newsletter - university of oxford
TRANSCRIPT
NEWSLETTERISSUE 26 – MT16
INSIDE: • Queen’s Birthday Honours Awards• Meet the New Access and Career
Development Fellow• Tribute to the First Principal of Jesus College
PLUS:• SBS Associate Members’ News• Meet the New Archivist• Working in... Sports
Comment
2
Introduction
We live in interest-ing times, and what-ever your political allegiance or inclina-tion it is clear that there are plenty of challenges ahead. It was H.G. Wells who wrote to the ef-fect that civilisation is a race between education and ca-tastrophe. We are certainly proud here at Jesus of our edu-cation mission, a mis-
sion that seeks to excel in teaching and research.
We are proud to be part of a collegiate University that finds itself at the top of the Times Higher Education Global Ranking. This is the first time a UK University has topped this most prestigious of league tables. In this context, Jesus continues to be academically brilliant. This year 34% of our graduates achieved a First up from an impressive 31% last year. This year no less than 94% of graduates achieved a 2.i or better.
Our students are outstanding. One example in particular illustrates just how good they are. This summer Marlena Valles won the Vinerian Scholarship for the B.C.L., which was instituted by examination in 1929. It is the very first time that a Jesus student has won this award. By common consent, the B.C.L. is the top law degree by examination in the Commonwealth and, indeed, almost certainly, in the whole common law world.
Our Fellows continue to be recognised for the outstanding academics that they are. In the recognition of distinction exercise within the University, no less than six of our Fellows were conferred the title of Full Professor: Edward Anderson, Ash Asudeh, Patricia Daley, Susan Doran, Shankar Srinivas, and Dominic Wilkinson.
Our contributions are also to the wider cultural life of the country, well illustrated by Professor Armand D’Angour, Classics Fellow at Jesus, who recently presented a unique research-driven performance of ancient Greek music in the magnificent setting of the Nereid Gallery in the British Museum. Performers drawn from across the UK and Europe played reconstructions of ancient double-pipes (auloi), flutes, and kitharas, captivating a 300-strong audience with sounds and musical texts
CONTENTS
Welcome from the Principal 2
College News 3
Development News 4
A Selection of Events So Far 6
A Few Moments with: Gwyneth Glyn 8
New Access and Career Development Fellow 10
Alumni News 11
Dr David Lewis: a Fitting Tribute 12
Meet the staff: Robin Darwall-Smith 14
From the Archives 16
My Jesus College: Peter Mirfield 18
College Choir Tour 20
SBS Associate Members and Alumni 22
New Pattern of Gaudies 23
Working in… Sports 24
Postcards from Overseas 27
In Print and Forthcoming Events 28
WELCOME TO THE MICHAELMAS TERM NEWSLETTER
FROM THE EDITORIt’s a great pleasure to introduce the latest issue of our regular College Newsletter to our old and new readers. We are delighted to congratulate Rajeeb Dey (2004) and Glyn Mathias (1963) who both received awards in the Queen’s Birthday Honours list earlier this year. The highlight of last summer was the unveiling of the plaque in honour of the first Principal of Jesus College in
St Mary’s Priory Church, Abergavenny. We are also pleased to report that we continue our productive cooperation with China, and you can read about the Principal’s visit to Hong Kong and Beijing. In this issue you can also get to know our new Access and Career Development Fellow, Dr Matthew Williams, and our new Archivist, Dr Robin Darwell-Smith. In the pages to follow, Professor Peter Mirfield shares his experiences over 35 years as a Tutorial Fellow in Law in Jesus College, and Gwyneth Glyn (1999) is interviewed about her singing career and the role which the College has played in her achievements.
We are always happy to hear from you. Please do stay in touch via [email protected].
Dr Nina Kruglikova, Communications and Development Officer
Comment
3
Introduction College News
WELCOME TO THE MICHAELMAS TERM NEWSLETTER
FELICITY HEAL
Professor Sir Nigel Shadbolt, Principal of Jesus College
derived from ancient sources, some of which date back thousands of years.
Just now the College is busy finalising its third five-year Strategic Plan. The Governing Body, in consultation with staff, students, Old Members and friends of the College, have developed the Plan. I look forward to sharing with you exciting plans for the next five years leading up to our 450th Anniversary in 2021.
This summer has seen an extensive and quite beautiful renovation of the main hall. I am sure you will enjoy seeing the care and exquisite attention to detail that has been taken in the restoration work. As a consequence the summer saw us dining, socialising and graduating under canvas. The marquis, or ‘tent’, as it was affectionately called, worked incredibly well. I am grateful to all those who worked so hard to provide continuity and quality of service in our temporary accommodation and to those who delivered our wonderful Hall back to us. There has been one casualty! The Second Quad lawn, after months of light deprivation, will need to be reinstated.
Over the past year I have seen at first hand the affection in which the College is held. I have witnessed the kindness and generosity of spirit that the College engenders. Jesus College is a wonderful environment in which to study and work, and always a special place to visit.
Comment
4
Development News
DEVELOPMENT NEWS
GEOGRAPHY APPEAL
The appeal to endow the Geography Fellowship was launched in October 2016. The target to raise is £600,000, and we have already secured £315,000 from alumni. A lead gift of £300,000 was made by Mr Victor Wood (1944) who has already generously endowed
one other Geography Fellowship in the name of former Principal John Krebs.
If you would like further information about the appeal, please contact Rachel Page at [email protected] or call +44(0)7866 476 385.
1970 BURSARYAs Jesus College approaches its 450th anniversary, we are excited to launch the 2021 Campaign to raise vital funds to secure Tutorial Fellowships, scholarships and bursaries for generations to come.
The 1970 year group has come together to raise bursary support. Recently the group has come together to think of doing something in respect of the 450th anniversary.
In 1970, the most obvious barrier to access to Oxford colleges was gender inequality. Unfortunately, nowadays, it is lack of funding resources. The 1970 alumni wish to tackle today’s pressing problem and to help the
College to offer a bursary to a young person of talent and potential who might otherwise be unable to take up a place in College.
It is proposed that this bursary will be endowed, and known as the 1970 Bursary in perpetuity, in acknowledgement of the donors supporting it. The College hopes to award the initial Bursary in the anniversary year, 2021.
Alumni from 1970 have already raised £20,000 towards the appeal.
If you would be interested in developing a similar appeal for your year group, please contact Rachel Page at [email protected] or call +44(0)7866 476 385.
Comment
5
Development News
NEWS FROM CHINA
In June and July this year, the Principal, Professor Sir Nigel Shadbolt, and Senior Development Executive, Rachel Page, travelled to Hong Kong and Beijing to visit Jesus alumni. The trip involved an alumni reception and dinner in Hong Kong, and public talks in both Hong Kong and Beijing on Sir Nigel’s work in the field of artificial intelligence.
In Beijing, we were delighted to have the opportunity to publicly sign the Gift Agreement with a new donor, Mr Ruiqing Liu, who is generously supporting a named Graduate Studentship for a student from Mainland China to study at Jesus College. The graduate student will be joining Jesus in October 2017, and the Studentship will be named The CSC–Jinan Innovation–Jesus College Graduate Studentship.
We would like to thank alumnus Philip Girardet (Jurisprudence, 1991) who generously provided the venues for both the Hong Kong and Beijing public events with Sir Nigel.
