T HE ST C ROS S COLLEG E MAGAZINE | 2 016
A D QUAT TUOR CARDINES MUNDI
ST CROSS COLLEGE UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD
THE ST CROSS COLLEGE MAGAZINE | 2016
CONTENTS 04
West Quad Campaign
22
Sports News
An update as this landmark project nears completion
AD Q UATTUOR CARDINES MUNDI
Editor Susan Berrington Managing Editor Ella Bedrock Design B&M Design & Advertising Ltd www.bm-group.co.uk Contact Details The Development & Alumni Relations Office St Cross College 61 St Giles Oxford OX1 3LZ Tel: +44 (0)1865 278480 Email: alumni@stx.ox.ac.uk www.stx.ox.ac.uk Cover Image The Blackwell Quad, Spring 2016 © David Fisher
06
Coals to Newcastle Anna James writes about Pusey House’s building project, completed 100 years ago
08
Medieval Manuscripts College archivist and Fellow Emilie Savage-Smith on the collections of Oriental manuscripts at Oxford
12
College News
12
College News A year in highlights
14
Members News News from our Fellows
18
Alumni News ‘Once a member, always a member’: St Crossers on their recent successes
22
Sports News St Cross sporting triumphs, from fencing to ice hockey
25
Student Focus William Mills brings the Stone Age to life with new technology
A FAREWELL AND AN INTRODUCTION
30
St Cross College Photography Competition 2016
32
St Cross Photography Competition 2016
Welcome to the 2016 issue of Crossword magazine. As I write this, I am in my last few days as Master of St Cross. I am going to miss the College and its people, but I look forward to returning as an Honorary Fellow in the coming years, so it is not goodbye, just au revoir. I wish to thank the Fellows, Members of Common Room, staff, students, alumni and friends for all their hard work in making St Cross one of the best graduate colleges at the University. I would also like to thank all those involved in making the 50th anniversary so special and for all the support we have received to see the West Quad ambition realised. The College is one of the most international graduate colleges, with over 70% of our alumni and students coming from overseas – a diverse and interesting community of which I have always enjoyed being a part. I look forward to hearing of the College’s continued successes as it goes from strength to strength in the coming years. Sir Mark Jones Master of St Cross, 2011-16
It is a great privilege and pleasure to succeed Sir Mark Jones as Master of St Cross. In my first few weeks here I have been welcomed with tremendous warmth and generosity of spirit. I am determined to do justice to the legacy of previous Masters and help the College continue to move forward with confidence and ambition.
Our annual College competition showcasing the best St Cross photographers
26
Collecting Street Music in 18th Century Oxford Hélène La Rue Scholar Alice Little on the life of John Malchair
28
College and Matriculation Photos
30
Donor Roll
36
The College Year A look back at a busy and wonderful year
We aim to be the College of choice for the very best graduate students. The new building is a huge step towards achieving that aim. I hope many of you will get to see it when you next visit Oxford.
40
I look forward to meeting and getting to know many of you in the coming weeks and months.
Dates for your Diary Carole Souter CBE Master of St Cross
WEST QUAD NEWS As the new academic year draws near, the West Quad site remains a hive of activity as we prepare to welcome our new students. The scaffolding is now largely removed, revealing the beautifully polished ashlar blocks of Clipsham stone that clad the exterior of the building. Now visible are the striking mullions surrounding the large windows, and the fitting out is now underway. Soon the landscaping will begin to develop the College’s second quad, which will provide space for reading and relaxing for all College members and is an integral part of the West Quad design. As the project has progressed we have enjoyed showing visiting alumni and friends of St Cross around the building.
Alison Kinnaird admiring her handiwork in situ
Recently we welcomed artist Alison Kinnaird MBE, whose elegant etched window on Pusey Lane provides the building with its public art.
The moulded staircases during installation
4
CROSSWORD
|
2016
A close-up of the Clipsham stone
The building’s ‘public art’ window with College motto
THANK YOU We are grateful to College members whose generous philanthropy has allowed the College to realise this ambition, and whose named rooms will provide much-needed space for our students. If you are interested in naming opportunities please contact Director of Development Susan Berrington (director. development@stx.ox.ac.uk, +44 (0)1865 278446).
ST CROSS COLLEGE MAGAZINE
|
2016
5
Coals to Newcastle The ‘Old New’ Building at Pusey House Anna James, Pusey House Librarian
W
hen Edward Bouverie Pusey died in 1882, he had been Regius Professor of Hebrew and a stalwart of University administration for more than half a century. Far more importantly, his work and support had reshaped the Church of England in his lifetime, and continued to do so after his death, bringing more ceremony and tradition to public worship, and reassessing the theological underpinnings of Anglican practices. It was generally agreed by his admirers that he deserved a memorial, but the traditional Oxbridge approbation – a college – had already been ‘done’ for Pusey’s friend John Keble a decade earlier.
private library. An architect finally benefitted from a generous bequest from Yorkshire solicitor J.W. Cudworth, and the sumptuously named Temple Lushington Moore designed a new purpose-built monument.
After a number of formal and informal meetings, it was decided to create a ‘House of Sacred Learning’: the library and chaplaincy which continue today. Henry Parry Liddon, a moving force behind the memorial, kept newspaper clippings of reports of progress, including negative ones. One acid-penned reporter wrote:
The original building project was not without its trials and tribulations. Neighbours on Alfred Street (now Pusey Lane) protested that their views and sunlight would be blocked: in response, rather than compromise his vision by lowering the chapel roof, the chapel floor was lowered instead (which is why there are so
The architectural drawings are still preserved in Pusey House, although most are currently very fragile and will require extensive conservation and stabilisation before they can be consulted on a regular basis. The drawings contain not only the floor plans and elevations, but also abound with angels, as charming details of carvings and decorations have also been retained.
