Open to equality

The article "Salford staff claim bosses close ranks" (November 18) combines selective quotations from our recent survey of equality and diversity with some erroneous history to create a misleading impression of our university.

Our decision to commission this survey and to share its results with the university community is not the action of a management that wishes to evade or ignore the challenges of equality and diversity that face all in higher education.

Our contacts with the Commission for Racial Equality and the sector's Equality Challenge Unit have been constructive and have had nothing to do with tribunals. In the past four years, four members of staff have had tribunals involving alleged gender and racial discrimination heard. In every case the tribunal determined that no discrimination occurred.

The table "Top and bottom for ethnic-minority recruitment" (November 18) shows that Salford is in the top five universities nationally for its percentage of black and other ethnic-minority professors. Was this ignored in the article as it might have compromised a good story?

Michael Harloe
Vice-chancellor, Salford University