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Times ÖйúAƬ's list of vice-chancellors' pay and benefits ("It was fun while it lasted", 1 April) makes for depressing reading, coming as it does in the same issue as Iain Pears' wonderfully trenchant analysis of the academy's current malaise ("Universities are not businesses").

In the former article, a spokeswoman for the University of East London states that vice-chancellors operate in a "global market" and that their remuneration reflects this. But a quick look at the surnames in the THE list does not suggest a diverse pool of talent.

Can anyone confirm how many of the 150 or so vice-chancellors listed hail from overseas, and how many Britons hold similar posts in other countries?

Let's establish the existence of a global market before vice-chancellors use this as shorthand for demanding unjustifiable pay packages.

Name and address supplied.