had to step in as intermediary when the organ installer was too intimidated by the architect to speak to him directly. Of course, it all turned out well in the end. The chapel was ready for use by 1915, with other parts of the complex following on in succession. The finishing touches were not to be added until the mid-1930s, and the bookcases and desks in the library continued to be bought one at a time for many years, which is not a fit-out methodology I would commend to the new library at St Cross. We at Pusey House hope that you settle well into your new wing, and wish you every happiness in your new (section of) home. The drawing and finished product (page 6) Pusey House TM/2/100
“Considering how many libraries already exist within a mile of the Bodleian, the proposal to erect a free one in honour of Dr. Pusey appears uncommonly like carrying coals to Newcastle.” However, the idea seems to have generally been received positively, and two houses were bought, in which were installed three ‘priestlibrarians’, and the books from Dr. Pusey’s
PH/DSt/C4/2/106
Images printed with the permission of the Governors of Pusey House. *DDA = Disability Discrimination Act
many non-DDA*-compliant steps outside the chapel). The First World War caused price rises and labour shortages. And towards the end of the project the then Principal, Darwell Stone,
Draft of ground floor Pusey House TM2/162
ST CROSS COLLEGE MAGAZINE
|
2016
7
MEDIEVAL MANUSCRIPTS THE COLLECTIONS AT OXFORD PROFESSOR EMILIE SAVAGE-SMITH Professor of the History of Islamic Science Archivist and Fellow
Fig 4
O
xford is famous for having some of the world’s finest collections of medieval manuscripts preserved today. While the largest collections are part of the Bodleian Library, many of Oxford’s colleges also have important collections. For example, in addition to many Latin or Greek manuscripts, St John’s College has 26 oriental manuscripts, encompassing Arabic, Persian, Syriac, Hebrew, Turkish, Ethiopic and Gujarati items. Most of these were acquired by St John’s through the donation of Archbishop William Laud (d. 1645), founder of the Laudian Chair of Arabic here in Oxford. One example from Laud’s donation is seen in Fig. 1, showing a trebuchet from a highly
a number of languages, four other specialists (Samira Sheikh, Peter E. Pormann, Tim Stanley, and Edward Ullendorff) joined me in preparing the catalogue that was published in 2005 (see Fig. 3). The catalogue was greatly enhanced by Fig 3
This catalogue of Arabic medical manuscripts is only the third Bodleian catalogue of Arabic manuscripts to be published, with all the earlier ones written in Latin. The first was compiled by Johannes Uri in 1787 and was part of a larger Latin catalogue of all the Library’s oriental manuscripts, including those in Coptic, Ethiopic, Hebrew, Persian, Samaritan, Syriac, and Turkish. A second catalogue, describing only Arabic manuscripts, was published in 1836. Written again in Latin, it was compiled by Alexander Nicoll and completed by the then Regius Professor of Hebrew, Edward Bouverie Pusey, whose name is well-known to us at St Cross, for it was he for whom Pusey House was named.
Fig 1
an essay written by Geert Jan van Gelder (then the Laudian Professor of Arabic) on the Arabic poetry and doggerel verse that owners over the years had jotted down on the margins. An example (in translation):
illustrated Arabic treatise on military devices written in Egypt in the 1360s by Ibn Mangli. Not all of St John’s oriental manuscripts, however, were part of the Laudian donation. A rare Gujarati coastal map, drawn on a grid, showing the Gulf of Khambhat (Fig. 2) was given to the college by John Pointer (d. 1754). Because the oriental collection at St John’s College covered
Fig 2
early as the ninth century and as recently as the seventeenth century, and in localities as far apart as Spain and Central Asia. This was published in 2011 as A New Catalogue of Arabic Manuscripts in the Bodleian Library, University of Oxford. Volume I: Medicine. Fig. 4 shows a ‘portrait’ of Dioscorides, a Greek authority on medicinal substances, as illustrated in an Arabic translation of his treatise, now in the Bodleian Library, copied in Baghdad in 1240.
“Three things that must not be lent: a comb, a toothbrush, a slave-girl.” While St John’s College possesses 19 Arabic manuscripts, the Bodleian Library possesses some 2,500 volumes, containing an estimated total of 5,000 individual works. The Bodleian’s Arabic collections have a fascinating history spanning the 400 years of the library’s existence from the time of its opening in 1602, and it includes some the oldest and most important scientific and medical medieval manuscripts preserved today. It was my privilege to undertake a full descriptive catalogue of the medical manuscripts, numbering 377 volumes and representing 242 different treatises and including treatises written as
The start of the twenty-first century saw the major purchase by the Bodleian in 2002 of the Book of Curiosities, a late twelfth- or early thirteenth-century manuscript containing unique maps and astronomical diagrams. Its acquisition was made possible by the financial support of the Heritage Lottery Fund, the National Art Collections, the Friends of the Bodleian, and others. The date of purchase of the Book of Curiosities coincided nicely with the four-hundredth anniversary celebrations of the opening of the Bodleian Library in 1602. The Book of Curiosities is an anonymous Arabic treatise on the heavens and the earth composed in Egypt between 1020 and 1050, and it is now recognized as one of the most important discoveries in the history of cartography in recent decades. With topics ranging from comets to the islands of Cyprus and Sicily, from lunar mansions to the sources of the Nile, it represents the extent of eleventh-century geographical, astronomical and astrological knowledge. It has been my pleasure to have worked during the past decade or more on its study and analysis. In 2007 an electronic high-quality reproduction of the Bodleian manuscript and its illustrations, linked by mouse-overs to a modern Arabic edition and a preliminary English translation was made available at www.bodley.ox.ac. uk/bookofcuriosities. Work continued (with
ST CROSS COLLEGE MAGAZINE
|
2016
9
Fig 6
co-author Yossef Rapoport) on the analysis of the treatise, including the identification of several later copies of the treatise that had lain unnoticed in various libraries amongst the thousands of unstudied Arabic manuscript awaiting scholarly attention. At the end of 2014 a critical edition along with a facsimile and annotated translation of the maps and text (using all available copies) was published by Brill under the engaging title An EleventhCentury Egyptian Guide to the Universe (Fig. 5) . The launch of the volume coincided with World Book Day on 6 March 2015, which the Bodleian Library marked by having the Book of Curiosities manuscript on display in the Divinity School throughout the day, with talks and a drinks reception in the evening. Having completed the detailed analysis of the manuscript itself, plans are now underway for a more general book that will set this remarkable medieval treatise, with its unique maps (see, for example, Fig. 6), in the wider context of eleventh-century Egyptian views of the macrocosm and microcosm. The Bodleian’s collection of Arabic manuscripts also includes eight copies of the first world history of medicine. In the mid-13th century
