an ambassador for it. I think that’s quite cool. If it was a different Uni it wouldn’t mean quite so much. I grew up not far from here (the university), so there’s something quite nice about that.
“I’m hoping I can be someone who can offer some advice, if they want it, or maybe I can come in and talk about my journey and what lessons I’ve learned.”
Speaking of his hopes for the university, the writer said: “It’s part of the town. I think it would be nice to have closer links with regular folk who aren’t students, so they understand a little bit more about what the Uni does, and so it feels like it’s a conversation and a dialogue between them, rather than two separate worlds.”
Professor Rebecca Bunting, Vice Chancellor of the University of Bedfordshire, said: “We are thrilled to have Sarfraz join the University as Chancellor. His passion for learning and his remarkable career are things we hope our students can take inspiration from during their studies here at Bedfordshire. We are looking forward to working with him and we’re sure his role will create a real impact with our student body and local communities.”
