Interim Vice-Chancellor David Maguire wrote to all staff today (21 March 2022). You can read the message below:

Dear colleague,

We are always striving to ensure Sussex remains a great place to work, research, learn and live. One way we are doing this is through the Education and Research Investment Programme (ERIP), a £200 million set of estates, technology, ways of working and connectivity projects.

On Wednesday 30 March at 1.30pm I’d like to encourage you to join Keith Jones (Pro-Vice Chancellor for Research & Enterprise), Tim Westlake (Chief Operating Officer), and Ian Duffy (Director of Strategic Projects and Change) in a webinar to hear about our ambitious plans for transforming Sussex, how we’re going to achieve this, and what these changes mean for you.

This is the first in a series of webinars that will explore the projects helping us to deliver our Sussex 2025 strategy and improve education and research for all.

Since I’ve been at Sussex, I have never failed to be impressed by the dedication of our staff in delivering the best possible education and student experience. So many of you go the extra mile to ensure that a student, or groups of students can fulfil their potential. As a collective you are incredible; that’s why we are encouraging our students to recognise that brilliance and nominate those staff, individuals or teams in Schools and the wider University community, for recognition in the Sussex Education Awards.

This year’s awards were launched last week, and the nomination period ends at 5pm on the 19 April. Last year hundreds of staff we’re nominated, and each nomination is a heartfelt thank you from students to staff and is a recognition of how valued you are by the student body. You can read more about the awards on the Student Hub.

Last week was another busy one for me. I had a trip up to London to speak at the THE Digital Universities conference, chaired a lively senate meeting and attended the Council Audit and Risk Committee and one of the committees ensuring that university governance matches best practice in the sector.

This week, the University and College Union (UCU) are calling on their members to take additional strike action from Monday 21 March to Friday 25 March. The action, as in December and February, relates to national disputes about the USS pension scheme, and pay and conditions.

Whilst I am saddened by a further period of industrial action and the potential impacts on our students, I respect the right of staff to take part. Our focus is on making sure disruption to our students and their learning outcomes is minimised as far as possible. A wide range of information for students, including what they can expect during the industrial action is available on the Student Hub.

The welfare of all our staff is also very important. This is a difficult time for everyone, and together we must provide the space for different views and decisions, while maintaining a culture of dignity and respect. Further information and FAQs about the industrial action is available on our Staff webpages and we have a range of resources on our wellbeing hub if you would like additional support.

Our research is a real strength for us and I was delighted to see the BBC cover a Sussex-led story on work that has transformed our understanding of black holes and resolved a problem that has confounded scientists for nearly half a century.

If you haven’t seen the story, which includes an interview with Professor Xavier Calmet from the Sussex School of Mathematical and Physical Sciences, you can read it in full on the BBC News website.

I hope you have a good week.

Warm regards,

David Maguire
Interim Vice-Chancellor