Over 60 years ago, our founders created a new university that was to be unlike any other. Their vision was to be an institution with a strong social purpose, drawing on a rich tradition of social justice and combating inequality in a way that is distinctive to the City of York.

They built a University of York to combat inequality and ameliorate human conditions and we have much to be proud of. Today, we have positioned ourselves in line with our roots, as a University for Public Good. Our life-changing research enriches communities across the globe and our empowering teaching and learning shapes our most diverse student cohort in decades.

But our world continues to change at unprecedented speed. Since publishing our last strategy, AI has swept into every walk of life. Debate around culture, heritage and equality has taken centre stage. Communities are dividing, support for net-zero ambitions is declining, and public trust in the value of education and research is eroding.

Never before has our mission for public good been so imperative.

And yet a mission is not a static souvenir of our history; it is an active, living commitment. Against the magnitude of changes around us, we must hold tight to our purpose while accepting that our route to it is never linear. We must listen, assess, challenge our assumptions and move on.

And so we bring you our refreshed strategy. A mission unchanged, an approach evolved.