Oxford University fails to escape disasters and scandal (7)
I believe the answer is:
outrage
'scandal' is the definition.
(scandal can mean an occasion for public outrage)
'oxford university fails to escape disasters' is the wordplay.
'oxford university' becomes 'OU'.
'fails to' becomes 'dies' (I've seen this in other clues).
'escape' is a deletion indicator.
'disasters' becomes 'tragedies' ('tragedy' can be a synonym of 'disaster').
'tragedies' with 'dies' taken out is 'trage'.
'ou'+'trage'='OUTRAGE'
'and' is the link.
(Other definitions for outrage that I've seen before include "Incense and offend" , "Shocking event" , "furious reaction" , "Shock horror!" , "Profound indignation" .)