Speaking shortly after his return from an exhausting nine-day conference in the Maldives on the future of higher education, our Vice-Chancellor declared that he was "really on the whole fairly excited" by the new look of The Poppletonian.

He told our reporter, Keith Ponting (29), that in his opinion, the previous newsletter had often spent too long concentrating on ¡°the many negative aspects of the university¡± and on reporting ¡°lots of minority views that failed to represent the true nature of the institution going forward¡±.

All of us here at the The Poppletonian are equally excited by our brand-new look. Here are just some of the changes you will be seeing in our forthcoming editions.

In comes a brand-new column by our thrusting Director of Corporate Affairs, Jamie Targett. Jamie, who has acquired quite a reputation for ¡°speaking his mind¡±, will be writing a ¡°no-holds barred¡± column about the manner in which academic values should increasingly be brought into line with our institutional goals. You¡¯ll find his first offering, ¡°Why the University of Poppleton is more important than English Literature¡±, on page 7 (opposite the regular ¡°Campus Thought for the Week¡± from our ecumenical university chaplain).

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In comes an exciting new feature from our acting Head of Personal Development, Jennifer Doubleday, in which she will offer practical hints on how you can develop a ¡°new you¡± in just 15 minutes a day. Read her first article, ¡°Developing a New You¡±, on page 14 (next to the ¡°Recent Resignations¡± column).

In comes ¡°Pic of the Week¡±, a new competition in which readers will be asked to submit photographs of their favourite views of the campus. This week¡¯s contribution, from Doctor Quintock of the Department of Media and Cultural Studies, is called Darkness Descends and captures the elegant lines of the new Human Resources Block at dusk.

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Apart from these regulars there¡¯ll also be ¡°one-offs¡±. Look forward to columns on creativity by our Chief Finance Officer, hints on getting away from it all from ¡°our man at large¡±, Doctor Piercem¨¹ller, and practical ideas for filling empty shelves from our Head of Advanced Information Services (formerly the Chief Librarian).

Yes, all that and more, in your new Poppletonian. And, don¡¯t forget, if you have any views on our new format do send them in to the editor marked ¡°Positive criticism¡±. And now ¨C get reading!