Issue 29 Autum/Winter 2010 The magazine for alumni and friends of Durham University
Durham First
ROBERT SWAN CAMPAIGNING FOR OUR SURVIVAL ON THIS PLANET PLUS‌ COLLEGES: What did yours mean to you? Your college ethos FUNDING CUTS: Challenges and opportunities
Durham First 29 Autumn/Winter 2010
Notes from the Chancellor Being part of a smaller environment rather than a monolithic one obviously makes a huge difference to university life. I was eager to find out what exactly made the college system so successful and venerated at Durham, and I suspected that the only way to find out was to try it for myself.
A few years ago, I started a programme of staying at a different college each time I visited Durham. (My little joke was that I was sleeping my way around the University.) One of the most striking things when talking to alumni is how they define themselves as a “John’s man”, “Castleman”, “Aidan’s maiden”, or some other badge of collegial affection, and not simply as a Durham grad.
Well, how glad I am that I did. The college system is wonderful and for all kinds of reasons – because it provides close support to students, creates a community spirit, engenders a healthy rivalry between colleges and, above all, makes sure that each student is part of a family and not just stuck in a soulless accommodation block.
there was no cohesion and no evident sense of responsibility by anyone. How different life would have been for me had I come to Durham. Leaving home to go to university is always a challenge and it is all too easy for even the most assured person to feel lost and overwhelmed. I don’t know any place that does a better job than Durham of making sure that every individual is made to feel that they belong, and it is the college system that is clearly at the heart of that. And it was worth sleeping on a few lumpy mattresses to find that out. Best wishes
My own experience of an American university many years ago (actually, many, many, many years ago) was of being deposited in a vast, noisy, disordered dormitory block, where
Feedback Durham First is ever-evolving and we always need your ideas and feedback to shape the magazine. The next edition, will have a strong global theme. We would be particularly interested to hear from international students about their memories of Durham, from UK students who made friends from far-flung places and how these friendships have flourished since graduation. We would also love to hear from you if there are any aspects of our University community that you would like to read more about. As ever, please feel free to contact the Editor: durham.editor@durham.ac.uk
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World Top 100 Durham University is now recognised in the world’s top 100 universities in a comprehensive international rankings guide – the QS World University Rankings 2010 (published in September). Durham is also ranked in the world’s top 25 in the QS Rankings survey of 5,000 employers in business and industry sectors from across the globe. This assessment recognises the quality of, and demand for, Durham University graduates and ranks us ahead of top Ivy League institutions in the US, including Princeton University.
05 In this issue 03 – “I’m just really good at staying alive…” Robert Swan OBE, campaigner, motivational guru and polar explorer, talks to Astrid Alvarez about his inspiring ambitions.
05 – College Memories Alumni reveal their best (and funniest!) college memories.
08 – Durham’s Colleges: A Reflection
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Professor Tim Blackman, Director of the Wolfson Research Institute and Dean of Queen’s Campus, discusses the importance of Durham’s colleges in establishing social networks.
09 – Research: Full Steam Ahead Paul Ging, Communications Manager, considers Durham’s dedication to research.
10 – Peaceful Borderlands Made in Durham Gerald Blake, Emeritus Professor of Geography, tells us the story of the International Boundaries Research Unit.
11 – Your College Ethos
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Word from Vice-Chancellor, Professor Chris Higgins As a naïve 17-year-old from a boys’ comprehensive school in South London, I wasn’t sold on Durham University because of its academic reputation – I already knew that. I wasn’t even won over by the view from the viaduct when I arrived by train (although now every time I return to Durham it makes my heart skip a beat). It was spending a night in college that sealed the deal – a supportive and welcoming community in which I immediately felt at home. I knew I’d also be able to pursue my other passion – playing the violin. What I didn’t realise at the time was how special or distinctive the education at Durham University is: extracurricular opportunities and support provided through the colleges on top of the academic excellence of the faculties. I can truly say that my years at Durham made me what I am today and so many alumni have said the same. My college community and the friends made there opened my eyes to talents and skills I didn’t know I had, and gave me opportunities I didn’t know existed. The innumerable opportunities to gain
skills such as teamwork, leadership, entrepreneurship, so valued by employers, while having fun, doing good and gaining confidence is what makes the collegiate system at Durham truly great. And that community does not stop at graduation. Friends made at Durham are friends for life. Alumni come back again and again to support and mentor current students and to support each other in their lives and careers. The first thing any two alumni ask each other is ‘which college?’ It is rumoured this is the best ‘chat up’ line in the world! These two words have certainly led to many life-long relationships, both personal and professional. I am a Greyman (1973-79). Returning to Durham three years ago as Warden of all 16 Colleges – ancient and modern – I am easily reminded that every college is unique: a community of people and place formed and nurtured by generations of staff and students. As Warden, my brain tells me that all colleges are different but equal. As an alumnus, however, my heart tells me one College will always be more equal than the others…
College Principals and Masters share how they feel current college life is reflected by their individual mottos.
13 – Complacency is Not an Option Team Durham reviews the sporting and community outreach highlights of the past year and looks ahead to a new season.
14 – Less talk, more action! Victoria Ridley, Alumni Relations Officer, on the impact of student-led charity, Student Community Action.
14 – The Dunelmensis Alumni Award Tim McInnis, Director of Development and Alumni Relations, talks about the new Dunelmensis Award and its very first recipient.
15 – Research in the News All the latest news and developments from the University with some headline-grabbing research breakthroughs.
17 – New Home for Student Services Update on the University’s ambitious plan for Student Services.
18 – Greenspace Durham’s environmental commitment.
19 – Storm Clouds with a Palatinate Lining Carolyn Fowler, Durham University Registrar and Secretary, reflects on the challenges and opportunities presented by Government funding cuts.
20 – Dunelm Family Ties, Respect and Trust Linda Forwood, Operations Manager, on why it’s important to stay in touch.
21 – News in Brief Updates from alumni and the University.
22 – Alumni Events Calendar A look at forthcoming alumni events.
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I’m just really good at staying alive…
This summer I was greatly inspired to be awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Science by Durham University. I had a fantastic oration by Professor Stuart Lane, Director of the impressive Institute of Hazard, Risk and Resilience. And Chancellor Bill Bryson, speaking to the graduating students, said: “the buck stops with you, you’ve got to go out and make a difference to our world”. Bill spoke about the architecture of Durham Cathedral and how it had been designed for the stones to settle exactly into place over 40 years. His call to action was: “given the awesome task of building this cathedral without any computers, surely we have the knowledge, the technology, and the passion to preserve our species here on earth”. It was one of the highlights of my establishment life. I was also blown away by what Dr Joe Cassidy has done with St Chad’s. As principal, he’s done such a fabulous job.
In 1975, after I had refused to attend Oxford as my father had wanted, I went to Africa on a bicycle trip and took eight months to travel from Cape Town to Cairo. When I returned, I went to Durham, up to the Bailey to St Chad’s, and was shown to the College principal’s door. A voice came from behind the desk, “I’ve got a bad back and so I’m operating from the floor today!” That was Father Fenton who informed me term had started two weeks previously, but I did not (and still don’t) take “no” for an answer – he finally admitted me to the
“The biggest threat to the planet is the belief that someone else will save it.” 3
College on two conditions: “Firstly, you’ve got to play at least one game on the First 15 rugby team for the University and secondly make sure you bring lots of girls in and mix the place up a bit!” At the time St Chad’s was a single-sex college with a large number of ordination candidates. I loved St Chad’s and did play on the First 15 rugby team. At our county match all the young fellas in their dog collars came to cheer the side and we won the game.
You can often meet the right people at university. Steve Moriarty (a Castleman), still a great friend, played on the First 15 rugby team. My best friend was Peter Malcolm, a Hild Bede student, a passionate environmentalist interested in conservation. We dreamt of making the South Pole expedition together. I was also a keen drama person. Normally in a top British university if you play on a sports team, all your mates do that and you are stuck with it. Durham was really inspiring because you could do anything. I think that is the definition of the Durham Difference. I really liked that flexibility.
I went to the South Pole, quite frankly, because it went down extremely well with girls at parties. Ever since I was a young boy, I’d wanted to follow in the footsteps of Captain Scott from the “Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration” (1895-1917). I believe in defining moments in life, and that you have to create them. I hired the 16mm film of “Scott of the Antarctic” and watched it in the Appleby lecture theatre. When it finished, I said: “Right, that’s it, one day I’m going to be the first person to walk to both Poles”. The day I left Durham, I started to fundraise. It took seven years to raise the £3 million it cost to go on the first expedition. Jacques Cousteau and Sir Peter Scott (founder of the World Wildlife Fund) became my patrons. (Swan and his teams reached the South Pole on 11 January 1986; and then the North Pole on 14 May 1989.) I learned you should choose people who challenge you, that’s real teamwork. And if I admit weakness in a tough spot, other people can too and that pulls it all together. It’s about helping people to become heroes and heroines to make that last great exploration: to survive on earth.
