Mark Batho, who has led the SFC since 2008, will in September take up the role of vice-principal for university services at the University of Abertay Dundee.

Last month it was announced that Sir Alan Langlands, the chief executive of the ³ÉÈËVRÊÓƵ Funding Council for England, will become vice-chancellor of the University of Leeds this October.

In a statement, the SFC¡¯s chair, John McClelland, said: ¡°Mark has led SFC through two periods of significant change and has ensured the council¡¯s continued delivery against the organisation¡¯s and the Scottish government¡¯s priorities.¡±

Mr Batho said: ¡°I am privileged to be joining Abertay university at this time, I am already familiar with the university and its ambitions for the future and I am very much looking forward to joining the team that will make those ambitions a reality.¡±

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During his time at the helm, the SFC sent a letter in September 2011 suggesting that Abertay and the University of Dundee discuss the possibility of merging.

However following a hostile reaction from both universities, the merger agenda appears to have disappeared.

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The university said Mr Batho would be responsible for its ¡°strategic planning and resource allocation¡± as well as its support services.

In the summer of 2011 Abertay was rocked by the acrimonious departure of its former principal Bernard King, who refused to accept a statement from the university saying that he had retired.

The two parties later resolved their issues and withdrew legal claims against each other, although the true reason for Professor King¡¯s departure remains a mystery.

david.matthews@tsleducation.com