Comment
6
Events
A SELECTION OF EVENTS SO FAR
Comment
7
Events
Comment
8
A Few Moments with…
GWYNETH GLYN(Theology and Philosophy, 1999)
Gwyneth Glyn is a poet, writer and singer-songwriter who lives in Cricieth, North Wales. She was Welsh Poet Laureate for Children 2006-2007 and has published children’s novels and poetry. She has performed twice at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival, Washington DC, supported Senegalese kora player Seckou Keita on his UK tour, and recently collaborated with musicians from Mumbai on an album called Ghazalaw, which weaves Welsh folk songs with Indian Ghazal. She lives with her son Maelgwn, who is five. She graduated from Jesus College in 2002 with double First class honours in Philosophy and Theology.
Can you remember why you chose Jesus College?Reading the list of alumni I was amazed at how many of my Welsh-language literary heroes had studied at Jesus: T.H. Parry Williams, Gwyn Thomas and W.J. Gruffudd to name but few. To be honest, I was also hoping that, in light of the College’s many ties with Wales, a smidgeon of native blood might count in my favour!
What are your most cherished memories from your time at College?I used to love getting up early (not as early as the rowers, admittedly) and take a brisk walk up Turl Street, then past Lincoln and Oriel,
then down through the mist in Christ Church meadows and along the river. There was an ethereal, almost magical quality to that brief hour before the rest of the city awoke; it was as if that timeless Oxford belonged only to me.
…and what are your least?Being called to the Senior Tutor’s Office at the end of my fist Michaelmas term and being told “Miss Evans, we’re not quite sure why you’re here!” I had been struggling with my essay writing, probably due to the fact that both my subjects (Philosophy and Theology) were new to me, and that I was having to explore tremendously challenging concepts in my second language (Welsh being my mother-tongue.) I returned for a second term knowing I had nothing to lose. I threw myself into acting and so had less time to write flowery essays, full of impressive-sounding words. Something clicked and somehow or other I left three years later with a double First.
Did any staff members make a lasting impression on you?I remember entering a dark room for my initial interview and beholding, in the glow of the silk-shaded lamp, my philosophy tutor, Galen Strawson, sitting at his desk in his socks (he was, I should add, otherwise fully clothed!). I remember thinking “how cool, to hold such a distinguished academic post and not to have any shoes on!” Looking back, I suppose it might have been a subtle gesture designed to
Comment
9
A Few Moments with…
diffuse any interview nerves. If so, it must have worked, because it made me relax and not take myself too seriously. Although he never tutored me, Strawson was a very grounding and encouraging influence.
What clubs and societies were you involved in outside of studying?I of course immediately enlisted in Cymdeithas Dafydd ap Gwilym – the Welsh language society (and the oldest Oxford society apart from the Union). I also joined O.U.D.S. and acted in almost twenty productions during my time as a student, performing at numerous colleges and theatres: the Burton Taylor, The Old Fire Station and the Playhouse. This culminated in my last Hillary term with an outdoor production of Shakespeare’s ‘Twelfth Night’, which was then funded to be performed in Boston, Massachusetts. I was also chosen as one of the four members of the Oxford Revue, along with Rich Hough, Laura Solon and Tom Green. Involving myself in theatrical pursuits was the perfect antidote to the solitary seriousness of academic study.
Do you think you were conscientious as a student?I think I did my best under the circumstances. I always had a sense of there being more I could do; another book or essay I should read… But there is more to life than academia, and I was fortunate to have found a balance that worked for me.
What did you do immediately after leaving College?I travelled to Ghana with a friend who had started an HIV-awareness project, creating theatrical and musical shows to raise awareness in communities. I then returned home to my beloved Eifionydd in North Wales and started my career as a writer in earnest.
What does your current work involve?I am currently developing a piece of theatre which is a co-production between Cwmni’r Frân Wen and Galeri (a theatre company and performing arts venue in North Wales.) It’s a piece which explores the relationship between a young boy and his grandmother, and what happens when dementia takes hold. Next week I will be going into the studio to record my fourth solo album, and early next year I will return for a stint of script-writing for Pobol y
Cwm (the BBC’s Welsh language soap opera and the longest running soap opera in the UK). Life is never dull, and no day is the same as the last!
Have you found the experiences and education you received at Jesus College to be useful in your working life?Tremendously so. I will never be fazed by a tight deadline, and contrary to my laid-back nature, I seem to thrive on working under pressure. Living and working alongside some of the brightest minds in the world, day in day out for three years at Oxford, is an incredibly humbling experience. My time at Jesus taught me how little I know; a lesson that continues to serve me well in my career in the arts.
What advice would you give to recent graduates?Travel as widely as you wish to, keep a diary (you think you’ll remember everything, but you won’t!) and keep in touch with your most cherished friends.
What is the most important lesson life has taught you?To be kind. And that your kindness should extend to yourself.
What, if anything, would you have done differently?I would have read more. I still have gaping voids of literary ignorance and gaps in my general knowledge which sometimes shocks my own mother. One thing I look forward to doing when I am old and decrepit is to read all the books I never had time to enjoy during this busy life.
Who, if anyone, has been your role model and why?My singing teacher and mentor Howard Milner (who ironically went to the other place!). He taught me to be my own role model and showed me that the greatest truths are those that cannot be explained, but must rather be experienced.
Sum up your experiences at Jesus College in a nutshell.Not necessarily the happiest years of my life, but definitely some of the most challenging, rewarding and memorable.
Comment
10
Fellows’ News
NEW ACCESS AND CAREER DEVELOPMENT FELLOW
The College has a new Access and Career Development Fellow. Matt Williams picks up the torch from Beth Mortimer, the inaugural holder of the post. Beth leaves behind a record of exceptional work in both access and cutting-edge zoological research. She will be missed, and the College wishes her every success with her new responsibilities as the 1851 scholar at the University of Bristol.
Matt joins us from Wadham College where he was the organising tutor in politics. His research in that field looks to the language used by politicians. The old adage that politicians do not or cannot talk straight is the problem that drives Matt’s studies. He has, for instance, uncovered patterns in the language of immigration law that help explain why the government is more often defeated in court. He also analyses the language of political speeches and manifestoes, with his research interests now spreading beyond these shores. Matt’s computer-assisted analysis of millions of words is yielding insights into why public policies increasingly fail to hit their marks.
Matt has been left with a formidable act to follow in access work. Beth has put together processes and programmes that have reached hundreds of young people in south Wales, south London and beyond. Building on this legacy, Matt intends to establish a summer school in the College for 2017. The aim of the school will be no less ambitious than to ask the participants: what is the future of humanity? The multi-disciplinary summer school will offer stretching academic sessions, as well as an immersive experience of Oxford life more broadly. Participants will be drawn from socio-economically deprived areas in Wales. As well as the summer school, Matt is planning an ambitious programme of access events that will build on Beth’s work, including her fantastic
work in encouraging young women to apply for science degrees.
One of the most exciting developments in access work for the college comes from the SEREN network. This is a Welsh government initiative that was launched in 2013 and has been growing ever since. There are eleven regional hubs that cover the whole country and bring together the brightest young people from state-funded schools. Jesus is connected to seven of these eleven hubs through its link regions. These hubs stretch from the majestic Pembrokeshire coastline, through the major cities of southern Wales, to Monmouthshire on the English border. Matt has attended many Seren events already. He represented the College at a hub launch in Cardiff City Stadium and spoke to 200 young learners at another launch in Ebbw Vale. Matt has also met with representatives of the Welsh government to see about deepening the College’s involvement in this excellent project. There is much to look forward to in 2017.