At the first Earth Summit, Swan took on the “Think Global, Act Local” challenge from world leaders. Between 1992 and 2002 Swan led teams that removed and recycled 1,500 tonnes of waste from Antarctica.
Over 20 years ago, when I walked to the South Pole, I walked under a hole in the ozone layer, had my eyes burnt out and my face fried off. I had to do something. My patrons Cousteau and Scott told me, if you are going to do this, then you’ve got to have environment on the agenda. They gave me the mission to try and preserve Antarctica, and that’s why my organisation is called “2041”.
2041 explained: Human activities in Antarctica are governed by an international agreement known as the Antarctic Treaty, established in 1961, which ensures that Antarctica is used for peaceful purposes only and that the environment is protected. There is currently a ban on mining and mineral exploration, which expires in 2041.
We also re-engineered our Sailboat 2041, so that the sails are now made of recycled plastic bottles, and all the electrics run off solar and wind energy. She has sailed over 118,000 nautical miles in the last ten years.
In 2011, my team and I are taking Sailboat 2041 to circumnavigate the entire Indian coastline. I’m going on my bicycle and meeting the boat at various places. We’re giving huge talks to young people to demonstrate how renewable energy works and to try to get it into the education system out there. We’ll also be working with industry and business. In 2012, I’m reporting back to the third World Summit for Sustainable Development. At the end of 2012, I’m making the journey back from the South Pole to the edge of Antarctica using only renewable energy; I’ll take representatives from India and China on the expedition [laughs] I think of myself as a catalyst. My message to alumni is – go out and join the biggest companies in the world and make a change at Shell, Coca Cola, Nokia; set up a renewable technology company and create jobs; get going in India and China with renewables – it’s a huge business opportunity! Going to Durham is a massive privilege. As Bill Bryson said – the buck stops with you, we’ve all got to go out and make a difference in our world. For more information about Robert Swan’s organisation 2041 or to meet Sailboat 2041 in India next year, visit www.2041.com and get involved.
To get people inspired, I take them to Antarctica for a two-week experience where we witness the reality of climate change. I began to work with industry because I believe it can make a difference. In 2041, when the treaty changes and the Antarctic becomes vulnerable to exploitation (as the Arctic is now) a bunch of accountants will look at the balance sheet and say “It’s just not worth it financially”. You get going using clean, renewable technology more, so that it doesn’t make financial sense to go to the huge expense of exploiting Antarctica’s resources, when you can get accessible, cheaper energy elsewhere. To do that we made a commitment to build the world’s first education station in Antarctica running only off renewable energy, which we call E-base. E-base went live in 2008 and is a resource for teachers and (mainly university) students around the world.
Read the full, unabridged interview at www.dunelm.org.uk
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College Memories...
my solidified carrier bag from out the freezer. Durham’s collegiate system is Grey College It contained every pair of underpants he “Everyone thinks their college is best, but undeniably unique. It is often the friendships made and the experiences I definitely think that Grey is the friendliest owned, encased in a solid block of ice.” College, not to mention it has the best-kept Mohammad Rahgozar (BA Business shared in colleges that alumni talk beer in any college bar! My favourite Finance, John Snow, 2005-08) about the most. And yet, college memories are of the festival atmosphere experiences are notoriously difficult Josephine Butler College to explain to non-Durham graduates, of Grey Day, helping to put on the annual fireworks display and of early mornings “From day one in the brand new College, often resulting in the would-be on the Wear with the Boat Club. College there was such a strong sense of raconteur having to say ‘you had to experience helped me become a more camaraderie, ambition, and a be there!’ But when you meet another rounded person, which has stood me determination to make Butler into the Durham graduate – even if you have fantastic community that it is today. never seen them before in your life – in good stead for life after Durham.” From bops to JCR meetings and formals to Chris Webb (MEng Engineering, you talk about college life, and sports matches, being in Butler’s inaugural Grey, 2003-07) suddenly it all makes sense.
In the last issue of Durham First, we asked you to write in with your greatest college memories – thank you for all of your contributions. We received an amazing variety of stories – some witty, some touching and some daring – and have included alumni memories from each college here.
Collingwood College “I was in my first year and we performed ‘Little Shop of Horrors’. I’d never done anything quite like it before. You didn’t need to be an outstanding singer or dancer, it was all about having a go, having a laugh, then letting your hair down at the after-show party! Hearing the phrase ‘don’t feed the plants’ still brings a smile to my face…” Claire Croft (BA Modern Languages, Collingwood, 1996-2000) 5
Hatfield College
year group meant that we had the freedom to do things our own way, allowing us to truly grow and develop into fine graduates, with few inhibitions and bundles of confidence in our own ideas and abilities.”
“Living at Shincliffe Hall for my first year at Durham, I was part of a group of about 30 students with a strong sense of identity. This was celebrated by the ‘Quinquereme’ Charlotte Dring (BSc Natural Sciences, – a short-lived tradition of naval encounters Josephine Butler, 2006-09) staged on the river below Kingsgate Bridge, involving hired punts and two crews, whose King’s College* sole aim was to sink the other lot first, “Entering King’s College to study by fair means or foul. I was happy to be architecture at the age of 18, I was a spectator!” plunged into a completely new and exciting world of both responsibility and Simon Ratsey (Geography, Hatfield, freedom. With only half a dozen lectures 1965-68) a week, I was left alone with my drawing board at a time when architecture was John Snow College breaking free and moving ahead after “My hallmates during first year were a the war. I made time to play football and second family to me and my best friends cricket and spent my Saturday nights were definitely the ‘disobedient kids’. One dancing, when a pint of beer cost just night, they knocked on my door and asked one shilling and one penny (about five for a carrier bag. I will never forget how pence now)!” their faces lit up as they ran off with the | bag I offered them. Next morning all hell David Watkins (DipArch Architecture, broke loose as the ‘dad’ of the flat pulled King’s, 1954-59)
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Neville’s Cross College* “I attended Neville’s Cross College to train as a teacher. One of my greatest memories is of a Rag Day procession when, on the back of a Dixon’s lorry in 1952, I wore a pen-nib headdress in honour of a boy called Paul Parker, who was everyone’s heartthrob!”
