I do, however, fear that he is betraying the principles of British public education to create a very expensive intellectual finishing-school for the rich, with professors who are known for their TV celebrity status which may or in many cases may not mean that they are outstanding teachers or researchers; and that he is to some extent using the reputation and resources of London University in general, and Birkbeck College in particular, for his own institution's purposes, and without the agreement of the existing institutions.
I also have a visceral revulsion against the involvement of Niall Ferguson, who as well as being a hawk, an economic right-winger, and a professional promoter of British Empire nostalgia, is also the author of an article which should repel all opponents of the religious right:
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/04/04/magazine/the-way-we-live-now-4-4-04-eurabia.html?src=pmExpounding the 'Eurabia' myth created by the Europaean xenophobic right, and in the process arguing that religious tolerance and the decline of Christianity are making us easy prey to Islamism supposedly taking over our countries.
You don't have to be religious to be concerned about this new institution; you just have to be against the ever-increasing privatization of British public services. Here is a view from an atheist blogger at Birkbeck:
http://blog.newhumanist.org.uk/2011/06/ac-grayling-launches-private-university.html'Grayling has defended the move as a response to "the economic reality" of cuts to public humanities funding, saying "either you stand on the sidelines deploring what is happening or you jump in and do something about it"'
Actually there's another alternative: you can fight against this political evil! Grayling and his faculty members all have good posts already; it is not as though they needed to start this university to stay off the breadline.
'The Church Mouse even asks whether it will take a fair approach towards religious believers in admissions.'
Oh, I'm sure it will take a fair approach to religious believers. I'm just not so sure that it will take such a fair approach to people who don't happen to have oodles of dosh!
The point is that Grayling is not founding this institution *because he's an atheist*. Although the choice of individual professors may be influenced to some degree by atheism, the reasons for founding the institution are because of the cold climate for universities in general, and the humanities in particular, due to government cuts and creeping privatization. Sadly, Grayling has decided to deal with this climate by joining it rather than fighting it.