Managers drafted in to Thames Valley

Two senior higher education managers have been appointed to help run troubled Thames Valley University. Geoff Crispin, former deputy vice-chancellor at Teesside University, and Steve Chicken, former finance director at the Open University and chairman of the University Finance Directors Association, have been appointed deputy vice-chancellor and pro-vice chancellor (operations and resources) respectively.

The pair will join a senior management team led by acting vice-chancellor Sir William Taylor. Sir William was appointed in a temporary capacity following the resignation of vice-chancellor Mike Fitzgerald in the wake of last November's damning Quality Assurance Agency report.