The work done by the Access Fellow is made possible by the fantastic generosity of Jesus alumni. Matt can be contacted by email at [email protected], and he welcomes any offers of help, collaboration or information that alumni can provide. You can also follow his access activities on twitter : @jesus_access
Comment
11
CommentAlumni News
QUEEN’S BIRTHDAY HONOURS AWARDS
RAJEEB DEYRajeeb Dey (2004) was awarded an MBE in Queen’s 90th Birthday Honours List. Rajeeb, Founder & CEO of Enternships and Co-Founder of StartUp Britain, is among this year’s youngest recipients in the 2016 Queen’s Birthday Honours List in recognition for his services to entrepreneurship. His company ‘Enternships’ has connected students and graduates to entrepreneurial work placements in over 6,500 start-ups and SMEs. He graduated with First Class Honours in Economics & Management in 2008 having been the longest serving President of Oxford Entrepreneurs and President of the Oxford Majlis Asian Society.
GLYN MATHIASOur sincere congratulations also go to Jonathan Glyn Mathias (1963) who has been made an OBE ‘for public service and services to broadcasting in Wales’. Glyn is a British print and broadcasting journalist of over thirty years’ standing. He was a lobby correspondent at Westminster for thirteen years, and Political Editor of Independent Television News (1981–1986) and BBC Wales (1994–1999). He was the Electoral Commission’s Commissioner for Wales (2001–2008), and as of 2013 is a member of OFCOM’s Content Board and Chair of OFCOM’s Advisory Committee for Wales.
Comment
12
Feature
DR DAVID LEWISA FITTING TRIBUTEby Max Perkins (English, 1964)
In this age of league tables it would be interesting to know where Dr David Lewis’ tomb in St Mary’s Priory Church, Abergavenny would rank in a ‘magnificent tombs for former heads of Oxford colleges’ contest. Pretty high, I would imagine. Nowadays leading academics are honoured somewhat differently – during their lifetime with knighthoods, professorships and the occasional Nobel Prize. Our first Principal was put to rest in 1586 in his home town of Abergavenny on the Welsh borders and honoured with an imposing stone tomb in the Lewis Chapel, capped by a full length effigy – all designed (it’s said) by himself.
Two indefatigable terriers from the Jesus College Old Members’ Group – Malcolm McIvor and Clive Gwatkin Jenkins – spent more than two years raising funds, liaising with the Monmouth Diocese and working with Canon Mark Soady of St Mary’s Church, so that a trilingual plaque (English, Welsh and Latin) could be erected near the tomb to commemorate the great man and inform the continuous flow of visitors about his significance.
And who better to unveil the plaque and list Lewis’ achievements before a packed congregation of alumni and local “dignitaries”
on 15th July than the present (33rd) Principal of Jesus, Professor Sir Nigel Shadbolt. Lewis started life as the son of a local vicar, went on to become a Fellow of All Souls, Principal of New Inn Hall, a highly successful civil lawyer, Commissioner of the Admiralty Court (when he was the scourge of a burgeoning piracy trade), an MP and an advisor to the Catholic Queen Mary and Protestant Queen Elizabeth.
Professor Diarmaid MacCulloch – briefly a tutor at Jesus who went on to become Professor of Church History at Oxford – told an alumni gathering in Abergavenny in 2014 that Queen Elizabeth founded the College partly to train young protestant Welshmen as clergymen so that they could return home to Wales and act as guarantors for the Reformation there. Had there been an Irish equivalent in Oxford at the time, we might – according to Professor MacCulloch – have avoided the tortuous religious conflicts that plagued Ireland subsequently.
The connection with Wales was cemented through links with local schools, closed scholarships, a Jesus Chair of Celtic studies and extensive land endowments. At one time it was said that if you shouted “Jones” in the
Comment
13
Feature
First Quad every other window would open. And until only a few years ago there was the occasional complaint in Cardiff that public life in Wales – in politics, the media and academia – was disproportionately represented by a Jesus mafia. Much of that has gone now, although there are still strong links with the Welsh universities and an annual celebration of St David’s Day.
But the unveiling shouldn’t be seen as a nostalgic navel gazing exercise by Jesus people. There was also a conscious move to link up with a new project to encourage more young Welsh people to apply to Oxford, Cambridge and other prestigious universities. The Seren Project – a Welsh Government initiative – was launched in 2012 by Paul Murphy MP, the then Secretary of State for Wales, who went on to become Lord Murphy of Torfaen. A miner’s son from Pontypool, he studied at Oriel in the late 1960’s – one of about a dozen young people from the Eastern Valley to win places at Oxbridge at that time.
At dinner in the Angel Hotel in Abergavenny, at the end of a busy and enjoyable day of David Lewis events, Lord Murphy spoke of his concern about a current lack of confidence in Welsh state schools when it comes to encouraging students to apply to major universities. He discussed the problem at length with our Principal and the leaders of the various hubs in Wales which are now tasked with liaising with schools – including Stephen Parry-Jones (1973) – a coordinator of the Rhondda Cynon Taff and Merthyr Tydfil hub.
Sir Nigel, Lord Murphy, Jesus College staff, Old Members and the regional hubs are now pursuing ways together of encouraging Welsh youngsters from relatively modest backgrounds to follow in the footsteps of Dr David Lewis and make their mark by entering Britain’s best universities. David Lewis, from what was a predominately Welsh speaking area in his time, would no doubt wish them pob lwc!
Max Perkins (English, 1964)
Comment
14
Why did you decide to become an archivist and how did you find yourself here?
I was originally a classicist, doing both my undergraduate degree and my doctorate in the 1980s down the road at University College, but as work on my thesis was ending, academic jobs in classics were getting thin on the ground, and so I decided to look for something else. Archives appealed to me for several reasons: I could use my Latin; I could work with original sources; and there was the satisfaction of helping people. So I went to the University of Liverpool to qualify as an archivist, and I’ve been working in Oxford ever since. As for Jesus: I had been Archivist at Magdalen College for twenty years, and earlier this year I decided that a change was in order. The post of archivist was vacant here, after the sad death of Chris Jeens (who was much respected among us College Archivists), and I was fortunate enough to become his successor. So now I work for two days a week at Univ. (where I’ve been Archivist since 1993), two days here at Jesus, and then one day at All Souls, where I’ve been engaged as part of a team of three to write their three-volume College history (I’ve been assigned the eighteenth century). I had better own up here this will be my third College history project: I wrote the whole of Univ.’s single-handed, and wrote about one-fifth of the history of Magdalen.
What did you want to be when a child and what was your first job?
I think that I always wanted to do something bookish – I am terrible at any form of sport – and by my late teens I wanted to be a classicist. My first job was at Balliol College, where I catalogued the papers of their remarkable Victorian Master, Benjamin Jowett.
Can you describe your usual day? Any unusual challenges in your everyday job?
My first task is to remember which College I’m supposed to be going to! I haven’t – yet – got that one wrong, though. Once in place, I usually start my days by checking what e-mails are awaiting me. They could come from colleagues within my Colleges, or from outside researchers. People write to us asking about their ancestors who were at Jesus, or about properties we once owned, or about general aspects of Oxford College life. So while I’ve been at Jesus I’ve answered questions about College servants in the early 20th century, College gardens in the 18th century, and Poles at Oxford in the 1920s and 1930s. So I have to be able to give advice on a very wide range of subjects. When my desk gets clearer, then it’s case of seeing what needs doing next. These days I am regularly visited by the contributors to the College history, who need my help on what documents to get out. I always have some cataloguing projects on the go, so that, when I have no other immediate calls on my time, I can work on that. At the moment, I’m sorting through our photographic collections.
