A proverbial crowd-pleaser

When Chris Brink, new vice-chancellor of Newcastle University, left his previous post as rector and vice-chancellor of Stellenbosch University, he was given a book celebrating his achievements. In it, education dean Tom Park plagiarised Proverbs 31 to declaim:

"Who can find a virtuous rector? For his price is worth more than deans. His senate does safely trust in him and plucks the fruit of his work. He will do the university good, and not evil, all the days of his life.

"He gathers teaching inputs and outputs, and enjoys determining the financial drivers.

He is like the merchant ships: he brings in funds from afar. He rises while it is yet night and calculates the allocations for his faculties; even his support services get their portion."