Snowden wrong on universities

IT was disappointing to read Edward Snowden’s comments on the proposed reform of university governance (“Snowden fears ‘threat to university autonomy’”, The Herald, September 15). With his admirable track record of shining light on the darker areas of public life I would have expected that he would have been supportive of moves to bring a greater level of transparency and democracy to our institutions. Given that Mr Snowden has been unable to attend any meetings of the governing body at the University of Glasgow it is perhaps unsurprising that he is not fully aware of the difficulty faced by staff and students wishing to influence a governance structure that is too often focused on business rather than education or research.

Elected chairs will be democratically accountable and able to speak for the university community as a whole, while other measures in the bill will protect student and staff positions on governing bodies to ensure that all parts of the institution will have a role in decision making. This bill will provide further protections for academic freedom and with it maintains institutional autonomy. A university governance model that is transparent, accountable, and democratic with the active participation of students and staff is something the sector badly needs and I would hope something Mr Snowden would, on reflection, support.