'What distinguishes us from schools in the us and canada is a flexible approach'

Warwick Business School's dean is celebrating his school's 40th anniversary with three awards of his own Don't tell his vice-chancellor, but Howard Thomas would happily work for free. The dean of Warwick Business School has a "passion" for his work. "I'd never say it to any vice-chancellor or president, but I've done a job that I'd be quite happy to have done without being paid."

Professor Thomas's passion has just won him a trio of accolades. He has been elected chair of the Global Foundation for Management Education and made an honorary life member of the European Foundation for Management Education. And Edinburgh University, where he took his PhD, has given him a DSc for significant contributions to the field of strategy.

Professor Thomas has an international perspective on management education, having taught in the UK, the US, Europe, Canada and Australia. He was dean of Illinois University's business school for ten years before coming to Warwick in 2000.

"I'm one of these people who really got into academic administration because other people pushed me into it, rather than that being essentially a career plan in my mind," he said. "I've kept up my research all the way along - that's a tremendously important element. If you don't have high-quality research at the cutting edge, informed by practice, students are not getting the best tuition."

Warwick Business School is celebrating its 40th anniversary."What distinguishes us from alternatives in the US, Canada and Australia is our flexible approach. There is increasing growth in modular and distance learning programmes," he said.