Revisionist view of closure

As someone who has studied the field of international relations, Steve Smith will be well acquainted with the idea of regimes trying to rewrite history for their own purpose. So it is that since 2005, when Smith presided over the closure of the chemistry and music departments at the University of Exeter, he has tried to rewrite events. In the feature “If you want thanks and love, get a dog” (Interview, 6 November), he is quoted as saying “had we not done it we’d have used all the subsidies from the departments that were doing well to subsidise the loss-making departments”. The fact is that at that time in the School of Biological and Chemical Sciences, 70 per cent of the school’s deficit was attributable to biology and only 30 per cent to chemistry. One wonders what is his purpose.

Robin Bedford
University of Bristol

Duncan Bruce
University of York

Craig Butts
University of Bristol

Adrian Dobbs
University of Greenwich

Rebecca Goss
University of St Andrews

David Smith
University of Bristol

James Tucker
University of Birmingham

Scott Turner
University of Surrey

Richard Walton
University of Warwick

Stephen Wimperis
University of Glasgow