On Thursday 10 December the Vice Chancellor wrote to all staff. You can read the full email below:

It’s always gratifying to know that you have made a difference – more so, when the stakes are so high.

So, I am very pleased to share with you some feedback we received this week from the Director of Public Health for Brighton & Hove, Alistair Hill, who said:

“I want to thank students and the University of Sussex for doing so much to help stop Covid spreading in the community. Your efforts have made a big contribution to keeping our rate of infection down. Having two universities and 40,000 students is part of what makes Brighton & Hove such a great place to live and we look forward to welcoming [students] back next year.”

As a committed civic university, this is important praise and I hope it makes you feel, rightly, proud of what we have achieved in this past year.

It has come in the same week that we have donated 1,000 face shields to the Royal Marines, in case they are drafted in to assist with Covid vaccinations. Harri Koivisto in the School of Engineering and Informatics designed and manufactured the protective equipment together with a small group of engineers, and leads a volunteer project to mass produce face shields for frontline workers.

While we are slightly remote geographically from the rest of the city, activities such as these have shown this year that we are very much part of its core.

The respect goes both ways. The University has benefitted greatly from the strong relationships we have developed with health and government officials during this period and I am certain that our approach has been bolstered by their involvement.

It is in this spirit of partnership that we have been formulating our plans for next semester. I am pleased to report that the University’s executive team (UEG) and the campus teaching union (UCU) have agreed and published a joint statement to all staff, regarding the second semester. This doesn’t require additional commentary, except to say that this is a very welcome step and the statement is supported by UCU members.

The first few months of next year are shaping up to be instrumental in our immediate and medium-term future. As well as the significant challenges of returning students to campus and delivering another term of teaching, we will also be submitting to the 2021 Research Excellence Framework (REF), managing any changes brought about by Brexit, and progressing with the important organisational projects that I set out in my email and staff forum last week.

I very much hope that spring 2021 will also see us really begin powering through our sustainability agenda. All good plans must stand upon solid foundations, which is why we have this week published our first comprehensive sustainability report. The document assesses our achievements against the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and highlights opportunities for improvement. This is not yet an action plan – that will come in the first half of 2021 – but it is our most accurate picture so far of where we currently are. Even amongst everything else, it is crucial that we do not let this slide and I encourage you to get involved when opportunities arise.

At the beginning of term, we will be launching a staff survey, so we can continue to make positive changes on issues that staff care about. Do look out for your invite.

On a personal note, I wanted to acknowledge the departure of two important members of the senior team. Last week, Michelle Gordon, our Director of External Relations, left after six amazing years and this week we are losing Rowena Rowley, the Head of Governance Services, to the Office for Students. Whenever any of us see valued colleagues leave there is a moment of sadness, but there is also joy for them as they chart their futures.

Finally, I was in contact this week with one of our MA students, Louise Harman. Louise, who also teaches in the International Study Centre, got in touch to share a story of unlikely friendship and kindness that started shortly after she began her studies at Sussex. While walking the South Downs she noticed a bunch of flowers left in a field. She decided to leave a note asking about them. The person who had left them there – a man named Bob – wrote back, explaining that they were in memory of his late wife. So began a five-year pen friendship, all mediated through that spot on the Downs. Soon after the first letters, Louise’s father died and she credits this relationship with a stranger and the support she received at the University with getting her through. Bob now has dementia and Louise has decided to share their story to help combat loneliness in older people and raise money for Age UK. Rarely is a story, at once, universal and intensely personal, as this one is. It truly is a wonderful reminder of the power of kindness and the positive and profound impact we can make upon one another.

With very best wishes,

Adam

Vice-Chancellor