PembrokeAnnual Fund

Your gifts to the Annual Fund allow the College to provide many bursaries for undergraduate support and also offer numerous graduate scholarships each year. Graduate Scholar Will Badger (D.Phil., English) discusses his own research and experiences here at Pembroke.

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...our students...

Q.What is the area of study for your DPhil?

A.My research in English literature focuses on representations of witchcraft in early modern English drama. Specifically, I am interested in how the stage represents anti-witchcraft jurisprudence and how this reflects actual legal processes against accused witches. Recent legal histories have used witchcraft as a limit case to explore the early modern evolution of evidence law and ways of proof; recent monographs on drama have begun to uncover the overlap in forensic modes of thought between the courts and the theatres. My thesis aims to bring these two fields of enquiry together and ask what an apparent dramatic preoccupation with witchcraft has to tell us about both the legal and theatrical spheres of activity in the period.

Q.Why have you chosen Pembroke as your College?

A.I like Pembroke's balance of tradition and its forward-leaning stance – the latter is evident in everything from the college's commitment to ground-breaking research projects (such as the Changing Character of War Programme), to its investment in state-of-the-art facilities with the new buildings project. Mostly, though, I chose Pembroke because of its people; the college is reputed to be amongst the friendliest in the university, and I have found this reputation to be richly deserved. When I had the chance to migrate to a different college after completing my MSt course, I was having none of it; I knew there was no other place I would rather be.

Q.What difference does your graduate scholarship make?

A.The difference it makes is absolute. Given the financial constraints my young family faces, I simply would not have been able to pursue my DPhil at Oxford without the generous support of the graduate scholarship from Pembroke and the matching Clarendon Scholarship.

Q.What Pembroke activities have you been involved with outside of your studies?

A.As the MCR Committee's Cultural Outreach Officer, I have been able to get involved with fascinating projects, from sourcing Pembroke's connection to Professor Charles Xavier, the founder of the X-Men, to helping the MCR secure support from the Annual Fund to establish an annual fantasy literature lecture series in honour of former Pembroke Fellow JRR Tolkien. The series will bring world class writers to Pembroke to discuss their work and the importance of speculative fiction.

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Dr Peter ClausAccess Fellow and Senior Research Fellow in History

“Pembroke is such an excellent place to be. So much has been achieved in recent years: the new build is complete and new tutorial Fellows have brought yet more strength to the College. My task as the newly appointed Access Fellow is to attract the very best talent in order that we can renew ourselves from candidates who are the most able, no matter their background. Much of my time is spent in our target areas such as South Cheshire, Ashton under Lyne, near Manchester; and also in Hackney where

we have already met with some considerable success. The Annual Fund makes this type of activity viable and has contributed greatly to so many other value added activities. I hope you will feel

able to support the College as we continue the tremendous progress of the past decade, striving to better all areas of Pembroke life and looking toward the next ten years.”

The Annual Fund......exists to benefit all aspects of the College community, including access initiatives, academic resources and grants for student activities. These elements come together to enrich the quality of life for students, and with our dedicated outreach and access programmes being a strong component of the Annual Fund, the College can not only help to meet the aspirations of students who wish to study at Pembroke, but we can also provide them with endless opportunities once they are here.

Supporting Pembroke...

...our outreach...

The ArtsThe Annual Fund helps students pursue a variety of unique projects both in the

creative and performing arts.

Academic WorkThe Annual Fund provides our students with the academic resources needed for success,

allowing the College to invest in everything from library provision to student research projects

to a greater extent than ever before. This fund helps to finance additional teaching and other programmes for students which enhance their

academic experience in Pembroke.

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Societies& Clubs

From athletics to the ‘Bullfrog' magazine and from the fantasy literature lecture series

to welfare, your support offers funding for College organisations to take on new

initiatives and even assists students in forming new groups.

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The JCR is very grateful for the opportunities presented by the Annual Fund. Be it kick-starting student projects such as the Pembroke Ball or Musical, supporting community initiatives including art projects and new sports teams, or reinforcing student services like peer support, the Annual Fund tangibly enhances life at Pembroke year-on-year. Both academically and socially, its benefits are evident across both JCR and MCR activity, enriching students' experiences daily. It really is a uniquely valuable opportunity for Pembrokians, helping us to bring to life ideas, implement plans, realise projects and ultimately, work together to create a brilliant experience for all within the College community. All of your generous donations to the Fund are thoroughly appreciated.

David White (2011, Economics & Management),JCR President

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...and our whole community

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Before coming to Oxford, I'd been playing lacrosse competitively for about seven years and I'm very happy that I have been able to continue playing here. After a few nerve-racking weeks on the Blues team, I've spent my time playing for the Swifts – the women's second team. I've benefited a lot from the College's financial support to play lacrosse – I've improved by game and confidence, met some wonderful people and have co-captained the Pembroke mixed lacrosse team and, this year, the Swifts team. It's been a fantastic experience!

Charlotte McCutcheon (2010, Biology)

The Annual Fund enriches the student involvement within the College and has contributed to a variety of projects in the MCR, from punting trips to football kits to lecture series. These projects bring the students together to experience new and rewarding activities while fostering a sense of community which would not be possible without contributions from the Annual Fund.

Meghan Campbell, MCR President (2011, Law)

Thanks to the generosity of the Annual Fund and the MCR last Trinity Term, we were able to do an extraordinary art project just prior to exams. This was a simple installation with ‘Before I Die' stencilled all over a blackboard painted wall. Students and staff reflected upon their life goals and completed the sentences. Doing this before exams helped students keep a sense of perspective and for its brief life the wall was the centre of lots of student and staff conversations. The support from the College allowed us to make this possible, bringing people together to reflect and look forwards, past exams and essay deadlines!

Michael Maher King (2011, Comparative Social Policy)

Life at Pembroke has so much to offer, and it is fantastic that we can reflect the student experience of this in our termly publication ‘The Pembroke Bullfrog'. The continued support of the Annual Fund has proved invaluable in aiding our printing costs and ensuring that everyone can engage with College life. We are so fortunate to have alumni who donate to this fund, which continues to have a direct impact on the students.

Elspeth Hoskins, Editor of the Bullfrog (2011, English)

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thank you for your support

For further information about the Annual Fund, please contact:

Kendall Murphy, Development AssistantPembroke College, Oxford, OX1 1DWkendall.murphy@pmb.ox.ac.uk+44 (0)1865 276501

Registered Charity Number 1137498

Pembroke College, University of Oxford

Photographs on pages 1, 2, 3 and 5 by:

James Hooker,Genesis Designs.