My thanks to Ksenija for drawing this matter to our attention. It is indeed a sad case.
I worked at MDX, in research in design (within the same academic school), for some time before leaving last year for a new post (I left more for reasons of relocation to another part of the UK, rather than any dissatisfaction with MDX: I greatly enjoyed my time there). During this period at MDX, we looked up to our colleagues in philosophy as a beacon of what can be achieved in high quality research against the odds: I should explain for non UK folks that Middlesex is a new (post 1992) university, and philosophy as a subject is dominated by the ancient and not-so-new universities who have been doing it for rather longer. Philosophy did exceptionally well in our national research assessment exercise (RAE) over a number of traditional centres of excellence, and are the highest rated department in MDX.
Apparently the dean has decided that they make no measurable contribution to the university. I have pointed out to him that his spreadsheets are incapable of measuring philosophy's contribution to the life of the university, to the courses around them, to the influence on their and others' PhD students, to the research seminars that attracted many significant thinkers, or to the influence they had on the rest of us in planning the future of research efforts as a whole.
Research centres take such a long time to nurture and bring to national and international prominence, and yet this kind of managerial barbarism can dismantle them so quickly. If I sound bitter and twisted about this, I have been there myself: after years of work to set up a significant art and design research institute at Staffordshire University, it collapsed due to similar decisions - Staffs art and design has now disappeared off the radar almost completely. Removing philosophy from MDX will diminish the intellectual life of the arts courses around it, and the life of the university as a whole, quite apart from their national and international contribution.
I would encourage anyone here to sign the petition, and see if this silly decision can be rescinded.
David
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David Durling FDRS PhD http://durling.tel
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On 1 May 2010, at 8:25 pm, Ksenija Berk wrote:
> Dear colleagues,
>
> It makes me sad that I have to share some really bad news with you: management at Middlesex University have decided to cut all philosophy programs, including the internationally renowned MA and PhD degrees. This essentially means the end of the Centre for Research in Modern European Philosophy, a hub for internationally renowned scholarship and the best RAE rated research department in the University.
>
> You can find an on-line petition at
> http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/save-middlesex-philosophy.html
>
>
> With kind regards,
> Ksenija Berk, Phd
> freelance design critic
> http://ksenijaberk.typepad.com/blog/
>
>
> ___________________
>
> Earlier this afternoon all staff in the Arts and Education section of
> Middlesex University received the following email:
>
>
> Dear colleagues,
>
> Late on Monday 26 April, the Dean of the School of Arts & Humanities, Ed Esche, informed staff in Philosophy that the University executive had ‘accepted his recommendation’ to close all Philosophy programmes: undergraduate, postgraduate and MPhil/PhD.
>
> Philosophy is the highest research-rated subject in the University. Building on its
> grade 5 rating in RAE2001, it was awarded a score of 2.8 on the new RAE scale in
> 2008, with 65% of its research activity judged ‘world-leading’ or ‘internationally
> excellent’. It is now widely recognised as one of the most important centres for the
> study of modern European philosophy anywhere in the English-speaking world.
> The MA programmes in Philosophy at Middlesex have grown in recentyears to become
> the largest in the UK, with 42 new students admitted in September 2009.The Dean explained that the decision to terminate recruitment and close the programmes was ’simply financial’, and based on the fact that the University believes that it may be able to generate more revenue if it shifts
> its resources to other subjects – from ‘Band D’ to ‘Band C’ students.
>
> As you may know, the University currently expects each academic unit to contribute
> 55% of its gross income to the central administration. As it stands(by the credit
> count method of calculation), Philosophy and Religious Studies contributes 53%,
> after the deduction of School admin costs. According to the figures for projected
> recruitment from admissions (with Philosophy undergraduate applications up 118% for
> 2010-11), if programmes had remained open, the contribution from Philosophy and
> Religious Studies would have risen to 59% (with Philosophy’s contribution,
> considered on its own, at 53%).
>
> In a meeting with Philosophy staff, the Dean acknowledged the excellent research
> reputation of Philosophy at Middlesex, but said that it made no ‘measurable’
> contribution to the University.
>
> Needless to say, we very much regret this decision to terminate Philosophy, and its
> likely consequences for the School and our University and for the teaching of our
> subject in the UK.
>
> · Professor Peter Hallward, Programme Leader for the MA programmes in Philosophy,
> · Professor Peter Osborne, Director, Centre for Research in Modern European Philosophy,
> · Dr. Stella Sandford, Director of Programmes, Philosophy
> __________________
>
>
> Late on Monday 26 April, staff in Philosophy at Middlesex University in London were informed that the University executive are to close all Philosophy programmes: undergraduate, postgraduate and MPhil/PhD.
>
> Philosophy is the highest research-rated subject at Middlesex University, with 65% of its research activity judged 'world-leading' or 'internationally excellent' in the UK government's recent Research
> Assessment Exercise. It is now widely recognised as one of the most important centres for the study of modern European philosophy anywhere in the English-speaking world. Its MA programmes in
> Philosophy have grown in recent years to become the largest in the UK, with 42 new students admitted in September 2009. Middlesex offers one of only a handful of programmes left in the UK that provides both research-driven and inclusive post-graduate teaching aimed at a wide range of students, specialist and non-specialist. It is also one of relatively few such programmes that remains financially viable, currently contributing close to half of its total income to the University's central administration.
>
> This decision to terminate Philosophy at Middlesex will have serious consequences for the teaching of philosophy in the UK. This is a shameful decision which essentially means the end of the Centre for
> Research in Modern European Philosophy, a hub for internationally renowned scholarship (http://www.web.mdx.ac.uk/crmep/; staff include Eric Alliez, Peter Hallward, Mark Kelly, Christian Kerslake, Peter Osborne and Stella Sandford).
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