The Council for the Defence of British Universities was established in November 2012 by sixty-six Founding Members.
Their number includes a dozen past and current presidents of Britain’s foremost learned societies − the British Academy, the Royal Society of London, the Royal Society of Edinburgh, and the Learned Society of Wales − eight members of the Order of Merit, nineteen members of the House of Lords, Nobel prize winners, a Fields medalist, a former Poet Laureate, former Vice-Chancellors and cabinet ministers, major literary figures, and several of the most familiar public faces of science and scholarship.
- Sir John Arbuthnott, FRSE, FMedSci, MRIA
- Sir Michael Atiyah, OM, FRS
- Sir David Attenborough, OM, CH, CVO, CBE, FRS
- Alan Bennett
- Lord Bew, MRIA
- Professor Colin Blakemore, FRS, FMedSci, FIBiol, CBiol
- Lord Bragg, Hon. FRS, Hon FBA
- Dame Antonia Byatt, DBE, FRSL
- Professor Sir John Cadogan, CBE, FRS, FRSE, PLSW
- Professor Richard Carwardine, FBA, FLSW
- Rev Professor Owen Chadwick, OM, KBE
- Professor Sir Philip Cohen, FRS, FRSE
- Professor Stefan Collini, FBA
- Professor Richard Dawkins, FRS, FRSL
- Baroness Deech, DBE
- Professor David Dilks, FRSL
- Professor Marcus du Sautoy, OBE
- Professor Ronald Dworkin, Hon QC, FBA
- Professor Sir David Edward, KCMG, PC, QC, FRSE
- Frank Field, PC, MP
- Michael Frayn, C.Lit
- Rt Rev Professor The Lord Harries of Pentregarth, FRSL, Hon FMedSci
- Lord Hennessy of Nympsfield, FBA
- Professor Sir Deian Hopkin
- Professor Sir Michael Howard, OM, CH, CBE, MC, FBA
- Professor Sir Tim Hunt, FRS, FMedSci
- Professor Sir Alec Jeffreys, FRS
- Sir Simon Jenkins, FRSL, FSA
- Professor Colin Jones, FBA
- Baroness Kennedy of the Shaws, QC
- Professor Sir Ian Kershaw, FBA
- Sir Aaron Klug, OM, FRS
- Lord Krebs, FRS, FMedSci
- Dr Peter Lawrence, FRS
- Lord Mackay of Clashfern, KT, PC, FRSE
- Professor Margaret MacMillan, FRSL
- Professor Sir Michael Marmot, FRCP, FMedSci, Hon FBA
- Professor David Marquand, FBA
- Lord May of Oxford, OM, AC, FRS, Hon FREng, Hon FRSE
- Professor Andrew Miller, CBE, FRSE
- Lord Morgan, FBA, FLSW
- Sir Andrew Motion, FRSL
- Dame Jinty Nelson, DBE, FBA
- Sir Paul Nurse, FRS
- Dame Bridget Ogilvie, AC, DBE, FMedSci, FRS, FAAS
- Lord Pannick, QC
- Professor Sir Roger Penrose, OM, FRS
- Lord Rees of Ludlow, OM, FRS
- Sir Duncan Rice, FRSE
- Professor Sir Adam Roberts, KCMG, PBA
- Professor Quentin Skinner, FBA
- Professor the Lord Smith of Clifton
- Professor Christopher Smout, CBE, FBA, FRSE
- Lord Sutherland of Houndwood, KT, FBA, FRSE
- Professor Sir Peter Swinnerton-Dyer, KBE, FRS
- Professor Sir John Meurig Thomas, FRS, Hon FREng, Hon FRSE, FLSW
- Sir Keith Thomas, FBA, FLSW
- Professor Wynn Thomas, OBE, FBA, FLSW
- Claire Tomalin, FRSL
- Sir John Tusa
- Professor Sir Brian Vickers, FBA
- Lord Waldegrave of North Hill, PC
- Baroness Warnock, DBE, Hon FBA
- Sir David Watson
- Professor Sir David Weatherall, FRS, FMedSci
- Lord Woolf, PC, Hon. FBA
- Professor Sir Tony Wrigley, FBA