Leading article: Wizard of Oz

The arrival of another Antipodean to take the helm of a British university is good news. Malcolm Gillies, who will take over at City University in the summer of this year, has experience of working at leading institutions in both Australia and America and will bring fresh eyes to the business of running a university. In particular, his experience of forming international partnerships at Australian National University, and of fundraising at Yale, should help to turn City into a better-funded global competitor. And his criticisms of British attitudes to research assessment should help to inform the debate about this contentious issue.