If new buildings signal new beginnings, the Stephen A. Schwarzman Centre for the Humanities is carrying a lot of responsibility.

The gleaming palace to the humanities ¨C the single largest building project ever undertaken by the University of Oxford made possible by the largest philanthropic gift it has ever received ¨C stands in stark contrast to the beleaguered, shrinking state of the rest of the sector.

Crammed into what feels like one of the last empty plots in the city centre on the site of the old Radcliffe Infirmary, it is neighbours with the 18th-century Radcliffe?Observatory?and the more modern Blavatnik School of Government ¨C two other monuments to philanthropy from different eras.

Six years ago, organisers set out to create a building that represented what the humanities can do in the 21st?century ¨C and that mission is more vital now than it was at the project¡¯s inception, as the sector crisis deepens.

̽»¨ÊÓƵ

¡°I think we were really clear about what we were trying to do with the building and what we wanted to deliver and how we wanted to deliver it,¡± said Daniel Grimley, the university¡¯s head of humanities.?¡°And that¡¯s not changed substantively over the course of the past three to five years.¡±

¡°Obviously, what has changed, I think, is the sector context in which the urgency around creating the case for the humanities, for using this resource to demonstrate the added social value that it brings, and the benefits of what we do and how that reflects, amplifies and promotes the university¡¯s civic mission. All of that has only become, I think, more compelling in the lead-up to the opening.¡±

̽»¨ÊÓƵ

The building brings together nine faculties and institutes including English, history, languages and philosophy as well as the Institute for Ethics in AI and the Oxford Internet Institute ¨C all moving from 22 different buildings across the city.

It also includes a 500-seat concert hall, a 250-seat theatre and a 100-seat cinema that will host a cultural programme across music, theatre, dance and art for the wider Oxford public.

¡°We have been very keen to emphasise that this isn¡¯t just an investment in Oxford humanities, but actually for the whole sector, both within the UK and globally,¡± said Alexandra Vincent, divisional registrar for the humanities and chief operating officer?for the new centre.

¡°It is really important to be able to have these flagship moments to be able to show the humanities¡¯ importance, not only in terms of the disciplines, but how they can resolve and shape and inform global challenges. I think that is a really important moment.¡±

Oxford¡¯s latest crop of undergraduates, due to start next week, will know little different, but teaching and learning in the ancient university has rarely been this slick.

¡°For the very first time our students and staff will have purpose-built facilities that are actually designed and built for teaching, rather than these big Victorian villas, which were never meant for these purposes,¡± said Vincent.?

Seven disparate libraries have also been brought together as a new Bodleian Library and a huge great hall space is intended to foster interdisciplinarity.

¡°All of these things will ensure that our student experience is of the world-leading quality that you would expect of a university of this stature,¡± she added.

̽»¨ÊÓƵ

̽»¨ÊÓƵ

¡°We¡¯re also hoping that the research facilities for our researchers and early career researchers take us into a completely different stratosphere for them so that they feel they can thrive.¡±

Schwarzman has not just been generous financially ¨C his gift to the university has totalled ?185 million over the course of the project ¨C said?Grimley but he has also lent his guidance and contacts book?while not being ¡°interventionist¡±, respecting the?¡°red lines¡± the university placed around its independence.?

Oxford?always tops the list for philanthropic?donations but the university was still working out how to make these sorts of projects work, he added.?

¡°British universities are still learning this as we go through. We¡¯ve not historically had a strong philanthropic culture, but we shouldn¡¯t be afraid of opening those conversations.

¡°I think the secret to having a successful relationship is being clear about what this shared mission can be, and recognising that it takes time to mature.¡±

Engaging with local communities, including in deprived parts of the city such as Blackbird Leys, began way before the building neared completion as Grimley said he didn¡¯t want the building to feel like a ¡°spaceship landing from Mars¡±.

He¡¯s clear that the university needs to commit to civic engagement for the long haul but early signs are positive.

¡°Since we opened the doors, we have had people coming through just to have a look, or to buy a coffee or get some lunch.

¡°The buzz has taken us by surprise, but it has really valorised all those positions that we took on about what kind of building it was going to be.

¡°This is a model for what the university can do ¨C albeit yes, with significant resource ¨C but it shows how we can use these buildings for this greater purpose and that¡¯s really important.¡±

̽»¨ÊÓƵ

tom.williams@timeshighereducation.com