Professor Kate O'Riordan

Following approval from both Senate and Council, the combined schools of Media, Film and Music; English; History, Art History and Philosophy; and Sussex Centre for Language Studies will be known as The School of Media, Arts and Humanities from 1 September 2020.

After consultation with staff within the Schools and Language Centre, expert advice from Professional Services colleagues, and input from Senate and UEG, a paper was submitted to Council for approval.

Dean-Elect, Professor Kate O’Riordan said: “The new School of Media, Arts and Humanities is an exciting opportunity to combine our collective strengths in teaching, research and knowledge exchange, enabling us to deliver the very best student experience and to enhance both the reach and interdisciplinarity of our research. Coming together is even more important in the current crisis.”  

Provost, Professor Saul Becker added: “I'm delighted that preparation for the launch of the School of Media, Arts and Humanities is progressing well. It represents an exciting new chapter for Sussex and I look forward to talking with colleagues more about plans as we look to a September launch.”

Prior to the launch, Professor O’Riordan is leading on creating a new school structure and putting together her leadership team. This includes the existing Heads of School and Director of SCLS for an interim year, who will help shape new leadership roles to be advertised within the school in spring 2021.

A Project Team has been established to manage delivery of the main work-streams required to launch the new School in August 2020. The Team is led by a Project Manager and consists of representation from key services across the University, including Finance, Human Resources, External Relations, Student Recruitment, Admissions and International Development, Change Management, I.T. Services, and Estates, with the Dean-elect and Head of Professional Services as the School representatives.