UK’s prestigious global B School sheds slavery link, adopts new name, Bayes Business School and gets complete makeover
INN
Faced with a huge controversy after Sir John Cass, the person after whom UK’s most prestigious of Business Schools in London is named, began its makeover with a change in name and a penance in the form of affirmative action to promote black minorities and steps to end racial inequalities.
“These actions go beyond simply changing a name and are intended to improve our curriculum and the lives of our University community” the Univeristy said in a press release announcing the change of its name to Bayes Business School. Making the announcement, it said a decision to change its name was made in July 2020, after it was found that some of Sir John Cass’s wealth was obtained through his links to the slave trade.
On Wednesday, The Business School (formerly Cass) of City, University of London announced the renaming. A decision to change the name was made in July 2020 and the name change will be formally made in September 2021 when the next academic session commences.
The University has committed to addressing issues surrounding inequality and opportunity, particularly around race and ethnicity.
Clearly, it is not only a change of name of the leading global Business School, driven by world-class knowledge, innovative education. It is undergoing a complete makeover and a with a thorough overhaul of its approach to addressing racial inequalities that may spring up from time to time. The Business School has been at the forefront of business education for over 50 years, developing leaders who help businesses thrive through change and uncertainty.
Clearly, Change is more than in the name. The University has committed to addressing issues surrounding inequality and opportunity, particularly around race and ethnicity. Now it is committed to funding five PhD scholarships for Black British students each year (one for each of City’s five Schools, including the Business School) and further details will be announced shortly. The Business School will also launch a significant scholarship programme for Black UK-domiciled undergraduate students to improve underrepresentation within the School. This programme will run for ten years from 2022/23 and offer ten scholarships per year, covering all tuition fees and an annual stipend.
Significant work is also underway at the Business School to further embed ethical and socially responsible values into the curriculum. The School’s aim is to develop responsible business leaders who will build a thriving, equitable, and sustainable future.
On Wednesday, The Business School (formerly Cass) of City, University of London declared that the formal change of name would take place in September when the next academic session commences.
The decision to select Bayes Business School was based on a comprehensive and transparent consultation process with relevant stakeholders. The University invited the City community to suggest names through an online platform, that generated more than 150 potential names. Over 8,000 members of staff and current and prospective Business School students and alumni gave us feedback on the shortlisted names. Bayes Business School emerged as the clear favourite.
Thomas Bayes (1702-1761) was a nonconformist theologian and mathematician best known for his foundational work on conditional probability. His grave is in Bunhill Fields, opposite the Business School. Bayes’ theorem suggests that we get closer to the truth by constantly updating our beliefs in proportion to the weight of new evidence. It is this idea – not only the person – that is the motivation behind adopting this name.
Bayes’ ideas are central to Finance, Actuarial Science and many branches of Management, the core disciplines of the Business School. They are also the foundation of artificial intelligence and machine learning.
“The new name will formally launch on Monday 6th September 2021 – the beginning of the 2021/22 academic year. Until this point, the School will continue to be referred to as ‘The Business School (formerly Cass)’, Professor Paolo Volpin, Dean of the Business School (formerly Cass), said.
“In Bayes Business School, we believe we now have a name that reflects who we are and the values we hold. Even though Bayes lived a long time ago, his ideas and his name are very much connected to the future rather than the past.
“More than 8,000 staff, Business School students and alumni contributed to the consultation process to help us find our new name. We are very grateful for their passionate contribution. We have listened to all of our stakeholders carefully and taken their concerns seriously.
“I am proud of the new name and the steps we are taking to build a truly inclusive environment for all of our students, staff and alumni.”
Ms Julia Palca, Chair of City’s Council said, “The Bayes theorem matters for our Business School – we are located in the heart of a financial centre, a tech centre and one of the great cosmopolitan cities of the world.
“His ideas remind us that we want our Bayes Business School students to become business leaders who can think clearly about the uncertain future we face.
“Continued use of Sir John Cass’s name would have honoured someone whose wealth was augmented from the exploitation of slavery, which is wholly incompatible with our values of diversity and inclusion,” Ms Palca said.
Professor Sir Paul Curran, President, City, University of London, said, “ the renaming of the Business School marks the start of a new chapter in City’s history, but certainly not the end of our work to address racial inequality. Last summer, City embarked on a review of historic sources of funding to learn lessons from the past. We have been listening to our community and are pursuing actions to ensure that City is a diverse and inclusive place to work and study.”
City has committed to funding five PhD scholarships for Black British students each year (one for each of City’s five Schools, including the Business School) and further details will be announced shortly.
Other important work at City has included applying for Advance HE’s Race Equality Charter status, continuing to address the Degree Awarding Gap, and working in partnership with students and our Students’ Union to address issues of underrepresentation.
The Business School will also launch a significant scholarship programme for Black UK-domiciled undergraduate students to improve underrepresentation within the School. This programme will run for ten years from 2022/23 and offer ten scholarships per year, covering all tuition fees and an annual stipend.
The Business School has established a Diversity and Inclusion Council to cover all aspects of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion work. It has also formed a Racial Equity and Inclusion Advisory Group, comprising students, faculty, professional staff and alumni from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME*) backgrounds, who are working to improve student and staff progression and experience.
