Today (Friday 4 June), the Vice-Chancellor Adam Tickell updated all staff in his regular View from the VC email. You can read the full View from the VC below.
Many of you have engaged enthusiastically over the past few weeks in discussions, involving our whole community, about the future size and shape of the University. This is an update on that programme of activity.
The Size and Shape programme is about our future. The decisions in front of our Schools and Divisions will shape our University’s direction for years to come, so it is imperative that we get this right.
At the same time, the challenges and opportunities that have given rise to the programme are real and pressing, so we have been considering carefully in recent weeks how to strike the right balance.
Last week the Chair of the University’s governing body, Dame Denise Holt, agreed to my request to allow more time for Schools to develop their proposals. This means that, rather than reviewing full proposals in July as had been planned this will now happen in the autumn. As such, Council will now receive detailed progress reports in July and we will agree the timings for the full proposals at the Council meeting in September.
We want to support Schools as much as possible as they continue their comprehensive work on long-term budget planning, addressing cross-subsidy and responding to the recent portfolio review. These are complex considerations and, by moving the timings, we are able to provide the space we think is needed for them to draw up plans that set Sussex on a stronger footing. Whilst some of the proposals for Professional Services are more or less finalised, it is important that we consider all proposals together.
I know that some colleagues are concerned that Size and Shape may result in staffing changes. This change in timing means that, aside from staff who may leave the organisation through the recently closed voluntary severance scheme there won’t be any other departures linked to the Size and Shape programme in 2021.
In making this decision to move the timings, we have also listened to you. You have raised a wide range of thoughts, ideas and further questions during the many engagement sessions held with staff. All your feedback was captured by the engagement group and compiled into a report, which the University’s Executive Group received and welcomed this week. A common theme was that you wanted more time to understand some of the complex areas we are addressing such as cross-subsidy - we have listened to and acted on your feedback. I really hope we can continue this level of engagement for the rest of the year, as we take these plans forward.
In the spirit of openness that we have maintained throughout this process, we are making the report from the engagement group available to all staff.
Over the next few weeks, our focus will be on providing comprehensive support to Schools, to enable them to present as much information as possible to Council in July. This remains a vital milestone if we are to maintain momentum going into the new academic year and address the changes we need to make to our University for the long-term benefit of our students, our research and our staff.
I look forward to talking to you about this and more at the open forum on 16 June, where I’ll be joined by PVC for Research and Enterprise, Keith Jones and Director of Human Resources, Siobhan O’Reilly, please sign-up if you haven’t already.
All the best,
Adam