From Hull Chemistry - Updates and Thank You

Hello,

Thank you once again for choosing to support this petition. A local and academically niche issue has now attracted over 3,300 supporters. If you are concerned by the state of science and research in the United Kingdom, please take a moment to share this petition again to draw attention to it.

Our updates on this issue:

• We have been the subject of a mini documentary video by Ian Cutress, a former student (now a technology writer and vlogger) who came here to speak to staff and students, and to showcase what Chemistry means to them. It lasts for 20 minutes and covers Ian's experience here, alongside interviews with research students, technicians and professors.
• We have met with local MP Diana Johnson, who took time to meet with Chemistry staff personally, in addition to her meetings with Union staff regarding the wider redundancies threatened at the University. She was immediately concerned for student wellbeing and what 'teach out' actually means in the current plan.
• We have also written to Ministers for the Department of Science, Technology and Innovation (who have universities and research as a remit) to draw attention to how the closure of Chemistry in Hull is a symptom of wider problems in Higher Education. We welcome any statement from them about their plans to make sure that if Hull Chemistry cannot be saved, it will not become the first in a cascade of closures to science departments across the country.
• We believe plans to safely close the building and safely decommission its contents are incomplete and ill thought out. The environmental, safety and legal ramifications of closing a research-active Chemistry building are complex and time-consuming, which is not compatible with the drive to remove staff as fast as possible on timescales set by tax years and accountancy rules. This is being raised as a serious concern.

In positive news, our Associate Dean for Education is looking at the future of our students, and is working hard to secure them a future at universities elsewhere, including supporting relocations costs for all students, should the University's plans to remove all Chemistry staff go ahead. This is a complex task to negotiate, one that is a unfortunately necessary contingency, and we would like to publicly acknowledge this, and our gratitude for it.

We passionately believe this closure is a mistake, based on short-term thinking and financial figures that are misleading. If it goes ahead, it will deny many people the opportunity to study this subject and others in the future, as the knock-on effects gradually spread to other subjects, faculties and other universities.

Please help draw attention to this issue by sharing this petition once again.

Regards,

Staff of Chemistry at Hull