David Daiches
David Daiches, who died on 15 July aged 92, was the first Professor of English at Sussex. He was one of the nine original academic appointments to the new University of Sussex in 1961 and one of the first three Deans.
In an obituary in the Guardian on 18 July, John Calder describes how David came to be one of the University's founding figures:
That move to Brighton had begun in Hyderabad, when, on a British Council tour, Daiches had met Asa Briggs, the man who was to become pro-vice chancellor at Sussex in 1961. As the two downed dry Martinis, Briggs became more and more eloquent about the new institution's prospects. 'It was going to be the greatest thing since the foundation of the University of Bologna,' Daiches recalled. 'So I said, who is going to set up your English department, and he said something like, "You are, dear boy."'
David wholeheartedly embraced the interdisciplinary philosophy that underpinned the new University of Sussex - so much so that he edited a book about it, The Idea of a New University: An experiment in Sussex. Published in 1964, the book contained chapters on each of the schools as well as on new universities in general.
In his chapter on the School of English and American Studies, of which he was Dean until 1968, David described the chronology of his own intellectual development as a way of explaining why he had "responded to the exciting challenge of helping to build up a new university". He had studied at Edinburgh and Oxford and had lectured at Cornell and Cambridge.
David remained at Sussex until 1977, after which he moved back to his home town of Edinburgh. The University awarded him an honorary doctorate in 1978.
Both before, during and after his time at Sussex, David published widely on English and Scottish literature, poetry and culture.
While his academic writings form his intellectual legacy, the Daiches Papers record the early history of the University and his connections with it. Part of the University of Sussex Collection, they contain manuscript, typescript and printed papers, correspondence and memoranda.
François Duchêne
Professor François Duchêne, director of the Centre for European Research at Sussex from 1974-84 and still an emeritus professor, died on 12 July at the age of 78. His funeral took place at the Meeting House.
Dr Peter Holmes, Reader in Economics, paid tribute to François in an obituary in the Independent on 25 July: "François Duchêne made a great contribution to Sussex... His greatest success was in leading networks of researchers to projects on agriculture, industrial policy and EU enlargement.
"François was a great colleague and friend, a brilliant, funny, generous and warm-hearted man."