10
CROSSWORD
|
2016
a practising physician in Syria by the name of Ibn Abi Usaybi‘ah (d. 1270) set himself an ambitious task: to record the origins and history of medicine throughout the known world. No one before him had attempted anything on this scale. His book The Best Accounts of the Classes of Physicians covers 1700 years of medical practice, from the mythological beginnings of medicine with Asclepius through Greece, Rome, and India, down to the author’s day. Written as much to entertain as to inform, it is interlaced with amusing poetry and anecdotes illustrating the life and character of 442 physicians. The ‘Herodotean’ breadth of the book reflects the geographical and cultural reach of the Islamic empire. Yet despite its unquestioned importance to the history of medicine and to the history of world literature, there is no complete modern translation of this extraordinary book and no reliable edition of the Arabic text. To fill this lacuna, the Wellcome Trust is currently funding a joint University of Oxford/ University of Warwick project that will make this remarkable historical source available for the first time in a reliable and readable translation and study. The project – A Literary History of Medicine: “The Best Accounts of the
Fig 5
Classes of Physicians” by Ibn Abi Usaybi`ah (d. 1270) – is headed by myself here in Oxford and Simon Swain at the University of Warwick. Simon Swain is also a MCR here at St Cross, and two other MCRs of St Cross are members the project: Alasdair Watson and Daniel Burt. The recently retired Laudian Professor of Arabic,
Fig 7
Geert Jan van Gelder, is a crucial part of this team, for he will be responsible for editing and translating all the poetry, over 3600 lines of verse, sometimes humorous or risqué. For other four members of the team, working from Germany, the Netherlands, Canada, and the U.S., see our webpage at http://www.alhom.org.uk. The earliest copy in the Bodleian of Ibn Abi Usaybi‘ah’s history of medicine was made in 1465 by an unnamed copyist working near the Nadwah gate of the Sacred Mosque in Mecca (see Fig, 7). The best and oldest complete copy of the text (Istanbul Šehid Ali Paša MS 1923) was made in 1372 and is a highly annotated copy (see Fig. 8). We are using these two copies, along with seven other select manuscripts, to establish a sound version of the Arabic text before translating it into English. We also intend to publish a separate, condensed, version of our English translation for the general public, and we are preparing a separate volume of several hundred aphorisms that occur throughout this entertaining but informative medical history by Ibn Abi Usaybi‘ah. The Wellcome Trust has also recently awarded a second grant (‘Medieval Medicine in Board and Card Games’) . This public engagement exercise will be carried out in collaboration with the History of Science Museum in Oxford. The aim is to design board and card games by which a range of age groups could learn – in an enjoyable manner – about medieval medical care. The design of the games will be the primary responsibility of Daniel Burt, who has been with the Literary History of Medicine project since its beginning and has experience in game design. Over a period of 10 months, two types of games (one for ages up to 14 and one for 15 onwards) will be trialled each month with two groups – a schools’ group and a family session. There will also be sessions for adult game enthusiasts and a session at Thirsty Meeples Board Game Cafe in Gloucester Green. In this way it is hoped that the excitement of working with medieval Arabic manuscripts and learning about medieval medical care can be brought to the attention of a wider audience.
Fig 8
ST CROSS COLLEGE MAGAZINE
|
2016
11
ST CROSS NEWS
News from our College community
COLLEGE NEWS Sir Mark and Vice-Chancellor Professor Louise Richardson
VICE-CHANCELLOR ‘TOPS OUT’ THE WEST QUAD The College was delighted to welcome ViceChancellor Professor Louise Richardson at the start of 2016. Professor Richardson helped the College to celebrate the West Quad building reaching its highest point, in one of her first engagements as Vice-Chancellor. A ‘topping out’ ceremony was held, and
Professor Richardson toured the new building with the Master Sir Mark Jones, Vice-Master Professor Rana Mitter and West Quad architect Níall McLaughlin. Speaking at the occasion, Professor Richardson remarked on the history of such ‘topping out’
Architect Níall McLaughlin, Bursar John Tranter, Vice-Chancellor Professor Louise Richardson and Master Sir Mark Jones
14
CROSSWORD
|
2016
ceremonies and their origins in Scandinavia as a way of thanking the forest for providing wood – a fitting link to the College’s first days in the Wooden Hut. Sir Mark presented Professor Richardson with the College’s commemorative medal to remember the day.
The Vice-Chancellor ‘topping out’ by filling in cement
ST CROSS KITCHEN RECEIVES ‘FOOD FOR LIFE’ AWARD The St Cross catering team has received a Bronze Food for Life Catering Mark, the first Oxford college to do so. Caterers receiving this award must prove that they maintain high standards of traceability, freshness and provenance. The award, giving by the Soil Association, recognises caterers serving fresh food which is free from additives and better for animal welfare, uses sustainable fish and in-season produce.
Sir Mark with his portrait
NEW PORTRAIT FOR SIR MARK As the College prepared to say farewell to Master Sir Mark Jones, members attended an unveiling of his official portrait, which joins the other four portraits of St Cross Masters hanging in the Hall. Painted by Royal Academy Professor of Perspective Humphrey Ocean, the portrait was commissioned to commemorate Sir Mark’s tenure as Master.
‘THE CYCLING BURSAR’ RIDES AGAIN St Cross Bursar John Tranter already has a reputation as ‘the cycling Bursar’ – he commutes to College by bike, is the Chairman of a local cycling club and was recently interviewed by BBC Radio Oxford on the state of cycling infrastructure in Oxford. He has now enhanced this reputation by taking part in the Prudential Ride London 100 event in July. The ‘London Marathon for bikes’ involves riding 100 miles on closed roads with some 26,000 other cyclists. John rode with friends from his cycling club, CTC Wantage, and raised money for Flexicare, a local charity which provides support and respite care for families with severely disabled children. The cycling theme continues in College with plans for safe cycling seminars and a sale of bike lights and locks to form an integral part of the new student induction programme.
