Appointment committees are a common arena in which bullying can occur in academic life. In hiring, scholarly excellence competes with baser emotions like: “He’s my collaborator,” or “She laughed at my conference talk in 2019.” or “He has never cited my influential papers”. In many universities, the Head of Department Read more…
A high profile case is unfolding which may cause reputational damage to one of the world’s great universities. The case has already excited substantial media interest in Varsity, the Daily Telegraph, the Times and WONKHE. It’s the subject of a YouTube video. The case of Jacob Meagher v. University of Cambridge centres Read more…
Thanks to everyone who nominated me for the Chancellorship of Cambridge University The application was delivered in time with over 100 nominations (more than double the required amount). This should at least persuade those who run Cambridge University that there are some substantial problems in its culture & management that Read more…
A common problem for our Heads of Houses in Oxbridge is the little mistakes that unaccountably slip into their curriculum vitae or press releases. How it happens, no-one really knows — simple clerical errors by their PAs, enthusiastic auto-correction by the computer, or maybe their cat trampled over the keyboard Read more…
There’s been a spectacular smash-up by the Human Resources department at the University of Edinburgh. The recent case involving Professor Roya Sheikholeslami and the University concluded with an emphatic ruling in her favour and a huge award. After a protracted legal battle spanning over a decade, an employment tribunal awarded Read more…
The Fellows of St Judas College are electing a new Master. The choice has almost been made. It is Kerris Bowles-Ottery, a distinguished scientist. His smooth ways charmed the Fellows, especially the ones who look like elderly crocodiles. He’s an FRS. He has Friends of the Right Sort. The Bowles-Ottery Read more…
The 21 Group has been receiving complaints about bullying from staff in UK Universities for over a year. One subject stands out as the worst for bullying and harassment. It is cancer research. We are aware of ongoing and serious issues at the Universities of Cambridge, Oxford and London, involving Read more…
The 21 Group has received the following report of misogynistic bullying in a UK University. The bully is the Director of the Research Centre, the victim is a woman on a fixed-term contract. How many times do we see this in our universities? To be a woman on a fixed-term Read more…
Cambridge University has now supplied more response to the article on bullying in The Observer. The percentages in the article were based on those who expressed an opinion. So, the University is conceding that the numbers in the article are the correct percentages with ‘don’t knows‘ excluded. If you have Read more…
This is the response of Cambridge University to the article in The Observer. Of course, any survey has sampling error and biases. The results always need careful interpretation. However, many of the responses in the University Culture Survey give grave cause for concern at the effectiveness of the University’s anti-bullying Read more…