'Dead wood' haunts Schwartz

He may be calling for stronger moral values in higher education, but Brunel University vice-chancellor Steven Schwartz has been nominated by union officials as the worst boss in Britain for a TV series on Channel 4.

It is hardly a surprising choice given that Brunel recently unveiled plans to cut 60 academic staff posts, including 30 compulsory redundancies. The Association of University Teachers is particularly upset that some Brunel staff suffered the indignity of being branded "research inactive" (known as "dead wood") - thus being of no use in the next research assessment exercise.