University of Sussex

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University of Sussex


Motto	Be still and know
Established	1961
Type	Plate Glass
Chancellor	Lord Attenborough
Vice-Chancellor	Professor Alasdair Smith
Faculty	1130^[1]
Staff	2120^[1]
Students	12,205 ^[2]
Undergraduates	8,935 ^[2]
Postgraduates	3,207 ^[2]
Location	Falmer, Brighton, United Kingdom (dms)
Address	University of Sussex, Falmer, Brighton, BN1 9RH
Telephone	+44 (0)1273 606 755
Colors	White & Teal
Nickname	Sussex Uni
Affiliations	1994 Group
Website	http://www.sussex.ac.uk

The University of Sussex (also known colloquially as Sussex Uni) is a leading research-led English campus university which is situated next to the East Sussex village of Falmer, and is four miles from Brighton.^[3] It is the only university in England to be located entirely within an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, that of the South Downs.^[4]

The University of Sussex was the first of the new wave of British universities founded in the 1960s, receiving its Royal Charter in August 1961^[5], and came to be identified not only with postwar social change, but a groundbreaking interdisciplinary approach, and later social engagement. The university is ranked within the top 30 in the UK, with The Guardian University Rankings of 2005 placing Sussex 16th,^[6] whilst the 2007 Times "Good University Guide" places Sussex in 27th position.^[7] The university has a strong English department and is rated 4th in the UK in the 2005 league table.^[6]

[edit] History

[edit] Establishment

The University of Sussex initially began as an idea for the construction of a university to serve Brighton. In December 1911 there was a public meeting at the Royal Pavilion in order to discover ways in which to fund the construction of a university. However, the project was halted by the First World War and the money raised was instead used for books for the Municipal Technical College. However, the idea was revived in the 1950s, and in June 1958, the government approved the corporation's scheme for a university at Brighton, the first of a new generation of red brick universities.^[5]The university was established as a company in 1959, with a Royal Charter being granted on 16 August 1961^[5]

The University of Sussex.

The University of Sussex rapidly gained a reputation of radicalism and liberalism, which endures today, with the university's student union committed to political causes whilst also holding the belief that international solidarity "is a critical part of...education".^[8]

[edit] Logo

In 2004, the university replaced its original coat of arms with a new corporate-style logo. Vice-chancellor, Professor Alasdair Smith, said: "Our new visual identity is the starting point for what will be a fresh look and feel for Sussex. It is based on the university's vision and values, themselves a statement of what it aspires to be: pioneering, creative, international, excellent, engaging and challenging." The new logo is also meant to reflect the large changes that are occurring at Sussex, such as the opening of the new Brighton and Sussex Medical School, new degree programmes, and the largest amount of building work on campus since the university opened.^[9]

[edit] Campus

The Arts Building on the University of Sussex campus.

The campus was designed by Sir Basil Spence, making heavy use of brick as well as concrete, and respecting the natural parkland in which it was built and incorporating a walk of elm trees there. The gatehouse inspired Falmer House winning a bronze medal from the Royal Institute of British Architects.^[5] Another campus building, The Meeting House, won the Civic Trust award in 1969.^[10] In 1993, the buildings which made up the core of Sir Basil Spence's designs were given listed building status, with Falmer House being one of only two buildings to be given a Grade 1 status of "exceptional interest".^[10]

Another prominent building on campus, The Meeting House, caters for the religious needs of the student body; the construction of such a building was part of the initial plan for the University of Sussex, but was only possible due to a donation from both Sir and Lady Caffyn. Begun in 1965 and completed in 1966, the building is 80 feet in diameter and contains a seating area for 350 people.^[11]

The Gardner Arts Centre, another of Sir Basil Spence's designs, which was opened in 1969 as the first university campus arts centre^[12]. It has a 480 seat purpose built theatre, a visual art gallery and studio space and is regularly used for theatre and dance as well as showing a range of films on a modern cinema screen.

Recently, it has been announced that the Centre will close in the summer of 2007 ^[13]; withdrawal of funding and the cost of renovating the building were given as the key reasons. There are currently no plans for the future use of the building.

