On reviewing various articles, one caught my eye more than any other, namely plans by Aberystwyth University which could see a non-Welsh speaker appointed as its new vice-chancellor.
This follows the decision by Bangor to do the same earlier this year.
Whilst the Welsh Language Society is again objecting to this development, I doubt if the University will take any notice of their objections.
To be fair to Aberystwyth, their response is quite different to what happened in Bangor, stating that "The language requirements for the post (and that of any deputy vice-chancellor) need to be considered in the context of the capacity of the senior management team of the university who must have, and do have, full capacity to be able to deal and communicate fluently and effectively in both Welsh and English". More importantly, it was noted that "a non-Welsh speaker should learn the language to a modest standard before starting work".
This is quite different to the situation in Bangor, where the majority of the senior management team did not speak Welsh, despite some of them having been living in the Bangor area for decades. It will also be interesting to see how Aberystwyth will impose the Welsh language rule prior to appointment. Is a GCSE level sufficient for such a senior post and, more importantly, will the successful candidate be able to achieve this within the normal six months notice period for senior appointments?
Two other points.
Firstly, if, as expected, Aberystwyth appoints a non-Welsh speaker to the post, then that will leave just two fully bilingual Vice-Chancellors in Wales (out of eleven), namely Dr Medwyn Hughes of Trinity St David's and Professor Marc Clement of the University of Wales.
Secondly, I was under the impression that the Minister for Education had stated that his new strategy for higher education in Wales was "likely to mean fewer vice-chancellors".
Given that UWIC has already rebuffed his advances for merger with the University of Glamorgan, is this decision by Aberystwyth to appoint a new Vice Chancellor, rather than beginning talks with Bangor over a potential merger under one leader, yet another blow to the intentions of the Minister to reform higher education in Wales?
