Described even by union leaders at his own university as a "personable visionary" and a "political realist", Howard Newby's appointment as the CVCP's next chairman may signal vice-chancellors' willingness to accept change.
He became vice-chancellor at Southampton University in September 1994, bringing with him, said deputy v-c Alistair Ulph, "a sense of long-term strategic direction, with a focus on the university's research-led mission and its need to establish itself as a global player".
Before that he was chairman and then chief executive of the Economic and Social Research Council. As professor of sociology and rural sociology at the University of Wisconsin (1980-83), he was impressed by the "networked" higher education model.