catzeye mich 09 v3:layout 1 · 2018-12-05 · goose suite and poulenc’s sextet for piano and...

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Master’s Introduction / 02

College lifeCatz Quintet performs in Singapore / 03Michael Frayn named CameronMackintosh Professor / 03Pictures in Public / 04Oxford Food Symposium / 04Sean Renfer / 04Emilie’s Charities / 05

Peter Mandelson addresses OULC / 06Second year builds punt / 06Your College needs you! / 06

Catz FellowsDavid Womersley / 07Peter Edwards / 07Michael Sullivan / 07Jonathan Morgan / 07Udo Oppermann / 07Visiting Fellows – Michaelmas 2009 / 08

Alumni newsLondon Party / 09History reunion dinner / 09Northumberland Garden Party / 09Ian Craig / 10Clark Ervin / 10Alumni news in brief / 11

Dates for your diary / 12

CatzEye Mich 09_v3:Layout 1 20/11/09 12:15

Master’s introductionAn impression of principal events that have taken place over the past few months...

As Master, one of my final tasks before thenew academic year begins in earnest is towrite a speech for the College’s statedgeneral meeting. The speech, an editedversion of which appears in the College’sannual review, The Year, pulls together allthat has happened at St Catherine’s over thepast twelve months. While there is never ashortage of material for inclusion, I have

been particularly struck this year by how extraordinarily successfulthe College and its individual members – Fellows, students andalumni – have been across the board. From achievements in theexamination room, on the river, and on the stage, through to Oscar success for Catz alumnus James Marsh’s film Man on Wire, we have much to celebrate. I am looking forward to the challengesand excitements that the coming weeks and months will bring with them.

The College is justifiably proud of its reputation as a dynamic,creative institution; it is also a community whose strength is drawnfrom the relationships that are formed by its members. Whenspeaking at alumni events, I often refer to the ‘wider Catzcommunity’ and, as the fiftieth anniversary of the College’sfoundation approaches, I hope that as many alumni and friends aspossible will be able to join me at one of the many talks, concertsand receptions that we are planning to mark this significantmilestone in our history. The College’s website will soon contain apage dedicated to information about Catz|fivezero events, which willbe updated regularly as specific details are finalised. I hope that youwill find this resource useful, and that we will soon have thepleasure of seeing you at a College event. �

Master’s Introduction / 02

College lifeCatz Quintet performs in Singapore / 03Michael Frayn named Cameron MackintoshProfessor / 03Pictures in Public / 04Oxford Food Symposium / 04Sean Renfer / 04Emilie’s Charities / 05Peter Mandelson addresses OULC / 06Second year builds punt / 06Your College needs you! / 06

Catz FellowsDavid Womersley / 07Peter Edwards / 07Michael Sullivan / 07Jonathan Morgan / 07Udo Oppermann / 07Visiting Fellows – Michaelmas 2009 / 08

Alumni newsLondon Party / 09History reunion dinner / 09Northumberland Garden Party / 09Ian Craig / 10Clark Ervin / 10Alumni news in brief / 11

Dates for your diary / 12

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S t C a t h e r i n e ’ s C o l l e g e O x f o r d

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The Development Office

St CATHERINE’S COLLEGE

Manor Road

Oxford OX1 3UJ

Telephone: 01865 281596/281585

E-mail: [email protected]

Website: www.stcatz.ox.ac.uk

Edited by Bethan Williams

Remember St Catherine’s in Your WillIn recent times, legacies received by the College have played a key role in supportingSt Catherine’s in a number of ways – from funding undergraduate scholarships, tohelping finance the construction of award-winning student accommodation.

For example, Father Frederick Stahl (1957, Theology) gave St. Catherine’s a sum ofmoney in his will that has been used to fund Foundation Scholarships. These areawards which are given to undergraduates with the greatest financial need, thuscontinuing the St Catherine’s tradition of enabling the brightest individuals, regardlessof background, to come to study at Oxford. We have recently received anothersubstantial pledge to continue the good work that Father Stahl began.

