Lord Hague is taking on one of academia’s most historic positions as the Chancellor of the University of Oxford, a role that dates back to 1244. Succeeding Lord Patten, who retired last year, Hague has been preparing to lead the University into a decade of change and innovation at a pivotal moment for higher education. In an exclusive interview, Lord Hague sat down with Cherwell to discuss his vision for the University, the challenges facing the sector, and what this decade of change will mean for Oxford.
Hague won the Chancellor election at the end of last year, following several months of campaigning that led to victory over 38 other candidates. The first round of voting saw a final five of Lady Elish Angiolini, Rt Hon Dominic Grieve, Lord William Hague, Lord Peter Mandelson and Baroness Jan Royall, with some 23,000 votes cast.
Several months on, Hague is now ready to get to work as Chancellor. The former politician jokes that the process “was possibly a bit more complicated than electing the president of the United States”, and that now he is “ready to get going.” Reflecting on the other candidates that made it to the final five, he believed that “they were very worthy competitors… [who] all remain very committed to doing things for Oxford in the future.”
Hague has strongly emphasised that the Chancellor “does not actually run the university.” Instead of day-to-day decision making, the position involves ceremonial duties, alongside representing Oxford on the national and world stage. He was full of praise for Vice-Chancellor Irene Tracey, whom he describes as “absolutely great.”
An area that Hague does regard as within his remit, however, is fundraising. Hague said that Oxford will “need the generosity of its benefactors over the next decade in a very big way.” In a similar vein, he explained that “some of Oxford’s fundraising plans over the coming years will be the most ambitious ever, … [requiring] updated science facilities, graduate scholarships, and support access for students across the board.”
During the campaign, Hague had emphasised his links to the United States and the funding that he would strive to attract from over the pond. However, the political landscape of the United States has changed drastically since he spoke to Cherwell in October, and the new presidential administration has spoken out against diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) schemes that it views as a waste of spending. Concerns have now been raised over whether US-UK research partnerships could be caught up in Trump’s crackdown on DEI. For instance, a US embassy-funded grants scheme, run alongside the British Association of American Studies, collapsed when the UK found out that they had been asked to erase any mention of diversity from awarding criteria.
When asked whether the Trump administration may be problematic for the University, Hague was clear that although it may present issues, “the answer is to ensure the excellence of research so that there is a compelling case across the Atlantic to continue those partnerships.” Hague’s opponent in the Chancellor elections, Lord Mandelson, is now the British Ambassador to the United States – Hague remarked that since “[Mandelson] has been so keen to support Oxford”, maintaining relations between US investors and Oxford would be yet “another task on his checklist.”
In recent years, Hague has written extensively on the potential of artificial intelligence, including uniting with Tony Blair to applaud the government’s new AI Action Plan and calling for further investment in the field. In his interview with Cherwell, he said that AI “will change education in many ways that we can’t yet anticipate… Universities will be the fulcrum of a decade of exceptional change.”
Though it is a clear opportunity for innovation, policies regarding the use of generative AI in particular present a dilemma for universities. Currently, Oxford has very strict rules that restrict its usage by students. Although reluctant to predict the outcomes of the rapidly evolving technology, Hague was keen to stress how important it is for “universities to be an utterly human experience.
“There are great strengths of personal tuition and of a collegiate community,” he said. “Universities will have to work even harder to make sure that people are having a fantastic human experience.
“In a world [that is] in a state of economic, social, and political upheaval, … what happens in Oxford is and will be critical to the success of the UK.” Investing in Oxford, he explained, “is in the critical national interest of the United Kingdom.”
Recent months have seen Chancellor Rachel Reeves turn to universities as an engine for growth, including the revival of plans for the so-called ‘OxCam Arc’, which the government states could generate £78 billion by 2035. Hague stated that it is “a key part of my job, as a public figure and somebody who’s had a lifetime in politics, to urge them to deliver on those things.”
