The one with the Tower

What is the University of Leeds to the #Community it inhabits?

As a University we worry about rankings, our status in different leagues and in the international education market.

Very rarely do we stop to ask how the people of Leeds view us and what it is we contribute to this community.

Unlike some of the other universities in the city we are much less likely to recruit local students and educate our communities. Yet the presence of so many students from elsewhere may put considerable pressure on the city’s resources in terms of housing, health, transport, services, anti- social behaviour, placement requirements.

Economically the university undeniably has a positive impact alongside some of the pressures. Skills for one, many graduates stay and are available to the local economy. The university is also a large employer in the city, but many local people from the poorest communities will be employed in the lower paid roles the university offers. The university encourages its non- academic employees into free level 2 training courses, but I have yet to see a campaign to raise aspirations among such staff towards the possibility of studying as mature students.

Prior to the pandemic I was doing outreach work at a community event to encourage adults in low-participating postcodes of Leeds to consider studying as mature students. Somebody asked me “Which University are you?” They had been to an event at one of the other universities in the city before and were not clear where one ended and the other begun.

I clarified and they responded “Ah, you are the one with the tower!”

I hope an ivory tower is not our only distinguishing feature and we find a way of making our impact felt more positively in local communities.

Barbara Kempf, in a personal capacity