Letter: Which Welsh place?

Derec Llwyd Morgan signs his letter defending the federal structure in Wales as "senior vice-chancellor, University of Wales, Cardiff" ( THES , January 25). What he means is, senior vice-chancellor of the University of Wales from the University of Wales registry located in Cardiff. The "University of Wales, Cardiff" is the official name of Cardiff University, not to be mixed up with the "University of Wales Institute Cardiff".

Confusing? Not to those used to the myriad-mindedness of Welsh politics. What Wales needs is six or seven strong civic universities with their own identities and medical schools. In this, Cardiff offers a pattern for the future, in which excellence follows autonomy, ambition and iconoclasm. The University of Wales should see its role as fostering such a pattern. It now needs to dissolve itself into its strong constituent parts and rethink its role.

Martin Coyle
School of English, Communication and Philosophy
University of Wales, Cardiff.