How to Kill a University’s Reputation

The sleepy city of Exeter has become the locus of the country’s fraught battle over universities. Three weeks ago ago, its local university announced plans to lay off 150 teaching and support staff. Managers are expected to escape unscathed; Stem teaching and research will largely remain intact. Eighty-five per cent of staff at risk of redundancy are in the humanities, according to the university’s union. Britain’s thinkers are upset. Rowan Williams has expressed concerns about the decline of “humanistic and cultural education”. Rory Stewart has called the situation “worrying”. A petition to stop the redundancies has received 30,000 signatures.