The President

This is the fabled President in a rare moment when he is by himself without a mobile phone stuck to his ear. He sits behind this desk all day, under the watchful eye of the late founder, dealing with absolutely every single decision that has to be made that day. It's an infuriating system at times, as it filters down through the ranks so that nobody feels they can make a decision without his approval. This in turn means that most of the faculty staff are unable (and unwilling, it can be argued) to bother to solve even the simplest of problems without telling whoever it is to 'talk to the President'.

I like him. He's intelligent, quick-witted and charming.

I had a good hour or so with him today, and we chatted about the culture of blamestorming in the university where nobody takes responsibility for anything and which generally gives me a big headache each and every day. He listened, agreed, and offered his full support for the changes I'm making to 'the system' as well as delivering a promise of four more air-conditioners, a promotion, and a pay-rise.

Bukra Inshallah, of course.