Dear Board member;

I am deeply disturbed, as many members of the wider academic community will be, to learn of the suspension of members of staff and of the student body in relation to the protests at the decision to close the Philosophy programme at Middlesex University. The decision to close the programme, in itself, is enormously damaging to the reputation of the University, but the insensitive response to the student anger over this decision can only serve to damage that reputation further.

I was proud to work in the Philosophy team at Middlesex University for 15 years of my academic career. During that time, the Philosophy group did immense work to enhance the status of the University through the quality of their teaching and research, as evidenced by high ratings in teaching quality exercises and their consistently high ratings in research assessment exercises. The level of feeling in the student body is demonstrates that standard of teaching, and the level of protest you have received from the international academic community shows the high regard for their research.

I hope the Board of Governors will demand a full account from those responsible for taking these deeply damaging decisions, and will take steps to restore the University’s reputation in the eyes of the wider academic world and of its own students, and prospective ones.

Kind regards

Phillip Cole

Professor of Applied Philosophy

School of Health and Social Sciences

University of Wales, Newport

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