THE UNIVERSITY has denied allegations published in a national newspaper on Sunday that Vice-Chancellor John Hood was engaged in a fight with police last month.
Oliver Marre, a writer for The Observer’s ‘Pedennis’ column, claimed that Hood had an “altercation” with Thames Valley Police after he tried to park his car.
“I was contacted by a disinterested bystander at last month’s St Giles’ Fair in Oxford, who says he witnessed an ‘altercation’ between the VC (who has a business background rather than an academic one) and the local constabulary over his attempts to park in a closed-off street,” Marre said.
A spokesperson for the University claimed that the story was “malicious rubbish”, adding, “There are people who would happily mouth off about the Vice-Chancellor, but I wouldn’t want to accuse them of anything.”
Hood has continued to face pressure from dons angry at his determination to reform the University’s governance structure. Hood finally abandoned his plans in March 2007, writing to the Chief Executive of HEFCE and announcing that his reforms had been shelved. Despite this, opposition to Hood has persisted among rebellious academics.
Marre said, “Surely Hood doesn’t believe that his debates with dons over the governing of the University are leading them to brief newspapers against him? With relations this bad, can it be long before it turns into a case of fisticuffs in the Bodleian?” By Peter Wright
Hood’s police “altercation” denied by Uni
