The 21 Group predicted that 2026 would be the Year of Scandals for Cambridge University. Those scandals are now arriving thick and fast. The Simon Goldhill Affair involved a distinguished classicist at King’s College, Cambridge. Allegations of sexual misconduct against him were upheld by the University. His “touchy-feely” behaviour had Read more…
From top left, clockwise: Karen Cox, Shearer West, Paul Greatrix, Margaret Monckton This week saw the horrible news that Nottingham University has sent letters to 2,700 staff putting them at risk of redundancy. The university is targeting subjects and departments with low staff-to-student ratios, specifically including physics, medicine, health sciences, modern languages, history and music. Read more…
It’s a now-familiar pattern. A junior researcher discovers work and ideas have been incorporated into a senior colleague’s publication without proper credit. The researcher raises the issue internally. The process is slow, procedural and opaque. They are reminded — sometimes subtly, sometimes directly — of the importance of collegiality, references Read more…
What does it take for Cambridge University to expel a student? (a) making threats to kill a fellow student? (b) raping a fellow student? (c) setting fire to a fellow student? (d) sending emails? We thank Dr Nuno Oliveira for his testimony below. I know the answer — because it Read more…
The 21 Group pursue policies consistent with freedom of speech and open justice. From 1–28 June 2026, an Employment Tribunal will sit at Bury St Edmunds. The claimant is Professor Neil Wyn Evans. The respondents are the University of Cambridge (legally styled as the Chancellor, Masters and Scholars of the Read more…
We provide further testimony regarding Simon Goldhill. We thank our contributor for her honesty in recounting difficult details. Unfortunately, ‘sharking’ remains commonplace in many UK universities, as the Warwick University rapechat scandal demonstrated in 2019. It’s still a problem in Cambridge undergraduate life, from colleges to sports clubs to societies, Read more…
The death of Dr Jane Ying Wu, covered in Nature Careers (2026), is a profound tragedy. Following an administrative investigation at Northwestern University that resulted in the loss of her laboratory and funding, she was left without the work to which she had devoted her life. She killed herself on Read more…
There are more revelations in The Times about Prof Simon Goldhill, as two more female academics come forward. Their stories are here. They are sobering. “The worst of them was a forced embrace, a sloppy forced kiss, hands all over. These incidents happened over a few years in the early Read more…
“Goldhill-Watch” returns shortly. Additional material has been circulated to the 21 Group regarding his management of CRASSH. Simon Goldhill seems to now have a low profile on the CRASSH website. Similarly the, Cambridge Traditional Jewish Congregation has removed all references to Simon Goldhill on its website and replaced him as Read more…
Recent disclosures in The Times and Daily Telegraph concerning Simon Goldhill must have come as little surprise in King’s College or the Classics Faculty at Cambridge. His aggressive pattern of conduct extended over many years — arguably decades — and was widely recognised among colleagues. It was remarked by a Read more…