What have been the most unusual requests you’ve been approached with when on duty?
I was once asked to advise on the costumes for a student production of Tom Stoppard’s play about A. E. Housman, ‘The Invention of Love’.
What is the most enjoyable part of your job? And the least favourite?
I think I might give the same answer to both questions. As a one-person outfit, I have to do everything in the archives and so I enjoy the challenge of trying to create a well-run archive. It gives me a lot of the variety, and there’s a really pleasure in trying to make every aspect of the archive work properly. But conversely, there are some days when that variety gets a bit too much, and all my plans for the day go out of the window! That can be frustrating.
ROBIN DARWELL-SMITHArchivist
Meet the Staff
Comment
15
Do you find anything specific to Oxford colleges and Jesus in particular? Are Jesus Archives different from other colleges’ ones, and if so, how?
What I have found is that all the Colleges record much the same things, such as their landholding, their accounts, their governing body records, and records about their members, but they all do them in subtly different ways. It wasn’t until the 1880s that Colleges were forced to keep their accounts in the same way, for example. We College archivists therefore have to learn how our own College or Colleges chooses to record this or that aspect of their life and work. I’m still learning about Jesus’s archives, but I can see that the Welsh connection is very special to us, and you can see this in the backgrounds of our members, and many of the estates we used to own. A lot of Colleges had similar regional affiliations (Univ. used to have close links with Yorkshire, for example), but Jesus’s Welshness really makes us distinctive.
What are the most treasured possessions in the College archives?
I am sure that I’m going to find a few more as I go, but at present my top three would be our foundation charter of 1571, a title deed of 1350, which is the oldest document in our archives, and a splendid collection of letters from T. E. Lawrence which were given to us in 1965.
What are your favourite archives, if any?
Tricky! Different archives have different attractions. Some of them, like old maps or architectural drawings, are just beautiful things on the eye. Then there are things like letters or memoirs which reveal the character of their writers. Sometimes, though, it’s the rather dull-looking things which can yield up remarkable secrets. Things like accounts, for example, can yield up so much. I am always tickled by an entry from the Univ. accounts for 1587, which record a payment for “faggots for a fire for the death of the Scottish Queen”. Clearly, the Fellows of Univ. – all devout Protestants – wanted to have a big party when they heard about the execution of Mary Queen of Scots!
What would make an ideal archivist?
An eye for detail, but at the same time an ability to take a larger view of a complete collection; a lot of patience, and an ability to think in the long term; an ability to soak up a lot of information quickly – we have to be good at knowing a little about a lot; enthusiasm for the job and an ability to communicate it – not many people don’t know what we archivists get up to, so it’s good to explain it to them.
What would you advise to those who would like to have a career change and become an archivist?
It’s a great career, and brings a lot of job satisfaction, and I’d always encourage people who are interested in it to think about it seriously. However, I would warn them that they do have to get a professional qualification first, which takes time, effort, and money, and I’m afraid that it’s one of those careers in which one shouldn’t look for a large salary!
What interests and activities do you enjoy outside work?
Classical music is the big one. I play the piano, and much enjoy playing piano duets with my partner. I also sing tenor in the Oxford Bach Choir. I also love listening to music, and enjoy exploring off-beat repertoire of all ages. I had better own up that we therefore own over 2800 CD’s! I also enjoy visiting museums and art galleries, and at weekends when we can we like to drive into the countryside to explore churches or stately homes.
What is your most valuable possession?
I think I’d go for a book, called ‘The Annals of University College’, written by William Smith, a Fellow there, and published in 1728. Smith was the first archivist at Univ., and his history was the first fully scholarly history of any Oxbridge College, so I knew it well. Some years ago, I inherited some money from my godmother, and so I decided to buy my own copy of Smith’s book as a way to remember her. The copy I spotted for sale on line wasn’t very expensive, but the entry said that it had some annotations, which made it sound interesting. When I got my copy, I at once recognised the annotations as being in Smith’s own hand, which was very familiar to me from my work at Univ. I am probably the only person in the world who knows Smith’s handwriting, and it was – and is – very exciting to me that I could spot it in my copy of his book.
What would your colleagues be surprised to learn about you?
I was a member of the University Challenge team which got the highest ever score in the history of the programme (520 points against Reading in 1987). We still lost in the finals, though, against Keble.
Meet the Staff
CommentFrom the Archives
16
FROM THE ARCHIVE
However much we may deny it, there is a slightly competitive streak among Archivists: we always want to seek out the exciting bits in the collections which we manage, such as finding out which is the oldest document held in an archive. So when I arrived at Jesus earlier this year, one of the first thing I did was to seek out the oldest document in our possession. This issue’s news from the archives therefore discusses what I think is the oldest document in the archives of Jesus College.
As can be seen from the illustration, the oldest document (which bears the reference HE/2/1/1) is a simple enough thing: it is a piece of parchment with a seal attached, and a Latin text written on it. This document records a land transaction. Robert son of Roger Vaghan of “Dorston” has leased to his brother Peter, who is a chaplain, all the property which he owns in Dorston (and which he inherited from his father) for the term of his life, in return for
an annual rent of £10 a year, payable in two instalments, at Michaelmas (29 September) and Lady Day (25 March). As is typical of such deeds, there are warnings that Robert or his heirs have the right to enter in on these lands if Peter is behind-hand with his rent. At the end of it is a list of witnesses (namely Robert de Greoce, William Rees, Walter Lightfot, John Solers, John Reynald and unnamed others). The text ends with the detail that it was given at
CommentFrom the Archives
17
Dorston “on the Sunday in the feast of St. Mark the Evangelist in the 24th year of the reign of King Edward the Third after the conquest”. In modern terms, the date is 25 April 1350. The deed is therefore 666 years old.
At the bottom of the deed is a simple seal. The deed reports that Robert and Peter each put their seal on the other’s copy of the seal. There is a text on the seal, but it is well-nigh impossible to read, so that it is not possible to know whose seal it is.
What, then, is this deed all about, and why has a document from 1350 ended up in a College founded in 1571?
First of all, Dorstone (in its modern spelling) is village in Herefordshire, just a few miles west of Hereford itself. Jesus College bought land at Dorstone in 1618 at a cost of £374. Much of the money had come from a bequest from Owen Wood, a native of Anglesey who had taken his degree from Jesus College in 1580, and gone on to become Dean of Armagh. Wood had hoped that the bequest would support one Fellow and one Scholar. The property became known as Lower Crossway Farm and was sold in 1948. Now until the creation of land registration in the 1920s, a landowner’s only proof of ownership of land lays in being producing a succession of documents which could show how the land had changed hands down the years. When, therefore, one acquired a piece of land, one also acquired all the extant title deeds relating to it. So in this
case, when the Principal and Fellows bought Lower Crossway Farm in 1618, this document from 1350 formed part of the collection of deeds which came with the property, and has remained in our possession ever since.
As for the deed itself, perhaps the nicest thing is how ordinary it is: it is a very typical title deed, in good condition, of the mid-fourteenth century. There is nothing fancy about it. The wording is very typical, even down to the rather fiddly method of dating it.
