By Scotland’s Craig Williams, BBC
Simon Fanshawe is the new rector of the University of Edinburgh
Writer and activist Simon Fanshawe has been named as the new rector of the University of Edinburgh.
Following an unchallenged election, the former actor, who now serves as a specialist on diversity and inclusion, will take office on March 4.
In 1989, Mr. Fanshawe won the Perrier Award for the best comedy performance at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.
He co-founded the LGBT rights organization Stonewall as one of its six owners, but he has recently criticized it.
Mr. Fanshawe has prior work experience with academic institutions.
From 2007 to 2013, he served as chair of the University of Sussex’s governing body. In 2013, for his contributions to higher education, the university awarded him an OBE.
Debora Kayembe, a human rights lawyer who has been the rector since 2021, is replaced by him.
“It’s a great honor,” he said.
Being appointed rector in Edinburgh, according to Mr. Fanshawe, was “a great honor.”
He said that the university had a tremendous legacy and was currently engaged in outstanding research and wonderful teaching.
The position of rector “offers a fantastic opportunity to join discussions on the most effective ways to advance the university, its staff, and students and to encourage joint understanding in the exchange of ideas.”
Mr. Fanshawe spent a portion of his early years in Edinburgh. He attended Davidson’s Mains Primary School in the city and continues to have family ties there.
“We look forward to working with Simon, and we thank Debora for her service,” said Leigh Chalmers, vice-principal and head of the University of Edinburgh.
The Universities Scotland Act of 1858 established the rector role in the 19th century. William Gladstone, Sir Winston Churchill, Gordon Brown, and Muriel Gray were preceding rectors at Edinburgh.
The role is elected by the student body, and the rector’s main responsibility is to preside over the University Court. Additionally, they collaborate closely with students and the Edinburgh University Students’ Association (EUSA).
Mr. Fanshawe has a long record of advocating for LGBT rights, but in recent years he has come under fire for criticizing Stonewall, the organization he helped found.
He claimed that Stonewall had evolved into a “propaganda machine that preaches extraordinary and divisive gender ideology under the guise of ‘factual’ information” in an article published in 2022.
He claimed that the organization’s stance on transgender rights had turned ideological and were “fast eroding women’s rights and their safety in female-only spaces, as well as posing a threat to children, who might be led to believe that irreversible medical treatment is the alternative to common insecurities about identity.”
Movie controversy
Dr. Gina Gwenffrewi, a transgender research lecturer at the University of Edinburgh, objected to the election. She wrote, “This is an absurd declaration of hatred by the University of Edinburgh for transgender folks,” on X, previously known as Twitter.
Recently, the University of Edinburgh has been the subject of debate surrounding transgender and women’s rights. A film about transgender rights and women’s rights was shown last November despite activists’ best efforts.
Adult Human Female had two previous showings canceled after pro-trans activists blocked the location.
Despite opposition from more than 100 people who claimed the film was transphobic—a claim refuted by the researchers behind the screening—the showing was ultimately approved.
The appointment was welcomed on X by the University of Edinburgh Academics for Academic Freedom (EAFAF), who organized the film screening.
“Thank you and congratulations to SimonFanshawe, our new rector. This news has us ecstatic, and we can’t wait to welcome you to @EdinburghUni. They wrote, “You’re the best person for the role.”
Mr. Fanshawe was congratulated by women’s rights activists For Women Scotland, who called him a “lovely, intelligent man who will be an asset to Edinburgh University.”