for studs. My wife made the velvet coat into an evening gown. It took us over two hours to pin each other into our ‘formal wear’ for the ball!” Travis Du Priest (Theology, St Chad’s, 1972-73)
St Cuthbert’s Society
“St Cuthbert’s had a very fine, broad wooden staircase running up three floors, presenting an irresistible challenge. One unlucky soul attempted to negotiate this St Aidan’s College challenge on a day when the banister was “Sunshine. I remember running down the newly polished, so diminishing his control steps from the College with that fabulous and speed of descent. Travelling at quite a view of the Cathedral and can only recall pace, he could barely avoid clattering into soft autumnal sunshine. Clear blue skies the Professor of Divinity (and future and crisp winter days, blustery bright Archbishop of Canterbury!). On realising spring days and then sunbathing in hot the enormity of his crime, he exclaimed sunshine at the back of the curved wing. ‘Oh! My God!’ to which the future head of It must have rained, but I only remember blue skies, which sums up how I felt about the Anglican Church responded ‘Incognito, of course!’” Durham and Aidan’s then and still do now. Utter luxury and utterly irreplaceable.” Brian Field (BSc Chemistry, St Cuthbert’s, 1953-57) Jan O’Brien (née Collinge) (BA French with Italian, St Aidan’s, 1977-81) Chris Parkinson (née Wood) (Education, Neville’s Cross, 1951-53)
Stephenson College “Rivalry between John Snow and St Chad’s College Stephenson was just as strong as between “I think my wife and I may have been the any of the Durham-based colleges! Each first married couple to live in College. My Freshers’ Week, we would induct the fondest formative memory is one of social ‘newbies’ by getting everyone out and about ingenuity. I had brought my academic dressed and painted from top-to-toe in red, gown and hood, but not any formal wear. the Stephenson colour. The more red the So, on a tight budget, when it came time better! It never took long for freshers for the Candlemas Ball, we went to Oxfam to realise where their loyalties lay!” and bought three(!) dinner jackets and she, a velvet evening coat. I used the jacket Vanessa Clark (BA Primary Education, from one tux, the trousers from another Stephenson, 2007-10) and cut the buttons off the third to use
College of St Hild and St Bede “It is often the more surreal memories I enjoy the most, such as turning up to one College Day wearing a wedding dress for no discernible reason other than that they were selling one in a charity shop. A friend once organised a science-fiction themed party in College. Having made a moderate effort with my Barbarella costume, I arrived to find the only people who had turned up were the organiser and someone in an incredibly elaborate Dr Who Darlek suit. We all went to Klute night club together, but to this day I still don’t know who the Darlek was! I still wonder if things like that happened in other colleges…” Laura Campbell (BA Modern Languages, Hild Bede, 2002-06)
St John’s College “I became a tutor at St John’s in 1994. During my 11 years of service I undertook two Master’s degrees. My graduations in 1997 and 2005 (the former of which was with my very first cohort of tutees and the latter with my very last) were two never-tobe-forgotten experiences. Even so, singling out one favourite memory is well-nigh impossible. For me the whole 11 years was one long ‘greatest’ College memory.” R Ian Andrew (MA Environmental Management Practice, St John’s, 1995-97; MA Theology and Ministry, St John’s, 2002-04)
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St Mary’s College “Perhaps my most definitive memories of Mary’s are the rather formal occasions when we had to wear gowns, the Michaelmas and Mary’s Day dinners when the dining hall was laid out with special care. I was fortunate enough, being JCR secretary for a year, to be on the College Governing Body, to attend meetings with the Principal and College officers and to sit at High Table. I was amazed then (and still am) at the courtesy with which senior figures within the University treated the inexperienced young woman that I was.” Alison Melville (née Campbell) (Anthropology, St Mary’s, 1974-77)
permission for us to take part. On hearing this, Castle JCR agreed to fund my trip as an observer. At Victoria Station in London I met a Hatfielder, then a communist, planning a similar tour in order to experience the realities of life in the East. Neither of us had been able to obtain necessary visas, but his ability to make ‘party contacts’ facilitated a series of ‘cloak and dagger’ adventures through seven different countries and military zones! Back in Durham, there was a full house at the Union to hear my story, and it even appeared as a centre-page spread in student newspaper Palatinate!” John Nettleton (BA Social Studies, Castle, 1949-52)
Trevelyan College “On day one I was told of Trevs’ reputation as ‘the friendly college’. I remember Trevs as a place to live, to learn and to make lasting friendships, with staff such as Tim in the library and Margaret the dinnerlady all making it a brilliant experience. Trevs offered so much to so very many… and I don’t even need to mention those daffodils!” Madeleine McGivern (BA Combined Social Sciences, Trevelyan, 2005-08)
University College “In 1951 I was selected for the 1500m for an English Universities team at the World Student Games in East Berlin. The Amateur Athletics Association, however, which did not recognise their Eastern European equivalent, and refused 7
Van Mildert College “I brought my ‘Mod’ scooter up to Van Mildert on the train, where it was greeted by college friends with an air of incredulity. All except, that is, by the diminutive Principal of neighbouring St Aidan’s, Dame Enid, who persuaded me to let her have a ride. My nerves were a bit frayed by this, but I need not have worried, as she turned out to be a seasoned motorcyclist and found it far too slow for her anyway!” John Emmett (PhD Applied Physics and Electronics, Van Mildert, 1971-75)
Image Captions/Credits 1. Students at Van Mildert Day, 1969. 2. Brian Field and fellow Cuth’s students in the 1950s.
Ustinov College “Wonderful Durham – there is hardly a day that is not still significant to me. As the GCR President of Ustinov College for two years, I loved welcoming new students. Seeing their happiness and wonder reminded me of how I felt when I first arrived. I also treasure my memory of the official opening of Fisher House in 2005, when I contested Chancellor Bill Bryson in a pool match. Neither of us wanted to win, being too shy and polite to beat the other! It took much longer than it should have, but eventually he won by letting me win.” Zu’bi Al-Zu’bi (PhD Business Studies, Ustinov, 2004-08)
3. Freshers like Charlotte Dring at the opening of Josephine Butler in 2006. 4. Laura Campbell and friends at Hild Bede, 2003. 5. Students enjoying the St Mary’s Day Dinner, one of Alison Melville’s best memories. 6. Chris Webb remembers the festival atmosphere at Grey Day. 7. Jan O’Brien loved the view of the Cathedral from St Aidan’s. 8. Madeleine McGivern ‘gets involved’ in Trev’s women’s football. 9. Freshers kitting themselves out in red at Stephenson College, 2008. 10. Chris Parkinson at the Neville’s Cross College Rag Day Procession, 1952. 11. Zu’bi Al Zu’bi challenging Bill Bryson to a game of pool at Ustinov. 12. The opening of Van Mildert College, 1966. *
Kings College and Nevilles Cross College were Durham University colleges between 1937-1963 and 1924-1977 respectively.
Durham’s Colleges: A Reflection Durham alumnus, Professor Tim Blackman, (BA Geography, Castle, 1976-79 and PhD History & Sociology, Graduate Society, 1980-88), Director of the Wolfson Research Institute and Dean of Queen’s Campus, considers the importance of Durham’s colleges in establishing social networks.
The English noun ‘network’ is said to have first appeared in Tyndale’s bible of 1526, where it describes a brass lattice. The word was later used to describe natural features, and then anything linked in the same way. It was American feminists who first used it as a verb – to network – as a way of working around existing male networks to achieve change. In my discipline, sociology, social networks are a flourishing field of study. My dictionary of sociology defines these as individuals linked by social relationships, and gives as examples of such links: kinship, communication, friendship, authority, and sexual contact. A college at Durham University is of course a social network, and one where we can see the true power of networks to shape and be shaped by our individuality. College networks are where we grew as social beings in an exciting intellectual atmosphere, an outstanding physical environment, and a memorable social life. Durham colleges are the ‘Durham Difference’, separate from an academic department and often identified with even more strongly. That identity is not just about memories, but develops because the college was where we learned to live together, agree and disagree, experiment and discover, and
above all to cooperate – whether in sport teams, theatre productions or running the bar, learning through cooperation that life need not be a zero sum game.
as volunteers with disadvantaged communities) is create links across communities, or what is known as ‘bridging social capital’.
Networks empower us as individuals, enabling us to go further than we can on our own, and breaking down barriers across disciplines and backgrounds. The Durham colleges have a niche for everyone. For some it is the JCR, college sport team or choir, but for me it was volunteering in the local community, where my network extended beyond my fellow students to local people who taught me a lot of what I learned during my student years. I found out what it meant for a coal mine to close when a whole community depended on it. And I learned how being unable to write properly – something I simply took for granted – meant low pay or unemployment, yet could be tackled by a Durham student spending a couple of hours a week helping someone failed by the school system to write well enough to get and keep a job.
If we look around the world today, we see many examples of bonding social capital that are nourishing and positive, but also many that are negative and even dangerous when communities close in on themselves and see the world outside as ‘other’. We might see bridging social capital as simply when a sociology student makes friends with a physicist and discovers the concept of ‘emergence’ is an exciting and similar idea in both disciplines, or when a Castle or John’s student discovers the bars in Trevelyan or Aidan’s or at the Waterside in Stockton. But it of course goes further, and in important and significant ways. The social epidemiologist Richard Wilkinson has developed a theory, which has caught the attention of politicians and the media, that many social ills are linked to the extent of inequality between us. The more equal our communities, he argues, the healthier and happier we are likely to be, regardless of our own background. Perhaps the happy memories many of us have of college life at Durham are because our college communities were great levellers, a shared environment where we led a cooperative life.
It was tempting to cocoon yourself in your college network, what sociologists call ‘bonding social capital’. Yet what our colleges in Durham and Stockton can also do, (increasingly through the opportunities created by initiatives like the Phoenix project, where staff and students work
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Research: Full Steam Ahead Communications Manager, Paul Ging, recently joined the University and considers why research is more important than ever in these challenging times.
Does research matter? Well, without inquiring human minds, curious endeavour and all other forms of research, you wouldn’t be reading this right now. Not only because I wouldn’t have written it, but for the far more basic reason that you wouldn’t be able to read. Cosin’s Hall – home to the Institute of Advanced Study, Palace Green
Without human knowledge building upon past achievements and taking humankind forward, nothing that we call civilization would exist. Some people say without the thirst for knowledge, we’d be sitting in caves playing musical instruments made out of bones. Not true; we wouldn’t even have got that far. Imagine the investigation required to discover that caves were a good place to live, let alone to find out that bones make reasonably good musical instruments. Even these were once new lines of inquiry. We owe these pioneering enquirers a very great debt. New lines of inquiry are what we do best at Durham University, not least at the Institute of Advanced Study (IAS). This body promotes new thinking on the world’s biggest issues by encouraging collaboration between people from different disciplines across the Sciences, but also across the Arts. Each academic year the IAS invites scholars, intellectuals and public figures of world-standing to come to Durham, complete fellowships, host lectures and talks, and workshops. It is entirely appropriate that like-minded individuals involved with the IAS and the Royal Society have come together to celebrate, and indeed defend the achievements of science in this important 9
anniversary year marking 350 years for the “Cutting funding for research in the UK Royal Society. The foundation of the Society would be a false economy, especially at in 1660 was a significant milestone in the a time when the USA and other leading constant accrual of knowledge, as was the European countries are increasing it. It risks foundation of the IAS in 2006. sending the wrong signal to young research talent and triggering a ‘Brain Drain’. Last month, Durham University’s Chancellor Bill Bryson marked this by leading an event “A long-term research funding strategy is at Durham city’s Gala Theatre entitled essential to keep the talent here and “Seeing Further”, co-hosted by the IAS and safeguard potential advances of the future.” the Royal Society. He and a panel of fellow luminaries discussed scientific achievement One day, even all our great current scientific achievements may look like so much in front of a fascinated audience, keen to cavebound, bone xylophones. And that’s ask their own questions. a good thing, because it means inquiry Since joining the team at Durham University, and endeavour will have continued. I’ve been struck and enthused by the To answer my opening question: passion exhibited by its Chancellor, ViceYes – research matters. Chancellor and all other members of this undeniably great institution. As Bill told the For more information about the University’s New Statesman when discussing “Seeing Research Institutes, please visit Further” and its accompanying, excellent www.durham.ac.uk/research/institutes namesake book as the Comprehensive Spending Review approached: “The idea that there is a recognisable amount of fat that you can just lop off and it won’t impact on the amount of quality scientific research or the amount of production is a pretty risky attitude.” After we left the New Statesman and travelled towards London’s Guildhall where Bill was to deliver a keynote speech, he continued the theme:
To read Bill’s interview in full please see the New Statesman, issue dated 25th October 2010.
