Oxford’s grand new building reveals the university’s misplaced priorities

Spectator Australia · Melanie McDonagh · Monday 27 April 2026

Oxford’s grand new building reveals the university’s misplaced priorities

The Schwarzman Centre for the Humanities in Oxford is well and truly open; there was an Open Day this weekend.… The post Oxford’s grand new building reveals the university’s misplaced priorities appeared first on The Spectator Australia. What to read next: Oxford needs to fight back against the university | Russia’s university recruitment drive is an act of desperation | It’s little surprise that an Israeli soldier was caught desecrating a crucifix | The targeting of Trump tells its own tale

Schwarzman writes a cheque, Oxford builds a marble shed, and the humanities department gets a new postcode while the tutorial system rots in the basement. Eight hundred years of teaching reduced to a donor's name on the architrave — the medievals built cathedrals to God and at least had the decency to admit it.

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