There is, however, something rather interesting about the date: the deed is dated to the reign of “King Edward the Third after the conquest”. We are accustomed to number all our kings from 1066 onwards, but this was not always the case. Henry III, for example, was always called “King Henry the son of King John”, and Edward II was called “King Edward the son of King Edward”. Now Edward III ascended the throne in 1327, a problem arose because he was also a King Edward the son of King Edward. Therefore it was decided to give him a distinguishing number, and to start the numbering up after the Conquest. There had been two Anglo-Saxon kings before 1066, and Edward III could justifiably have called himself “Edward V”. But 1066 was set as the great cut-off date, and this numbering system remains in place to this day.
The deed is in the form of an indenture. Indentures are distinguished by wavy lines on top and were a popular method of guaranteeing the authenticity of a document in the middle ages. One took a single piece of parchment, copy out the same document twice on it and then cut it in half in a wavy line. Each half of the parchment was given to one of the parties involved, and each party would have on their copy the seal or seals of the other party. When the two copies were reunited, the curves on the top of them would match perfectly. This “security system” does work. A few years ago, I tried an experiment at University College, where I’m also Archivist. In 1463, Univ. sold some properties to Lincoln College, and the Univ. archives hold a find copy of the deed in question. I asked the then archivist of Lincoln College whether Lincoln still had its copy. They did, and so I took Univ.’s copy over to Lincoln, and we laid the two copies end to end. Even though they had not been in the same room for almost 550 years, they still matched up almost perfectly. Sadly, only one copy of our deed is known to survive.
Comment
18
Comments
MY JESUS COLLEGE Peter Mirfield
I became a Tutorial Fellow in Law of the College in 1981. At the time, I agreed with the College a retirement date of September 30th. 2017, and that is indeed when I shall retire, perhaps somewhat because one of the subjects that I teach our undergraduates is Contract.
Since my own undergraduate and graduate days had been spent at St. Catherine’s, I did not know a great deal about Jesus until I got here, though I had had the pleasure of taking tutorials on Public International Law with Ralph Carnegie in the College – in fact in the room that now houses the Development Office. I well remember him as a warm-hearted, as well as highly intelligent, tutor, with the most splendid sense of humour rounded off by the most uproarious of laughs. I had no reason to know it at the time, but I now realise that he was the epitome of the Jesus tutor.
At the time of my arrival, the Principal was
Sir John Habakkuk. To outside appearances, he seemed rather a stern man, but I quickly came to realise that he was nothing of the sort. Though he had no time at all for sloppy thinking, whether it came from an undergraduate of a Governing Body Fellow – why on earth should he in this of all places? – he had a real concern for all members of the College, including what would then have been called its staff. Any student praised by him at Principal’s Collections must have left the room thinking that they were walking on air, for his praises were not lightly bestowed. He had a towering intellect, but, as so often with the very best, it came with an open mind. After he retired, it was his wont, as it was mine, to come into College on Saturday mornings. I was here to get on with some work without interruption, yet, if I found him in the Lower S.C.R., I chatted to him for some time; there was nothing that I
Comment
19
Comments
could possibly be doing in my room that would be of more value than talking to him.
The Governing Body has always been populated by Fellows who paid full attention to the business of the College, having read the papers with care, who sometimes disagreed, but never in factions, and who smoothed over any such disagreements over a cup of tea or (then) a glass of sherry.
When I reflect upon my own students, probably around 300 by now, as well as on those in other disciplines, my strong sense is of hard-working, thoughtful and interesting young people, though there has of course been the occasional exception. One way in which the cohesiveness of the College is demonstrated is that, in all of my time here, there has never been a “rent strike”. I believe that is because those serving in College offices have consistently brought them into the discussions and respected their views, as well as that the students have been intelligent enough to give full credence to economic arguments. Having said that, I do remember rather boasting to the Visitor about our strike-free College, only to be met with the splendid riposte that that perhaps showed that we were not tough enough with the students!
The College has a well-deserved reputation as a friendly college, that being borne out by evidence from surveys of Oxford students which put us at the very top of that tree. Though one sometimes worries that it might be friendly as in “your friendly village pub”, mature reflection tells me that that is not what it is. It is no less friendly for Fellows than for students. One mark of this is the success of our three-guest dinners on Fridays, the main point or purpose of which is to allow Fellows to introduce their relations and friends to the College.
I count myself very fortunate to have helped so many young lawyers to recognise, then realise their potential, though I am very clear that it is always the student who achieves and not the tutor. When I started off, there would have been no more than a dozen or so years between me and those that I was teaching. Now, there is rather more than that, but I have never got bored with teaching in tutorials. It did come as a bit of a shock when I ended up having as one of my students the son of someone that I had taught early in my career here, though that is not all that unusual for
long-standing Fellows.
A crucial aspect of a Tutorial Fellowship is the quality of one’s colleagues, both in one’s own discipline and in others. I have been quite extraordinarily fortunate in that respect. Those in other disciplines have (almost) invariably been fair-minded, thoughtful, interesting and good company, and that has not changed with the generations. A particular pleasure that I have, as Steward of the Senior Common Room, is introducing Junior Research Fellows and young Lecturers to the traditions and conventions of the Common Room. I could not have had better Law colleagues than Peter Clarke (for some 28 years), then Simon Douglas for the last five years. I recall with some amusement a Governing Body Fellow turning to me at a meeting and endorsing what was described as the point made by Mr. Clarke; I felt flattered by the Fellow’s error in identification. And we have had a splendid series of Junior Research Fellows in Law over the years, as well as, more recently, Paul Davies and now Luca Enriques serving as Allen & Overy Professors of Corporate Law in the University, but fully committed to Jesus College too.
During my time at the College, we have had four Principals. I have already spoken about Sir John. He was, of course, succeeded by Sir Peter North who, like Sir John, did service as Vice Chancellor. During his time, I was first the Senior Tutor, then later the Estates Bursar. He had an instinct for when there was no need to discuss things with College officers, just as much as when there was. Sir John, later Lord Krebs, succeeded him, and, for another five years, I remained as Estates Bursar, forging, I believe, a most successful relationship with him. Of course, we now have Sir Nigel Shadbolt in that office. Though I was away in Australasia and Florida for most of his first year here, I am especially pleased, as Steward, that he, like his predecessors, very much enjoys dining regularly on guest nights, with or without a guest of his own. In the case of all of them, one real plus for me has been that they have picked up the effect of my argument very quickly, sometimes indeed realising what I was going to say before I had said it.
I was extraordinarily lucky, as I now realise, to have got the post at the College, rather than the posts at other Oxford colleges to which I had earlier applied. Had I known, I would have waited for Jesus, so to speak. I could not have had a more stimulating and enjoyable career.
Comment
20
Student News
JESUS COLLEGE CHOIR TOUR
On Saturday 25th June 2016 nineteen members of Jesus College Chapel Choir arrived in Florence for the start of our six-day tour. We were excited, riding on the high of having just finished exams and eager to put our Duolingo-learnt Italian to good use.
We gathered in one of the hostel rooms for a very sweaty, very cramped first rehearsal, with Lottie conducting with her head pressed against the ceiling from the top of a bunk bed.
Our first engagement was singing mass in St Mark’s English Church. Clad in our smart black concert clothes, we bustled over from Plus Hotel at the very (un)reasonable hour of 8am. It was a wonderful feeling, finally getting to perform the pieces we had spent
so long preparing. We also got to practice our improvisational skills on some impromptu responses, with the Reverend gesticulating in the general direction the notes ought to be taking.
