Vice-Chancellor Who Wanted Climate Change Lessons Embedded in All Courses Claimed £16,000 Expenses for Flights

From The Daily Sceptic

By Will Jones

A university Vice-Chancellor who called for climate change to become part of the curriculum on every course claimed more than £16,000 in expenses on flights, figures have revealed. The Telegraph has the story.

Koen Lamberts, the University of Sheffield’s Vice-Chancellor, spent the sum flying around the world on work trips as his institution faces a £50 million shortfall.

Prof Lamberts also spent £820 on non-standard rail travel to business events between May and July. His expenses rose by 68% compared with 2023.

The total amount of registered expenses for the Vice-Chancellor for this year is £17,799, with £200 filed for food and drink for business dinner meetings.

This comes as the university’s finances are under scrutiny amid its shortfall and the launch of a voluntary severance scheme to target £23 million in staff cuts.

Bosses hope this will allow it to regain a financial surplus by 2026 to 2027.

At a meeting of the Sheffield branch of the University and College Union (UCU) this month, 880 staff members voted for a no-confidence motion against the executive board.

Prof Lamberts has been President and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Sheffield since November 2018, having previously held the position at the University of York.

In September 2019, he announced students would undertake compulsory lessons on climate change to address the “emergency” facing the planet.

Worth reading in full.