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World-class business school to be created as University of Reading merges with Henley Management College – University of Reading

The University of Reading is pleased to announce it has reached agreement in principle on a potential merger of the Henley Management College with the University to form a new world-class business school.



The merger will bring together two highly complementary business education offerings: Henley is a leading international provider of executive education and MBA programmes, while Reading is a world leader in international business research with centres of excellence in business education for the financial and real estate markets.



Together - as the Henley Business School at the University of Reading – each of these elements will be strengthened to support a powerful, broadly-based new business school of international standing. Its appeal and offering to students, academics and the wider business community will be transformed by the cross-fertilisation of ideas, resources and reach within the merged organisation.



Professor Gordon Marshall, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Reading, said: "This represents a wonderful opportunity to establish a new business school to prepare future managers and business leaders for the challenges of the 21st century, with enviable core strengths but with the potential for innovative offerings to students, academics and corporate clients alike.



"The University of Reading is an ambitious institution and this will be a transforming step in further developing our reputation for outstanding teaching, research and enterprise."



Christopher Bones, Principal of Henley Management College, said: "Henley is already one of the most highly rated providers of executive education and MBA programmes in Europe and is widely recognised as a thought leader in the field of management.



"By combining with the University of Reading, we aim to build a new, more broadly-based business school of the highest reputation, able to attract students and academics of the highest quality and to provide business organisations with an education partnership in a class of its own."



The new business school will also benefit from being a core element of the enlarged University of Reading, already established as one of the top ten research intensive universities in the UK as well as one of the top 200 universities in the world.



Within an enterprising culture, the University of Reading will promote the Henley Business School to a wider international audience and will look to offer a broader perspective to the business school's teaching and research efforts through, for example, access to the university's established expertise in environmental studies, including the developing understanding of climate change. In turn the university as a whole will benefit from the strength of Henley's existing corporate relationships, leading to the potential for wider areas of collaboration.



Ends



For further information please contact:



Lucy Ferguson, Media Relations Manager, University of Reading, contact: 0118 378 7388 or l.ferguson@reading.ac.uk.



For Henley Management College, please contact Judith Hunt Judith@communicationsmanagement.co.uk or tel: 01727 737989





University of Reading

• The University of Reading is ranked in the UK's 10 most research-intensive universities and in the top 200 universities in the world. It enjoys a world-class reputation for teaching, research and enterprise.

• Its academic activity for businesses has seen it work alongside major regional, national and global organisations including the NHS, Oracle UK, the World Bank, HM Treasury, the European Commission and The United Nations.

• Already established as a leading force in British higher education, it is undertaking an ambitious multi-million pound investment programme to deliver twenty-first century facilities and programmes.

• Home to more than 1,600 students the Business School is the largest school within the University of Reading, delivering a leading range of undergraduate and postgraduate courses spanning its five internationally-renowned departments: Economics, Management, Real Estate & Planning, International Capital Markets Association (ICMA) Centre and the Informatics Research Centre (IRC).

• The University was established in 1926 and is consistently one of the most popular higher education choices in the UK. Its unusually broad portfolio covers the arts, humanities, sciences and social sciences



Henley Management College

• Henley Management College is one of the top-ranked business schools in the world and, founded in 1945, one of the longest established and the world's third largest supplier of MBA education.

• The first programme at Henley commenced in March 1948, and the Prime Minister Clement Atlee visited to perform the official opening ceremony in April 1948

• In recognition of its pioneering work, the College received a Royal Charter in 1991.

• Henley was one of the first business schools to achieve triple accreditation (AMBA, EQUIS, AACSB) in the UK

• Henley has produced the most DBA graduates in Europe

• The College delivers business education to managers in more than 112 countries worldwide with in excess of 5,400 people studying for a Henley MBA at any one time.

• The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) September 2007 rankings, ranked Henley's full time MBA as No 2 in the UK, No 5 in Europe and No 10 in the world.

• Henley's Modular MBA was ranked 1st in the UK and 4th in the world (ahead of INSEAD and IMD) for Career progression in the Financial Times October 2007 rankings.

• Overall, in the Financial Times October 2007 rankings, Henley was the 2nd biggest climber in the UK and the 6th biggest climber in the world, moving up 12 places compared to our position in 2006

• Ranked 1st in the UK and 5th in Europe for new skills and learning in the 2007 Financial Times rankings of Executive Education

• Ranked 2nd in the UK and 5th in Europe for quality of participants on open programmes in the 2007 Financial Times rankings of Executive Education

• Henley is renowned for pioneering management research from reputation and sustainability, to board effectiveness; from on-line shopping behaviour, to what makes a great customer experience; from how engineering graduate skills deficiencies are impacting on the UK economy, to the importance to the economy of innovation in SMEs and from what it takes to attract and retain talent in organisations to how talented people utilise and share knowledge.