Warwick Professor Allegedly Suspended Due To Activism

Thomas Docherty, former head of the English department at Warwick University and rife activist against the cuts has been suspended from the university.

However, Nigel Thrift and co deny the suspension linked to his political views.

A member of the steering group of the Council for the Defence of British Universities, Docherty has also written opinion pieces for Times Higher Education.

An academic suggested he heard Professor Docherty had been “suspended indefinitely for anti-cuts activism”.

A spokeswoman for Warwick said: “The university would not normally comment on internal staffing issues. In this case however, given inaccurate reports elsewhere, we would wish to confirm that a member of academic staff has been suspended pending formal disciplinary process.

“Contrary to those inaccurate reports elsewhere, the disciplinary allegations in no way relate to the content of the individual’s academic views or their views on HE policy.”

Many of his articles for various newspapers have been regarding the marketisation and bureaucratisation of higher education of which he describes the Russel Group as “a self-declared elite…even exerting a negative influence over others”. He has also turned his hand to publishing a book with focuses on his criticisms.

In 2011, he published ‘For the University: Democracy and the Future of the Institution’ which has been described as book that “helps to make more people aware of the contradictory and short-sighted way that universities are now discussed and managed in Britain.”