Politicians need to stop meddling in university admissions, the new Vice-Chancellor of the University of Oxford said in his inaugural address yesterday.

Andrew Hamilton becomes the first Oxford vice-chancellor who has not studied or held a previous post at the university. He took his first degree at the University of Exeter and was most recently a Provost of Yale University.

In his speech at the university’s Sheldonian Theatre, he said that he would protect the “twin Oxford jewels — the collegiate structure and the tutorial system”.

“But that commitment to excellence comes at a price,” he said. “It is expensive. It demands high standards and constant attention. It is not always popular and has to be defended against political opportunism and crude social engineering.”

His comments could be interpreted as a warning to politicans of both parties before next year’s general election. The Government has put pressure on elite universities to take more state school pupils.

Ministers will announce this month an official review of university tuition fees, under which they could be doubled in 2011 from the present £3,000 a year.

Oxford is building an endowment fund that will allow it to offer places to students “needs-blind” — irrespective of financial background. This could also free it from reliance on public funding, giving the university independence from government policy.

John Hood, the departing vice-chancellor, said yesterday that the fundraising campaign, which he announced 18 months ago with a target of £1.25 billion, had raised £770 million.

The philanthropist Dame Vivien Duffield, who chairs the campaign, has pledged £5.1 million of her own money, the university announced yesterday.

Times recommends

• ‘Obama effect’ pushes British pupils to US
• Over-subscribed colleges face budget shortfall
• End in sight for school tables based on test results