For more about the IAS please visit www.durham.ac.uk/ias
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Peaceful Borderlands Made in Durham Emeritus Professor, Gerald Blake (Founder and Director of the International Boundaries Research Unit 1989-2001) and Principal of Collingwood College (1987-2001) tells us how the Durham-based research unit has been making a practical contribution to world peace for over 20 years. 2
The International Boundaries Research Unit (IBRU) is part of the Geography Department at Durham and was established in 1989 to facilitate the peaceful delimitation and management of land and maritime boundaries. IBRU is wellrespected for its consultancy and research on these themes, but its most amazing activity is arguably in developing boundary specialists from around the world. The idea was born over tea and cakes one afternoon in 1996: we never imagined then that IBRU would travel to some of the most dangerous places on earth and become renowned for its training workshops. To date some 1,000 boundary managers and negotiators from 113 countries have attended IBRU workshops in Durham, London, Paris, Singapore and Washington DC. The key to the popularity of the IBRU workshop series has been the willingness of some of the world’s leading boundary experts to act as tutors. Among them are prominent judges, lawyers, International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea hydrographers, cartographers, surveyors, and senior boundary managers and negotiators all with real life experience of serious boundary issues. I am proud that Martin Pratt and John Donaldson of IBRU are often among the elite panel of tutors. As evidence of
their high-profile reputation, from 2005 to 2008 both taught on border management courses commissioned by the British Ministry of Defence for top ranking peacekeepers, border police and immigration officials, in Edinburgh, Nairobi, Accra, Amman, Sana’a and Dhaka. In 2008 they delivered workshops for the NorthSouth Sudan Boundary Commission in Khartoum, and for the Government of South Sudan in Juba. International boundary affairs are both politically sensitive and complex, and those charged with their management come from a variety of professions and backgrounds. Thus, a typical workshop of 30 participants might include lawyers, surveyors and other technical specialists, senior naval and military officers, petroleum company executives, and often an ambassador or government official. Each workshop has a particular focus. Land boundary workshops have dealt with watershed boundaries in mountains and devised workable boundaries in rivers and tidal estuaries. Maritime boundary workshops have focused on the definition and role of islands, how to manage oil and gas resources, defining state limits beyond the continental shelf. IBRU’s Arctic map (pictured) earned extensive global media attention two years ago. The map illustrated the urgent need for clear policy-making on Arctic issues, an area rich in natural resources. One of the great strengths of IBRU training workshops is the bringing together of boundary practitioners from different backgrounds and countries. Each workshop involves an element of practical work and
sometimes role playing, when participants must cooperate on tasks. They also love coming to Durham, and the gala dinner at the Castle never fails to impress. Not surprisingly therefore, the feedback from workshop graduates is always positive, and some are frequent return visitors to the city. One delegate, a Greek naval officer, simply wrote on his feedback form: “Durham is near to paradise.” If the clear benefits of IBRU’s training programme are put alongside the important consultancy work undertaken by its staff, its contribution to the furtherance of world peace is significant. There are various indications that boundary issues will become more prominent in the coming decades on land and at sea, and IBRU’s services will be in continuing demand. Many land boundaries remain under stress, and many maritime boundaries have yet to be drawn. For more information, please visit www.durham.ac.uk/ibru
Gerald Blake came to Durham in 1964 as Lecturer in Geography, specialising in the Middle East. He supervised many postgraduates, including the ruler of Sharjah, H H Sheikh Dr Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qassimi. He was President (and now a Patron) of Student Community Action and an enthusiastic rowing coach for Durham University and Collingwood College Boat Club. He initiated the DUBC “freshmen’s squad” in 1991-92 and was their chief coach for three seasons.
1. The Arctic map created by IBRU in 2008 to show disputed territories that states may lay claim to in the future. 2. IBRU founder Gerald Blake and current Director of Research Martin Pratt, sailing with the Canadian Navy, Vancouver 1999.
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Your College Ethos Whilst at Durham, you may have wondered about your individual college motto, be it in Latin or in French. But will you have really understood what it means to your college? Here, our college Principals and Masters endeavour to explain how their respective colleges interpret the austere-sounding phrases that are designed to describe a college’s ethos.
COLLINGWOOD COLLEGE ‘Aime le meilleur’ – Love the best. Collingwood students are self-motivated, independent, and strive to be best at whatever they do. They excel academically, compete fiercely in sport at all levels, contribute enthusiastically to the arts, especially theatre; travel widely and generously volunteer their time and energy to commitments in college and beyond.
JOSEPHINE BUTLER COLLEGE Our motto ‘Comme je trouve’ (as I find) is intended to be read as We take life as we find it and make of it what we can. This is reflected in the relaxed and friendly atmosphere generated by staff and students working together and in the opportunities which exist for students, in the youngest college, to set up new ventures be they new volunteering opportunities with local primary schools, new activities like the fashion show or setting up new sports teams or societies.
GREY COLLEGE
HATFIELD COLLEGE
Cum Primis’ dates The Hatfield motto ‘Vel Primus Vel . Strictly it means 1846 in n datio from the College’s foun larly translated Either first or with the first but is regu urage all our enco today as Be the best you can be! We ee. We want degr good a just students to gain more than take every and here time their of t them to make the mos , play hard and opportunity to develop; to work hard are renowned for rs contribute to student life. Hatfielde t, the arts and spor in ly high getting involved, achieving through ity mun com the to music, and giving back . work ity char outreach and Prof Tim Burt, Master
‘Per scientiam et prudentiam quaere summam’ – Through knowledge and wisdom strive for the highest. John Snow College students strive for the highest levels of knowledge and wisdom in everything they do: excellence in music, the arts or sports complement high standards of academic attainment. They graduate secure in the knowledge that their academic expertise and college life experiences will equip them as they strive for the highest level of success in all that they do. Prof Carolyn Summerbell, Principal
Prof Ed Corrigan, Principal
‘Gradibus Ascendimus’ Grey College’s motto is: ers ref and n pu is is a Ascending by Degrees. Th t yed on the College’s coa pla dis der lad the to ly direct , der lad ge lf is a medieval sie of arms. The ladder itse also a pun on the family is ich wh known as a Gré, cation College’s title. The impli name honoured in the , nce ige dil and rk wo d of the motto is that, by har within society to wherever members of Grey can rise eful step at a time. they wish, taking one car Master Prof Martyn Chamberlain,
JOHN SNOW COLLEGE
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Mr Adrian Simpson, Principal
ST AIDAN’S C O
LLEGE ‘Super fundam entis certis’ – Bu ilt upon firm foundations. Th e breathtaking views and open architecture we enjoy at Aidan’ s encourage ou students to be r creative and ad venturous... bu always ‘on firm t foundations’. W e strive to build a community of staff and stude nts who will support one an other through difficult times and inspire ev eryone to fulfi l their potentia l. Dr Susan Frenk, Acting Principal /Senior Tutor
UNIVERSITY COLLEGE
is solum’ – Not for us alone Here in Castle our motto is ‘Non nob ucing people who are going – reflecting the fact that we are prod world, are outward-looking to make a contribution to the wider way. any and not going to be selfish in Prof Maurice E Tucker, Master
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ST CHAD’S COLLEGE
COLLEGE OF ST HILD AND ST BEDE
Founded in 1904, St Chad’ s is one of the oldest colleges in the Un iversity. Though we derive our inspiration from the past, we derive our passion and energy from our current students and staf f. It’s people who matter, hence our motto ‘Non vestra sed vos’ – Not yours (not wh at you have) but you (as a person). The visi on behind this motto was the same vision that saw the founders of the College invest heavily in people, via scholarships and student bursaries. Today our religio us heritage is expressed primarily in our commitment to pursue the truth where ver it leads and to work together for a mo re just society. Canon Dr Joe Cassidy, Princi pal
n changed but the ‘Eadem mutata resurgo’ – I rise agai ct a Hild Bede expe same. Our web page states that we how does this reflect but , hard play student to work hard and ld use your time in our motto? The idea is that you shou of your interests, be they Durham to explore and excel in all or in sports, so that when academic or in the performing arts y the same person, ntall ame fund you graduate you are still rounded, more e mor d, lope deve e mor just that you are uation. ready for a multi-faceted life after grad Prof Chris Hutchison, Principal
ST JOHN’S COLLEGE
ST CUTHBERT’S SOCIETY
‘Gratia gratiam parit’ – Friendship begets friendship. St Cuthbert’s Society, situated on the Bailey, is the third – oldest college at the University – though it began life as a non-residential college and so gave itself the title ‘Society’ in order to distinguish itself. And distinguish itself it did by making itself accessible to a great diversity of ‘friends’. We have a proud tradition of being a natural home for both mature and local students. We are inclusive rather than exclusive. All will get a friendly welcome here. Prof Graham Towl, Principal
The St John’s motto ‘Fid es Nostra Victoria’ has bee n mis-translated as – Our fait h is Victorian! In fact the ethos is better understood as In faithfulness is our vic As a Christian college wit tory. hin the University, open to staff and students of all faiths and none, we value excellence in academic and non-academic activit ies, participation, service of others and the formation of lea ders in society and in the church. Rev Dr David Wilkinson, Pri ncipal
ST MARY’S COLLEGE
STEPHENSON COLLEGE ‘Me quondam mirabitur orbis’ – One day I shall astonish the world. Stephenson students are selected for their ambition to do something good and extraordinary. We all have it within us to astonish the world, at some time and in our own way; we continuously seek to give our students the opportunity and courage to try new things, whether they be academic or extracurricular.
