Forty-six years ago, I made my way from my hometown in west central Scotland to live in Aberdeen. At the great age of 26 and having missed out on higher education the first time around, I went north to study Politics and International Relations at Aberdeen University.
The experience changed my life completely. My affection and gratitude for the institution know no bounds. So, when a serendipitous opportunity came just before Christmas to attend its now traditional carol concert at London’s St Marylebone Parish Church, I was off to Glasgow Central at pace.
The wonderful voices of the University of Aberdeen Chamber Choir made the journey south entirely worthwhile. As I sat listening to the beautifully sung carols and surrounded by generations of fellow alumni, I mused on my years in Old Aberdeen.
With invaluable help from the state, I was given a premier league liberal education in my native land. An education that opened the door to a life that prior to taking my degree would have been almost certainly unobtainable, especially for an 11+ failure. Had the cost of university not been met by the government (and a grant that allowed me to survive during term time) the whole thing would have been too financially daunting.
Permission to think
That Aberdeen education gave me permission to think, to revere evidence and fact over supposition and prejudice, to structure an argument, to honour logic and the study of history and thought, to shun insularity and celebrate the truly great benefits of free enquiry and free speech. Elements that are as fundamental to the scientist, engineer, lawyer and administrator as they are in the Arts and Humanities.
In his address to the congregation at St Marylebone Parish Church, Aberdeen’s Principal, Professor George Boyne, said the university today is as wedded “to its foundational purpose of being open to all and dedicated to the pursuit of truth in the service of others” as it was when founded 525 years ago.
In Scotland, we should hold that thought close to our national bosom. Our universities – ancient and less so – are built on that premise. In Texas and Florida, schools and libraries are being told to remove books local political elites don’t like. Cherish the preservation of intellectual freedom in Scotland’s universities.
Hugely complex challenges
That our institutions of higher learning face hugely complex challenges around how to stay true to the European ideal of the university is undeniable. All the world’s schisms and fault lines are to be found within their walls.
The wisdom of Solomon is surely a prerequisite for all university chiefs. It would be helpful if they had more vocal support from the wider Scottish society.
In the recent past, such public endorsement was hardly needed. In the way that Scots tend to avoid any form of boastfulness, we were content enough that the universities were pretty good and served us well. We didn’t feel the need to say out loud how good they are and what a singularly important role they play in the life of our nation.
That time has come now.
There are powerful movements alive across the world that fear scientific rigour, reject long-established medical truths, promote ignorance, peddle misinformation for political or financial gain, seek to monopolise mass communication, openly support neo-Nazi political organisations, pay lip service to democracy while seeding autocracy, shut down inconvenient journalism and jail political opponents.
These malign forces have supporters and fellow travellers among us. Anti-intellectualism flourishes, even inside our universities. But still, our universities are the premier custodians of the values of liberal democracy. It is no accident that authoritarian regimes are quick to purge institutions of higher learning whenever people feel oppressed or fear for their freedoms.
Wonderful things spring from our universities
In a free society, the like of which we currently live in, wonderful things spring from our universities. Young people armed with the means to make a successful contribution to society and an independent life for themselves are the most obvious. They make for better managers, doctors, writers, teachers, chemists and architects because they have had an education that celebrates the enquiring mind. Authoritarians don’t like enquiring minds.
Academic freedom fosters innovation and the discovery of new knowledge whether it is in soil science, the life and works of Robert Burns, the causes of cancers, the structural integrity of building materials, the songs of the Hebrides, sports psychology, marine engineering, brewing, artificial intelligence, voting patterns, the organisation of the Church of Scotland, French politics or retail best practice. All these disciplines aim to make the world a better and better-understood place.
Egalitarianism is a belief many of us hold dear
At Aberdeen, they like to tell new undergraduates about the scholars who came from the remote Highlands and islands in centuries past. They came with a sack of oats to see them through the harsh winter term. The lad o’ pairts of modest roots and no silver spoon. It’s a piece of romance, but not one foreign to how Scotland thinks of itself. Egalitarianism is a belief many of us hold dear. What better instruments of egalitarianism than Scotland’s liberal universities?
When Principal Boyne spoke of the university being open to all and dedicated to the pursuit of truth in the service of others, he spoke of high ideals.
High ideals are hard things to live by. They demand much tender loving care if they are not to be corrupted, misused or destroyed. Somehow, through many centuries of turmoil in politics, war, religion, technology, economics and culture, Scotland’s universities have survived; beacons to rationality, honest enquiry and human progress. They are what Professor Sir Tom Devine has called “the golden goose”.
They are among our greatest national treasures. Not treasures of the past to be found in a museum, but treasures of today and tomorrow. Vital to our way of life. Central to our democracy and our freedoms.
This article was first published in The Herald on 4th February 2025.
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