Prof Bo Rothstein, the Swedish academic who resigned his Oxford professorship over a donation to Donald Trump by university benefactor Leonard Blavatnik, has said he has received hundreds of messages of support and a job offer from another institution.
Rothstein stepped down as the Blavatnik chair of government and public policy after learning that Blavatnik had donated $1m to Trump's inauguration committee. He said he had no regrets about his decision, which he described as a matter of principle.
Oxford University expressed confusion over his resignation, stating that Blavatnik's donation was unrelated to the Blavatnik School of Government. Prof Pavlos Eleftheriadis of Mansfield College urged Rothstein to reconsider, arguing that the university's independence was not compromised by donors' personal views.
Rothstein, however, insisted he would not reconsider, noting that he had received only positive feedback. He also revealed an immediate offer of a visiting professorship from the Hertie School of Governance in Berlin.
He said that having Blavatnik's name in his job title made him vulnerable to charges of hypocrisy, adding: "I'm not going to give legitimacy and credibility to this person." Rothstein criticised Trump's stance on political violence and civil liberties, saying such behaviour poses a danger to democracy.
A spokesman for Blavatnik's company confirmed the $1m donation but denied it indicated major support for Trump, describing the inauguration committee as a non-partisan body.