We are pleased to report a positive response to our recent appeal for people toconsider remembering St Catherine’s in their will.

If you would like more information about making a bequest to the College, pleasecontact Franca Potts in the Development Office.


3College life

The Catz Quintet performin Singapore

On Saturday 26 September 2009, The Catz Quintetperformed in the Conservatory Concert Hall of the YongSiew Toh Conservatory of Music at the NationalUniversity of Singapore’s Centre for the Arts. Theconcert was the third event sponsored by the ShawFoundation as part of the ‘Ones to Watch’ series. Thisprestigious series offers young, talented and vibrantmusicians a major platform from which to engage withand inspire other young performers, and the membersof The Catz Quintet were delighted to be offered such awonderful opportunity to showcase their repertoire.Over 600 people joined them for an exciting programmeof music that opened with a flourish with Mozart’sOverture to The Magic Flute. The focus of the eveningthen turned to more modern works, with performancesof Kleine Kammermusik by Hindemith, Ligeti’s SixBagatelles, Summer Music by Barber, Ravel’s MotherGoose Suite and Poulenc’s Sextet for Piano and Winds.

The Catz Quintet brings together the musical talents ofMarc Simpson, BBC Young Musician of the Year and BBCProms/Guardian Composer of the Year in 2006(clarinet), Louise Maltby (flute), Hilary Cornwell (oboe),Jeffrey Douglass (French horn) and Harry Thorrington(bassoon). It was formed in Michaelmas Term last year,and is committed to raising the profile of wind quintetsthrough the performance of non-standard repertoire.For the performance of Poulenc’s Sextet for Piano andWinds, The Quintet was joined by Jonathon Swinard(piano), Répétiteur Scholar at St Catherine’s and aleading light in the Catz Music Society. �

Catz hosts reception at the Tanglin ClubWhile in Singapore, The Catz Quintet also performed atthe Tanglin Club where, on Friday 25 September, theCollege hosted an informal drinks reception for alumniand friends. The Master was delighted to extend aninvitation to all Oxford alumni in the area, as a resultof which, many new friendships were made. �

Michael Frayn named as new CameronMackintosh Visiting Professor ofContemporary Theatre

He is, however,

perhaps best

known as a

playwright, with

a catalogue of

plays that

includes

Donkeys’ Years,

Noises Off,

Copenhagen and,

most recently,

Afterlife,

together with a

number of

translations

The playwright, novelist and translator Michael Fraynhas been appointed to succeed Kevin Spacey as thenext Cameron Mackintosh Visiting Professor ofContemporary Theatre. The Chair, founded through agrant from the Mackintosh Foundation at StCatherine’s College, aims to promote interest in, andthe study and practice of, contemporary theatre.Michael, who started his career as a columnist for theGuardian, and The Observer has won numerous prizesfor his novels, including the Somerset Maugham Awardand the Hawthornden Prize. He is, however, perhapsbest known as a playwright, with a catalogue of playsthat includes Donkeys’ Years, Noises Off, Copenhagenand, most recently, Afterlife, together with a numberof translations, mostly from Russian. Speaking afternews of the appointment was made public, The Mastersaid, ‘I am delighted that Michael has agreed to dothis. I think he will bring a breadth of experience tothe role that few could match in terms of the diversityand quantity of his output… His wit and intellectinfuse all that he does, and we are immenselyprivileged to be welcoming him to St Catherine’s in this role.’

Michael Frayn delivered his inaugural lecture –‘CHILDSPLAY: A personal look at the origins, natureand possibilities of the theatre’ – at St Catherine’sCollege on Monday 26 October 2009. �


4 College life4

It is now the fourth year that Catz has hosted theannual conference organised by The Oxford FoodSymposium on Food and Cookery. The Symposium, aneducational charity whose core objective is toencourage the serious study of food history, took‘Food and Language’ for their theme this year. OnSaturday 12 September, the 220 delegates – whocomprised writers, critics and food enthusiasts – weregiven a thoroughly enjoyable lesson in ‘The languageof French gastronomy: from the raw to the cooked’ inthe form of a banquet prepared by chefs fromRaymond Blanc’s Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons. �

