Teaching through the 'crisis'

While refusing interviews.

Last week was a very diffficult one at Cardiff University, where on Tuesday we were told that jobs would have to go, departments would have to close, staff student ratios would have to change, and specific departments would have to increase their ‘surplus’ contribution back to the university, all in a matter of months. First thing Wednesday morning hundreds - maybe thousands of us - received letters saying that our jobs were now ‘in scope’ for possible redundancy.

I share the deep anger of my colleagues. I lost a lot of sleep last week, and my mental health has unquestionably been damaged both by the University’s announcements and the manner of them. I’m not alone in that. But I won’t bang on about it here - as the REM song says, ‘everyone hates a sad professor’.

I’ve turned down all requests for interviews by broadcast media - mainly different parts of the BBC. My reasons were:

• I wasn’t sure I had enough information at each stage as the story developed.

• I wasn’t convinced there was there anything unique or useful I could add.

• I knew that whatever I did say would be taken as the words of a former Education Minister, and I wasn’t yet sure I knew what I would have done as Education Minister.

As it happens, I think by the end of the week I had thought through what I would do if I were Education Minister, but I’ll share that privately with those who need to know.

We are heading into a consultation, and I will keep my powder dry, since this is a marathon not a sprint. I will certainly be co-operating with Business School colleagues collectively on this, and others across the University, and joining in official trade union action where I can.

These announcements come at a time when I am intensively co-teaching the Leadership module on the Business School’s MSc in Business Strategy and Entrepreneurship. It’s a taught postgraduate course which attracts a good number of international students. Just the kind of course in fact which addresses the University’s need for more international postgraduate students reinforced in meetings last week.

I’ve got to be honest, it’s not easy to focus on teaching at the present time. However, I think the students are going to have some great experiences on this module.

But with the teaching, and the university ‘crisis’, I’m not going to have a lot of time for writing on this Substack over the next few weeks. I hope to return to my usual themes and dig deeper into Welsh Government archives as well from March onwards. I’d got to 2007 before Christmas, and by Easter I may reach my time as Education Minister….All part of the background work for my next book, which will of course contribute to the University’s subsequent research submissions.

I’m grateful to everyone who has been in touch publicly or privately to offer their support and solidarity. It’s deeply appreciated.

I particularly want to thank the Senedd Members who have contacted me.

One thing I do want to say on the record. We’re all angry, but I don’t like the personalisation of the issues that I have occasionally read over the last week, with criticisms either of past or current university leaders. I’m angry, everyone is angry, but we can be civil. Let’s make our arguments on their own terms, and avoid demonization.