Bullying at UK Universities

Regular followers of this blog will interested to see that the Daily Telegraph has published an article about Professor Neil Wyn Evans about bullying in UK universities, with particular reference to his own experiences during a long-running dispute at the Institute of Astronomy at Cambridge.

If you would rather not click through to the Daily Telegraph, here is the most remarkable revelation (amongst many). It is about an investigation by an independent barrister that took over eighteen months to do complete. When Prof. blew the whistle on what he saw as bullying, he ended up being himself investigated, though the investigation dismissed all the claims made against him:

In his independent report into Prof Evans’ whistleblowing claims, the external barrister appointed by Cambridge University said he regretted the length of time that the investigation took and “the effect this will undoubtedly have had on all those involved”. The barrister also raised concerns that several staff members pulled out of providing testimony “over fears they would face retaliation.

It is a sorry state of affairs when members of staff refuse to provide testimony to an investigation for for fear of retaliation, and an even sorrier state when you realize that the feared retaliation would come from the University’s own Human Resources Department!

This is not only a problem at Cambridge, of course. Universities generally are terrible at dealing with this sort of thing. At least there’s at least a chance of doing something about it in Cambridge, however, as Neil Wyn Evans is standing for the Chancellorship of Cambridge University. He’s got my vote.

#Bullying #DailyTelegraph #InstituteOfAstronomy #NeilWynEvans #UniversityOfCambridge

Wyn Evans for Chancellor of Cambridge University!

I thought I’d post a quick follow-up to this post about the campaign by Prof. Wyn Evans to be the next Chancellor of Cambridge University. When I posted that item, Wyn was seeking enough nominations to stand for election. I’m very glad to pass on the news that he got over 100 nominations, more than twice the number required to stand for election. He is therefore an official candidate for the election that will take place in July. I am a graduate of Cambridge University and have registered to vote in the forthcoming election.

P.S. This all reminds me that a mere 40 years ago I was preparing for my finals at Cambridge. I still have the papers I sat then and will share them on the anniversary for old times’ sake. The first papers were on Wednesday 22nd May 1985.

#BullyingAndHarassment #CambridgeUniversity #Chancellor #NeilWynEvans #WynEvans

Wyn Evans for the Chancellorship of Cambridge University!

Following on from yesterday’s post, I thought I’d pass on information about the campaign by Prof. Wyn Evans to be the next Chancellor of Cambridge University. You can find some of this information in the comment here and a longer version here. Here’s the gist of the campaign:

I am a graduate of Cambridge University and have just registered to vote in the forthcoming election. I shall of course be backing Wyn Evans, but in order to stand he needs to get 50 nominations. If you are a Cambridge graduate and wish to nominate Wyn Evans then please follow the instructions here or here.

That is all.

#BullyingAndHarassment #CambridgeUniversity #Chancellor #NeilWynEvans #WynEvans