Catz student leads Oxford to VarsityTriathlon victoryThe College offers its congratulations to Sean Renfer (2006, Biological Sciences),who won the individual event at the Varsity Triathlon that took place at BlenheimPalace. Sean, who will be awarded a Full Blue for his achievements, led Oxford totheir victory in the men’s team event, breaking a nine-year spell of Cambridgedominance. �

Oxford Food Symposium

Pictures in PublicCatz hosts high-profile symposium

On 11 September 2009, a conference was held in StCatherine’s on ‘Pictures in Public: Online Collections,Research and Public Engagement’. Funded by the Artsand Humanities Research Council, the symposium, whichwas organised by the College’s Fellow in History of Art,Dr Gervase Rosser, gathered senior professionals fromthe media (notably the BBC), national and provincialmuseums and galleries, and academic art historians. Theobject of bringing together thediverse participants was to generateconversation both about theproliferation of art image databaseson the internet, and also about theimpact of the new technology onacademic research, on museums,commercial media and the public.Taking as a case-study a projectcalled ‘YourPaintings’, which will putonline the national collection of200,000 oil paintings in publiccollections, the delegates discussedways to further public engagementwith the visual arts. �

i Dr Gervase Rosser together with Will Gompertz, currentlymoving from his job as Head of Media, Tate Gallery, to a newrole (starting imminently) as Arts Editor, BBC.

oProfessor Shearer West, Head of Research at the Arts andHumanties Research Council (UK), together with Dr ThomasPhelps, Head of Public Programs, National Endowment for theHumanities (USA).


5College life

Emilie’s Charities An update report from Martin Harris

Emilie Harris was in her first year studying HumanSciences at Catz when she was tragically killed in acycling accident in May 2004. She had been elected asa Charities Rep for the College the week before theaccident. In 2002, Emilie had spent five months inSouth America, during which time she had worked inan orphanage in Bolivia, experiencing at first hand thechallenges faced both by young children and by thosepreparing to leave the orphanage (often no furthersupport would be available once they had left, andgirls were particularly vulnerable to exploitation). Shewas very moved by her experience in South America,as two years previously she had been when she hadwitnessed the plight of poor children in Ghana.

After Emilie’s accident, Emilie’s parents got togetherwith students from Catz to set up Emilie’s Charities toraise money for causes that Emilie would havesupported. Emilie’s Charities has thus principally

uOne of the Ecuadorianbeneficiaries with his family

sought to assist projects involving under-privilegedchildren and young adults in developing countries.

Now that the charity has been in existence for severalyears, we have had the pleasure of seeing the first‘Emilie’s Graduates’ – students who have completedfurther education courses funded by the charity.Others are close to completion of courses, whileseveral are just beginning. The subjects being studiedinclude nursing, medicine, teaching, law, motormechanics, languages, psychology and tourism. Inaddition, the charity is sponsoring a number ofyoungsters from poor families who are still insecondary education. (For other details of the projectssee www.emiliescharities.org.uk).

Catz fundraising activities have included variousmusical evenings, cake sales, a quad marathon, twocalendars (inspired by Calendar Girls), a sponsoredhitchhike, a cricket match involving Catz old boys, andmany other events. Emilie’s Charities was also selectedas one of the beneficiaries of the sales of the bookCapture the Oxford Moment, a selection ofphotographs taken by Oxford Students that includes apicture of Emilie and a friend from Catz. At theinstigation of medics from Catz, Emilie’s Charities wasalso nominated as one of the beneficiaries of the2007 Medical Students’ Pantomime.

Emilie’s parents, Martin and Judy, would like to expresstheir sincere thanks to everyone who has beeninvolved at Catz and elsewhere in raising money forEmilie’s Charities. They have seen the enormousdifference that the support of the charity has made tothe lives of the youngsters across the world.

Emilie’s Charities is a Registered Charity, number1108537.

