Sussex University’s first female vice-chancellor took up her post at Falmer today (Monday 1 August).
Sasha Roseneil, 55, has joined Sussex from UCL (University College London), where she was pro-provost for equity and inclusion and executive dean of the Faculty of Social and Historical Sciences
Professor Roseneil, a globally recognised interdisciplinary social scientist, becomes the ninth vice-chancellor at Sussex and the first woman to take on the top job.
She takes over from David Maguire, who served as interim vice-chancellor after Adam Tickell stepped down at the end of last year to take up his new post at Birmingham University.
Professor Roseneil has also served as executive dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences at Essex University and held leadership positions at Birkbeck, London University and Leeds University.
Sussex University said: “Over more than 30 years as an academic, Professor Roseneil has developed an international reputation for her pioneering research on intimate relationships, citizenship, and social movements.
“Originally trained as a sociologist, and later as a group analyst and psychotherapist, she has played a leading role in establishing the interdisciplinary fields of gender studies and psychosocial studies.”
Professor Roseneil said: “I am hugely excited to join the University of Sussex in its 60th year and to become part of its creative and diverse community of staff, students, alumni and supporters.
“Sussex is a radically global university with a distinguished track record of ground-breaking research that aims to make the world a more equitable place.
“In scientific discovery and artistic endeavour, developing global policy and pushing forward technological innovation, people within the Sussex community are making a crucial difference to humanity, now and for the future.
“Sussex has inclusivity at our heart and I am committed to embedding this spirit even further.
“Only in a richly inquisitive environment, which fully embraces diversity of thought and opinion, background and identity, and in which everyone has a voice and a welcomed place, can learning and discovery truly thrive.
“Universities must continue to open our doors to a wider pool of students. We need to go further in ensuring that all who can benefit, whatever their background, are able to experience the transformative power of higher education.”
Dame Denise Holt, who chairs the university’s council, which is its governing body, said: “I warmly welcome the arrival of Professor Roseneil as our ninth vice-chancellor.
“She brings a depth and breadth of experience in strategic leadership and her commitment to interdisciplinarity, academic freedom, the widening of participation in education and the promotion of equality and diversity will resonate powerfully at Sussex.
“Professor Roseneil joins soon after the university celebrated its Research Excellence Framework 2021 results, which found that 89 per cent of Sussex research was world-leading or internationally excellent.
“We are tenth in Europe for sustainability, according to the Times Higher Education Impact Ranking, and we intend to have the most biodiverse campus in the UK, and to be one of the most sustainable universities in the world.”
