Dear Bob Cryan,

We are writing to you to express our shock, dismay, and anger at the proposed cuts to the School of Arts and Humanities.

This is not the first time that arts and humanities courses have been under attack at UK universities. But we will never stop fighting for our fields to be recognised and respected.

Our lecturers and technicians are what make the University of Huddersfield great. It is these staff members who brought many of us students past and present to study in Huddersfield. It is these staff members who support students to excel, who really embody the University’s motto of inspiring global professionals. And it is thirty-seven of these staff members whose livelihoods and talents are being discarded.

It is not just the staff who will be affected. Current and future students will undoubtedly be negatively affected by having fewer opportunities to succeed. The trend of cutting arts and humanities courses at post-92 institutions further widens class inequality, making our fields of study only accessible to those at elite universities.

We know that the University of Huddersfield has money. New buildings are being constructed and the most recent financial statements say that “the University has recorded a surplus before tax for the year at 7.9% of total income”. It is clear that the arts and humanities are being deprioritised and undervalued.

We are not just students in the School of Arts and Humanities. We are students from other Schools within the University of Huddersfield, alumni, and members of the general public, and we are united by our belief that the Arts and Humanities cuts are the wrong decision.

We urge you to reconsider. To enact these measures without consultation with those affected, including staff and students, is soulless, impersonal and is the antithesis of progress. We believe that a mutually beneficial outcome can be reached in far more humane ways.