Our motto ‘Ancilla Domini’ translates as Handmaid of the m Lord and refers to St Mary after who ege Coll y’s Mar St the College is named. ge was founded in 1899 as a women’s colle of lity equa g idin prov of ciple prin on the e opportunity. Now a mixed college (sinc of lity equa of s etho 2005), the founding if not opportunity is clearly as alive today, . 1899 in was it than so, e mor even Prof Philip M Gilmartin, Principal
Prof Adrian Darnell, Principal
TREVELYAN COLLEGE
e readily than falsehood, ‘Vera fictis libentius’ means Truth mor Trevelyan we encourage At a virtue fundamental to any college. g of truth through verin unco e appreciation of the distinctiv ty from undergraduates inui cont of ity mun research and learning in a com ty the adage that ‘truth is beauty, beau to senior academics. And reflecting in ip larsh scho and ion orat otes expl is truth’, the College specifically prom e in music and the fine arts. llenc exce in icing rejo ent ronm an envi Prof Martyn Evans, Principal
USTINOV COLLEGE
‘Diversitate Valemus’ – We are strong through diversity is the motto of Ustinov College, with its 1800 postgraduate members representing ts, over 80 nationalities and six continen t Wha le. inab imag ect subj y ever ying stud in rse Dive could be more appropriate? nov membership, diverse in outlook, Usti g arin prep of e leng chal rises to the students for an interdependent, globalised future. Dr Penny Wilson, Principal
VAN MILDERT COLLEGE ‘Sic vos non vobis’ – Not for yourselves. Van Mildert’s motto is a fitting maxim for a college which gives so freely of itself. Its students number among the most frequent and generous givers in Durham, not just in charitable endeavours, but in sport, drama, outreach and student politics. In giving of themselves, Mildertians thrive in a community built on collective progress and communal enterprise. Prof Patrick O’Meara, Master 12
COMPLACENCY IS NOT AN OPTION The 2009/10 sports season was one of the most exciting in recent memory, with Durham finishing 6th in the British University and College Sport (BUCS) league table. Elite level and college sports teams have gone from strength-to-strength, and the community outreach work of Team Durham has further expanded. With new facilities nearing completion, and world-class coaches joining several University teams, Quentin Sloper, Assistant Director of Student Sport expects 2010/11 to be a very special year for Team Durham. Durham prides itself on the level of student participation in sport. Last year, 6,263 students participated in the college competitive league programme, with Collingwood topping the points table. The College Festival of Sport held in June, despite dismal weather, attracted a record number of entries, with hundreds of students getting involved in a wide variety of sports. Throughout the season, success kept on coming for the almost 3,000 student members of University teams. The Durham University Senior Men’s and Women’s boat club crews regained their crowns at the Newcastle-Durham Boat Race whilst the Men’s First cricket team beat long-standing rivals Loughborough at Lords. The Men’s lacrosse team became national champions and the cycling team surprised and astounded everyone, finishing with a 400% increase in points compared to the previous season. Another achievement was the University Triathlon Club, which two years ago was relatively unheard of, but is now one of the “Big Four” competitors in the UK. As term started again this October, the University was delighted to see Durham 13
students and alumni succeed at the Commonwealth Games. Current student, Kira Roberts won Team Gold in the sabre, while in foil, alumna Claire Bennett won individual Bronze and led her team to Gold. These successes are the outcome of countless hours of practice and training, led by a growing team of world-class coaches across the teams. As the 2010/11 year gets underway, Durham University rugby enters a new era, with Senior Rugby Coach, Alex Keay, taking up a full-time post funded by generous support from alumni. The University basketball teams have welcomed former British Basketball League coach, Dave Elderkin, and former WNBA player, Leah Rush, to enhance their performance. With the largest recruitment drive in the history of Durham University Sport and the commitment of all involved with Team Durham, 2010/11 is set to be a very special year. Training facilities are critical to success. After the opening of a rubber crumb pitch at Maiden Castle last summer, building work has continued, again thanks to the generous support of our alumni and investment secured from Sport England. At Queen’s Campus a magnificent eight-
court Sports Hall is now open, and in Durham the refurbishment and re-building of Maiden Castle, post flood-damage, is underway. The enhanced facilities will include an extended sports hall, a rowing tank, an ergo gallery and a purpose-built fencing facility. Reaching out into the local community, Team Durham continues to develop new programmes with vulnerable young people and adults. Hundreds of student volunteers work alongside Team Durham staff and coaches to support projects that use sport to help tackle problems such as drug and alcohol addiction. They teach socially excluded people to swim and encourage teenagers who have struggled in regular schooling to gain qualifications in sport. Team Durham continues to excel, and complacency isn’t an option. Our athletes are working hard to move up the BUCS league table and hope to inspire the University and its alumni with their commitment, enthusiasm and drive for success!
For further information, see: www.teamdurham.com
Less talk, more action! Alumni Relations Officer, Victoria Ridley, reports on the impact of student-led charity, Student Community Action. Prior to joining Durham’s Alumni Relations team, I managed the Student Community Action (SCA) charity for 12 months. I know only too well how emotionally challenging and rewarding volunteering can be. Let me give you some examples. Each year, a team of students from across the University enables young people, known as the County Council Children in Need Team, to partake in a week-long retreat as part of the Children Achieving through Student Support (CATSS) project. These children, some as young as five, have often encountered more in their short lives than most adults would ever wish to have to deal with. They have often been abused, neglected or raised in households where family members are dependent upon drugs and alcohol.
SCA volunteers raise funds for, plan and deliver a five-day retreat in County Durham for these vulnerable children. A member of the local Children in Need Team, who referred an abused child to the project this year said: “It would certainly not be an overstatement to say that the students from CATSS have changed this little boy’s life. Months later, he is still talking about the care and attention he received.” Volunteers also gain immensely from the project, and for many it is a reminder as to how fortunate they are. CATSS is just one success story for SCA. Each year, hundreds of student volunteers give their time freely to support projects in the local community. Student volunteers build relationships between the local elderly and students through hosting a variety of
events and activities in and around Durham city. SCA volunteers help with tutoring local school students, work in partnership with local organisations supporting vulnerable people in the community and this summer student volunteers brightened up a wall in Durham’s Market, painting a highly detailed mural depicting images of Durham.
SCA is keen to keep in touch with past volunteers and would love to hear from alumni. To find out more about SCA please visit us online at: www.durham.ac.uk/community.action
The Dunelmensis Alumni Award Tim McInnis, Director of Development and Alumni Relations This is the first year Durham University has conferred the Dunelmensis Award – ‘Dunelmensis’ being Latin for ‘of, belonging to, or from Durham’. University Senate has approved the presentation of this award just once each academic year. It is the University’s most prestigious award for volunteer service, given to acknowledge the personal, exemplary and sustained contributions of an alumnus or alumna in facilitating the progress of Durham University. On 1 July 2010 the Dunelmensis Award for the 2009/10 academic year was presented to Robert Dale Klein. In the early 1970s, as a student at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Bob came to Durham to spend a year studying in the Institute of European Studies. He became a member of Grey College and read subjects unavailable to him at MIT. Studying economics, politics and law at Durham persuaded Bob that he should enter the legal profession.
