Statement on Cardiff University’s decision not to fund our event

Last week, Cardiff Academic Freedom Association (CAFA) held its inaugural public event, featuring Professor Nigel Biggar (Oxford), Professor Naomi Waltham-Smith (Oxford) and Professor Jo Phoenix (Reading). This was extremely successful. Our ideologically diverse panel engaged in sophisticated and civil discussion of challenges to academic freedom, thoughtful questions from our audience helping them.

Yet holding this event was more challenging than it should have been. 

Cardiff University is a great place to work, very committed to academic freedom and, over the years, has hosted crucial debates. CAFA doesn’t seek conflict with the university. It’s quite the opposite; we seek dialogue.

However, we were surprised that the university declined to finance the cost of room hire and security for our event. According to the university, CAFA is an external organization and ineligible for such funding.

But we understand that Cardiff University meets such costs for several organizations which are external to the university, yet comprise university staff. Examples include the meetings of staff associations and learned societies.

The decision not to meet security costs was particularly questionable. Professor Phoenix has been the victim of sustained harassment and threats and, this year, a tribunal ruled that her previous employer, the Open University, discriminated against her. CAFA members have been the subject of extreme threats. These followed a 2021 letter suggesting that Cardiff University leave Stonewall and came from within the university. Indeed, the university decided that our event required the presence of eight security guards.

This lies in tension with the new English Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Act, which isn’t applicable to Wales. Beyond costs, the university presented us with excessive paperwork and some officials gave the impression that they regarded the event as a nuisance.

We thank the Free Speech Union for meeting the charge of £1500. Without them, the event wouldn’t have been possible.

It doesn’t have to be this way. Other universities adopt very different stances. For example, Professor Phoenix’s Vice-Chancellor at the University of Reading, Robert van de Noort, has spoken at events with her.

Next year, we shall hold another public event. Aside from meeting our costs, we hope that senior management will join us at the event.