We assembled at the Basilica di Santa Croce in the late afternoon, wondering whether or not we’d be allowed in, as most of us had changed from our concert gear into shoulder- and knee-baring summer dresses and shorts. After some confusion and the brilliant efforts of our resident Italian speaker, Dan Judd, we dispersed and reassembled, now more suitably dressed, and filed into the church. This was our first mass (of many) in Italian – we were quite engrossed by the lovely lilting speech and the magnificent scenery, and were
Comment
21
Student News
occasionally caught by surprise at Dan and Lottie’s whispered cues for us to start singing. It was a great success, and there were smiles all around at the end of the service.
Our mood was lifted to even loftier heights at dinner when our Chaplain, Megan, congratulated us all with glasses of Prosecco, for which we were immensely grateful. After the fantastic food and limoncello (common themes during the trip), and some a capella renditions of Disney songs, we left for our hostel feeling quite pleased with ourselves. A brass band in the Piazza Vecchio provided a backing track as we waltzed our way across the square, discussing the events of the day and planning for tomorrow’s early start to Siena.
Siena was glorious. We followed Dan to the Piazza del Campo to establish our meeting point for later in the afternoon, and, more importantly, the whereabouts of the free loo in the University. The Duomo of Siena, our group’s starting point, was exquisite; marble floors inlaid with cherubs and floral designs, huge domed ceilings covered in frescoes and highlighted in gold, tourists milling around with mouths open, cameras and smartphones at the ready, marvelling at the view.
That afternoon, we gathered in the Piazza to recline briefly in the sun before going to change for our evening Mass at the University Chapel. We were charmed to be hosted by the University students after the service. It was a great opportunity to learn about student life in Siena; discussion meandered from the songs we sang, to good places to visit in both Italy and England, our thoughts on the football, and inevitably, Brexit.
Tuesday dawned bright and early with a group of us setting off to climb to the Piazza Michelangelo before the sun got too hot. The morning was spent tagging along behind tour groups from there to the Ponte Vecchio, trying to pick up tit-bits of information in various languages which we could then relay (in a highly superior manner) to the others. We returned to the hostel in the afternoon to nap by the pool, readying ourselves for the evening’s concert at the Chiesa di Ognissanti, the longest of the tour.
The enormous Baroque building brilliantly highlighted our modest audience, which some of our party (myself included), later confessed helped settle the sudden onslaught
of nerves. We worked our way through the mass and the first pieces, finishing off act one with a triumphant madrigal, and after a brief watering, commenced act two with gusto. We enjoyed ourselves immensely. There was a collective grin from the choir as our last chord continued to echo back to us a good ten seconds after Lottie had brought us off.
Our last day came all too quickly. We had only a concert in the evening to get to, so spent the day making the most of Italy and its glorious weather. The excitement for our last performance was building before we’d even left the hostel, and proved a hindrance to our problem-solving capabilities when a select few of us waited outside the locked front doors of the Basilica di Santa Croce for a good fifteen minutes after our designated meeting time before realising that there was probably another entrance that we were supposed to have found. We were more than a little in awe of the grandeur of the interior, and gleeful whispers of the wonderful acoustic passed between us as we got into position. Soon, we began our performance, smiling as we did at a few familiar faces in the pews from the previous night’s concert. It was a genuine pleasure to sing there, to have people come in from the square to sit and listen to us.
A last group dinner rounded off our trip. We piled into a pizzeria nearby, ordering quickly as prompted by our rumbling stomachs. As our plates emptied, an exodus to a bar nearer our hostel saw the merry-making continue, accompanied by jolly renditions of Cwm Rhondda (with some highly questionable descants), in true Jesubite fashion.
Choir tour was a fantastic experience; it was such fun to spend the week with friends singing in and seeing such a marvellous city. Special thanks go to the Rev. Dr Megan Daffern, our lovely chaplain, and her husband, the equally lovely Rev. Canon Adrian Daffern. Thank you to Daniel Judd, whose knowledge of the city and the language was invaluable and procured many a group meal. Thank you as well to our Junior Organ Scholar, Alix Middleditch, and to our beloved Senior Organ Scholar, Lottie Orr, without whom the trip would not have been possible, and it is due to her hard work that our singing was up to scratch when we landed in Italy. Our sincerest gratitude also goes to all the benefactors whose generosity facilitated this tour; it was truly a fabulous way to end off the year.
Comment
22
Alumni News
SBS ASSOCIATE MEMBERS AND ALUMNIThe Students on the 2015-16 Postgraduate Diploma in Global Business, who are affiliated with both Said Business School and Jesus College, celebrated their graduations on Saturday 29th October 2016. To show their appreciation for both Institutions, they developed an appeal for the 2015-16 Class Gift.
Saïd Business School and Jesus College have discussed with the members of the class how a joint gift to both Saïd Business School and Jesus College could best be deployed in line with our plans for the future, and have agreed that such a gift would be directed towards student support.
We are delighted to announce that the group had raised a total of £13,000 at the time of publication. We are extremely grateful to them and delighted to welcome them into the Jesus family as Associate Alumni.
On the evening before their graduation, Friday 28th October, the class very generously participated in a panel discussion for current Jesus students on the theme of working in the emerging marketing and entrepreneurship. The panel included speakers from China, South Africa, South America and India. The discussion was held in the Ship Street Centre, and followed by a networking session.
Comment
23
Alumni News
Gaudies are an extraordinary opportunity for Jesus graduates to return to their alma mater in March, June or September and soak up the College’s wonderful atmosphere once again with friends, tutors and fellow graduates of different ages, degrees and subjects.
Traditionally, there would be no discernible pattern and younger generations would be left waiting almost a decade before enjoying their first Gaudy. In 2014, the College began to implement a new, more regular, pattern that would invite classes back on key anniversaries, that is the 5th, 10th, 15th, 20th (and so on) since matriculation, allowing not only younger generations to visit the College again sooner but offering everyone further notice and a chance to plan around the event.
By 2021, the College will have fully transitioned to this new pattern, and while it does mean that consecutive years are no longer invited back for the same Gaudy, it does offer members a terrific opportunity to engage with other generations of Jesus graduates who they may have never met but with whom they share careers, passions and interests, as well as a love for Jesus.
NEW PATTERN OF GAUDIES
1951 & before June 2016, every June Gaudy thereafter
1952 June 2017, every June Gaudy thereafter
1953 June 2018, every June Gaudy thereafter
1954 June 2019, every June Gaudy thereafter
1955 June 2020, every June Gaudy thereafter
1956 June 2018, June 2021, every June Gaudy thereafter
1957 June 2019, June 2021, every June Gaudy thereafter
1958 2018, 2023, every June Gaudy thereafter
1959 2019, 2024, every June Gaudy thereafter
1960 2020, 2025, every June Gaudy thereafter
1961 20211962 2017, 20211963 2020, 20231964 2019, 2024
1965 2020, 20251966 20211967 2018, 20221968 2018, 20231969 2017, 20241970 2020, 20251971 20211972 2017, 20221973 20231974 2019, 20241975 2017, 2020, 20251976 20211977 2017, 20221978 2019, 20231979 2019, 20241980 2020, 20251981 20211982 2017, 20221983 2018, 20231984 2019, 20241985 2020, 20251986 2018, 20211987 20221988 2018, 20231989 2019, 20241990 2017, 2020, 20251991 20211992 2017, 2022
1993 2018, 20231994 2019, 20241995 2020, 20251996 20211997 2017, 20211998 2018, 20231999 2019, 20242000 20252001 2016, 20212002 20172003 2018, 20232004 2019, 20242005 2020, 20252006 20212007 20222008 20232009 2017, 20242010 2020, 20252011 20212012 2017, 20222013 2018, 20232014 2019, 2024
Comment
24
Alumni News
Alistair Bool (Geography, 1991) On a Sunday afternoon in 2000, I decided to stop being a lawyer. The prospect of a career commuting on The Drain, or spending my life arguing with other lawyers, seemed mundane in the boom-times of the dotcom era. Despite a plan to become a management consultant, I ended up as a business manager for ISL in Switzerland. ISL had been founded by Adi Dassler (as in Adidas) and was the TV and marketing rights holder for all FIFA events: my
job would have been to negotiate deals with broadcasters and sponsors. I say “would have been” because ISL went bankrupt soon after I joined (google ISL, FIFA and corruption to see why…). Fortunately, I was able to fall back on my legal background and ended up as General Counsel of the host broadcaster for the 2002 FIFA World Cup (when you watch the Olympics or World Cup, there is always a separate company doing all the actual filming).
