Oxford chancellor Patten says he is to retire
THE chancellor of Oxford University, who once told students that safe spaces on campus were “mad” and championed free speech, has announced his retirement.
Lord Patten of Barnes said he would retire as chancellor of the university at the end of the academic year, as he approaches his 80th birthday.
The Tory grandee, who read modern history at Balliol College, has been the university’s chancellor since 2003. Before taking on the role, he served as chairman of the Conservative Party and was the last governor of Hong Kong.
He also served as chairman of the BBC Trust between 2011 and 2014.
During his tenure as Oxford’s chancellor, he has been a staunch defender of free speech. In an interview with The Oxford Student newspaper last year, he said: “When people talk about safe spaces intellectually at universities, it’s mad. It’s oxymoronic. That’s not what universities are all about.”
He said: “I’m an old-fashioned liberal and I believe that free speech and tolerance are one of the most important values in an open society.
“The only thing that you shouldn’t tolerate is intolerance. If universities aren’t bastions of free speech, who’s going to be? ”
In 2016, he criticised students campaigning for the removal of the Cecil Rhodes statue at Oriel College because of its links to Britain’s colonial past, saying “some students and teachers now seek to constrain argument and debate”. He said: “Education is not indoctrination. Our history is not a blank page on which we can write our own version of what it should have been according to our contemporary views and prejudices.”
Commenting on his decision to stand down, Lord Patten said: “This year, I will have my 80th birthday in May. I hope that there will be many more birthdays to come. But I am unlikely to have another 21 years in the job as chancellor of the university.
“I think it is in my own interest and that of the university for me to step down at the end of this academic year, giving the university the opportunity to plan a sensible succession which matches the demands of the 2020s. I say this with a heavy heart, trusting that I will still be able to work for Oxford University (which I love) from time to time.
“The University of Oxford has been a hugely important part of my life. I think it is true to say that Oxford as a whole made me, not just because of the three happy years I spent there as a student, but because of what Oxford has continued to mean to me over the years right up to the present day.”
Prof Irene Tracey, vice-chancellor of Oxford University, paid tribute to Lord Patten, and said he has worked “tirelessly championing Oxford at home and abroad”. She said: “While his incomparable dedication will be sorely missed by the university, it is entirely understandable that he should want to take a step back at this time, as he approaches his 80th birthday.”
‘It is in my own interest and that of the university for me to step down at the end of this academic year’