Emilie’s

Charities has,

to date,

supported

children and

young adults in

Bolivia, Peru,

Ecuador, Nepal,

Russia, Nigeria,

Uganda,

Rwanda, Mali,

Malawi and

South Africa.

All money

raised goes

directly to the

projects, with

administration

costs covered

by the trustees.

iMartin and Judy Harrisreceiving a cheque frommedical students.


66

Catz second year builds puntMany students while away the summer term with longdays punting on Oxford’s rivers – but few decide thatthey spend so much time doing so, that they may aswell build their own punt! James Newman, a secondyear Medical student decided in Trinity Term that hewould combine two of his interests, woodwork andpunting, and attempt to build his very own punt. Theproject came to fruition over the summer, as Jamesroutinely spent five hours a day for two months in hisparents’ garage working on the craft.

James describes his greatest obstacle during theconstruction process as working out how to make surethat his punt functioned. This was especially tricky asits design is ‘unique in the world of punting’, usinglighter, thinner materials and featuring several luxuryadditions, including drinks holders and a storagecompartment. It is constructed from marine-ply andpine and is waterproofed with epoxy resin andfibreglass. It is significantly lighter than standard puntsand thus is faster, more manoeuvrable and demandsless effort. At 5.8m long, 90cm across and 36cm deep,the punt comfortably seats four people plus thepunter.

The punt, which was housed at StCatz for the first week of term,had an official launch on the 17thOctober, where it was named‘Ratio’.

When asked if he had any futureplans for other such projectsgiven the success of ‘Ratio’,James said, ‘if anyonedesperately wants a punt I'msure I could enter into somesort of negotiations’, althoughfor the time being, he willreturn to working for hisdegree! James is currentlylooking for somewhere to moorhis punt.

Peter MandelsonaddressesOxford UniversityLabour ClubLord Mandelson, First Secretary of State returned toSt Catherine's, his formercollege, on the invitation of Oxford University LabourClub early in Michaelmas Term, to talk to a packedBernard Sunley Theatre. A relaxed looking Mandelsonspoke enthusiastically about Labour’s achievements,the Conservative opposition and his party’s future. Hefocused on the need for change in a talk thatappealed to a theatre crowded with ‘budding princesof darkness’, as Mandelson himself joked. Second-yearSt Catherine’s student and co-chair of OULC, BenLyons said of the event: ‘It was really exciting beingable to host Lord Mandelson at his old college. Heseemed excited to be back at Catz and gave a greatspeech, full of energy and enthusiasm. We had peoplefrom across the university queuing up to come in andat the end, he seemed surprised (although notunhappy!) to receive the celebrity treatment, withplenty of requests for interviews and photos withstudents.’ A full report of Lord Mandelson’s speech willbe published in The Year.

Your College needs you!The Development Office continues to plan a very fullcalendar of events to celebrate the College’sanniversary in 2012, and in order to invite as many ofour alumni as possible back to the College for theseevents, we need your help.

We have a number of Year Reps who keep inregular touch with their year group andoccasionally meet up with them. However weneed more. If you think you would be able tospare a little time to contact the members of yourcohort, to find out what they are doing since theyleft College and make sure we have their up todate contact details, we would be very grateful.

The main role of the year rep is to ‘friend-raise’and strengthen links between alumni and theCollege, with the full support of the DevelopmentOffice.

If you would like to volunteer as a year rep, pleaseget in touch with Franca Potts in the DevelopmentOffice at [email protected] telephone 01865 281596

