Blog
The HR-ification of Cambridge University
This week, the growth of Human Resources (HR) has been in the news because of a publication from the centre-right think tank Policy Exchange. Its report on the growth of HR has received widespread attention, eg in The Times and Read more…
Blog
Letter to Editor of ‘Financial Times’
Dear Editor The Financial Times’ recent ranking of the UK’s “Top 400 Employers” has been greeted with interest and puzzlement. Several results appear curious. For example, the strong performance of organisations facing well-reported financial and governance difficulties or even near-collapse, Read more…
Blog
“Dr” Ann Limb of Lucy Cavendish College
This image is taken from the listing of “Fellows of the Colleges” published in The Reporter here on 19 January 2026. Following an investigation by Gabriel Pogrund, Whitehall Editor of The Sunday Times, it was admitted that Ann Limb’s claims Read more…
Blog
BS from the FT
The Financial Times (FT) yesterday provided a list of the top 400 employers here. It is based on a joint survey carried out by themselves and Statista. It placed the University of Cambridge at the very top. Statista is a Read more…
Blog
The Cloisters of Power: Hiring at Cambridge
Dr Bernhard Fulda is a College Teaching Officer (CTO) at Sidney Sussex College, University of Cambridge. He is also Affiliated Lecturer in the Faculty of History. In 2023, he applied for a permanent University Teaching Officer (UTO) position in Twentieth-Century German History in the Faculty of History, but was not Read more…
Blog
University HR Failures Will Soon Carry a Real Price
The UK government’s decision to remove the statutory cap on unfair dismissal compensation is one of the most important structural reforms affecting accountability in higher education in a generation. For decades, Universities have operated within a legal framework that placed Read more…
Blog
Attack on Tenure at the Cambridge Vet School
Before 1988, academics in permanent posts in the UK could only be dismissed for serious wrongdoing or failure to perform their duties. This gave them strong protection comparable to tenured professors in North America. The Education Reform Act of 1988 Read more…
Blog
A Brutal Plot
At the University of Cambridge, higher-paid groups see larger pay increases over time, leading to ever- widening inequality. The plots show how pay departs from the University of Cambridge average across progressively smaller, higher-paid groups. The outer layer is the Read more…
Blog
Cambridge University and the Lost £1.3 Billion
Here, we will track the real performance of Cambridge University’s endowment over time and isolate the impact of administrative spending growth above inflation. We express values in constant 2025 pounds, taking inflation into account through CPI index, and we benchmark Read more…