9. What Are Universities For?

In early 1984, Mary was appointed Mistress of Girton College, Cambridge. Shortly afterwards, she was made a member of the House of Lords. Her book Imagination, (1976), the contents of which are described in some detail, had already indicated her views on what should be the aims of university education. Margaret Thatcher had been elected Prime Minister in 1979, with universities in her sights. Significant financial cuts had been made to all universities, with the arts and humanities particularly targeted. Mary looked back at her time at Girton without pleasure and interviews with many contemporary fellows suggest she failed to engage with them. Increasing deafness and preoccupation with Geoffrey’s health were partly responsible. She did however engage well with the undergraduates. Her main achievements were in the promotion of fundraising and, in particular, securing a large donation for a music fellowship. She left Girton in 1991 with relief. In 1988, Kenneth Baker, the Secretary of State for Education, brought in sweeping reforms to both universities and schools. Financial support for universities was henceforth to be largely guided by commercial considerations and there would be far more government intervention. Mary strongly objected to these policies and wrote A Common Policy for Education (1988) and Universities: Knowing our Minds (1989), both largely polemics against these reforms. During her time at Girton, she also wrote a philosophical book, Memory (1987), which discusses the way biography and autobiography might deal with differing accounts of the past. The reception of this book by contemporary philosophers is described.