Heads for the hunting grounds

Are we about to witness another high-level recruitment scramble, with some truly juicy vice-chancellor positions hitting the headhunters'

inboxes? Quite possibly. Bournemouth University's Gillian Slater, Brighton's David Watson and the School of Oriental and African Studies'

Colin Bundy have all confirmed their intention to step down. But rumour has it there may be more, with some seriously big names contemplating retirement from the big research universities. Watch this space - or rather The Times Higher job ad pages.