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The Vice-Chancellor of the University of Sussex has paid tribute to the work of the 1994 Group, following the announcement today (Friday 8 November) that the Group has decided to bring its activities to an end.

Professor Michael Farthing said: “The University of Sussex has benefitted enormously from our membership of the 1994 Group and, now the time has come for the Group to wind itself up, I want to pay tribute to the hard work and dedication of its staff and all the other people who worked with and for it.

“Sussex has an excellent research record, offers a great student experience and plays a vital role in our local community in Brighton and Hove and the surrounding area. We were founders of the 1994 Group because it was essential, at that time, that universities such as our own had a distinctive voice in the debate about higher education.

“The University of Sussex is a much larger institution today than when the Group was founded. In line with our strategy Making the Future, we have grown now to over 13,000 students and a turnover of £200m – and we have plans for further significant growth to 18,000 students by 2018.

“Today circumstances in higher education have changed and that means we have to look at new ways to represent our case to government and to ensure that all the work we do supports our efforts to continue the University’s success.

“We, like our colleagues in other universities, came to the conclusion that doing that required us to move on from the current arrangements through the 1994 Group. Taking that decision was not easy – and in no way reflects on the efforts of the 1994 Group’s staff, who have always worked hard on our behalf – but it was the right thing in the circumstances.

“The UK’s higher education sector is central to our hopes of economic growth, scientific progress and creative and cultural success: something that is increasingly recognised across society. In the years to come, as the University continues to grow, we can thank the 1994 Group for its hard work in promoting the interests of Sussex and all its other members.

“It is sad to see the 1994 Group go, but now was the right time to make that decision and we can face the future with confidence.”