Oxford University has “lost its moral compass”, according to a senior academic affiliated with the institution for more than thirty years. Professor Lawrence Goldman tells Telegraph columnists Liam Halligan and Allison Pearson why “money is talking too loud” on the latest episode of their weekly Planet Normal podcast, which you can listen to using the audio player above.
The university has faced criticism after accepting a £6 million from a charitable trust set up by Max Mosley to house the fortune he inherited from his father, Sir Oswald Mosley, leader of the British Union of Fascists.
Two of Oxford’s colleges – St Peter’s and Lady Margaret Hall – have also accepted cash from the Mosley family trust totalling more than £6.3 million.
“They have thrown out of the window academic principles and if I may so, pure common sense”, Professor Goldman tells the podcast.
But Oxford is not alone, according to the historian. “Proper scrutiny,” he tells the podcast, has been absent from UK universities “for far too long.”
“They have lost contact with the social and political principles which they profess so often in public.”
Listen to Professor Lawrence Goldman’s full interview on Planet Normal, a weekly Telegraph podcast featuring news and views from beyond the bubble, using the audio player above or on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or your preferred podcast app.