ST CROSS COLLEGE MAGAZINE
|
2016
15
MEMBERS’ NEWS TWO ST CROSS FELLOWS ELECTED TO THE BRITISH ACADEMY Vice-Master Professor Rana Mitter and Emeritus Fellow Professor Dawn Chatty were both elected as Fellows of the British Academy in 2015. Each year, 42 Fellows are elected in the academic disciplines of the humanities and social sciences. Election to the Fellowship is a recognition of outstanding research and a mark of scholarly distinction. To have two Fellows elected from St Cross in one year is particularly exceptional. Rana Mitter is Deutsche Bank Director of the University of Oxford China Centre and Professor of the History and Politics of Modern China. His research interests lie in the emergence of nationalism in modern China, and the impact of China’s war with Japan on the development of Chinese politics, society, and culture. His 2014 book “China’s War with Japan 1937-1945: The Struggle for Survival” received the Duke of Westminster Medal from the Royal United Services Institute. Dawn Chatty is Professor of Anthropology and Forced Migration at the University of Oxford. Her ethnographic interests lie in the Middle East, particularly with nomadic pastoral tribes and refugee young people. Her research interests include a number of forced migration and development issues such as conservation-induced displacement, tribal resettlement, modern technology and social change, gender and development, and the impact of prolonged conflict on refugee young people.
16
CROSSWORD
|
2016
RECOGNITION OF DISTINCTION This year, three St Cross Fellows have been successful in the Recognition of Distinction Exercise and have consequently had the title of Professor conferred upon them:
Credit: Paul Tait
Dan Olteanu Professor of Computer Science
Fernanda Pirie Professor of the Anthropology of Law
Petros Ligoxygakis Professor of Innate Immunology
Professor Olteanu’s work is involved with database systems, web data management, and uncertainty and inconsistency in databases. He is also Director of IT at St Cross.
Professor Pirie is an anthropologist specialising in Tibetan societies, using her research into legal practices and legal codes to develop the anthropology of law.
Professor Ligoxygakis’ research into fruit flies provides a major model system for examining many different biological problems, including investigations into innate immunity.
Applicants are recognised for their “ongoing research record which is characterised by a significant influence on the field of study and is of a high order of excellence and international standing”.
DR DAN HICKS ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR AND CURATOR, SCHOOL OF ARCHAEOLOGY AND PITT RIVERS MUSEUM ST CROSS FELLOW Fellow Dan Hicks is the University of Oxford’s Junior Proctor Elect for 2017-18. The Junior Proctor is a senior officer of the University who makes sure that the University operates according to its statutes, is a member of key decision-making committees and carries out ceremonial duties. Dan will take up the post in March 2017.
MICHAEL SHARPE PROFESSOR OF PSYCHOLOGICAL MEDICINE ST CROSS FELLOW In late 2015 Professor Michael Sharpe, received the prestigious Don R Lipsitt Award for Integrated and Collaborative Care by the Academy of Psychosomatic Medicine. The award, given for his research and clinical work, recognises excellence and innovation in the integration of mental and physical healthcare. On 19 June 2016 in Luleå, Sweden, Professor Sharpe was presented with the ‘Alison Creed Award’ of the European Association of Psychosomatic Medicine. The Award was given for outstanding achievement in consultation liaison psychiatry research and service innovation.
LUCIANO FLORIDI PROFESSOR OF PHILOSOPHY AND ETHICS OF INFORMATION ST CROSS FELLOW
DAN OLTEANU PROFESSOR OF COMPUTER SCIENCE ST CROSS FELLOW, DIRECTOR OF IT
At the end of 2015, Luciano Floridi was nominated Chairman of the Ethics Advisory Board of the European Medical Information Framework. This board focuses on the development of a common information framework of patient-level data that will facilitate access to diverse medical and research data sources, with the goal of opening up new avenues of research for scientists.
In addition to his success in the 2016 Recognition of Distinction Exercise, Dan Olteanu has been awarded a €2 million grant from the European Research Council to conduct a five-year project on “Foundations of Factorised Data Management Systems”. The project will employ two full-time postdoctoral researchers for five years and three DPhil students for four years each.
Also in late 2015, Luciano received the Walter J Ong award from the Media Ecology Association for his ‘exemplary record of scholarship and innovation in works such as Information: - A Very Short Introduction (OUP 2010) and especially, The Fourth Revolution: How the Infosphere is Reshaping Human Reality (OUP, 2014); seminal and groundbreaking works that span the bridges between philosophy and media studies’.
The research project has two main objectives: to investigate fundamental challenges in scalable data management at the confluence of compression, distribution, and approximation for both data and computation, and to build a practical large-scale data management system that incorporates the techniques and algorithmic insights from the first objective.
In early 2016, Luciano was appointed as one of six members of the EU’s new Ethics Advisory Group on Ethical Dimensions of Data Protection, helping to define a new digital ethics for the European Union, recognising the benefits of technology for society and the economy in ways which reinforce the rights and freedoms of individuals.
ST CROSS COLLEGE MAGAZINE
|
2016
17
MEMBERS’ NEWS ANDREW POLLARD PROFESSOR OF PAEDIATRIC INFECTION AND IMMUNITY ST CROSS FELLOW Andrew Pollard has received the Distinguished Award for Education and Communication 2015 from the European Society for Paediatric Infectious Diseases. This is given to individuals who have promoted general public awareness and understanding of issues of importance to public health of relevance to the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of paediatric infection disease. The Award also recognises unusually effective, sustained and committed efforts, and is a mark of high achievement and honour. In June 2016, Andrew was elected to the Fellowship of the Academy of Medical Sciences, recognising his contribution to medical research and healthcare, the generation of new knowledge in medical sciences and its translation into benefits to society.
Credit: Big T Images
ANTHONY GEFFEN ST CROSS FELLOW BY SPECIAL ELECTION In January 2016 Anthony Geffen was recognised for his groundbreaking film work at the Advanced Imaging Society’s Creative Arts Awards. The Society recognises outstanding achievement and innovative use of advanced imaging techniques in film, TV, and other broadcast media. Anthony is a film producer and CEO of Atlantic Productions, widely known for their documentaries, immersive virtual reality experiences and IMAX films. In July 2016 Atlantic Productions also received an Emmy for Best Nature Programme for David Attenborough’s Rise of Animals. Anthony will be giving the talk at our annual Winter Drinks London reunion on Monday 5 December 2016, on “The future of storytelling”.
