Closure of Glassblowing workshop in the School of Chemistry

Published: 3rd September, 2025

Leicester UCU (LUCU) are deeply concerned by the proposed redundancy of the University’s glassblower, Gayle Price, and the planned closure of the glassblowing workshop – a facility that has served the University of Leicester since 1961.

This decision has been taken without meaningful consultation, disregarding the voices of over 80 Chemistry colleagues who attended a meeting to discuss the workshop’s future, and without due consideration of evidence showing that the glassblower generated savings of £91,000 for the University in 2024/25.

The University has also been unable to identify the ‘external suppliers’ who are expected to take on this critical work. Without an in-house glassblower, the Department of Chemistry will lose the ability to obtain bespoke glassware essential for many experiments. The environmental impact has similarly been ignored: the glassblower routinely repairs and repurposes broken glass, reducing waste and preventing it from going to landfill.

Gayle Price is internationally recognised in her field, with her bespoke work exhibited in museums worldwide, including Berlin. The outpouring of support from colleagues—both within Leicester and from the wider national and international scientific community—has been heartening.

Nevertheless, LUCU are dismayed that clear scientific, financial, environmental, and reputational arguments are being disregarded. Closing the workshop would be a costly mistake, one that risks undermining the University’s research capability.