[edit] Housing

[edit] History

Accommodation as seen from the Sussex Downs behind Park Village in 2007.
Clockwise from the top: Brighthelm, East Slope, Park Village.

(The construction of new accommodation can be seen to the right of East Slope car park.)

The early campus included five Park Houses (Essex, Kent, Lancaster, Norwich, and York, named for other 1960s universities) and Park Village. The "houses", of which all but Kent House were based on a courtyard design, feature several long corridors with kitchens and bathrooms at the end and a social space on the ground floor, very much in the manner of a traditional hall of residence. Park Village, by contrast, consists of individual houses with 4 bedrooms per floor, a kitchen on both the bottom and the top floor, and a bathroom on the middle floor. Arranged in "streets" with a social centre building (including a bar) towards the campus end of the area. Essex House also featured a self-contained flat which was given over to the Nightline confidential listening and advice service in 1992. During the late 1990s, Essex House and its flat were redeveloped into a postgraduate teaching facility. Kent House includes the Kulukundis House wing, developed with easy access for residents with special needs. Accommodation on campus was expanded in the 1970s with the construction of the unusual split-level flats of East Slope. This development also has a social building with a bar.

In the 1990s, as student numbers rose, further developments were constructed in the corner of campus between East Slope and Park Village. Brighthelm and Lewes Court were constructed in public-private partnership funding arrangements with the Bradford & Northern and Kelsey Housing Associations. The name "Brighthelm" owes its etymology to part of the former name of Brighton, Brighthelmstone, whilst Lewes Court is named after the nearby county town of Lewes.

[edit] Present day

There are presently five areas of student accommodation on campus. The university is currently constructing two more housing areas: one next to Falmer train station, and the other next to East Slope, opposite Bramber House. The university plans to have these accomodations completed for the 2007/2008 academic year. They are to be named 'Falmer' and 'Bramber' respectively.^[14]

[edit] Organisation

There are several schools which are composed of more sub-departments^[15]. The main parent departments are:

Humanities
Life Sciences
Science and Technology
Social Sciences and Cultural Studies
SPRU - Science and Technology Policy Research
Sussex Institute
Brighton and Sussex Medical School

[edit] Previous organisation

The University was founded with the unusual structure of "Schools of Study" (ubiquitously abbreviated to "schools") rather than traditional university departments within arts and science faculties. The Schools were intended to promote high-quality teaching and research.

In the early 1990s, the University promoted the system by claiming, "Clusters of faculty [come] together within schools to pursue new areas of intellectual enquiry. The schools also foster broader intellectual links. Physics with Management Studies, Science and Engineering with European Studies, Economics with Mathematics all reach beyond conventional Arts/Science divisions."^[16] By this time, the original schools had been developed somewhat and were:

African and Asian Studies (abbreviated to AFRAS)
Biological Sciences (BIOLS)
Chemistry and Molecular Sciences (MOLS)
Cognitive and Computing Sciences (COGS)
Cultural and Community Studies (CCS)
Engineering and Applied Sciences (ENGG)
English and American Studies (ENGAM or EAM)
European Studies (EURO)
Mathematical and Physical Sciences (MAPS)
Social Sciences (SOC)

[edit] Chancellors and Vice-Chancellors

The present Chancellor of the university is The Lord Attenborough, who was elected as the university's fourth Chancellor on March 20, 1998.

The Viscount Monckton of Brenchley (1961 - 1965)
Lord Shawcross (1965 - 1985)
The Duke of Richmond and Gordon (1985 - 1998)
Lord Attenborough (1998 - present)

The university has had six Vice-Chancellors:

John Fulton (1961 - 1967)
Professor Asa Briggs (1967 - 1976)
Sir Denys Wilkinson (1976 - 1987)
Sir Leslie Fielding (1987 - 1992)
Professor Gordon Conway (1992 - 1998)
Professor Alasdair Smith (1998 - present)

[edit] Budget issues

Presently, the university finds itself with a £4 million budget deficit, which the Vice-Chancellor has blamed on departmental overspending, despite there being major cuts. Professor Alasdair Smith has incurred criticism from the student body during his tenure as Vice Chancellor, with the main complaint being that of underfunding. The campus newspaper, The Badger, levelled criticism at Professor Smith saying that, after he steps down at the end of the 2006-2007 academic year, "[h]e leaves Sussex with a £4 million deficit, having inherited a financially solvent institution".^[17].