18
CROSSWORD
|
2016
Photo Credit: Humboldt Foundation/Wolfgang Hemmann
JUDITH PFEIFFER ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF ARABIC & ISLAMIC HISTORY ST CROSS FELLOW St Cross Fellow Professor Judith Pfeiffer has been awarded the Alexander von Humboldt Professorship. It is the most highly-endowed research award in Germany with a value of up to €5m, aimed at drawing top international researchers to German universities. Professor Pfeiffer was nominated for the Professorship by the University of Bonn. Her research there will focus on, amongst other things, the conversion of migrant Mongols and leaders to Islam, analysing Persian, Arab and Ottoman sources and setting them in the greater historical and social context of their time. In nominating Judith Pfeiffer, the University of Bonn aims to continue to strengthen its research focus in historical Islamic studies. Professor Pfeiffer has also been recently awarded academic awards and research grants, including from the Gerda Henkel Foundation, the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, and the European Research Council.
ALUMNI NEWS John and Jessica Moussouris
ALUMNUS OF THE YEAR 2016 The College has named Dr John Moussouris (DPhil Mathematics, 1976) as Alumnus of the Year for 2016. John is currently the Managing Partner of VenEarth Group, which develops and invests in sustainable agriculture and energy technologies. Prior to this, John was founding CEO and Chairman of MicroUnity Systems Engineering, a developer of broadband microprocessor technologies. He was a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford and received his DPhil with Sir Roger Penrose. A longstanding supporter of St Cross, John has named the new library in the West Quad: the John Moussouris Library.
Community Seed Fair, Iringa-Mvumi, Tanzania by Josep A. Garí
Anne Christianson (MSc Biodiversity, Conservation and Management, 2007) has been selected along with 77 other female scientists from around the world to take part in Homeward Bound, a leadership and strategic skills programme for women in science, set against the backdrop of Antarctica. A 10-year outreach initiative, Homeward Bound will build a 1,000-strong global collaboration of women in science, focusing on the leadership and planning required to contribute to climate science and environmental conservation. Anna will be departing for Antarctica in December 2016 where she will participate in a state-of-the-art leadership skills workshop led by key strategic thinkers. She is currently reading for a PhD in Natural Resource Science and Management at the University of Minnesota, researching ecosystem-based adaptation policies.
R. Sohan Dasgupta (MSc Comparative Social Policy, 2007) has earned his J.D. from the University of California at Berkeley School of Law. He was elected to the Order of the Coif, a distinction which is conferred on the top tenth of the graduating class . Dr Dasgupta will first clerk for Judge David Faber of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia and then for Judge Consuelo Callahan of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. As a law student, Dr Dasgupta served as executive editor of the Harvard Journal of Law & Public Policy and as executive editor of the Berkeley Journal of International Law.
Ruthe Farmer (MBA, 2007) has taken up a new position at the White House, as Senior Policy Advisor for Tech Inclusion, at the Office of Science and Technology Policy within the Executive Office of the President. She is working to implement President Obama’s Computer Science for All initiative.
Anne C Haour (DPhil Archaeology, 1998) has been appointed Professor in the Arts and Archaeology of Africa at the University of East Anglia.
Josep A. Garí (DPhil Geography, 1996) is senior policy advisor for sustainable development for the UN, and a documentary photographer. He recently won the Zero Hunger photography contest, part of an international campaign launched by the UN Secretary-General to reunite efforts and advocate best practices towards eradicating hunger and fully realise the right to food by 2030. The contest collected visual testimonies of actions for food security across the globe.
James Huntley (DPhil Physiology, 1993), a Consultant Paediatric Orthopaedic and Trauma Surgeon, was awarded the Barclay Lectureship at Glasgow University in 2014, taking a year’s sabbatical (2015-16) in Doha, Qatar, working as the Director of Research and Quality for the Surgical Department at Sidra Medical and Research Centre, a major initiative for women and children’s health in the Middle East. He also undertook a twoweek Paediatric Deformity Mission in rural India (Padhar Hospital, Madhya Pradesh) in February. He is one of three co-editors on a major textbook, Evidence-Based Paediatric Orthopaedics, to be published shortly by Springer.
Andrew Latimer (MSt English 1900-present, 2013) has launched publishing company Little Island Press, an independent publisher of new and classic poetry, non-fiction and international literature in translation. If you are in London, do come along to its launch event at the London Review Bookshop (14 Bury Place, WC1A 2JL) on Friday 4 November, 7.30pm. RSVP andrew@littleislandpress.co.uk.
ST CROSS COLLEGE MAGAZINE
|
2016
19
ALUMNI NEWS
Sally Mapstone – Photo credit John Cairns
Sally Mapstone (DPhil English, 1982), formerly Professor of Older Scots Literature and the Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Education for the University of Oxford, has been appointed Principal of the University of Andrews, taking up the role in September 2016. Of her new role, Sally said: “[St Andrews’] focus on quality in education and student experience, its commitment to outreach, and its emphasis on independentminded research all speak strongly to my own values. I have known the university for many years as a scholar of Scottish culture, and it will be an honour to be part of building its future.”
Laura Sauls (MPhil Development Studies, 2007) has been awarded the 2016 Inter-American Foundation Grassroots Development Dissertation Fellowship to support her PhD research in Honduras and Nicaragua on how international forest-based climate change mitigation mechanisms affect struggles for indigenous territorial rights in Central America. She is undertaking her PhD in Geography at Clark University, Massachusetts, USA, and will begin her fieldwork in January 2017.
Wilhelmina Van Rooy (DPhil Educational Studies, 1993) has been appointed Professor of Learning and Teaching in the Faculty of Education and Arts at the Australian Catholic University.
Cesare Valero Parise (DPhil Experimental Psychology, 2007) has been selected to join Facebook’s Oculus VR team as a research scientist, producing head-mounted displays for virtual reality.
Karen O’Brien (DPhil English, 1986) has been announced as the next Head of the Humanities Division at the University of Oxford. Professor O’Brien was previously Vice-Principal (Education) and Professor of English Literature at King’s College, London. Her research focuses on the Enlightenment and 18th century literature, particularly the historical writing and fiction of the period.
Deborah Wright (MSc Computer Science, 1994) has been elected Treasurer of the Linnean Society of London, the world’s oldest active biological society.
Juan Sainz (MSc Latin American Studies, 1996) has been made Dean of the United Nations University for Peace in Costa Rica. The University was established in 1980 as a Treaty Organisation by the UN General Assembly, to “provide humanity with an international institution of higher education for peace with the aim of promoting among all human beings the spirit of understanding, tolerance and peaceful coexistence”.