We had people

from across the

university

queuing up to

come in and at

the end, he

seemed

surprised

(although not

unhappy!) to

receive the

celebrity

treatment

Phot

o by

Izzy

Bog

gild

-Jone

s

College life


7

Jonathan MorganJonathan Morgancomes to StCatherine’s as Tutor inLaw. Originally fromWarwickshire,Jonathan readjurisprudence at Balliolbefore lecturing atWarsaw University andthen MagdalenCollege. In 2002, hemoved to CorpusChristi College, Cambridge to write a PhD examiningsocial science perspectives on contract law, especiallylaw and economics, and sociological studies ofcontracting. From 2004-2009 he was Fellow andDirector of Studies in Law at Christ's College, where healso joined the Fellows’ rowing squad and becamesenior treasurer of the Cambridge University Gilbertand Sullivan Society. Jonathan’s research interestsrange widely across public and private law. Conferencepapers in 2009 have included an examination of thelaw and politics of causation and compensation in the‘asbestos saga’ in England and Scotland, and aproposal to strengthen parliamentary scrutiny ofhuman rights while diminishing the role of judges andlawyers. Current research plans include a book on thelimits of judicial intervention in commercial contractlaw, and a call for a return to textual fidelity instatutory (and contractual) interpretation.

David WomersleyProfessor of Englishelected to at Fellowshipof the British Academy

The College extends its warmestcongratulations to David Womersley,Thomas Warton Professor of EnglishLiterature, who was one of sevenOxford academics to be elected to aFellowship of the British Academy,the national academy for thehumanities and social sciences, atthe Academy’s annual generalmeeting on 16 July 2009. ProfessorWomersley, who has been a Fellow at Catzsince 2002, is also a Fellow of the English Associationand the Royal Historical Review. His research interestsextend from the sixteenth to the nineteenth centuriesand he has published on Burke, Johnson and Gibbon.He is currently one of the General Editors of theforthcoming Cambridge University Press edition of thecomplete writings of Jonathan Swift, for which projecthe is editing Gulliver’s Travels.

Peter EdwardsCatz Fellow honoured by GermanAcademy of Sciences Leopoldina

Professor Peter Edwards, Head of Inorganic Chemistryin the University of Oxford, has been elected to thedistinguished German Academy of Sciences Leopoldinain recognition of his scientific achievements andpersonal standing. The Leopoldina is the oldestGerman-speaking society of scholars, with anuninterrupted history of over 350 years. It is a freeassociation of scholars acting to advance humanscientific development beyond the boundaries ofdisciplines and countries. In 2008, The Leopoldinabecame the National Academy of Sciences in Germany.

Michael SullivanEmeritus Fellow honoured in Beijing

In March 2009, Professor Michael Sullivan went toBeijing to receive an award from the Beijing HarmonyCulture Foundation. The award, which took the form ofa cake of precious ink, engraved in gold with ProfessorSullivan’s name, was made in recognition of his life-long work promoting the knowledge andunderstanding of Chinese art and culture abroad.

Udo Oppermann Udo Oppermann is Principal Investigator of theMetabolic Enzymes Group (MEG) at the StructuralGenomics Consortium (SGC), a not-for-profitorganisation that aims to determine the three-dimensional structures of proteins of medical relevance,and place them in the public domain withoutrestriction. Over the past four years, the group hassolved the structures of over 100 novel humanenzymes involved in metabolic disorders and cancer.

These achievements have positioned theMEG as one of the leading groupsworking in the field of structuralbiochemistry of metabolic enzymes, andhave resulted in the establishment ofstrong collaborations with internationaland Oxford-based research groups.Professor Oppermann, who has been atOxford since 2004, has recently beenappointed to a Professorship ofMusculoskeletal Sciences and aFellowship by Special Election at StCatherine’s College.

Catz Fellows


8

Professor Denis BarangerChristensen Fellow, Michaelmas Term 2009

Denis Baranger has been Professor of Public Law at the Law Faculty of Paris(Université Panthéon-Assas, Paris II) since 2001, and a Fellow of the InstitutUniversitaire de France since September 2008. He read Law at the UniversitéPanthéon-Assas, Paris II and later studied for a degree in public administration at theInstitut d’études politiques of Paris. He also holds an LLM from the University ofCambridge. Denis wrote his doctoral thesis on the inception of parliamentarygovernment in eighteenth-century Britain. His research was turned into a book –Parlementarisme des Origines – which was awarded the François Furet Prize in 2000.Denis has held visiting positions in several universities, including the University ofMelbourne and the University of Oxford, and is currently the director of the InstitutMichel Villey. His research interests centre round constitutional culture (especiallyBritish constitutional culture) and the history of political and moral thought. He iscurrently working on classical utilitarianism – particularly as advocated by JeremyBentham – and its impact on the history of political thought.

