university staff alleged they were being pressured into conducting face-to-face teaching. In October 2020 the Fallowfield area, home to the university's Fallowfield Campus, saw more COVID-19 cases than any other part of the UK. Rothwell launched an investigation after fences were erected around campus residences in November 2020 and apologised for the university's "very poor communication" with students. Days later students began a rent strike and occupied a campus building and demanded Rothwell meet with them to discuss a proposed rent discount. Later in November Rothwell acknowledged the university had made "mistakes" in its approach to the pandemic and said that, while many students supported the measures, others felt "let down". The inquiry issued a report in December 2020, which identified failures of project management on the university's part and a failure to engage with students; Rothwell accepted the inquiry's findings and pledged to implement its recommendations. Also in November 2020, anti-racist campaigners called on Rothwell to resign following an incident in which a black student was detained and allegedly racially profiled by university security guards. A Universities and Colleges Union official said Rothwell should "offer a full apology" to the student "and stop trying to police the university's student population". In an interview on Newsnight, Rothwell said that she had contacted the student to apologise. At the time of the interview she had not, in fact, contacted the student, and she later apologised for claiming she had done so. In February 2021, the University of Manchester Students' Union called a vote of no confidence in Rothwell, the first time in the university's history such a motion has been triggered. The students obtained the requisite 400 signatures to launch the referendum in hours. The campaign also called for the vice-chancellor to be elected by staff and students. In March 2021 the vote of no confidence was passed with the support of 89 percent of voters. The vote, however, was non-binding and a spokesperson for the university said it had "full confidence" in Rothwell. Awards and honours In February 2013, Rothwell was assessed as the 15th most powerful woman in the United Kingdom by Woman's Hour on BBC Radio 4. In May 2013 she was the subject of BBC Radio 4's The Life Scientific and was interviewed about her life and work by Jim Al-Khalili. Rothwell was appointed Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) in the 2005