Oxford Prof Resigns After Finding Out School Named For Trump Donor

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By Daniel J. Solomon August 29, 2017

Bo Rothstein resigned from his endowed professorship in government at Oxford University after learning that his school had been named in honor of a supporter of President Trump who had donated tens of millions of British pounds to the institution.

“I’ve never had so much applause in my life,” said Rothstein, a Swedish-Jewish political scientist who has distinguished himself for his research on corruption, in comments to the Guardian.

He was a professor at the Blavatnik School of Government at Oxford University, named for the Ukrainian-born Jewish billionaire Leonard Blavatnik.

Blavatnik, now a British citizen, donated the equivalent of almost $100 million to the institution. Blavatnik also donated $1 million to President Trump’s inaugural committee.

Rothstein said that he’s had a smooth landing since ditching Oxford, with many new job offers coming in.

“I’m not a big hero. I had a safe job to go back to in Sweden, so I’m not paying a high price for this,” he told the Guardian.

Contact Daniel J. Solomon at solomon@forward.com or on Twitter @DanielJSolomon

Daniel J. Solomon is the former Assistant to the Editor/News Writer at the Forward. Originally from Queens, he attended Harvard as an undergraduate, where he wrote his senior thesis on French-Jewish intellectual history. He is excited to have returned to New York after his time in Massachusetts. Daniel’s passions include folk music, cycling, and pointed argument.

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