University social responsibility in the context of economic displacement from the proposed upgrading of a higher education institution: The case of the University of Groningen Yantai campus

Chen Chen; Vanclay Frank

doi:10.1016/j.ijedudev.2020.102268

University social responsibility in the context of economic displacement from the proposed upgrading of a higher education institution: The case of the University of Groningen Yantai campus

Int J Educ Dev. 2020 Oct:78:102268. doi: 10.1016/j.ijedudev.2020.102268. Epub 2020 Aug 23.

Authors

Chen Chen¹, Vanclay Frank¹

Affiliation

¹ Department of Cultural Geography, Faculty of Spatial Sciences, University of Groningen, PO Box 800, 9700AV Groningen, the Netherlands.

Abstract

Around the world, especially in rapidly developing countries, many higher education institutions of various forms are being established. In China, many new universities have been created, including by upgrading existing tertiary education institutions. This process creates economic displacement, with livelihood consequences and social impacts on existing employees and local communities. Using the proposed (but now cancelled) University of Groningen campus in Yantai, China, as a case study, we consider the social impacts that were experienced, or were likely to be experienced, by the employees of the pre-existing institution. Existing employees experienced many negative impacts from economic displacement. They were not satisfied with the compensation offered, their views and interests were not adequately considered, and many were afraid to express their concerns. The institutions involved in the project failed to fulfil their corporate social responsibility (CSR) and environmental, social and governance (ESG) obligations to ensure no harm.

Keywords: Environmental, Social and Governance issues; Human rights; Project induced displacement and resettlement; Social impact assessment; Social licence to operate; University social responsibility.