The logistics of global sports events are immense, and companies like mine concertina as the events progress: I was the 30th employee, but by June 2002, we had over two thousand staff, many of whom were event junkies, moving from Sydney, to Seoul, to Athens and so on. The job, and the industry, has an enduring excitement and glamour: the first person I spoke to on arrival in Seoul was
Arsène Wenger (who was adamant France would win), the next day I was a VIP at the opening match (France lost) and not many other jobs would have paid the likes of me to go to a World Cup Final. There is a dark side to the industry though: the event junkies lead a rootless existence from which it is hard to escape (one of my friends at FIFA has spent 10 of the last 12 weeks in Russia or Papua New Guinea, which is far less exciting when you are 45), and the corruption is pervasive: friends who moved on to other sports had to hold their noses as deals were done which years later have come to light. Moreover, the glamour and fun of working in sports means that federations can treat their staff relatively badly, safe in the knowledge that someone else will jump at the chance to do the job. I moved onto banking, which is quite clearly devoid of glamour and ethical challenges…
Studying Caribbean socio-ethnic structures did not prepare me for a career in the murky world of sport (apologies, Prof Clarke), but the tutorial system has been the bedrock of my professional career: always prepare (or at least, appear prepared), always challenge assumptions and be ready to defend an argument. Closer to home, Jesus College taught me how to deal with people from a variety of backgrounds, ages and skills in a way that I never appreciated at the time.
Adam Hogg (Classics, 2001)As the fourth and final year of my Classics degree dawned I was faced with the question that challenges so many undergraduates: “What next?”. The comfort blanket of the College community and of life in Oxford more broadly was shortly to be removed. Having flirted with a number of industries through internship programs my mind was still far from certain as to what life post-Finals would hold. Persuaded by the promise of
a free drink and the occasional canapé the milk-round of corporate exhibitions swung into Oxford and I decided that the world
of consulting was the answer. A flurry of interviews later and I was all set to start at LEK Consulting in London in September. The world of consulting opened my eyes to a wide range of industries and provided a great training base of a number of key business skills, however after just over three years being “client-side” and keen to start exploring options away from Consulting I was approached about a role at the ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals). At that time (Autumn 2008) it had just been announced that the season climax of the men’s professional tennis season, the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals, was to be moved in November 2009 to The O2, freshly reopened
WORKING IN…
SPORTS
Comment
25
Alumni News
in its new guise. The timing couldn’t be better.
Eight years in, and having been the Event Director in charge of the tournament for the last three years, the role still throws up its surprises. From negotiating contracts with suppliers to liaising with the world’s top tennis stars (and with the occasional ticket request in between!) truly no two days, or even hours, are the same. In an industry that is rapidly growing
and becoming increasingly commercial, it does still hold that childhood fascination of being able to deliver some “pinch yourself ” moments. Standing courtside as 18,000 fans rise to acclaim the champion and new world number one, Andy Murray, will live long in the memory. It is perhaps this moment and the glory and honour bestowed upon a great champion that comes closest to mirroring the acclaim lauded upon gladiators and heroes of the Classical age.
Emily Jones (PPE, 2004)I left College in 2007, armed with a PPE degree, fantastic friendships and a vague idea that I would like to work in politics. Fast forward almost ten years and I am Public Affairs Manager at the Football Association (FA), via a fascinating three years working in Westminster as a Parliamentary Assistant, and a stint at the Howard League for Penal Reform lobbying for reform of prisons in England and Wales.
During my time at College I endured my fair share of early mornings on the river but I certainly wouldn’t describe myself as a sporty person. It was as a football fan that I jumped at the chance to take on a role at the FA where I have been part of the team since 2013.
As the National Governing Body of English Football the FA has a wide remit which makes my job enormously varied. Whether I’m briefing MPs about The FA’s commitment to build more grassroots football pitches, preparing our Chairman for a grilling in front of parliament’s Culture, Media and Sport
select committee or meeting with the Sports Minister to discuss how the FA is tackling discrimination in the game, there is never a dull moment. Hosting political guests at the FA Cup Final, one of the key dates in the football calendar, is an annual highlight.
I’m often asked what it’s like to be a woman working in football. I can honestly say my experience has been overwhelmingly positive, but my one big frustration is that it’s not uncommon to find myself in meetings where I am the only woman in the room. Unfortunately, I find this is as likely to happen in meetings in Westminster as it is in meetings at Wembley; whilst there is only one woman on the twelve person FA Board, there is only one female MP on the ten person Culture, Media and Sport select committee.
I consider myself privileged to work at the FA in a role that allows me to combine football and politics. My hope is that during my career the experience of being the only woman in the room, whether in Westminster or at Wembley, becomes a thing of the past.
Alison Leonidis, néeTimbers (Chemistry, 1987)Anyone who knew me in Oxford knows that I am the least likely candidate to be working in a sporting organisation. Not only was I rarely involved in any sport (except korfball), I didn’t really follow sport either. Not much has changed. Yet I now work in a part-time role as financial accountant for Hockey Australia and love it because it’s so different from the corporate environments I have previously worked in. In sport, I’ve found that there is often
a high turnover of staff for the most positive of reasons; the opportunities available to move onwards and upwards into other sports in similar roles, into alternative roles within the same sport or to major sporting event teams
such as the Commonwealth Games. This results in a committed and positive working environment. At Hockey Australia, we work across all ages and abilities to engage people in hockey, whether as a player, an official or a supporter, from the youngest beginners to the oldest masters. We support the Australian national teams, the Kookaburras and the Hockeyroos, and we all pitch in to ensure that events run smoothly – whether that’s working with sponsors and government, organising officials or manning the bouncy castle at tonight’s Hockeyroos match against India at the International Festival of Hockey in Melbourne.
As an accountant, my role has the same focus as everyone else’s; how to grow a sport in a
Comment
26
Alumni News
competitive environment, and there are few countries more competitive that Australia when it comes to sport. I work in a relaxed open-plan office with a vibrant group of people of all ages who have a wide range of skillsets and interests. I am constantly learning from them and problem solving with them. Whilst my accounting training has given me the
background to do my day job, it is my time at Oxford that gives me the confidence to engage the people I meet in discussions surrounding sport and its development. I have had stimulating conversations on everything from sports genetics and psychology to marketing and communications. And, of course, the latest results! Any (and every) sport will do!
