Interim Vice-Chancellor David Maguire

This week (13 December) the Vice-Chancellor David Maguire wrote to all staff. You can read the email in full below:

Dear colleague,

I thoroughly enjoyed interacting with some 350 staff at the UEG open forum last week, where we summarised the state of play on key projects and set out plans for 2022.

It was very helpful to receive your feedback and suggestions. Your questions were challenging but fair and it is clear to me that the dedication of our staff body is a real strength of the University. A full recording of the event will be shared shortly.

The reintroduction of tougher Covid restrictions by the Government, in response to growing concerns about the Omicron variant, is a reminder that we are going to have to live with the pandemic a while longer yet. Indeed, it would be reasonable to expect periodic tightening and easing of measures.

It does feel very different compared to a year ago, though. Vaccines truly have changed the game and have made us all far safer, even if we don’t know exactly how they interact with the new variant.  It’s good news that the booster will now be available to more people.

The other main difference is that we are a year wiser and have excellent plans to adapt quickly to changing guidance. Caution remains, of course, but I sense a clear desire to move ahead with University activities. Indeed, at the forum, our Covid measures were not so prominent. Instead you wanted to talk mainly about Size and Shape, investments in our education and research, hybrid working, dignity and respect, governance, teaching space, and catering.

When Covid first hit, the future was uncertain and this included our financial future. To manage this, we brought in substantial financial restrictions, via a set of Financial Review Guidelines (FRGs). Through our collective efforts, the more disastrous scenarios did not come to pass and these restrictions were eased in January. We have just reviewed them again and are now at the point where we can lift them entirely. From 1 January, the FRGs will no longer apply in their current form – although we do not wish to altogether lose some of the positive impacts we have achieved, such as thinking more carefully about our travel and printing less. As we continue to implement our Sustainable Sussex strategy, we are weaving some of these into our standard practices. We are asking staff to consider the sustainability impact of all spending decisions. 

As announced last week following government guidance, the university will remain fully open for in-person research, teaching, student support and other essential services, but we advise staff that can work from home to do so by agreement with your manager. Thank you for those coming on to campus, and remember please take all reasonable precautions to protect yourself and others.

Have a great week,

David
Interim Vice-Chancellor