Hague was also keen to underline the balance required between this investment into research and the undergraduate teaching experience. “We are so high in the world rankings because we are such a great centre of research and of teaching,” he said.
Another key element of Hague’s election campaign was the focus he placed on broadening access to the University and ensuring that it was open to people from all backgrounds. Having attended state school himself, Hague has recently advocated for the 93% Club, this year attending as a guest at their ball. When asked about Oxford’s declining intake of state school students since 2020, Hague told Cherwell: “it’s not good that it’s slipped back. …Covid may have had a greater impact on education in state schools than in private schools.” However, he did caveat that whilst one “should not obsess about small changes, it is really important to keep up the momentum on this.”
Cherwell then presented Hague with comments from Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch, who has broadly spoken ill of the sector as it stands, leading him to stress that he “does not agree that too many people are going to university.” He continued that given the era of unprecedented change in the world, “highly successful countries will end up with a higher proportion of their young people going to university.
“We have some work to do… in improving the image of higher education, which is often seen by all political parties as something that just takes up money.”
The financial crisis that universities are facing has been widely reported in recent months, with 1,000 proposed redundancies in the sector projected in 2025, and more than 500 staff moving on from Oxford during the last financial year. On this topic, Hague said that “there is clearly a major problem in the funding of higher education in the UK.” He welcomed the increase of tuition fees in line with inflation, announced last year, but warned that most of its benefits had been “taken back away from universities by increasing employers’ national insurance contributions.”
Hague called for change in the ways of thinking about the issue, stating that he did not “see a solution to the problem in the UK without some greater public funding of higher education… On the long list of items that the Chancellor of the Exchequer has that need more money, the higher education sector is one of them.”
The new Chancellor also pointed out that as tuition fees rise, Oxford has the ability to “enlarge the resources available” to those in need. He pointed to the success of Crankstart scholarships in helping students at the University, and said that “we’re going to need more of that sort of thing… the financial pressures on students will not go away.”
Paying higher tuition fee rates than domestic students, international learners play a vital role in the financial sustainability of UK universities. However, new rules introduced last year restricted the number of dependents that students could bring to the UK. As a result, the number of applicants from overseas has declined.
Both in October and in this interview, Hague made clear that he does not believe students should be part of overall migration statistics. “The UK,” he argued, “should be accommodating to large numbers of overseas students who are buying a service in which we excel.” He went so far as to call the United Kingdom “a superpower in higher education”, citing the high positions many of its universities hold in global rankings.
Lastly, we turned to the Higher Education Freedom of Speech Act, a bill delayed by the government that is now set to be implemented later this year. Among plenty of other areas, the act seeks to legally reaffirm the provision of free speech in university settings. Here, the Chancellor was clear and expressed his full support, commenting: “to know that the law reinforces that (freedom of speech and academic freedom) is important.”
On the recent protests that have taken place at the University, including the occupation of the Radcliffe Camera, Hague stressed the importance of respect and understanding. “There are bound to be really fierce differences… on both sides of the argument. The important thing is to hear both sides of the argument and to respect that people may have a difference of view.”
Another key provision of the new law is its prohibition of the use of non-disclosure agreements by universities in cases of harassment and misconduct. Oxford has faced accusations of using these measures in the past and Hague was emphatic in his stance that “it is not something that I would at all encourage or approve of. Hopefully this act is going to settle that once and for all.” The University told Cherwell that “the University of Oxford does not and will not use Non-Disclosure Agreements to prevent the investigation of complaints of sexual misconduct or other inappropriate behaviour, or to prevent responsible whistleblowing,” and encouraged anyone affected to contact the university.
A decade is a long time to commit to any job. The years ahead will be defined by profound change, something that Hague does not seem fazed by and appears to embrace. Within his remit, he has expressed his commitment to liaising with students and attracting donors that will drive Oxford forwards. On the national stage, his political experience will doubtlessly be important when working with governments of both colours to best represent higher education institutions across the UK. However, whether he will be successful in his mission still remains to be seen.