David Carnegie FNZAHChristensen Fellow, Michaelmas Term 2009

David Carnegie holds a Chair in Theatre at Victoria University of Wellington, NewZealand, where he has taught since 1978. His undergraduate and PhD work wereundertaken at Toronto and London respectively. In addition to working in professionaltheatre in London, he taught in Canada at McGill University and the University ofGuelph, and New Zealand’s University of Otago, before moving to Victoria. Hisresearch interests combine textual and dramaturgical study of early modern theatrewith practical theatrical exploration of the plays in performance. He has edited forthe Malone Society, and is co-editor of the (so far) three-volume Cambridge editionof The Works of John Webster. He is currently editing Twelfth Night for the InternetShakespeare edition, and a fourth and final volume of the Cambridge University PressWebster, research for which will include directing the little-known Sir Thomas Wyattnext year. While at St Catherine’s he will also be preparing for publication a collectionof essays from the recent Cardenio Colloquium held in Wellington on the occasion ofhis directing the world premiere of Professor Gary Taylor’s creative reconstruction ofShakespeare and Fletcher’s lost play Cardenio.

Jeremy TamblingJeremy Tambling is Professor of Literature atManchester University, and, until 2005, was Professorof Comparative Literature at the University of HongKong. His research interests are in all aspects ofliterature and critical theory, and on opera and film:his most recent books are Going Astray: Dickens andLondon (Longman 2008) and Allegory (Routledge,2009). He is currently writing a book called OnReading the Will: this is on the will, and will-power,and on the ‘last will and testament’.

Visiting Fellows


Alumni news 9

London Party 2009Over 150 alumni and friends of the College attendedthis year’s London Party, which took place on Monday21 September in the splendid surroundings of theOxford and Cambridge Club, Pall Mall. The evening sawa virtuoso performance by the Catz Quintet, and theCollege’s oldest known alumnus, ninety-nine-year-oldReverend Dr Marcus Gregory (1935, Oriental Studies)spoke to the assembled party about his affection forSt Catherine’s before presenting the Master with acopy of his latest book, The Regulators of ourCognitive Behaviour Programme.

Northumberland GardenPartyOn Saturday the 4th of July, Dr. Tony and Mary Henfreykindly hosted a wonderful garden party in conjunctionwith the Master and his wife, at the Henfrey’sNorthumberland home, Callaly Castle. The event was agreat success with over thirty guests from Scotlandand the north of England gathering to enjoy beautifulweather and beautiful surroundings.

History Reunion DinnerOn Saturday 12 September 2009, over thirty alumnijoined current and Emeritus Fellows at St Catherine’sfor a highly successful Historians’ Reunion Dinner. Theevening began with drinks in the SCR garden and wasfollowed by dinner in the Long Dining Room. Afterdinner, Emeritus Fellow Jose Harris gave a speech inwhich she focused in particular on the character andteaching of the late Professor George Holmes, aFounding Fellow of the College, whose presence hadbeen anticipated when the dinner was planned, butwho died earlier this year. Professor Harris emphasisedboth the humanity and intellectual range of GeorgeHolmes, noting that while his early work showedinfluence of economic materialism, he was, even then,susceptible to the cultural and religious concernswhich became more evident in his later career. Thedinner concluded with a toast to St Catherine’sHistorians.

Botanists host first reuniondinner at CatzAs part of this year’s Alumni Weekend, the Collegewas pleased to host the first official reunion dinner forBotany alumni. Catz Emeritus Fellow Dr Barrie Juniper,a world-expert on the origins of the apple, was guestof honour at the event, which saw alumni from acrossthe University gather in the Senior Common Room fora thoroughly enjoyable evening.


