What should British universities do about benefits received from past wrongs?

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Shutterstock/Pajor Pawel

Steven Greer, University of Bristol

The University of Cambridge has embarked on a project to discover how it may have contributed to, and benefited financially from, slavery. This venture follows hot on the heels of a similar investigation at University College London, and a decision by the University of Glasgow to launch a “reparative justice programme” after having discovered it made the equivalent of £200m from the transatlantic slave trade. Continue reading

How can universities tackle the challenges and exploit the opportunities of Brexit?

Phil Syrpis, Professor of EU Law, University of Bristol Law School

Brexit will present the UK with a vast number of political, economic, social, and legal challenges and opportunities in the months and years ahead. In this short piece, Professor Phil Syrpis reflects on the steps taken within the University of Bristol to begin to tackle the challenges and exploit the opportunities.

From the time that it became clear, on the morning of Friday 24 June 2016, that the UK had voted to leave the EU, academics have been absorbing, reacting to, and in some cases seeking to shape, the political agenda. Events have been occurring at a dizzying pace. David Cameron was swiftly replaced by Theresa May; Parliament, after Gina Miller’s Supreme Court victory, voted to trigger Article 50 and begin the process of exiting the EU; White Papers and Negotiating Guidelines were issued; and we are now set for a General Election on 8 June, which looks set to be dominated by Brexit (that’s one of the very few predictions I feel able to make). Continue reading