20
CROSSWORD
|
2016
Tom Woerner-Powell (DPhil Oriental Studies, 2006) has been awarded the British Association of Islamic Studies De Gruyter Prize for the Study of Islam and the Muslim World. Tom will take up his new role as Lecturer in Modern Islam at the University of Manchester in September.
BIRTHS Jamie Aller (MSc Comparative Social Policy, 2002) welcomed the arrival of George Ludwig Aller on May 26, 2015.
Tom Woerner-Powell (DPhil Oriental Studies, 2006) welcomed Beatrix Eirlys Woerner Powell in November 2015.
Stephen Robertson (DPhil Social and Cultural Anthropology, 2007) and his wife (Camilla) Skye Hohmann welcomed their first daughter Sefryn Elizabeth Robertson (whose namesake is a St Crosser) on 23 May 2013, and their second daughter Peregrine Scotia Robertson on 23 April 2016.
Ryan Schaffner (MPhil Islamic Studies and History, 2006) and his wife welcomed their newest baby, Heidi Jeanette Schaffner, on 29 July 2016. Ryan has also just completed his PhD in Near Eastern Languages and Cultures from Ohio State University, graduating in May.
Anastassia Loukina (DPhil Linguistics, 2001) and Holger Witte (DPhil Condensed Matter Physics, 2001) welcomed Tonja Witte in September 2015.
ENGAGEMENTS & MARRIAGES Chris Day (MSc African Studies, 2010) and Linden Vongsathorn (MSc Sociology, 2010) wed in an intimate ceremony on 13 June 2016 in Northumberland, UK. Chris and Linden met at St Cross in 2010. In 2015, during a trip back to Oxford, Chris proposed in the St Cross College Quad. The couple now live near Godalming and both work in London.
Matt Kennedy (MSt Global and Imperial History, 2009) and Samantha Ares (MSt Women’s Studies, 2009) will be getting married in October. They met on the third day of their courses at a St Cross welcome event.
Claire Leigh (MPhil International Relations, 2005) recently became engaged to James Tulloch, and will be getting married next April in west Kent, with many St Crossers in attendance.
BOOKS THURSDAY’S LOTUS: THE LIFE AND WORK OF FUENGSIN TRAFFORD
“20 YEARS AFTER DAYTON: WHERE IS BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA TODAY?”
THEATRE AND EVOLUTION FROM IBSEN TO BECKETT
Paul Trafford (MSt Study of Religion, 2008) In Thursday’s Lotus Paul Trafford tells the story of Fuengsin, his mother, a Thai laywoman, who fulfilled the prophecy of her meditation teacher that she would spread Buddhism in the West. A copy of the book is available in the St Cross Library.
Lana Pasic (MPhil Development Studies, 2011) In 2015 Bosnia and Herzegovina marked the 20th anniversary of the signing of the Dayton Peace Agreement. This book provides analysis of Bosnia’s evolution in its historic and contemporary context.
Kirsten E Shepherd-Barr (DPhil English, 1991) Kirsten’s study locates key debates within evolutionary science that shaped the form and context of many European and American plays.
ST CROSS COLLEGE MAGAZINE
|
2016
21
SPORTS NEWS This year has been one of St Cross’ best for sport, with students competing in everything from fencing to ice hockey, and our rowers building on last year’s extraordinary success on the river.
Oliver Robinson Photography
Simon Eberz is the President of the Oxford University Company of Archers. This year, they achieved their fifth Varsity victory in a row and Simon was part of the team that secured Silver at the British University Team Championships, a national competition that features 32 teams from all over the UK.
Arnór Hákonarson earned his Half-Blue as part of the winning Oxford University Lacrosse Club Blues team at the 100th Varsity in Hilary term.
Christopher Larson is an Oxford Blues Ice Hockey player who also took on the role of player/coach for the team this season. The team were able to go from barely fielding a team last year to a second-place finish in the league and winning the National Championship for the British University Ice Hockey Association this year.
The Oxford University women’s handball team, including Anna-Kristin Kaufmann, won the UK-wide University Championship for the first time, dominated the Varsity match and won the main round of the development league.
Foxes, the women’s football team comprising of students from St Cross, St Anthony’s, Wolfson and Nuffield, built on their achievement of winning Cuppers in 2015 to win their division and get promoted to Division 1 for next season.
22
CROSSWORD
|
2016
Kristina Pikovskaia is a member of the Oxford University Fencing Club and participated in the Novice Varsity in May. Both women’s and men’s teams were successful in their matches against Cambridge. Shelley Pearson
Billy Osborn was part of the Oxford Lancers – the University American Football club. This was their first undefeated regular season. They won the regionals, and got promoted to Division 1 and beat Cambridge 49-0. This is the first time that any of these have been achieved in Oxford American Football .
Within two weeks of being on the Oxford University Women’s Association Football Club (OUWAFC), Colleen Lopez was voted in as captain. The team came fourth in their league, and won both the Brooke’s and Cambridge Varsity matches. Colleen was awarded player of the match for both games, and a Full Blue.
After winning the Women’s Oxford University Boat Race last year, Shelley Pearson set her sights on the Olympics. Aiming to compete in the single scull for Bermuda, she won the Americas Olympic Qualifying Regatta in March, becoming the first female Bermudian rower to qualify for the Olympics. She finished fourth in the C Final, putting her sixteenth overall in an extremely competitive field. It was an outstanding performance for her first year sculling internationally, in what were often very tricky conditions at the Lagoa Stadium.
St Cross entered a select team for the annual OU Inter-collegiate Alumni Golf Competition at Frilford Heath in April . There were over 150 entrants from 20 colleges competing over two courses on the day. This year, our own Graham Robertson (DPhil Physics, 1990) was joint second place . After a steady start, Graham’s true skills over the links surfaced and he romped home with 36 Stableford points - a terrific score in testing playing conditions. Modestly, he attributed his success to the St Cross team spirit. The remainder of the team fared less well but still posted reasonable scores. We remain the smallest college team in the competition and would dearly love to welcome more golfers (21 handicap or under). There is a convivial dinner at the previous year’s winning college in the evening to round off a unique golfing day. Do join us next year, please contact Bill Gott, billgott99@btinternet.com.