1010 Alumni news

Ian CraigHuman Sciences reunion lunch tocelebrate retirement

On Saturday 26 September 2009, over eighty of IanCraig’s former Human Sciences students returned toCollege for a buffet lunch to celebrate his retirement.The College’s Tutor for Visiting Students, Naomi Freud,who first came to Catz as one of Ian’s students, spokeon behalf of all present when she thanked Ian for, inher words, recognising her potential and ‘taking achance on me, and on us all’. All members of theCollege join in wishing Ian a very happy retirement.

Clark ErvinCatz alumnus plays key role inObama’s Transition Team

Clark Kent Ervin (1980, PPE), who came to StCatherine’s as a Rhodes Scholar, served as Co-Chairmanof the Transition Team at the Department of HomelandSecurity (DHS) for then President-elect Obama. For aperiod of several weeks following last year’s Americanelection, Clark and his small team combed every nookand cranny of the massive American-governmentagency (it has a budget of over $40 billion andemploys 200,000) established to protect the UnitedStates from the threat of future terror strikes after theattacks of 11 September 2001. The Department ofHomeland Security focuses on securing the air, sea andland borders of the American transport network; and itplays a key role in emergency preparedness andresponse, critical infrastructure protection, intelligence,and counterterrorism. Clark and his team evaluated

which programmes and operations were working, whichwere not, and what policy and organisational changes– if any – should be made by the new managementteam. Their work culminated in a lengthy report for thenew Secretary of Homeland Security, Janet Napolitano(a former Governor of the State of Arizona), adocument that is no doubt proving invaluable to her asshe assumes the mantle of leadership at the DHS.Upon the completion of the report, Clark played a keyrole in preparing Napolitano for her Senateconfirmation hearings, before acting in a similarcapacity for Jane Holl Lute, who was confirmed by theSenate as Deputy Secretary in April.

Formerly Inspector General of the United StatesDepartments of State and Homeland Security, Clarknow heads the Homeland Security Program at theAspen Institute, a Washington-based public policy andconvening organisation. He is also a security analyst forthe international media network, CNN, and a memberof the congressionally-chartered Wartime ContractingCommission on Iraq and Afghanistan, which is chargedwith investigating contract-related corruption in thosetwo wars. Clark, who is frequently cited in print as asecurity expert, is a regular contributor of featurearticles and commentaries on security matters to majorAmerican publications such as The New York Times andThe Washington Post, and is also frequently called totestify in Congress. His book, Open Target: WhereAmerica is Vulnerable to Attack, was published towidespread critical acclaim in 2006.

Clark is also a member of the Board of Directors ofClear Path Technologies, and a Special Venture Partnerin a Silicon Valley-based venture capital fund,Levensohn Venture Partners IV. He lives in Washingtonwith his wife, Carolyn Harris, and their three year olddaughter, Callie.

For a period of

several weeks

following last

year’s American

election, Clark

and his small

team combed

every nook and

cranny of the

massive

American-

government

agency


11

News in briefBirthsNon-identical twinsAmelia Carys andGeorgiana Bronwenwere born on 1 May2009 to Adrienne(1994, BiologicalSciences) and TimForster, a monthbefore their first

wedding anniversary.

Alexander EdwardGibbons was born on 7June 2009 to Andrea(Law, 1996) and EdwardGibbons.

AwardsSusannah Fleming (1998, EngineeringScience) was awarded the Royal Academy ofEngineering Research Student Fellowship2008 and the Institution of Engineering andTechnology’s William James Award 2008.

David Taplin (1961, Engineering Science)has been awarded the Premier Gold Medal ofthe International Congress on Fracture (ICF)in Ottawa. He received the Inaugural ICFTakeo Yokobori Gold Medal for his researchin fracture and his contribution to the ICF(1969–2009) on the occasion of hisseventieth birthday in July this year.

Henley on Thames. At itscentenary, Thames had won atHenley Royal Regatta sixty-seventimes, and had produced thirtycrews which had representedEngland or Great Britain at theOlympic Games, the British Empireand Commonwealth Games and theEuropean and the WorldChampionships. Tony was itsCaptain in 1958, the year in whichhe rowed at 5 in the England VIII atthe sixth British Empire andCommonwealth Games, winning

bronze to Canada’s gold, and Australia’ssilver.

