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After the debates have been had and all the votes have been counted, Britain has decided. After a lifetime in which I have felt part of a European project born out of conflict and hopeful of peace and trade, the majority of voters have decided they no longer have faith in the European Union. We are setting our course in a new direction, sailing into uncharted waters. I am not alone in wondering what it might mean.

These last few weeks have left me wondering what I should think of our country. I've been shocked at the opinions that some have been voicing. I have felt at times that I am not in the place I grew up. Had I misunderstood what this land of my birth really is?

I have reflected on the fact that I have nearly always been a student in a university. I have had the blessing of living in a community of scholars in Boulder Colorado, in London, in Oxford and now in Sheffield.

But I have also worried that our oasis of intellectual and societal tolerance is threatened by the storm that swirls around us. Could we even suffer a 'Stockholm syndrome' and start sharing the emotions that live and breathe around us? Could we lose the centre of our lives as scholars?

In a democracy, one person’s vote counts no more and no less than that of another’s. Most of us would not have it any other way, even though we may sometimes feel that it does not keep us safe from error. But what next for all we treasure together in universities?

We who have made universities our life’s work know we cannot be completely independent of the world around us and we don't want to be. Our scholarship is deeply based on collaboration and a sense of education which owes so much to our continent.

Yes I am gutted that this is the decision which has been reached, and certainly not only for myself. I think back to the great teachers and scholars from across the continent who inspired me, but far more of the staff and students from other European countries who are with us now. I wonder what they must be feeling, and think of what they have already said to me – practical questions about what this means for their daily lives, work opportunities and residency.

Academics engaged in projects with other EU universities drawing on EU funding wonder about the future of their work. What of Erasmus and other kinds of educational exchange? Brexit may have other consequences too, on our economy or on the investment choices of our major commercial partners. It could mean further tightening of immigration rules.

The answer to such questions will no doubt take a while to become clear. In my life I have seen a number of significant votes (in this country and around the world) and the consequences have taken a while to understand.

But I am sure of one thing. A parting of ways in a political union must not mean a separation of scholarship or scholars, and we must do all in our power to ensure this is so. We are part of a tradition of teaching and scholarship which is centuries old and which cannot be constrained by national borders. Now as never before it matters that we keep that flame alive.

Article By: Professor Sir Keith Burnett, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Sheffield

Source: The Universty of Sheffield 

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