Dear Rita

Dear Rita

I must say the Waldorf Astoria is every bit as redolent with culture and history as the Berlitz guide book suggested. It is proving an exquisite starting point for my short lecture tour of "the States" and a blessed sanctuary from the heat and battle of 'downtown' New York. My talk yesterday on "Higher Education in the UK after the Dearing Report" to The Association for the Promotion of Anglo-American Understanding (APAAU) was very well received. One or two questioners did seem to have some difficulty in understanding why the actual Report was in any way significant when its central financial conclusions were so comprehensively dismissed by the new Labour Government only ten minutes after its publication.

But I think I managed to convince them. (Even if I didn't there's always the consolation of the Pounds 500 fee!) One small administrative point. I see from the papers that a number of vice-chancellors have responded vigorously to the news that the Government is going to impound the new tuition fees. I think it only appropriate if there was also a statement on this matter from our own institution. I wonder, therefore if you could knock out a press release which stressed the manner in which the University of Poppleton has always adopted a principled opposition to the introduction of tuition fees on the grounds that they would deter poorer students and only reluctantly supported their introduction as an expedient way of solving the funding crisis in higher education. However, now that the Government has decided to retain the tuition fee money for its own purposes we would like to re-assert our principled opposition to all tuition fees. (This probably needs a little polishing but you'll get the general gist.) Have a nice day!

The Vice Chancellor

Mrs Rita Mapperley

Secretary to the Vice Chancellor

University of Poppleton

Poppleton

England