David Ruebain, Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Culture, Equality & Inclusion)

David Ruebain, Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Culture, Equality and Inclusion), wrote to all staff earlier today. You can read the full text of his email below. 

Dear Colleague,

Monday 11 March marks the first night of the holy month of Ramadan, in which Muslims across the world will be fasting from sunrise to sunset. Ramadan Kareem to all staff and students at Sussex, and to the wider Muslim community across Brighton and Hove.

If you are a line manager, it is important that you have conversations with Muslim staff, to understand how people might want to be supported during the month.

This month, I’d like to talk about:  

• In Conversation on intergenerational justice and equality, Wednesday 28 February
• Sussex alumna Jenny Mitchell returns as Poet-in-Residence
• Inspiring inclusion for International Women’s Day, Friday 8 March
• Deemed Dirty symposium and new sculpture on campus
• Neurodiversity Celebration Week, 18-24 March
• Queer Heritage South awarded funds to develop a live archive
• Further accessible and all-gender toilets on campus 

In Conversation on intergenerational justice and equality, Wednesday 28 February

Tomorrow we will be welcoming Professor Nicola Dandridge and Dr Omar Khan to campus for a discussion about generational differences in the way we think about justice and society, and how universities can help drive change. Three panelists from the School of Education and Social Work will also join us to share their perspectives: Dr Emily Danvers, Senior Lecturer in Higher Education Pedagogies; Professor Janet Boddy, Professor of Child, Youth and Family Studies; and Matt Johnson, postgraduate researcher and Head of Research at the Runnymede Trust. The event, from 5.30pm-7pm is free, but please do book your place. You are welcome to join us for a short drinks reception afterwards.

Sussex alumna Jenny Mitchell returns as Poet-in-Residence

Award-winning poet and Sussex alumna, Jenny Mitchell, will be returning to the University as Poet-in-Residence, as part of the Black at Sussex project. The Wicked Problems series will open up conversations around ‘race’, identities and experiences within higher education, and the power of language in exploring themes such as Black resistance and agency. Jenny will be facilitating a series of roundtable discussions for students across the University, followed by poetry workshops, in conjunction with Library Services. The Wicked Problems series will launch with a welcome reception on 6 March from 5.30pm-7.30pm in the Library. The event is open to all, but booking is essential.

Inspiring inclusion for International Women’s Day, Friday 8 March

International Women's Day (IWD) celebrates the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women, and this year’s theme is ‘Inspire Inclusion’. A number of activities are taking place to mark IWD, including a Women at Sussex exhibition at the Library throughout March. Photographic portraits celebrating inspirational women at Sussex will be on display next to the Library café and I opened the exhibition earlier today with Vice-Chancellor Sasha Roseneil. You can view a full set of photos and supportive comments by a wider group of Sussex’s women via this Padlet board. On Friday 8 March, there will also be an online event acknowledging and celebrating ADHD and Autism in Women. 

Deemed Dirty symposium and new sculpture on campus

On Friday 23 February, the University hosted a symposium exploring representations of Gypsy, Roma and Traveller (GRT) communities as part of our pledge to promote awareness and celebrate GRT communities. The event focused on the British Academy-supported work of Professor Roberta Piazza from the School of Media, Arts and Humanities and Romany artist, journalist and activist Jake Bowers. Following the symposium, I was delighted to take part in the unveiling of Priscilla, the Queen of the South, a sculpture by Jake Bowers which will be outside the Jubilee Building for the next year (pictured above).

Neurodiversity Celebration Week, 18-24 March

As part of Neurodiversity Celebration Week, the Neurodiversity Staff Network has organised an online self-advocacy workshop on Monday 18 March from 12 noon-2pm. The session aims to support neurodivergent staff in building confidence and communication strategies to navigate systems to access accommodations. This is the first in a series of events funded by the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Unit. Booking details will be available soon on the Staff Hub. 

The next in-person meet up for the network will be on Tuesday 5 March at 1pm at the Meeting House. Anyone interested in finding out more about the network is welcome to attend, and they also have regular monthly catch ups on Teams. For more information, contact: ndstaffnetwork_admin@sussex.ac.uk.

Queer Heritage South awarded funds to develop a live archive

I was very pleased to hear that Queer Heritage South has received initial funding from the National Lottery Heritage Fund to further develop a new digital archive which aims to share Brighton’s LGBTQIA+ heritage. Queer Heritage South has collaborated with Sussex Digital Humanities Lab (one of our Centres of Excellence) for many years and is also partnering with the Centre for Sexual Dissidence on the project. 

Further accessible and all-gender toilets on campus

New all-gender and accessible toilets have recently been installed in Pevensey I and Arts A buildings. Delivered by the Sussex Estates and Facilities (SEF) Projects team, the new and refurbished facilities are part of the University’s ongoing work to improve accessible toilets and spaces and expand availability of all-gender facilities.

With good wishes,  

David Ruebain   
Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Culture, Equality and Inclusion)  

Coming up: 

• Conference: EDI – A tick-box exercise? Embedding equality, diversity, and inclusion to transform organisational culture. Wednesday 6 March, 4pm-7.30pm. The conference, featuring David Ruebain as keynote speaker, will be at Lewes Town Hall. Tickets are free but booking is required.
• Sign Language Week, 18-24 March
• International Day For Elimination of Racial Discrimination, Thursday 21 March
• World Autism Acceptance Week, 27 March-2 April
• Pay gap data publication, Saturday 30 March
• International Transgender Day of Visibility, Sunday 31 March. The Trans flag will be flown at Sussex House to mark the day.

Further information will be shared on the Staff Hub.