Our Vice-Chancellor

Many academic commentators on contemporary Western higher education want to harken back to what they see as a golden age of academe — and bemoan their present lot. No doubt there are things to complain about. Probably many. But it is possible to become mired in an account which sees nothing but gloom and negativity in the current academic scene and which, by implication, sees no way of ever effecting any positive changes.

However, not all of the changes of the last few years in academe have been negative and I thought it might be worth pointing to just a few of these positive changes...

In the UK, the clamor of degree congregations is dying away as another academic year comes to an end. Academics are hard at work on their research – or they are on vacation. In other parts of the northern hemisphere, vacation time started a long time ago but it will end earlier.