Darwin College at 50
Darwin College has become, over its first half century, one of the most international of Cambridge Colleges. Students join the College from more than 75 countries worldwide, and our graduates go on to occupy senior positions in many walks of life academia, medicine, law, engineering, industry, government, media. The College has created a vibrant multicultural, informal and interdisciplinary atmosphere, and is a springboard for our students into their chosen careers.
As we begin our second half century, we look back with pride at the achievements of our students, alumni and Fellows, a credit to the talent and dedication of each and every one. These successes are also a testament to the foresight of our founders and to the generosity of our benefactors. We look forward with excitement and anticipation to the next 50 years, in which the pace of intellectual enquiry will no doubt accelerate. The College’s mission is to foster and facilitate this, a task we are ready for but for which we will need your help.
Our goals encompass extending student support through bursaries and scholarships, creating further research fellowships, and conserving, improving and expanding the College’s buildings and accommodation.
Our biggest single task is to increase significantly the number of students for whom we can provide College rooms and you will hear more from the College as our accommodation projects go forward.
Our immediate focus is to realise the exciting John Bradfield Court which you can read about on the opposite page.
Our ever-present duty is to work to grow the College’s unrestricted general endowment enabling the College to fund projects and academic initiatives and to direct your support to where it is most needed.
John Bradfield Court Sir John Bradfield, as Senior Bursar of Trinity College, was instrumental in the founding of Darwin College in 1964, and remained actively involved with Darwin for the following half century. Sir John died last year aged 89. He was elected an Honorary Fellow of Darwin in 1973. With the generous support of Trinity College, the John Bradfield Court will be created as a lasting memorial to his remarkable foresight and outstanding contribution.
The John Bradfield Court will be based around the lawn on the eastern part of the College, known to the Darwin family as the “Tennis Court Lawn” but which in the life of the College is perhaps better known as the “Croquet Lawn”. The project will involve the creation of a John Bradfield Room (and associated amenities) for multiple uses as a significant and much needed addition to the College's facilities. The Court will sensitively incorporate the existing historic buildings, in particular the Old Granary, the iconic face of Darwin and beloved by generations of our students. The conservation of the Old Granary and the internal refurbishment of its student rooms form an important part of the project. The College has appointed an architect to undertake the work, and more details of the scheme will be available to the College community in due course. Trinity College has warmly supported these proposals, and will be generously making a donation of up to £1.5m towards this project. Of this amount £500,000 is subject to the College raising £500,000 in matching donations. Since the project has been announced the College has received pledges amounting to some 25% of this target.
Take a glance at College this year
Professor Harry Bhadeshia has been awarded a knighthood for services to Science and Technology. Harry did his PhD in Material Science (1976) at Darwin and is a Fellow of the College as well as Director of the SKF Steel Technology Centre
The Master was pleased to host well attended alumni reunion dinners in both Beijing and Hong Kong this April celebrating the College’s 50th Anniversary
Dr Peter Friend, Emeritus Fellow, has been awarded the Polar Medal by the Queen “for outstanding achievement and service to the UK in the field of polar research"
After winning blades in the Lent Bumps, Darwin crews kept up the good work with a great overall result in the May Bumps
Professor Sir Geoffrey Lloyd has been awarded the International Fyssen Prize for “Cross-cultural cognition”
Darwin May Ball 2015 was a very successful night, attracting many students and alumni to our beautiful gardens
Our chefs continue to win medals, transforming the dining experience in College - alumni are always welcome for lunch or dinner, and B&B accommodation is also available
For more news about the College, please visit our Facebook page: www.facebook.com/DarwinCambridge
If you have any enquiries about the College and its development activities, please don’t hesitate to contact us. Darwin College
Development Office
Silver Street
Tel:
Cambridge
E-mail:
CB3 9EU
Website: www.darwin.cam.ac.uk
+44 (0) 1223 335690 development@darwin.cam.ac.uk
United Kingdom
Registered Charity Number: 1141105