The University of Cambridge has announced the launch of a second independent inquiry in the space of a week, as the institution faces mounting pressure over its recruitment and institutional practices.
After calling a review into the appointment of Jason Arday, who has been accused of academic plagiarism, the university has said it will launch a separate inquiry into how it handled bullying allegations made by a whistleblower.
This case came to a head this week when a tribunal upheld complaints by astrophysics professor, Wyn Evans, that he was victimised after raising concerns about the treatment of female staff members within the university’s Institute of Astronomy.
The tribunal found a “clear pattern of trying to shut down” allegations of bullying made by Evans, in a bid to “protect the university from any possible damage”.
Deborah Prentice, vice-chancellor of Cambridge, whose handling of the matter was criticised by the tribunal, said the university needed to “look very hard at the judgment, its findings, and what went wrong”, and said that the university council’s deputy chair and the council audit committee will establish the terms of an independent review of relevant university processes.
