A senior staff member at the University of Greater Manchester, previously the University of Bolton, has left due to an alleged audio clip showcasing racist comments.
An audio clip was submitted to The Manchester Mill, revealing a conversation between a senior and a junior member of staff, where racist comments were made.
Comments such as, “We don’t want to turn Bolton into a small Lagos”, were heard referring to the University recruiting “too many” African students. The staff member also said, “At the end of the day, someone from Nigeria looks exactly the same as someone from Ghana”.
The Vice-Chancellor, George Holmes, described the audio as “astounding”, but made no further comment.
The University stated that initial allegations made via the media, without supporting evidence, were published on February 6.
The allegations had not been made through the University’s official internal procedures.
The voice behind the audio clip is Joseph Wheeler, a senior marketing manager at the University of Greater Manchester.
A University spokesperson confirmed that Mr Wheeler left with “immediate effect” and stated, “the University does not have any ongoing legal relationship with Mr Wheeler”.
This is not the first time the University has been mired in controversy. In 2024, the University was criticised for changing its name from the University of Bolton to the University of Greater Manchester.
The University of Manchester, Manchester Metropolitan University, and University of Salford claimed that the name change was “misleading“, particularly for international students seeking to go to one of the universities in central Manchester rather than the Bolton institution in Greater Manchester.
The Office for Students (OfS) approved this change in December 2024.