BOAT CLUB REPORT
The 2015-2016 academic year has seen a tremendously successful season for the St Cross/ Wolfson boat club. Numerous enthusiastic novice rowers joined the club in Michaelmas 2015, and in October the novice women’s 1st boat won the annual Christ Church Regatta with the men’s 1st boat coming in second. In Hilary 2016 the club led a successful Torpids campaign entering eight VIIIs, getting the highest number of bumps between all colleges with the men’s and women’s 1st boats becoming the 4th and 7th on the river respectively, and men’s 2nd and 3rd boats and women’s 2nd boat winning blades. The Summer VIIIs campaign in Trinity 2016 was a similar success, with seven VIIIs entered, a large total number of bumps obtained (including the only women’s overbump in the entire regatta by our women’s 3rd boat), and blades won by our women’s 2nd crew. Our men’s 1st crew maintained their 5th position on the river and our women’s first crew bumped up three positions and now are the 7th boat on the river. The St Cross members of the St Cross/Wolfson boat club who have won blades this year are JeanBaptiste Begat (Torpids), Brian Chu (Torpids), Sofia Hauck (Torpids and Summer VIIIs), Andrew Balin (Torpids), Kirstin Anderson (Torpids and Summer VIIIs), Laura Depner (Torpids and Summer VIIIs), Ellen Johnson (Torpids), Daina Sadurska (Torpids), and Stefanie Zekoll (Summer VIIIs).
Christ Church Regatta novice women’s 1st crew: Charlotte Hornby (bow), Anna Sarkissian, Laura Depner, Rachael Midlen, Sharlayne Waller, Daina Sadurska, Estelle Beguin, Laura Pinkerton (stroke),Zoë Goodwin (cox)
Summer VIIIs men’s 1st crew: Thomas Aarholt (bow), Michael D Plant, Christian Cöster, Freddie Hamilton, Joshua Combs, Jasper Barth, Chris Vaas, Stroke Lucian Purvis (stroke) and Stefany Wragg (cox)
César Manivet Photography
ST CROSS COLLEGE MAGAZINE
|
2016
23
Torpids men’s 2nd crew: Kevin Schlegel (bow), Jean-Baptiste Begat, Cristian Leata, Eric Hoff, Philipp Schafer, Brian Chu, David Asker, Jasper Barth (stroke) and Sofia Hauck (cox) Torpids men’s 3rd crew: Klaus Weichinger (bow), Martin Slusarczyk, Sabin Sulzer, Nawamin Pinpathomrat, Robert Oppenheimer, Mark Seidel, Andrew Balin, Edward Rowe (stroke), and Allison Bryan (cox)
Summer VIIIs women’s 1st crew: Georgie Bowyer (bow), Laura Faye Hawkins, Zoë Goodwin, Ellie Watts, Jessica Dunham, Abigail Killen, Emma Spruce, Charlotte Diffey (stroke) and Sofia Hauck (cox).
Torpids women’s 2nd crew: Daina Sadurska (bow), Charlotte Hornby, Ellen Johnson, Laura Depner, Anna Sarkissian, Sharlayne Waller, Kirstin Anderson, Estelle Beguin (stroke), Zoe Goodwin (cox)
Summer VIIIs women’s 2nd crew: Anna Sarkissian (bow) Charlotte Hornby, Kirstin Anderson, Sharlayne Waller, Laura Depner, Estelle Beguin, Sofia Hauck, Stefanie Zekoll (stroke) and Niclas Palmius (cox)
BOAT CLUB REPORT
DPhil Archaeology student William Mills has produced a new educational podcast series with the Oxford Palaeotechnologies Society (OxPalTech) in collaboration with the Ashmolean Museum’s Palaeolithic Department and Education Department. He is one of the founding members of OxPalTech, along with two other St Cross students, Klint Janulis, who recently featured on Channel 5 show 10,000 BC, and Patrick Cuthbertson, supported by St Cross fellow Dr Dan Hicks.
The society has three aims: to bring inquisitive researchers from all fields together for a discussion of past materials and economies in a ‘hands-on’ environment; explore new research questions using experimental methodologies, and to revive a tradition of experimental archaeology. The series provides an insight into Stone Age tools and technologies in relation to the collections at the Ashmolean. This period in history is now part of the UK primary school
curriculum, and William’s podcasts are helping to bring this period to life for younger audiences. The series has been so successful that the University’s IT Services are now using it in their podcast training courses, although most of the script and use of props was improvised on the spot by William and the rest of the team. William also organised a series of St Cross Talks last year on the theme, including a handson workshop.
ST CROSS COLLEGE MAGAZINE
|
2016
25
Collecting Street Music in 18th Century Oxford Alice Little, DPhil Music student & Hélène La Rue Scholar
2
sized notebooks in his own handwriting, and a larger volume compiled by his friend William Crotch from Malchair’s playing after the latter had gone blind. There are 987 tunes in all, ranging from military marches to Welsh airs. While Malchair refers to these as ‘old music’ or ‘Irish tunes’ (for example), Crotch labels them ‘national music’, and today we would refer to them as folk or traditional tunes. The majority are country dance tunes, and many were copied out from publications such as Playford’s Dancing Master (which went through several editions in the seventeenth century), which Malchair viewed in the Ashmolean Library – now part of the Bodleian.
1
I
came to St Cross to start my DPhil in October 2015, and was honoured to be awarded the Hélène La Rue Scholarship in Music.
My DPhil research centres on the tunebooks of John Malchair (1730-1812), a musician and artist who lived on Broad Street in Oxford from 1760 until his death. A professional violinist and leader of the band at the Oxford Music Room, Malchair spent his spare time collecting ‘old music’, writing down tunes from books, letters, manuscripts, and even from the whistling of boys in the street.