[edit] Student Life

[edit] Sport and societies

See also: Societies at the University of Sussex

The university competes in the following sports:

Team sports: Basketball (men and women), cricket (men and women), football (men, 1st, 2nd and 3rd; women), (field) hockey (men and women, 1st and 2nd), netball (women, 1st and 2nd), rugby (men and women, 1st and 2nd), ultimate frisbee and volleyball (men and women).

Racquet sports: Badminton (men and women) and squash (men and women).

Individual sports: Archery, fencing and trampolining

Outdoor pursuits: sailing [1], mountain bike, mountaineering, Ski & Snowboard, sub aqua, surfing and windsurfing.

Martial arts: Karate Jutsu, kickboxing, Shaolin Kung Fu, aikido and sport aikido.

[edit] Campus media

The Badger is the Union’s regular news publication and is written and designed entirely by Sussex students. It aims to represent the views and interests of students and communicate the work of the Union, as well as informing members about local, national and international issues that affect them as students.

University Radio Falmer was one of the first student radio stations in the country. It broadcasts locally on 1431AM and to the world via the Internet [www.urfonline.com]. The station has a packed daytime schedule and during the evening offers a diverse range of genre programming, all from Sussex students. The station broadcasts live from Falmer Bar during the afternoon.

The Pulse, Sussex’s termly magazine, complements the Badger by providing in-depth feature articles, interviews with local and national stars, and analysis of the latest happenings in Brighton. The elegant and experimental design gives the magazine an edgy feel, and makes it the perfect publication for those interested in design and visual arts to work for.

[edit] Notable faculty

In the sciences Sussex counts among its faculty two Nobel Prize winners, Sir John Cornforth and Professor Harry Kroto. Sir Harry, the first Briton to win the chemistry prize in over ten years, received the prize in 1996 for the discovery of a new class of carbon compounds known as the fullerenes. The University has 15 Fellows of the Royal Society - the highest number per science student of any British university other than Cambridge. In the arts, there are six members of faculty - an unusually high proportion - who have the distinction of being Fellows of the British Academy. Faculty publish around 3,000 papers, journal articles and books each year, as well as being involved in consultative work across the world.

[edit] Notable alumni

[edit] Politicians

Hilary Benn, Member of Parliament, Secretary of State for International Development
Ben Bradshaw, Member of Parliament, DEFRA Minister
Simon Busuttil, Maltese Member of the European Parliament
David Lee Camp, U.S. Republican member of the House of Representatives
Michael Fabricant, Member of Parliament for Lichfield
Andrew George, Liberal Democrat MP and shadow Secretary of State for International Development
Peter Hain, Member of Parliament. Secretary of State for Wales, Leader of the House of Commons
David Hallam, Member of the European Parliament, author
Musa Hitam, Malaysian politician
David Lepper, politician
Thabo Mbeki, President of South Africa
Martin Salter, Labour Member of Parliament
Lyn Walsh, Socialist Party politician
Alan Woods, politician and writer

[edit] Writers, journalists and broadcasters

Tommy Boyd, broadcaster
Edward Kamau Brathwaite, Barbadian writer
Peter Brimelow, journalist and author
Lord Richard Cecil, journalist and adventurer (died 1978)
Simon Fanshawe, writer, broadcaster
Philippa Gregory, novelist
Tobias Hill, novelist and poet
Merfyn Jones professor, historian, broadcaster, governor of the BBC and vice-chancellor of the University of Wales, Bangor
Robin Lustig, broadcaster
Sarra Manning, writer
Ian McEwan, novelist
Bob Mortimer, comedian
Dermot Murnaghan, television presenter and journalist
Clive Myrie, BBC journalist
Kim Newman, journalist and writer
Chris Paling, author
Nigel Planer, actor, novelist, playwright
Alexandra Shulman, magazine editor
Julia Somerville, broadcaster
Shirley Thomas, professor, broadcaster
Srđa Trifković, Serbian historian and journalist