William Smith (African Studies, 2014)In November 2014, I sat in my room on Ship Street thinking about ways I could contribute to the post-Ebola rebuilding process in Liberia. Eighteen months earlier, I had visited Liberia for three months as an intern in U.S. Embassy Monrovia and a bachelor’s student conducting honors thesis research. I was also preparing for my final season of college soccer in the U.S., and through a crazy turn of events I had grown close with Liberia’s top footballers, including the 1995 FIFA World Player of the Year, George Weah.
By November 2015, the Ebola crisis had directly impacted my Liberian friends and their family members. I thus sat in my dorm room determined to create a space for Liberians to lead positive change and promote progress, once Ebola subsided. At that moment, I texted one of my closest Liberian friends and suggested we start the first school in Liberia to combine formal education with football development. It would use football as a positive-incentive
mechanism to improve academic performance, break down gender barriers and prepare students to lead positive change in Liberia.
Today, as we near the end of 2016, the Monrovia Football Academy is thriving. We have grown from 27 to 50 students in our second year, President Sirleaf has visited and praised the Academy, and we have built relationships with top academic and football institutions such as the African Leadership Academy and Tottenham. Moving forward, we have plans to build our own facilities and expand to 300 students, ages 8-18, from all 15 counties of Liberia.
Our profile will grow to greater heights from 29th November to 2nd December, when two special visitors travel to Liberia to support the Academy. Jill Ellis, the U.S. Women’s National Team Coach and 2015 FIFA Coach of the Year, will be accompanied by Ashlyn Harris, the goalkeeper for the U.S. Women’s National Team. These are exciting times in Liberia, and it all started with a bit of brainstorming in Ship Street!
Martin Thomas (Modern History, 1983)I made a lack of sporting talent go a long way at Jesus by turning out for most of the sports teams. I was never going to achieve much on the pitch, but have sustained an interest in sport in my professional career as a marketing consultant by advising businesses such as Visa, Coca-Cola, Reebok and Heineken on their sports sponsorship programmes. Over the past 20 years the amount of money spent on the
sponsorship of elite sports properties has rocketed, which means that brands and corporations have to invest to ensure that they maximise the commercial value of these multi-million pound deals.
Despite being proud of my Welsh roots I even managed tone appointed to the board of Sport England – the organisation tasked by the
government with growing sports participation and getting all of us more active. Don’t tell my Welsh relatives, but I am currently on the Board of Commonwealth Games England, helping prepare and fund the English team that will travel to the Gold Coast in 2018.
The grassroots sports industry is not a place for graduates seeking high salaries – most people tend to be involved for the love of the sport rather than the money – unless you fancy becoming a deal-maker, rights seller or maybe one of those superagents we read about on the back pages. But it is fun, exciting and every once in a while you might find yourself pitch-side at a piece of sporting history. For me it was witnessing Mohammed Ali, bravely struggling against the affects of Parkinson’s disease, lighting the Olympic flame in Atlanta.
Comment
27
Postcards from Overseas
Haydn Thomas (Geography, 2008) A summer with the shrubs
It’s not every day that your morning to-do list is interrupted by a fight between two grizzly bears. We soon spot a third, watching serenely from the ridge below, and decide to find another patch of the tundra to stop for lunch.
This is the second summer I have spent in the Canadian Arctic looking at the impacts of climate change. My work forms part of several large projects investigating how plants – so constrained by these harsh environments – are responding to warming twice the global average. Engulfed by dust-storms from far retreated glaciers, waist-high in shrub that did not exist even three decades ago, the extent and pace of change in this region is startling.
Yet it is the feeling of remoteness that for me characterises these landscapes. Our most northerly field site is an uninhabited island, a glacial memory off the north coast of the Yukon Territory. Here we have no electricity, no running water, no means of contacting the outside world but a (rather unreliable) satellite phone. Walking past the graves of 19th century whalers or watching muskoxen from your tent, it is hard to believe that such distant places are still a part of the modern world.
The work isn’t always as exciting as it sounds. I’ve washed in icy streams, tried to dry out my sleeping bag in a weeklong storm and spent far too many days looking for tiny Arctic flowers. But now that I’m back, and the only thing likely to disrupt my data analysis is a broken coffee machine, I’m starting to miss those grizzly bears.
Haydn is now completing a PhD in Arctic vegetation change. You can read more about his work at teamshrub.wordpress.com.
POSTCARDS FROM OVERSEAS
In Print
IN PRINTMediation Advocacy: Representing Clients in MediationStephen Walker (1968)
The book is aimed at those who attend mediations as rep-resentatives, clients, experts or mediators and is based on actual experience as a media-tor, lawyer, representative and client. It shows people how to get the best of the mediation process by explaining the pro-cess, step by step from the ini-tial consideration of mediation
to settlement. It also includes chapters on risk analysis and negotiating strategies. It deals with civil and commercial me-diation and also with family, work place and community, It also highlights the similari-ties between these, which are often underestimated as well the key differences..
HarpDr Nidhi Dalmia (1972)
Set in the context of the zeit-geist and idealism of the late sixties, Harp is about love, longing and coming of age. The three main protagonists – a young man travelling in a Europe-less-travelled includ-ing the Iron Curtain, a young woman who has a calling to music, and another young woman who has loved and lost once – provide the frame of this narrative about jour-
neys we make across coun-tries, even as we embark on a private quest within to know ourselves better, and to seek what it is we really want from life. Moving through India, Eu-rope and USA, Harp follows the lives of these three young people even as they engage with the cultural, sexual, stu-dent revolutions, and the mu-sic of the sixties.
Chinese Higher Education Reform and Social JusticeProfessor John Morgan (1969) ed. with Bin Wu
In place of a distributive jus-tice perspective which focuses simply on equal access to uni-versities, this book presents a broader understanding of the relationship between Chinese higher education and eco-nomic and social change. Many questions arise: what are the limitations of neo-liberalism in higher education policy and what are the alternatives?
How has the Chinese gov-ernment met the challenges of educational inequality, and what lessons may be learned from its recent initiatives? How may higher education enhance social justice in Chinese soci-ety given economic, social, and cultural inequality? These questions are considered by a group of leading scholars from both inside and outside China.
EVENTS CALENDAR
2017
Saturday 7th JanuaryLaunch of the Second Junior Members’ Scholarship
Tuesday 28th FebruarySt David’s Day
Friday 24th MarchGaudy (1962, 1969, 1982, 2012)
Friday 31st MarchHarold Wilson Lecture
Friday 31st MarchAnnual Alumni Dinner formerly ‘Society Dinner’
Tuesday 25th AprilCommemoration of Benefactors’ Dinner
Saturday 27th MaySummer Eights
Thursday 15th JuneDonor Reception
Friday 23rd JuneGaudy (1952 and before, 1977, 1990, 1997, 2009)
Saturday 24th JuneXL Group Reunion Day
Friday 7th JulyPeter Mirfield’s Retirement Dinner
To find out more, please visit: www.jesus.ox.ac.uk/alumni/events
Alumni can now register for events, update their contact details and select how they receive communications from the College using the login section of our website www.jesus.ox.ac.uk/alumni. In order to do so, alumni must create a new user name and password using their unique Oxford University Alumni Number. Your alumni number can be found on the carrier sheet.
Jesus CollegeTurl Street, Oxford OX1 3DW United KingdomTel: +44 (0)1865 [email protected]
Jesus College is a registered charity number: 1137435
Produced by Development OfficeDesigned by Ampersand DesignPrinted by LeachPrint
28