Oxford 25 years on

4 February 2005

‘Where will Oxford be in 25 years' time?’ was the question addressed by the Chancellor of the University, the Rt Hon the Lord Patten of Barnes, as he delivered the Radcliffe Lecture on Thursday 3 February 2005.

Speaking at this year’s Radcliffe Lecture, which marked the 25th anniversary of Green College, Lord Patten discussed his role as Chancellor of Oxford University. ‘The Chancellor should,’ he said, ‘be a public advocate for the interests of this university and higher education as a whole. He should give moral and, if necessary, public support to all those who manage the university and who continue that process of change and reform necessary to its quality and reputation.’

Though wary of attempting to predict the future, Lord Patten set out his hopes for Oxford in 2030. He proposed that Oxford must be independent, but not totally private. ‘As an independent institution, we will wish to attract the best scholars and students from Britain and abroad, regardless of their financial and social circumstances,’ he said. ‘But we will insist on choosing who is taught or researches here ourselves, and we will not compromise our standards in order to meet external pressures to promote social inclusion.’

Lord Patten also expressed hope that well before 2030, ‘the government and parliament will have uncapped tuition fees and that those fees will more closely relate to the costs of the courses taken by students both here and elsewhere.’ Removing the cap on fees and increasing income from students would help alleviate Oxford’s financial problems, he said, but would also highlight the issues of access. Lord Patten believes Oxford already does much to attract the most talented students from Britain and abroad, but that there is still more that can be done.

Lord Patten ended stating that Oxford will continue to be a world-class institution in 2030. ‘World-class because it offers great teaching that helps make young men and women fit for the world. World-class because it attracts and recruits the best students from our own and other countries regardless of their means; because it is well-run and handsomely endowed; because its alumni still feel that they are part of its wider community and support generously what they value; because it pushes back the frontiers of knowledge augmenting the intellectual legacy that one generation passes to the next.’

Read the full text of the lecture.