Twenty-five years after the founding of Britain's first and only independent university, the University of Buckingham, it is time to take stock. Many commentators say that universities are in crisis, in terms of funding, resources and above all staff morale. New ways must be found for them to flourish and prosper. One means of finding these 'new ways' is to revisit some of the lessons that led to the creation of the University of Buckingham in the first place, and re-apply them to the changing conditions of the present. This collection therefore includes Harry S. Fern's Towards an Independent University, first published by the IEA in 1969, which provided the intellectual framework for the creation of Buckingham as a university. A selection of up-to-date essays by notable academics and commentators complements Ferns's important paper: all specially commissioned for this volume, the essays reflect on the past, present and future of British universities and put them into the context of an increasingly competitive global market.