War breaks out over uni’s Nobel Peace Prize claim
University of Birmingham is wrong to publicise 11 winners, says campaigner
IT’S the Nobel Prize row that has caused consternation in the corridors of a leading university and even drawn the Advertising Standards Authority into the scientific spat.
And fanning the flames is mature student and former hospital worker Dylan Morgan, who has taken umbrage over the University of Birmingham’s boasts that the late Professor Peter Bullock is one of 11 of its academics to receive the world famous award.
He is not, says Mr Morgan, who is studying public health at the university.
Professor Bullock, a soil scientist, was a member of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2007.
The honour was not bestowed on him, but on the IPCC.
Mr Morgan maintains that is very different and believes potential students are being misled.
They are greeted by a hoarding at the University railway station that proclaims: “Nobel Peace Prize. Understanding climate change. Professor Peter Bullock.”
The “11 Nobel Prize winners” is a recurring theme. Publicity for the university’s foreign campus in Dubai – University of Birmingham Dubai – states: “Eleven of our former staff and students have been awarded Nobel Prizes. From revealing the structure of DNA to developing new treatments for heart disease and cancer, the research and work of our Nobel Prize winners has made an impact worldwide.”
The 2021 Foundation Prospectus states: “The University of Birmingham has 11 Nobel prize winners among its staff, students and alumni.”
The correct figure is 10, insists Mr Morgan – and he’s not prepared to let the matter rest.
To date, he has contacted the Nobel Foundation and Advertising Standards Authority.
He has also been in touch with the university’s chancellor Lord Bilimoria at the House of Lords and plans to raise the issue with universities regulator, the Office for Students.
The Nobel Foundation confirmed: “You are correct. When the Nobel Peace Prize is awarded to an organisation, it is the organisation, and not its individual members, that receive the prize.”
Mr Morgan stresses he is not nitpicking.
The 55-year-old said: “Since 2007, the university has made this claim. There are at least half a dozen websites stating it, yet it wouldn’t take long to amend the information.
“I am in the process of raising my concerns with the University regulator, the Office for Students. In reality, it shows the university doesn’t value students who point out university errors.
“For a start, we expect the university to comply with the highest standards of integrity.
“It would take only hours to paint out the detail on the railway hoarding and amend the website.”
He has already gained support from the Advertising Standards Authority.
An email sent last December confirmed: “We’ve assessed the ads you highlighted and, from the information we have, we think them likely to have breached the Advertising Codes that we administer, please be aware that we have taken steps to address this.”
The row was first highlighted last year by university magazine Redbrick.
A University spokesman said the discrepancy was now being corrected and added: “The University is incredibly proud of its 10 Nobel Prize winners.
“Professor Peter Bullock is not formally one of the University’s 10 Nobel prize winners, although he contributed to the reports of the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2007.
“His significant work demonstrated the role played by soil in the Earth’s ecosystem and the impact of climate change on land degradation.
“We have already corrected this discrepancy across a range of our current materials and are continuing to review and update any legacy promotional materials that may not accurately reflect this.”