02 Oct 07

'The importance of academic freedom as an immutable value of our University is hard to exaggerate', said Dr John Hood, Vice-Chancellor of Oxford University, in his annual Vice-Chancellor's Oration.

The Vice-Chancellor defined academic freedom as the freedom to research, teach, speak and publish, subject to the standards of scholarly inquiry, without interference or penalty, wherever the search for truth and understanding may lead. He described how in a broad international perspective Oxford is in a highly favourable position, but warned against complacency.

As one example, he expressed his deep unease at the notion of academic boycotts, with particular reference to the recent proposal of a boycott of acdemic institutions in Israel. As another, he highlighted Oxford's position in constructing a new Biomedical Research Building in South Parks Road. He declared that animal research 'should be freely and rigorously debated', but that 'when the forms of protest not only seek to assert a point of view, but also to intimidate and coerce those who differ, then the freedom we cherish is abused and undermined.'

He noted that the entire higher education sector also faces the challenge of how to respond to the perception that higher education is a breeding ground for political and religious extremism. 'There has already been talk, not all of it well thought through, it seems to me, about the policing of campuses. It is a subject requiring the most careful debate, a debate for which Oxford is, I believe, well qualified.'

Musing on the year's achievements, the Vice-Chancellor announced that research revenues had grown 16 per cent in the last year and now stand at £250 million, while the total value of new research contracts signed has increased by 45 per cent over the past year to £387 million. This reflects 'a continuing, real increase in future research activity here in Oxford', he said, noting that many new research centres have been established throughout the year, and 23 new masters and doctoral programmes approved.

The Vice-Chancellor congratulated those colleagues who received awards from scholarly bodies throughout the world, making particular mention of Professor Kim Nasmyth who has received the Gairdner Foundation International Award for contribution to medical research for his discovery of the complex protein cohesin. Dr Hood also congratulated Oxford's nine new Fellows of the British Academy and three new Fellows of the Royal Society.

Dr Hood highlighted the continued expansion of the range and depth of research at Oxford through new centres such as the Oxford Man Institute of Quantitative Finance and the Centre for Genonomics and Global Health, directed by Professor Kwiatkowski, which applies advances in genome research to understanding natural disease immunity.

Building activity is one sign of the level of ambition and energy in an academic institution, he said, noting that this has been a busy period, with a new development at the Pitt Rivers Museum, the new E-Science Building and the Stelios Ioannou Classics centre. Three major projects are also under construction: the Ashmolean extension, the new Biochemistry building and the Old Road Campus research building, which will house major research centres in vaccines, cancer and biomedical engineering.

Concluding the Oration, Dr Hood said: 'Over the past three years much has changed in this academy: new academic programmes, significant growth in research and scholarship activity, considerable development of the estate, and major changes in the organisation, process and culture of the administration of the University. I thank all colleagues for their individual and collective contributions to enhancing the life of this spirited, confident and creative academy.'

Read the Oration in full online

Listen to the Oration using Realplayer

Picture: The Vice-Chancellor of Oxford University, Dr John Hood. Credit: Rob Judges.

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