Considering Bob’s strong affinity and professional legal skills, a representative from the University met with him in 1990 to set in motion the establishment of a tax-exempt foundation, the North American Foundation for the University of Durham (NAFUD). Serving as President of NAFUD and managing operations through his own office, Bob has been Durham’s key US contact for the past 20 years. Bob has organised alumni reunions and fundraising events; has personally acknowledged all financial gifts received from American alumni and friends; has ensured legal compliance with US tax regulations and the Patriot Act; and has very happily disbursed substantial contributions from friends and alumni in the US to Durham University. Recently, at the University’s request, Bob and the NAFUD board re-branded NAFUD as ‘Dunelm USA’. There has been no cost for Bob’s legal services to the University over the years, which otherwise would have amounted to tens of thousands of pounds. Bob is now expanding the Dunelm USA Board and
Bob Klein (centre) receiving the Dunelmensis Award from Vice-Chancellor Prof. Christopher Higgins and Anne Galbraith CBE, Chairman of University Council.
working with the Vice-Chancellor to increase philanthropic giving from American alumni to the University. It was a great honour to confer upon Robert Dale Klein the inaugural Dunelmensis Award and also to acknowledge the support of his wife, Trisha – with gratitude from the whole of the University, and from our alumni and friends. 14
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Research in the News 01 “GALACTIC ARCHAEOLOGISTS” FIND ORIGIN OF MILKY WAY’S ANCIENT STARS Many of the Milky Way’s ancient stars are remnants of smaller galaxies torn apart by galactic collisions around five billion years ago, according to Durham University. Scientists at Durham’s Institute for Computational Cosmology and their collaborators at the Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics, Germany, and Groningen University, Holland, ran huge computer simulations to recreate the beginnings of our galaxy. Lead author Andrew Cooper from the Durham Institute said: “Effectively we became galactic archaeologists, hunting out the likely sites where ancient stars could be scattered around the galaxy. Our simulations show how different relics in the galaxy today, like these ancient stars, are related to events in the distant past.”
02 COMPUTER TECHNIQUE COULD HELP PARTIALLY-SIGHTED ‘SEE’ BETTER People who are partially sighted following stroke or brain injury could gain greater independence from simple training, which could eventually be delivered via mobile phone. New research has found that a computer-based technique developed and assessed by Durham University improved partially-sighted people’s ability to ‘see’ better. Lead researcher, Dr Alison Lane, in the Psychology Department, said: “We think it might be because training increases their attention, concentration and awareness of their ‘blind’ field.” She added: “This technique in future could be easily accessible at low cost to everyone who needs it.”
03 SOUTH ATLANTIC MAP PLOTS FALKLANDS CLAIM TO OIL DISCOVERY Researchers at Durham University have drawn up the first-ever comparative map to show the competing claims of Argentina and the UK for resources in the South Atlantic. The publication of the maps follows the discovery of oil north of the Falkland Islands by a British company, Rockhopper Exploration, and a series of historical 15
arguments about sovereignty and the rights to resources in the South Atlantic.
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Director of Research at the International Boundaries Research Unit, Martin Pratt, said: “The discovery of oil in the North Falkland Basin is likely to exacerbate tensions between the UK and Argentina concerning sovereignty over the Falkland Islands, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands.” He added: “Although sovereignty over the islands remains the key issue, determining maritime jurisdiction around the islands – and off disputed territory in Antarctica – will be a complex and challenging task.” For more information about the work of IBRU, see page 10.
DRUM RHYTHM IN SONG FOR WORLD CUP SUCCESS
04 DWINDLING GREEN PASTURES, NOT HUNTING, MAY HAVE KILLED OFF THE WOOLLY MAMMOTH A vast reduction in grasslands may have been the primary cause of the decline of mammals such as the woolly mammoth, according to Durham University scientists. The findings of the new study challenge the theory that human beings were the primary cause of the extinction of mammals. The research, by the School of Biological and Biomedical Sciences, is part of the most comprehensive study to date of Northern Hemisphere climate and vegetation during and after the height of the last Ice Age, 21,000 years ago. It shows that there was a massive decline in the productivity and extent of grasslands, due to climatic warming and the spread of forests.
05 YANGTZE RIVER’S ANCIENT ORIGINS REVEALED The Yangtze River in China is 40 million years older than was previously thought, according to new research led by Durham University. The Yangtze River cut the Three Gorges area, creating a transport pathway which has played a central role in the development of Chinese culture linking south-western China to the rest of the country. The research team, led by Dr Alexander Densmore from the Institute of Hazard, Risk and Resilience, determined the onset of the incision in the Three Gorges by looking at the cooling of minerals in the granite that underlies the Three Gorges Dam at Sandouping in Hubei Province.
A song promoting a ‘rhythm for success’, to inspire footballers to score more goals during the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa, was composed using a new ‘language’ for African drums by Durham Music Department researcher Peter Okeno Ong’are. The track, entitled, Vuma! Unity, harmony, goal!, is based on a traditional South African rhythm. Ong’are developed a new notation system for drums to overcome a modern-day problem where the family tradition of teaching African drumming is being lost. He said: “Ancient hand drum rhythms in Africa used to be passed on from generation to generation, from family to family and from tribe to tribe. The traditional ties have changed, and so too the way in which we pass on drum patterns. The notation system will help people all over the world to learn and play African rhythms that might otherwise be lost forever.”
07 MODERN MUSLIMS USE DREAMS TO MAKE MAJOR LIFE DECISIONS A new study interviewing 60 Muslims in the UK, North America, Europe and Pakistan has revealed that the traditional practice of using night dreams to make choices on issues like marriage, business decisions, career development and politics, is in widespread use amongst modern Muslims. Research leader, Durham University anthropologist Dr Iain Edgar, focused on the centuries-old practice of Istikhara, or Islamic ‘dream incubation’. His study is the first comprehensive and the most contemporary academic study on Istikhara prayer and practice, which can also include daytime prayer about important decisions. Dr Edgar said: “Dreams have always had a very important role to play in Islam – the Qur’an shows that the prophet Muhammed was a great dreamer. Dream interpretation in Islam is a spiritual way of divining the future and submitting oneself to the personal unconscious and the will of Allah.”
For more information, please visit www.durham.ac.uk/news
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NEW HOME FOR STUDENT SERVICES In May 2010, University Council approved the financial strategy for the Gateway Programme, a co-ordinated series of new build and refurbishment projects at the Durham campus on Stockton Road (science site) and at Mountjoy. This is an important component of our long-term strategy for sustainable and world-class facilities across the University’s Durham city estate. The development will house a major library extension, a new Law School and a student services building to be known as the Palatine Centre. This brings together student services into purpose-built facilities. The design of the scheme was informed by a two-year programme of consultation with students, staff, local residents and regulatory bodies. The new buildings will have first-rate environmental credentials, achieving the ‘excellent’ standard of the recognised Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method (BREEAM). The Stockton Road scheme also releases space elsewhere in the University’s Durham city estate to provide space for facilities which will benefit students, local residents and visitors alike. An interpretation centre for visitors to the World Heritage Site is being established in the former Almshouses in Owengate, and Palace Green Library is being redeveloped to enable it to host major public
exhibitions. (For more details see the next article). In addition to this, refurbished office space will be provided for some of our arts and humanities departments on the Bailey, in the heart of the city. The enhancement of sports facilities at Maiden Castle are now underway as part of an ambitious wider estates plan. The new sports complex will house improved indoor facilities, including a rowing tank, and follows the creation last year of a first-class floodlit rubber-crumb pitch, used primarily for rugby and lacrosse. The University’s planned works across the estate in the next three years represents a significant investment in student services. Finance for the development work has been secured from a number of sources, including capital grants from the Higher Education Funding Council for England and generous philanthropic donations. The special nature of our buildings and land contributes to the continuing attractiveness of Durham as a place for students and staff to study, live and work. The development will sustain 200 construction jobs in the local economy and is due to be completed by September 2012.
More information and images of the design for the developments can be seen at: www.durham.ac.uk/durham.project
UPDATE ON Palace Green Library Restoration and Refurbishment At the heart of Durham’s UNESCO World Heritage Site, the University’s ambitious renovation of Palace Green Library continues apace. A Victorian, first-floor, former lecture and exhibition space has been converted into the Wolfson Gallery, now a dedicated, flexible, state-of-the-art exhibition hall and performance venue. Generous support from the Wolfson Foundation has made possible this exciting transformation. Security measures meet strict government-indemnity standards and have been installed in conjunction with advanced environmental controls. Leaded windows have been repaired, ultraviolet and black-out blinds have been fitted, new floor coverings have been laid and original plasterwork has been restored. A welcoming ground-floor reception area and lift to the first floor – sympathetically incorporated into the grand stairwell – add the finishing touches to the first phase of this stunning redevelopment.