Emil Toescu (1985, Physiological Sciences)is currently a Senior Lecturer in Neurobiologyof Ageing at the University of Birmingham.He has been elected to a Visiting Fellowshipthis autumn by the Japanese Society for thePromotion of Science (JSPS). The fellowship,which is to be held at the Department ofVeterinary Sciences at Tottori University, willalso involve visiting and lecturing at otherprestigious Japanese Universities such asHokkaido University in Sapporo and KyotoUniversity.

Other newsTina Lee (2005, Geography) hasmatriculated at Princeton University as aSociology student reading for a PhD. She willbegin her research in autumn this year, andexpects to graduate in 2014.

David Littlewood (1962, Modern History)has, together with another person,developed a long-distance walking route(approximately 260 kilometres in length)across the Algarve. For more informationabout the route, and how to walk it, pleasego to www.algarveway.com.

Raghubir (Raj) Prasad (1957, Botany) hasrecently retired after working for theCanadian Forestry Service for several decadesand after an international career inintegrated pest management which saw himgarner many awards and honours. He nowworks part-time at the Pacific Forestry Centrein Victoria, Canada.

PublicationsThe latest work byMark Beech (1977,PPE), The Dictionaryof Rock & PopNames waspublished in Junethis year by Pen &Sword. It is anupdated version ofhis earlier book TheA-Z of Names inRock (Robson Books:1998). Mark has interviewed many rock starsfor his books, and for columns which aresyndicated to 500 newspapers worldwide.

Free Agent (Simon and Schuster: 2009), afirst novel from Jeremy Duns (1993,English), was published in Britain and Canadain May this year (and by Penguin in Americatwo months later). The first of a trilogy ofspy-thrillers set in 1969, the book hasreceived favourable reviews from TheGuardian, The Chicago Sun-Times andPublishers’ Weekly and was listed as one ofThe Daily Telegraph’s ‘fifty summer reads’.

Personality, Personality Disorders andViolence by Mary McCurran and RichardHoward (1968, PPP) was published by WileyBlackwell in March 2009.

AppointmentsReza Abhari (1981, Engineering Science)and his wife, Karen, and three daughtersmoved to Switzerland ten years ago fromAmerica. He is currently the Director of theLaboratory for Energy Conversion at theSwiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich,leading a dynamic, multi-cultural communityof researchers who are working to address arange of the interesting scientific andtechnical challenges which face societytoday. In Michaelmas 2010, he will bereturning to College as a Christensen VisitingFellow.

Tony Hancox (1949, English) has beenappointed co-ordinator by the River andRowing Museum and Thames Rowing Club –which celebrates its sesquicentennial year in2010 – to stage an exhibition of its 150years of rowing in the museum’sSchwarzenbach International Gallery in

Alumni news


The Development Office

St CATHERINE’S COLLEGE

Manor Road

Oxford OX1 3UJ

Telephone: 01865 281596/281585

E-mail: [email protected]

Website: www.stcatz.ox.ac.uk

Dates for your diary Monday 30 NovemberAlan Tayler Lecture – to be delivered by Lord Desai fromthe London School of Economics

Thursday 10 DecemberVarsity Match

Thursday 11 February 2010The Nairne Lecture – to be delivered by Lord Drayson,Minister for Science and Innovation

Friday 9 April 2010Spring Inter-Collegiate Golf Tournament at Frilford HeathGolf Club

Monday 26 April 2010London Party in the House of Lords

Thursday 20 May 2010Katritzky Lecture – to be delivered by Professor RichardThomson, Watson Gordon Professor of Fine Art,University of Edinburgh

For more details about these and other forthcomingevents, please go to the College’s website,www.stcatz.ox.ac.uk, or contact Franca Potts in theDevelopment Office

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CatzEye Mich 09_v3:Layout 1 20/11/09 12:15 Page 2

catzeye mich 09 v3:layout 1 · 2018-12-05 · goose suite and poulenc’s sextet for piano and...

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