Dame Denise Holt, Chair of Council

As Chair of Council for your University, my role is to set very clear targets for the University’s leadership, and to monitor how they are being reached, to make sure the University performs to the best of its ability on behalf of present and future students. Our Council consists of 25 members including the Vice Chancellor and Provost, other academic staff, the Students’ Union and 14 independent members from across higher education, the third sector and a wide range of business and government roles. Together we are responsible for setting the long-term strategy and making sure that the University’s finances are well managed so we can continue to remain a great place to study and for research to be carried out long into the future.

We meet formally once a term – and I’m keen to make sure that our students can find out more about what we discuss and the decisions we make. So, following our most recent meeting (on Friday 2 July), here’s a short overview of what I believe is most relevant to you.

Firstly, I was delighted to be able to confirm the interim appointments of Professor David Maguire, as interim Vice-Chancellor (starting later this year) and Professor Kevin Hylton, interim PVC for Culture, Equality and Inclusion (starting immediately). These are really important roles for the University and I know both will be in touch directly with students over the coming months.

Sustainable Sussex

We’re at a critical time to address climate change and with the UN Climate Change conference (COP26) happening in Glasgow in less than 5 months, it was inspiring to hear about the University’s Sustainable Sussex strategy – which will take us to become one of the most sustainable universities in the world. The strategy is undoubtedly ambitious, and covers so much from embedding sustainability into our curriculum, waste, transport, recycling, energy use and a reduced carbon infrastructure. Council has been asked to agree a new target connected to the strategy to get us to net zero carbon emissions by 2035.

Helping our students achieve excellent outcomes

We also heard about the work underway to improve the outcomes for our graduates, that are outlined in our World Readiness and Employability Strategy, which, 18 months in, is really turning around the opportunities for our students. The targets are far reaching, which Council fully supports. The aims are to move into the top 10 for graduate prospects in the league tables – and to progress closing the performance gaps for underrepresented groups. We’re already seeing an uplift, with 14% more finalists engaging in the careers and employment services available to them.

The student experience

How we consider the needs of the current and next generations of students at Sussex is overseen by the Student Experience Committee (SEC). It has been encouraging to hear the ambition of those in the committee, for closing the awarding gap for BAME students by 2025 – a new KPI that we are adopting. There was a discussion at Council about the best ways to reduce the awarding gap, experiences and outcomes particularly for black students at Sussex – and I’m certain that our new interim PVC for Culture, Equality and Inclusion, Kevin Hylton will be working with all parties involved to make sure we continue to study the evidence of how different interventions and schemes perform so we can create real impact.

It was also outlined in the meeting that over the summer a working group will review some of our student support measures such as bursaries and funding for those students who are most in need. This will include looking at accommodation pricing on campus. Council members welcomed a paper from USSU on this subject, but also recognised that by far the greatest demand was for the most expensive en-suite accommodation. Council also confirmed their support of Sussex’s policy of focusing on those most in need, whilst keeping an open mind on whether the University should or could do more in this regard. We all look forward to the results of the working group.

Celebrating 60 years of Sussex

It’s not long now till we can all toast our wonderful University reaching its sixtieth birthday. We heard some of the exciting plans that will be unveiled later in the summer – that will run throughout the next whole year. Of course it’s the people that make Sussex so special – and I know that the University’s original pioneering spirit is very much alive.

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