Art History professor, Maurice Howard, retires from Sussex after 40 years
Professor Howard started working at the University on 1 October 1976 and retired on 31 January 2016. He is a leading architectural historian, specialising in British architecture and particularly the architecture of the country house.
Maurice Howard at the University's Basil Spence exhibition in 2012
Maurice Howard with television presenter, Lucy Worsley
Maurice Howard meets Her Majesty The Queen
The Vice-Chancellor, Professor Michael Farthing, said:
“Maurice has made a huge contribution to the development of art history at Sussex, helping it to become one of the most respected departments among its competitors in the HE landscape.
“Through his specialist knowledge of architecture, and particularly the work of Sir Basil Spence, he has helped us to appreciate our own extraordinary surroundings. For our 50th anniversary he curated an amazing exhibition of the campus’s development.
“Maurice has a way of opening our eyes to the hidden wonders of buildings and brings brick and mortar to life in a truly inspiring way.
“He has also been a great ambassador for the University, especially through his involvement with projects at the Victoria and Albert Museum and his presidency of the Society of Antiquaries, and I know he continues to inspire those who have had the good fortune to have been his students during the past few decades.”
Professor of Art History and Head of Department, Geoff Quilley, said:
“Maurice has been at the heart of the Art History department at Sussex for nearly four decades. He knows - and has time for - more people across the campus than most of us meet in a year. He’s always ready for a friendly word, always making the effort to attend a colleague’s event.
“He probably generates the time for this as he can walk faster than anyone else in the world. A skill which has often led to his losing students on field trips when they dawdle in his wake. Maurice – as her supervisor and mentor - is also responsible for the phenomenon that is Lucy Worsley.
“He is a tireless advocate, nationally and internationally, for architectural history and cultural heritage, whether in Sussex, in his work for museums or major cultural institutions. It’s wonderful that his achievements have been recognized in his OBE in the New Years’ Honours. He is also the loveliest colleague to work with – not much more you can ask of an academic really.”
Professor Howard’s retirement party is to take place at 5.30pm on Friday 29 April 2016 in the Attenborough Centre. Anyone who knows him is invited to attend. If you’d like to attend the party - or if you have a picture, a story or a memory you’d like to share about Professor Howard - please contact the School of History, Art History and Philosophy Co-ordinator, Ahmed Koyes.