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GREENSPACE Durham’s environmental commitment In readiness for the launch of its inaugural exhibition in January 2011, the newly completed Wolfson Gallery will be fitted with bespoke exhibit display cases, demountable walls for art displays and innovative interpretive technology (similar to that installed in the British Library) to enable visitors to ‘turn the pages’ of digital facsimiles of a selection of rare books and manuscripts from some of Durham’s precious historic collections.
Climate change is a global phenomenon, with increasing political, social and economic implications. Every institution must now consider climate change seriously, and the introduction of the Climate Change Act sets legally binding carbon reduction targets for the UK. Durham University is not exempt from these targets, and as an organisation we are committed to reducing our carbon footprint by 30% by 2014.
The Treasures of Durham University exhibition will showcase for the first time, at the World Heritage Site, where selected riches from Palace Green Library and the Oriental Museum’s collections will be displayed in a manner befitting their stature and significance. We anticipate that the striking centrepiece will be a first view, following its safe return to the University, of Bishop Cosin’s own Shakespeare First Folio, dating from 1623. The Folio is one of no more than 300 surviving copies of the first printed collection of Shakespeare’s work and is the only copy to have been in the same ownership since its purchase before 1644. (Also see page 21.)
Pioneering environmental initiatives at Durham are not new. We have one of the most biodiverse university estates in the UK. The Fairtrade movement was founded in the city, and the student-led Sustainable Living Action Group and the University procurement team have both won Green Gown awards from the Environmental Association for Universities and Colleges. Colleges and departments are already engaging in improved energy usage activities, the University Green Travel Plan, and recycling (on average 47% of University waste is recycled). Durham’s IT service has introduced energy-saving
For more information about library exhibitions, see www.durham.ac.uk/ library/asc/exhibs
measures to switch-off inactive computers. Last year, students diverted more than 20 tonnes of waste from landfill, through recycling unwanted items. These measures alone, are not enough to reach our ambitious targets for carbon reduction. Environmental inefficiencies cost the University, diverting financial resources away from our core aims of teaching and research. The launch of ‘Greenspace’ this autumn brings together the University’s environment office and a team of environmental champions from every academic department, professional support unit and college, with the mission of reducing our carbon footprint. Tara Duncan, University Environment Coordinator says: “The behaviour of every member of the University’s community will be challenged to cultivate a more sustainable approach to everyday work and activities.” Durham University is striving to match its excellence in research and education to become the exemplar of environmental citizenship in the Higher Education sector.
For more information on environmental sustainability at the University, please visit www.durham.ac.uk/greenspace 18
Storm Clouds with a Palatina Carolyn Fowler, Durham University Registrar and Secretary (BA History, Castle, 1987-90) reflects on the latest UK Higher Education funding news and what it means for your alma mater. With the recent publication of Lord Browne’s report on Higher Education funding and the outcome of the Comprehensive Spending Review, no-one in the UK Higher Education sector is in any doubt that we are entering a brave new world of university funding. Some £3bn worth of public funding is being cut from teaching budgets, with most subjects in the Arts and Humanities and Social Sciences no longer to be publicly funded at all. It is proposed that the cost of this teaching should be transferred in its entirety to students through increased fees. It will be interesting to watch the political ramifications of this unfold and until they do we will have many questions about the precise shape of the future landscape. But in the meantime we are busy planning our response to this radical re-shaping of our world, and working to understand how we can stay ahead of the game as the rules change around us. So what does it all mean? Unlike bodies such as the National Health Service, universities are autonomous institutions and we are already a long way from being wholly publicly funded. This brings with it the opportunity to control our own destiny in a way that is impossible for public sector organisations. For example, at Durham in
2008/09 (our most recent published accounts) our total turnover was £234m. Of this, £77m came in the form of direct grant from the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE), that is just 33% of our total income. Another 19% came from competitive research grants and contracts, much of which also originated with the British Government. So that leaves nearly half of our income coming from other sources. The most important of these is student tuition fee income, which in 2008/09 contributed £63m to our turnover. About half of that came from UK students paying regulated fees. Those of you who are parents of university-age children will be viewing Lord Browne’s proposals with keen interest and no doubt alarm. But even before his recommendations, fees were an essential component of university income. In 1990, when I graduated, the funding per UK student to universities from Government stood at £9,000. By 1999 that figure had plummeted to £5,500 with the inevitable consequences for class sizes, contact hours and the quality of lecture theatres. The introduction of variable tuition fees allowed universities to recover – somewhat. In 2010 the total income per
UK student (including both HEFCE income and the tuition fee) is at £7,500, still some way off the 1990 level. The reality of the latest proposals is that the newly proposed tuition fee levels, eye-watering though they might be, only barely replace the cuts in public funding. Overall, we are likely to be slightly worse off. Most universities are already operating on very tight margins: single-figure percentages that would make most commercial managers a touch nervous. But with all this heavy weather, there is some palatinate lining in the clouds. Good financial planning and management by our executive team has put Durham in a relatively strong financial position. We see opportunity in the challenging times to come. What we are striving to do is increase the proportion of our income which is discretionary and which we can spend in support of our ambitious strategy. Higher Education will only get more competitive, and investing in this way at a time when others are forced to retrench will help us secure our position as one of the world’s leading researchintensive collegiate universities. Two categories of funding are critical here: international student fees, and
Previous sources of funding for Durham University based on the 2008/09 financial year. 33% Funding Council Grants (HEFCE) 27% Tuition Fees and Education Contracts 19% Research Grants and Contracts 20% Other Income* 1% Endowment and Investment Income *‘Other income’ is largely income from residences, catering and conferences, and also includes donations.
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Dunelm Family Ties, Respect and Trust. Linda Forwood, Development and Alumni Relations Operations Manager.
philanthropic donations. International students bring innumerable benefits to a university community. At Durham we attract some of the most able students from around the world, and they are amazing people who bring a diversity and vibrancy to the University community which enriches us every bit as much as we do them. Financially they are critical too – for now neither their fees nor their numbers are regulated and the income they bring is a vital underpinning to the educational experience we are able to offer all our students. Philanthropic donations from alumni, whilst increasing, still represent a small proportion of our total income. But they have a disproportionate impact in helping us to deliver our strategy. Whether funding scholarships or buildings, it is more often than not philanthropic funding which underpins those transformative developments which will allow the University to evolve as an institution, and will help secure us in the top flight globally. This is more important than ever in a post-Browne world.
As an alumnus/a, you are a member of the global Durham University family, Dunelm Society. We would love nothing more than to keep you up-to-date with news, events and projects from your alma mater. This is why updating your current contact details is so important, but even more important is the fact that we adhere strictly to the Data Protection Act, and will always use your information responsibly. Your contact details are hugely significant to the organisation of Dunelm Society, and not always for the reasons you’d expect. Knowing your home address helps us to inform you of events which are happening in your area via email. Also, by having your email address, we are able to send you an e-newsletter with updates, reunions and other events happening across the University, colleges and departments. Having more specific details about your employer and residence helps us to establish alumni groups among Durham graduates in the same profession, company or geographical area so you can benefit from careers and professional networking. Visit www.dunelm.org.uk where you can choose to share work information and contact details online with other alumni when you register.
Dunelm Online provides a secure, passwordprotected environment in which you can exchange correspondence with fellow alumni looking to get back in touch. Register with the Dunelm online community and you can choose a level of involvement which we will respect, ensuring that Dunelm remains a personal and meaningful community to you. And we will never disclose your contact details without your permission. Using information responsibly is just as important to our staff as it is to you personally, and we will always respect your privacy. If we are to stay in touch with you, however, we also need you to keep in touch with us by simply updating your contact details. You can do this by registering at www.dunelm.org.uk, where you can update your details at any time in your personal profile. You can also fill out the contact form attached to each copy of Durham First, ring us +44 (0)191 334 6305 or email alumni.office@durham.ac.uk – we are always delighted to hear from you!
“We will never disclose your contact details without your permission.”
More information on the University Strategy is available here: www.durham.ac.uk/strategy2020
“Investing at a time when others are forced to retrench, will help us secure our position as one of the world’s leading research-intensive collegiate universities.”
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NEWS IN BRIEF
DURHAM UNIVERSITY CROSS COUNTRY TEAM CELEBRATES 50TH ANNIVERSARY
SEEING FURTHER BOOK LAUNCH An evening on the magic of science took place at the Gala Theatre, Durham on 19th October, presented by the Institute of Advanced Study in partnership with the Royal Society, and supported by Durham Book Festival. (Also see page 9).
