The Blavatnik School of Government is a school of public policy founded in 2010 at the
University of Oxford in
England.[1][2][3] The School was founded following a £75 million donation from a business magnate
Len Blavatnik, supported by £26 million from the University of Oxford.[4] It is part of Oxford's
Social Sciences Division, which aims to train current and future leaders in the practice of government.
Courses
The Blavatnik School of Government admitted its first students in 2012.[5] The School's flagship program is the Master of Public Policy (MPP), an intensive one-year graduate degree which seeks to prepare students for a career in public service.[6] The School also offers a
DPhil in Public Policy (a three-year full-time research degree). Applications are made through University of Oxford's central Graduate Admissions and Funding Office.[7]
A range of short courses is also offered for senior professionals and practitioners on specific policy challenges.[8]
Oxford Institute for Law, Ethics and Armed Conflict (ELAC)
The Oxford Institute for Law, Ethics and Armed Conflict (ELAC) is an interdisciplinary research programme based at Blavatnik, which researches and aims to strengthen law, norms and institutions to restrain, regulate and prevent armed conflict. The institute consists of researchers, academics and practitioners in areas such as international law, international relations and philosophy.[9]
Academic staff
Professor
Ngaire Woods is the first Dean of the School.[10] Members of faculty include:
Dapo Akande, Professor of Public International Law
In August 2017
Bo Rothstein resigned his position as Professor of Government and Public Policy in protest at Leonard Blavatnik's support for
Donald Trump's
Inaugural Committee.[15] Rothstein subsequently criticised the School, stating that he had been "excommunicated" and banned from accessing the building; the School and the University of Oxford denied these claims.[16]
Alumni
Alumni include the youngest mayor in Germany, Marian Schreier;[17] British politician
Keir Mather MP; Rafat Al-Akhali, a former minister of youth and sports in Yemen;[18]Shamma Al Mazrui, the youngest Minister of Youth Affairs in the United Arab Emirates [19] and two members of parliament in Panama,
Gabriel Silva and
Edison Broce.[20]
Building
The Blavatnik School of Government is located in the University of Oxford's
Radcliffe Observatory Quarter, with its main entrance on
Walton Street.[21] The building is designed by architects
Herzog & de Meuron to promote open discussion, interaction and collaboration.[22] The central forum is inspired by the idea of openness and transparency and connects all the floors together.[23] Construction work started in autumn 2013, after some controversy,[24] and ended in late 2015. The building is controlled by a combination of systems and technology that helps minimise its environmental impact.[25]
The building is taller than
Carfax Tower in the centre of Oxford, thus dominating the site[26] and causing opposition to the scheme by local residents in the
Jericho district of the city and elsewhere.[24][27] The site is immediately to the south of the café/bar
Freud, in the historic 1836
Greek revival St Paul's Church on Walton Street.[28] The scheme was opposed by the cafe's owner, David Freud, due to its size compared to the church building. The site is also opposite the classical
Oxford University Press building. In spring 2013, a public meeting was held in
St Barnabas Church and the building was described as "a concrete
marshmallow".[29] A historic wall on
Walton Street would be demolished as part of the plans.[28]
Later in 2015, the building was described as "the latest striking building nearing completion in Oxford".[30]
^Little, Reg (28 February 2013). "University is facing battle over £30 Jericho plan". The Oxford Times. pp. 1, 3.
^
abLittle, Reg (7 March 2013). "Shadow over cafe culture". The Oxford Times. p. 29.
^Fantato, Damian (4 April 2013). "'A concrete marshmallow': Damian Fantato reports from a public meeting on controversial proposals for Jericho". The Oxford Times. p. 10.