Laurie Taylor Column

Ring in the new

A selection of new year messages from some of the movers and shakers in higher education

The Vice-Chancellor of Poppleton University
"There is every sign that 2005 will be another exciting year for higher education. But if we are to be truly successful, we must rid ourselves of the cynical carping that too often contaminates our universities. Of course our buildings are falling down. Of course we're drowning in bureaucracy. Of course we're giving our students a third-rate deal. Of course we're in hock to industry. Of course it's sad to say goodbye to outworn subjects such as chemistry, mathematics and music. But if you can't stand the heat, get out of the oven. Don't leave it to someone else. Take responsibility. Seize the day."
( Written and signed by Mrs Dilworth )

Ruth Kelly, Education Secretary
"I'm delighted to wish everyone in education a happy, prosperous and God-fearing New Year. As my two recent predecessors were fond of insisting, education, unlike this job, is for life. It is also vitally important to the economy and I'm pretty sure that something else about it will occur to me once I've properly settled into my new position."

Kim Howells, Higher Education Minister
"I'm delighted to wish everyone in higher education a happy, prosperous and bullshit-free New Year. As my two recent predecessors were fond of insisting, education, unlike this job, is for life. It is also vitally important to the economy and I'm pretty sure that something else about it will occur to me once I've properly settled into my new position and had a chance to meet Ruth what's-her-name (see above)."

The Editor, The Times Higher Education Supplement
"This is the time of year to weigh up the state of higher education in the UK, to assess its strengths and weaknesses, its costs and benefits, its pros and cons, its pluses and minuses, its debits and credits, its highs and its lows, its good and its evil, its marks and its spencers and as many other alternatives as are needed to reach the end of this paragraph - and there you have it."