The ‘all-conquering’ Durham University Cross Country Team of 1960 pictured above is celebrating its 50-year anniversary in 2010. Alumnus Michael Tribe (BSc Zoology, Castle, 1957-60) writes: “In 1960, Durham University Cross Country Team had its most successful season ever. For the second year running it won the UAU (now BUSA) Championships. Having been runners-up to Manchester University in the 1959 Hyde Park Road relay, Durham won the 1960 race in a new record time, which still stands today, as the course was altered the following year!
The University was very proud to host this event with Chancellor and international bestselling author Bill Bryson, in conversation “Significantly too, Durham won the North with four distinguished contributors to the Eastern Counties senior cross country team book Seeing Further. The evening brought race, which at that time included teams with together our Chancellor with the awardseveral international runners. The DUCC winning biographer Richard Holmes OBE; team included students from the Durham science writer and broadcaster, Georgina colleges and King’s College with Joe Jordan Ferry; award-winning science writer, Philip (Medics) as captain.” Let’s hope the team Ball; and the President of the Royal Society, of 2010 can be just as successful! Lord Martin Rees. The lavishly illustrated book, has been created in celebration of the 350th anniversary of the Royal Society. Edited and introduced by Bill Bryson with contributions from a host of scientists, historians and novelists, it tells the story of science from 1660 to the present day. The event was a great success and was well-attended by members of the University, alumni and the wider community.
DURHAM UNIVERSITY CELEBRATES RETURN OF SHAKESPEARE FIRST FOLIO Durham University is celebrating after a rare 17th-century First Folio of Shakespeare’s plays was returned more than ten years after being stolen. The Folio – the first collected edition of Shakespeare’s plays – was returned to the University following the conviction of Raymond Scott, who lives in County Durham.
POSTSCRIPT FROM THE CHANCELLOR “This summer at congregation I was amazed and delighted to confer degrees upon triplets; Emma (Primary Education, Stephenson, 2007-10), Gabrielle (History, Hatfield, 200710) and Dominic Foster (Education Studies with Geography, St Mary’s, 2007-10). Congratulations to the Foster family!”
The Folio was one of seven books and manuscripts taken from Bishop Cosin’s Library, part of Palace Green Library, in December 1998. The Folio resurfaced in the summer of 2008, when it was handed in to the Folger Library, in Washington DC, by a man who asked for it to be valued. Folger Library staff contacted the authorities, who subsequently arrested and charged Scott. Although the University is delighted at the return of the book, there is disappointment that the Folio has been damaged. As a result the book, which is essentially priceless in terms of its heritage value, has been given an estimated value of £1.5m.
QUEEN’S BIRTHDAY HONOURS FOR DURHAM ALUMNI Congratulations to Angela Darnell (BA History, St Aidan’s, 1971-74), Diana Barnes (MPh Sociology and History, 1992-98), Ian Colligan (Computing, King’s, 1961-62), Judith Million (MA Criminal Justice Studies, Graduate Society, 19992002), Neil Bromley (English Literature, Castle, 1970-73) who all received OBEs. Our best wishes go to Anne Galbraith (LLB Law, King’s, 1960-63) and John Widdowson (Law, Hatfield, 1973-76) who both received CBEs, and Suzanne Pinnington (Combined Arts, Trevelyan, 1985-89) and Julia Goodfellow (Honorary Graduate), who were awarded an MBE and a DBE respectively.
CORRECTIONS In the feature entitled ‘Probably the Oldest Fairtrade Shop in the World’ on p.14 of issue 26, the founding of the shop is attributed to a ‘team of students’. We have since been corrected that the Just World Shop was founded by (now Bishop) Jonathan Blake (Theology, St John’s, 1975-78), supported by a student committee. Note from the editors: The photograph of Bill Bryson with students from St Chad’s College (used on page 1 in issue 28) was taken by Tom Bradley (Zoology, St Chad’s 2005-08), now a professional photographer.
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ALUMNI EVENTS CALENDAR We hope you are able to enjoy one of the events detailed below. Please remember to keep your details up to date (see p. 20) to receive information about regional events in your area. For more information, see www.dunelm.org.uk/events
EDITOR Astrid Alvarez Alumni Relations Manager DEPUTY EDITOR Victoria Ridley Alumni Relations Officer
NOVEMBER 2010
MARCH 2011
WEDNESDAY 17TH NOVEMBER Convocation of Durham University, The Royal Institution of Great Britain, London
FRIDAY 25TH & SATURDAY 26TH MARCH Grey College Alumni Weekend, Grey College, Durham
Dunelm Society Annual Dinner, The Royal Institution of Great Britain, London
JUNE 2011
Leighton Kitson Media Relations Officer
SATURDAY 18TH & SUNDAY 19TH JUNE St Mary’s College Annual Garden Party and Mary’s Day, St Mary’s College, Durham
Tim McInnis Director of Development and Alumni Relations
MONDAY 29TH NOVEMBER St Cuthbert’s Society Fellows Annual Lecture at St Cuthbert’s Society, Durham Dunelm Society Advent Carol Service at Temple Church, London
DECEMBER 2010 FRIDAY 3RD DECEMBER Josephine Butler Alumni Event, Ristorante Biagio, London
MARCH 2011 FRIDAY 4TH – SUNDAY 6TH MARCH Josephine Butler Alumni Weekend, Josephine Butler College, Durham FRIDAY 25TH – SUNDAY 27TH MARCH Castle Society Reunion Weekend, University College, Durham
JULY 2011 FRIDAY 1ST – SUNDAY 3RD JULY Hatfield Association Reunion Weekend, Hatfield College, Durham
Rebecca Grundy Publications and Internal Communications Officer
Carolyn Moralee Alumni Relations Assistant Quentin Sloper Assistant Director of Student Sport Leah Tether Major Gifts Officer
Van Mildert Association Reunion Weekend, Van Mildert College, Durham
DESIGN Crombie www.crombiecreative.com
FRIDAY 15TH – SATURDAY 16TH JULY The Hild Bede 20th Anniversary Year Group Alumni Weekend for the classes of 1991, 1992 and 1993, College of St Hild and St Bede, Durham
PRINT Linneyprint www.linney.com
SEPTEMBER 2011 FRIDAY 23RD – SUNDAY 25TH SEPTEMBER St Mary’s College Society Reunion Weekend, St Mary’s College, Durham
www.durham.ac.uk/alumni www.dunelm.org.uk/events
CONTRIBUTORS Peter Birmingham Senior Trusts and Foundations Officer
FRIDAY 23RD – SUNDAY 25TH SEPTEMBER St Aidan’s College Alumni Weekend, St Aidan’s College, Durham
CONTACT US Alumni enquiries Alumni Relations Team Durham University, University Office Old Elvet, Durham DH1 3HP T: F: E: W:
+44 (0) 191 334 6305 +44 (0) 191 334 6073 alumni.office@durham.ac.uk www.durham.ac.uk/alumni www.dunelm.org.uk
Letters to the Editor Alumni Relations Team Durham University, University Office Old Elvet, Durham DH1 3HP T: +44 (0) 191 334 6305 F: +44 (0) 191 334 6073 E: durham.editor@durham.ac.uk With special thanks to: Robert Swan’s Office. © Durham University 2010 Opinions expressed are those of individual writers. Requests for reproducing material should be made to the Alumni Relations Office, where permission will usually be given.
University Shop
www.durham.ac.uk www.dunelm.org.uk
Website now features online payment For our full range of gifts and merchandise (new and old favourites) please visit www.durham.ac.uk/university.shop or contact us at university.shop@durham.ac.uk or +44 (0) 191 334 9251 22
“Which College?”
This question is asked daily by 15,000 students at Durham University as they befriend one another, and is one that follows alumni the remainder of their lives through their encounters. No single question seems as important, for its answer partly conveys what is special and interesting about alumni. Colleges have helped shape who alumni are, and in our experience they are well rounded, talented, generous, highly intelligent and successful people who lead balanced and zestful lives. They are, in fact, the world’s most interesting alumni. Alumni are convinced their own college was the best on offer at Durham, and all are correct. What helped make their college great was a supportive community of college alumni and SCR members. Much of the magic that happens in college comes as a result of financial support from this community, whether for bursaries, sport, musical theatre, drama, recitals, visiting fellows, student spaces, travel stipends, formal dinners, and the list goes on. Some of this support has come through legacy gifts – so very gratefully received and powerful in their lasting effect. We now invite you to consider making a legacy gift to your college. You can help your college continue its own special tradition of transforming students into graduates who will emulate all alumni who have gone on ahead of them. This is as much a gift to the world as it is to your college. FIND OUT MORE… We hope our ‘A Gift for the Future’ brochure will inspire our alumni to consider making a legacy gift to their college. Your gift can be unrestricted or support a specific college initiative. To receive a copy of this brochure, please contact Natalie Crisp, Legacies Officer on +44 (0) 191 334 6310 or n.l.crisp@durham.ac.uk