Surrey risks its reputation over planned job cuts, warns lobby group

The Council for the Defence of British Universities has questioned the University of Surrey’s handling of a recent announcement to staff that it will be restructuring some of its faculties, putting a hundred jobs at risk.

In a statement published on 17 March, the council says the restructuring would involve the loss of academic staff and the dissolution of the politics department—although the subject would still be taught.

A spokeswoman at Surrey told Research Fortnight that the institution is considering cutting about a hundred jobs but said no departments would be lost in the restructuring. In a statement, Surrey’s vice-chancellor, Christopher Snowden, confirmed that an “operational review” was being undertaken and that “the biggest change will see our Faculty of Arts and Human Sciences merged with the Faculty of Business, Economics and Law.”