Management of Professors like Andrew Hill who are accused of racism

The request was refused by University of Leeds.

Dear University of Leeds,

Professor Hill has been accused of racism in a petition signed by over 500 students.

https://www.ipetitions.com/petition/leed...

Firstly, please would you inform me of the number of times the Professor Hill has been accused of racism, either as formal complaints or any informal accusations. I would be grateful if you could go back as far back as 2009 when he became chair of the Progress Committee.
If any investigations have been carried out, please provide details after excluding any personally identifiable information

Please would you also inform me of any other medical school committee's Professor Andrew Hill serves on

Finally please can you provide any documents or communication relating to the Leeds School of Medicines response to the petition

Yours faithfully,
D Gavaskar

Freedom of Information, University of Leeds

Dear D Gavaskar,

Freedom of Information request reference K/20/279

Thank you for your Freedom of Information (FOI) request dated 23 July 2020. Your request has been allocated the reference number K/20/279. Please include this number in all further correspondence related to your enquiry.

Please note that in light of the ongoing coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic, the University of Leeds is, like other organisations around the world, experiencing disruption to services. We consider it likely that there will be some short- to medium-term impact on our ability to respond to FOI requests, which may result in FOI responses taking longer than 20-working days . We will endeavour to keep applicants informed at all times, and appreciate your understanding. More information on how the University of Leeds is responding to Covid-19 is available on our dedicated webpages.

If you have any questions about your request, please contact us at [University of Leeds request email]

Yours sincerely

Chloe Wilkins
Freedom of Information Officer

Secretariat
University of Leeds

show quoted sections

Freedom of Information, University of Leeds

Dear D Gavaskar,

 

Freedom of Information Response (Our Ref: K/20/279)

 

Thank you for your Freedom of Information (FOI) request dated 23 July
2020, reference K/20/279.

 

Your request read:

 

“Professor Hill has been accused of racism in a petition signed by over
500 students. 

 

https://www.ipetitions.com/petition/leed...

 

Firstly, please would you inform me of the number of times the Professor
Hill  has been accused of racism, either as formal complaints or any
informal accusations. I would be grateful if you could go back as far back
as 2009 when he became chair of the Progress Committee.

If any investigations have been carried out, please provide details after
excluding any personally identifiable information

 

Please would you also inform me of any other medical school committee's
Professor Andrew Hill serves on

 

Finally please can you provide any documents or communication relating to
the Leeds School of Medicines response to the petition”

 

Under section 40(5B)(a)(i) of the Freedom of Information Act, the
University of Leeds neither confirms nor denies whether it holds the
information you have requested. Section 40(5B)(a)(i) sets out that the
duty to confirm or deny does not arise where such confirmation or denial
would, in itself, contravene any of the data protection principles (in
this case, principle (a); that information must be processed lawfully,
fairly and transparently). Employees have legitimate and reasonable
expectations that the university, as a responsible employer, will not
disclose to the public whether disciplinary information about them exists.
It is clear that confirmation or denial is likely to cause distress to the
relevant individual(s). While we appreciate that there is a public
interest in understanding that concerns regarding employees are
appropriately investigated and responded to, we consider that this
interest is met by the disciplinary procedures themselves. As such,
confirmation or denial is unnecessary and would therefore unlawful.

 

Whilst the University is not in a position to share personal information
about a named individual we can confirm that the School of Medicine
mirrors the University’s commitment to equality and inclusion, taking any
accusations of racism very seriously, and investigating all complaints and
allegations made using the appropriate University Policies and Procedures.

 

In addition, the School launched a new Vision in May 2019, developed
following an all staff engagement exercise in which over 50% of our staff
participated.  The Vision includes a behavioural framework, compiled
directly from the staff feedback, which maps onto the University’s Values,
and specifically references our commitment to inclusivity.  Work continues
to embed the framework, and has included the appointment of an Associate
Dean for Equality and Inclusion and a commitment to deliver the
BMA Charter for Medical Schools to Prevent and Address Racial Harassment
([1]https://www.bma.org.uk/media/2030/bma-me...
The four pillars to the BMA Charter include supporting individuals to
speak out and ensuring robust processes for reporting and handling
complaints.  A detailed implementation plan for delivery of the Charter
will be developed in collaboration with students.  We are in the process
of establishing a Student Council for Equality, Diversity and Inclusion,
to commence early in the 2020/21 academic year, and which will include
representatives from all programmes across the school, together with the
School’s Dean, Associate Dean for Student Education and Associate Dean for
Equality and Inclusion.  The Council will provide a forum for students to
have open conversations with senior staff, and also act as a mechanism for
the co-production of School EDI action plans.  We are also setting up a
Freedom to Speak Up Guardian pathway, supported by Freedom to Speak Up
Student ambassadors.  Similar to an existing system in the NHS, the
Guardian pathway should support people to speak up about inappropriate
behaviours and bullying/harassment including sexual or racial harassment
when they feel that they are unable to do so by other routes.

 

We hope this information is helpful. If you have any questions about this
email, however, please do not hesitate to contact us on [2][University of Leeds request email]

 

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you can request an Internal Review. Requests for Internal Review should be
made in writing using the following contact information:

 

Post:             Mr D Wardle

Deputy Secretary

The University of Leeds

Leeds

LS2 9JT

 

Email:           [3][University of Leeds request email]

 

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exhausted the review/complaints procedure provided by the University.  The
Information Commissioner can be contacted at:  Information Commissioner’s
Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF.

 

Kind regards

 

Chloe Wilkins

Freedom of Information Officer

 

Secretariat

University of Leeds

 

 

References

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1. https://www.bma.org.uk/media/2030/bma-me...
2. mailto:[University of Leeds request email]
3. mailto:[University of Leeds request email]