Mike Fitzgerald (sociologist)

He attended Catholic grammar school in Crosby, Merseyside and gained entry to the University of Cambridge to read Social Sciences, graduating in the early 1970s.

He was appointed Vice-Chancellor and Chief Executive of Thames Valley University (TVU) in 1991, at 41 years of age the youngest VC in Britain.

"At 45 he believes he is the youngest vice chancellor, but after five years at TVU – seeing it through a transformation from institute of higher education to polytechnic to university – he is far from the least experienced.

Peer respect for the sharp mind behind a laddish exterior was signalled last week when the CVCP council chose him as vice chair in succession to David Melville of Middlesex University."

Fitzgerald used his experience at the Open University and in the polytechnic sector to create a new learning environment to support and sustain a mass system of higher education.

[11] He initiated the Paul Hamlyn Learning Resource Centre at the Slough campus (now sold), and introduced new areas of study including courses in performance rock music, and digital technologies, computer animation and games.

Poor relations with some of the teaching staff, combined with the very rapid pace of change and reliance on new computer technologies, created the greatest problems for his management.

The QAA report[13] gave negative evaluations of TVU's academic standards in many areas – registration, timetabling, validation, student support and assessment systems.

The report said "The University chose to implement this vision of a New Learning Environment at the same time as it completely recast the underpinning academic-related administration.

[17] Tony Blair and David Blunkett opened the Paul Hamlyn Learning Resource Centre on the Slough campus in 1996 with the rejoinder: 'Why, I wonder, can't every university be like TVU?'.