[edit] Scientists

David Clary FRS (President, Magdalen College, Oxford)
Ian Cullimore, computer scientist
Professor Sir Peter Knight FRS Principal of the Faculty of Natural Sciences Imperial College London
Dimitri Nanopoulos, quantum physicist
Mark Steedman, cognitive scientist

[edit] Others

Shamshad Akhtar, Governor State Bank of Pakistan
Michael Attenborough, director
Tony Banks, keyboard player with Genesis
Michael Bruno, actor
Daniel Catán, composer
Cheung Kam Ching, philosopher
Paul Forrest, musician
Brendan Foster, former distance runner, and founder of the Great North Run
Michael Fuller, Chief Constable of Kent Police
Paul Gilroy, Professor and cultural critic
A. C. Grayling, philosopher
Jemma Griffiths, singer-songwriter (known as Jem)
Paul Hirst, professor
Billy Idol, musician
Calestous Juma, professor
Steve Knightley, singer-songwriter
Timothy O'Shea, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Edinburgh
Henry Piper, sculptor
Jamie Shea, Spokesman and Deputy Assistant Secretary General for External Relations of NATO
Savenaca Siwatibau, Fijian academic leader, civil service administrator
Jesoni Vitusagavulu, Fijian diplomat and Ambassador to the United States
Virginia Wade, Wimbledon Ladies' Singles Champion, 1977

Sussex has counted two Nobel Prize winners, 12 Fellows of the Royal Society, six fellows of the British Academy and a winner of the prestigious Crafoord Prize in its faculty.

Arts A lecture theatres in 2005.

[edit] Research

Sussex is a leading research university, as reflected in the 2001 national Research Assessment Exercise. All subjects at Sussex were rated as either grade 4 or 5, recognising research of national and international standard respectively. Over 90% of staff are researching at this high level, the majority in areas of international excellence.

In respect of teaching quality, 13 of the 15 subjects assessed under the current teaching quality assessment scheme have scored 21 or more points (out of 24), with Philosophy and Sociology achieving the maximum score. Under the previous assessment scheme, Music, English and Social Anthropology were judged Excellent.^{[citation needed]}

In 2006, Thomson Scientific ranked the University second in the United Kingdom in terms of research, based on the impact levels per paper, shortly behind the University of Oxford. The fields noted for the University were Physics and Space Science^[18].

[edit] International reputation

Sussex has an international reputation for its innovative styles of teaching and for the quality and range of its research work. Academic links with every continent, over 2,300 international students from 100 countries, and teaching staff from 40 nations give the University a strongly international feel. Additionally, one in seven of all Sussex undergraduates spend a year of their degree outside the UK.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Educational partners

Brighton and Sussex Medical School (BSMS) is a partnership between the University of Brighton and the University of Sussex. It is one of the new medical schools in the UK. BSMS benefits from the universities' distinctive traditions and shared strengths in biomedical sciences, healthcare and professional education. The school, which is the first medical school in the South East outside London, gained its license in 2002 and opened in 2003. It admits 136 students per year with all of them being based for the first two years on the split campus at Falmer. Some life-science degrees in the University of Sussex involving a medical aspect include classes taught in the BSMS.

The Institute of Development Studies is one of the world's leading organisations for research, teaching and communications on international development. IDS was founded in 1966 as an independent research institute based at the University of Sussex. IDS has close links with the University, but is financially and constitutionally independent. It exists as Charitable Company limited by guarantee, and registered in England.

CENTRIM is the Centre for Research in Innovation Management. It is a research-based school at the University of Brighton, established in 1990. It is located in the Freeman Centre building on the University of Sussex campus at Falmer, near Brighton, England.

The Sussex Innovation Centre (SInC) is one of the premier business incubators in the UK. Opened in 1996 it provides support for the creation and growth of technology and knowledge based companies in the South East. The Centre provides excellent facilities and is a thriving business environment for over 40 high growth companies working within the IT, Biotech, Media and Engineering sectors.