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View from the Top: Prof. Michael Farthing, vice chancellor, University of Sussex
Although the environment offered by a university is important, for many prospective international masters and PhD students, the question of academic quality is perhaps foremost when choosing where to study. With international rankings and league tables available to students all over the world, it is now considerably easier to shortlist universities based on the criteria offered by such rankings, in addition to the more traditional methods of visiting universities at education fairs, reading prospectuses and speaking to current or former students. In the UK’s recently published Research Assessment Exercise (RAE) the University of Sussex performed particularly well, with 18 academic subject areas appearing in the top 20 of all UK universities across the arts, sciences and social sciences, with the American Studies department rated number one. Politics rated at number two and the Art History department at number three.
Professor Farthing believes the performance in the RAE is a testament to the overall quality of the University as a whole. "The results achieved by Sussex confirm our position as a strong broadly-based research intensive university, producing peaks of world-leading research across all our departments in the arts, sciences and social sciences. We should definitely be pleased, but not satisfied. During the next five years we plan to do even better, growing in both research quality and capacity. We will be developing and growing research activity at Sussex, building on these results to strengthen further our world-leading bases.”
Underlining the unique approach with which Sussex views the international academic environment, the Vice Chancellor and his colleagues will continue to work to improve the standing of the University with innovation being at the heart of their endeavor: “In the coming years we are focusing on developing new cross-cutting research themes which address real world issues, growing research contract income and attracting high quality graduate research students."
In just over a year in charge, Professor Farthing has undoubtedly made a significant impact on the University of Sussex, raising its visibility internationally and attracting talented students and academic colleagues to the campus in the south of the UK. But, according to the man himself, the job is only now beginning: “It has been a great privilege to join the team at Sussex. The University should be proud of its achievements over the last 40 or more years, but not satisfied. I would like to see the development of innovative approaches to education, enhancement of research quality, expansion of the enterprise culture, and steady, sustainable growth through strong partnerships."
