FOI REQUEST From: James Murphy <[email protected]> Date: Tue, 10 Sep 2019 at 17:05 Subject: Freedom of Information request - Copies of periodic communications between the Vice-Chancellor and staff To: FOI requests at University of Sheffield <[email protected]> Dear University of Sheffield, I am writing to request copies of periodic communications between the Vice-Chancellor of your institution and all staff working at the University. These circulars might be sent by email and/or placed on the university intranet and may be described as Vice Chancellor’s Updates or something similar. Could you please provide all such communications for the last 5 years or as long as you have recorded if this is shorter? Best wishes, James Murphy University of Sheffield response: Please find below communications from our President and Vice-Chancellor to all staff between 27 June 2014 and 5 September 2019. These were sent to staff via email and are also published on our staff web pages. Note: The below communications include those from our current President and Vice- Chancellor, Professor Koen Lamberts as well as from our previous President and Vice- Chancellor, Professor Sir Keith Burnett. 5 September 2019 Our vision for Sheffield - your invitation to join the conversation Dear colleague Earlier this summer, I emailed you about my intention to hold a University-wide dialogue about our future direction. I’m pleased to invite you to a series of town-hall style sessions where we can discuss the direction we want to take. Conversations at these sessions will be centred around a Vision Green Paper, which I have developed following my meetings with all University departments, with support from colleagues on the University Executive Board (UEB) and their teams. The sessions will give you the opportunity to provide feedback on the proposals in the paper. The sessions are open to all staff and I would encourage everyone to attend. The majority of sessions will be themed around the four priorities set out in the Vision Green Paper. There will also be a number of broader sessions. Alongside the town-hall events, we will have a digital ideas board called Ideascale, which allows you to add your own ideas and comment on proposals. Whether or not you attend the sessions, please use this as another way to join the conversation with your colleagues. From these conversations we will develop a new vision and strategy for the University. To read the Vision Green Paper and to book a session visit: www.sheffield.ac.uk/staff/vision- green-paper I sincerely hope you will be able to contribute to this important conversation. With best wishes Koen Lamberts President and Vice-Chancellor 28 August 2019 Message from the President and Vice-Chancellor – Brexit Dear colleague, Since I last wrote to you about Brexit, we have a new Prime Minister who has said that the UK will leave the EU on 31 October this year, with or without a deal. However, there is still a lot of uncertainty about what will happen next and there are many unanswered questions about the UK’s future relationship with the EU. I want to reassure you that we are continuing to manage risks surrounding a number of different Brexit scenarios, including no deal. Our Brexit Coordination Group, chaired by Provost and Deputy Vice-Chancellor Professor Gill Valentine, has been carefully assessing and taking proactive steps to help mitigate the impact of Brexit on our University, staff and students and this work will continue as a priority over the coming weeks. We are also continuing to work hard to support anyone who has any questions or concerns about the implications of Brexit. If you are a non-UK EU member of staff, it is important you apply for the EU Settlement Scheme to ensure you retain your existing rights to work and study in the UK and access benefits and public services. If you have not already applied, our HR team can support you through the process. It is free to submit an application and the scheme covers all EU, non-EU EEA and Swiss citizens and their families living in the UK before it leaves the EU. In the event of no deal, applicants and their families would need to be living in the UK by 31 October 2019 and the deadline for applying would be 31 December 2020. If the UK leaves the EU with a deal, the deadline for applying would be 30 June 2021. If you would like advice, our HR team is continuing to offer telephone appointments with immigration specialists Eversheds Sutherland. We are also hosting drop-in sessions for staff who need access to an Android device to apply for the EU Settlement Scheme. If you would like to make an appointment for either of these, please email [email protected] For further information about the support available, please visit our Information for non-UK EU staff pages. We are also continuing to update our Brexit Advice FAQs as more information becomes available from the government. Please take some time to read these pages for the latest news and advice. You can also contact us with any questions or concerns via [email protected] Our University is a truly international community and we are extremely privileged that staff and students from across the world choose to make Sheffield their home. I know that many of you will have concerns about what Brexit will mean for our University, but I want to assure you that our global outlook will remain the same. Our outstanding research, excellent teaching and professional services are only made possible because we are a community of international talent. Thank you once again for your contribution to our University. I will continue to keep you updated. Best wishes, Professor Koen Lamberts President and Vice-Chancellor Staff survey activity update: July 2019 Dear colleague On 4 June 2019, the University Executive Board (UEB) met to discuss progress with work related to the 2018 Staff Survey. You may remember I previously shared with you three priority areas for development that we had identified from the results – leadership and strategic direction; communications; and addressing the differences between responses from academic and professional colleagues. Below is a summary of what we have been doing to address your feedback in these areas, as well as suggestions for future activity. Faculty vice-presidents have also provided information about actions in their faculties and departments, and we will share best practice examples in future updates. I hope that you will have seen your own department’s results and had an opportunity to reflect on what they mean to you, and where you would like to see change. Thank you once again for your useful and honest feedback. I will continue to keep you updated on activities and progress. With kind regards, Koen Lamberts President and Vice-Chancellor 11 July 2019 Have your say on LGBT+ inclusion Dear colleague, Our University is a proud member of Stonewall and earlier this year we were recognised in the top 100 workplaces for lesbian, gay, bi and transgender (LGBT+) equality for the sixth year running. To help us identify where we are doing well, and the areas where we need to do more work, we complete Stonewall's Workplace Equality Index - an annual benchmarking exercise. As part of this, we invite all colleagues to fill in a survey seeking views about how the University supports LGBT+ equality. The survey takes less than five minutes to complete and is open to all staff. The information you provide is entirely anonymous. It will go directly to Stonewall's workplace team and only aggregated scores will be shared with the University. Last year we had a fantastic response to the survey, and we would like to encourage as many people as possible to have their say this year. Take the survey You will need to enter our unique code: 1699. The survey closes on Friday 1 November 2019. By fostering openness and increasing understanding we can support our LGBT+ staff and students, tackle discrimination, work towards removing barriers, stigmas and prejudices, and create a truly LGBT+ inclusive university. Your feedback will help us in this aim. With best wishes Professor Koen Lamberts President and Vice-Chancellor Professor Gill Valentine Provost and Deputy Vice-President Senior LGBT+ Champion 27 June 2019 Good luck Big Walkers! President and Vice-Chancellor, Professor Koen Lamberts, wishes everyone taking part in the Big Walk the best of luck. Dear colleague, After months of planning – and training – tomorrow sees hundreds of staff, students, alumni and friends coming together to walk 23 or 37 miles in the Peak District for our annual Big Walk challenge. This year, we are fundraising to support Sheffield Scholarships. I would like to wish everyone taking part in the walk the best of luck for the day. Equality of opportunity The Big Walk 2019 is supporting scholarships here at the University of Sheffield. We are passionate about encouraging young people to aim higher and fulfil their potential. Scholarships help ensure that all students have the opportunity to study here regardless of their financial or personal circumstances. By getting involved in the Big Walk in whatever way you are able, you are playing your part in helping more students to experience a Sheffield education. Support your colleagues If you are not able to take part, you can still support your colleagues by making a donation towards this important cause – simply follow the link below. Please also follow their progress and send messages of support via the University’s social media channels, including the #TUOSBigWalk hashtag.