26
CROSSWORD
|
2016
Throughout his time in Oxford, Malchair also worked as a drawing master. His drawings can be used to document architectural changes in 18th century Oxford around the time of the Mileways Act of 1771, which allowed for the demolition of a number of buildings to widen the roads. In his artwork as well as his music collection he might be seen to have been preserving for the future that which he feared might be lost. Malchair’s music collection today is preserved in three manuscript tunebooks: two pocket-
Most tunebooks of this era were used by musicians as aide-mémoires, and contain tunes played for dancing and the melodies of church hymns. Malchair’s two extant tunebooks are different in both content and function. Rather than containing tunes he played and learned from fellow musicians, they form a consciously made collection with the aim of showcasing the best music of a range of nations, often giving full provenance, and with an introduction to the collection that explains his collecting methods. From this we learn that, in addition to seeking out old tunes from books, Malchair received music via letters sent from contacts in different locations, and scribbled down melodies played by street musicians. He then organised his collection by nation, his arrangement suggesting that he believed the
MY MEMORIES OF HÉLÈNE While the Music Faculty is the natural home for my current research I have taken a varied path to get here, and previously completed a BA in Modern History (at St Edmund Hall) and an MSc in Material Anthropology and Museum Ethnography (at Linacre). It was while studying for the latter, during 2006-7, that I worked with Hélène La Rue, who supervised my work for the ethnomusicology paper. Keen to work in the museum sector after my master’s, I volunteered weekly at the Bate Collection where Hélène was Curator, working closely with Andy Lamb (who is still Manager of the collection), and helped put together the violinmakers’ workshop exhibition on the first floor. My parents, who met Hélène when they visited me at the Bate Collection, still remember her fondly. Our ethnomusicology tutorials were held at Hélène’s office on Banbury Road, and I remember well our cups of lemon and ginger tea and the mystery instruments we were handed with a mischievous smile, that we were challenged to interpret. Seminars took place in the ethnomusicology collection in the Pitt Rivers extension –
music should be categorised according to its national character (as he perceived it) rather than its geographical origin.
now a function room for Kellogg College. Hélène expressed sadness when it became apparent that the building was to be sold and the collection go into storage, including the much-loved gamelan – and it was on her behalf that I found myself experiencing a sense of injustice in February 2009 when I was booked to play at my first of many ceilidhs in that venue, and saw the space empty for the first time. At least, one might argue, the building continues to bring new musical experiences to generations of students and staff. Though the instruments are no longer on display, Hélène’s guide to the exhibition is still available in the St Cross Library. Though I completed my MSc in 2007, the same year that Hélène died, I have continued to encounter the legacy of her work and the friendships she built throughout her career. After finishing my master’s degree I returned to the Bate to put on a special exhibition on Oxfordshire Morris dance, building on research I had completed for my MSc. From 2007-8 I worked as Assistant Curator of Musical Instruments at the Horniman Museum, with Bradley Strauchen-Scherer, a
good friend of Hélène’s, and also fondly remembered by the current Friends of the Bate (whose committee I have recently joined) from the years when she studied the French horns in the collection as part of her doctorate. In my doctoral research too I have met a number of Hélène’s friends and colleagues, and have been particularly pleased to have been able to discuss my research with Susan Wollenberg, one of the few academics to have published work on John Malchair’s music collection. I also find Hélène warmly remembered by the staff and fellows of St Cross, and enjoyed meeting members of her family at the inaugural Hélène La Rue Scholarship dinner in February this year. While I am aware that Hélène’s bequest was originally left for the study of organology, and was subsequently broadened to include all musical endeavours, I am pleased to have been able once again to seize an opportunity that exists as a result of Hélène’s foresight and generosity. I hope that I can do justice to her memory and the faith she and St Cross have placed in me as a student.
3
By collecting from life, whether from friends, performers or street musicians, Malchair was collecting in a way that has not yet been written about for the eighteenth century. His activities were more in line with collectors of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries than with his contemporaries and, indeed, most of the literature on music collection focuses on these later periods. To demonstrate the uniqueness of Malchair’s collection and to analyse it in context of eighteenth-century collecting activities, I will spend the next year of my research comparing his work with a number of other manuscript tunebooks and printed music collections, as well as comparing his collecting methods to the methods of collectors of antiquities, poetry, and songs in the same period, which all demonstrate a number of overlaps with Malchair’s work. 1: WA1925.22 John Baptist Malchair, The entrance to Oxford from London, from recollection, 16 July 1790 © Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford. 2: WA1928.173 John Baptist Malchair, Christ Church from St Aldates, 1787 © Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford. 3: WA1925.174 John Baptist Malchair, Friar Bacon’s Study, Folly Bridge © Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford.
ST CROSS COLLEGE MAGAZINE
|
2016
27
28
CROSSWORD
|
2016
ST CROSS COLLEGE MAGAZINE
|
2016
29
These photographs have been reproduced by kind permission of Gillman & Soame Photographers. Photographs can be reordered by visiting www.gsarchive.co.uk or calling 01869 328 200.
DONORS TO ST CROSS COLLEGE AUGUST 2014 – JULY 2015
Thanks to the generosity of College members and friends, we have had an exceptional year of fundraising. Every donation and gift to St Cross makes a difference to the quality of the experience we can offer our students today and in the future. This list of names reflects donations made between 1 August 2014 and 31 July 2015.
INDIVIDUAL DONORS Mr William Ackerman Mr Kashif Afzal Mr Hardeep Aiden Professor Mary Aime Dr Susan Allen Ms Jamie Aller Mr Malcolm Allison Mr Andrew Amend Dr Brecken Armstrong Kelsey Professor Jonathan Arnold Dr Rachel Asante-Owusu Dr Michael Athanson Professor Jere Bacharach Dr Yahia Baiza Mr Steven Baker Ms Judith Barr The Revd Professor John Barton Mr Stephen Bass Dr Michael Bates Dr Eelco Batterink Professor Joan Bennett Mr Peter Benton Dr Neeraj Bhala Dr Saif Bham Mrs Malgorzata Bialokoz Smith Dr Timothy Biggs Mr Jonathan Bird Sir Walter Bodmer Dr Jennifer Bonsell Mr Simon Bonvoisin Dr Carlos Borsa Professor Sir Michael Brady
30
CROSSWORD
|
2016
Dr Simon Brain Mr Richard Briant Mr Dennis Britton Professor Sir Richard Brook Mrs Helen Brown Mr Rory Browne Dr David Browning Dr Katarina Burnett Dr Claire Burns Professor Kenelm Burridge Mr John Campbell Ms Sharon Carlson Mr Samidh Chakrabarti Professor W. G. Chaloner Dr Mary Chamberland Mr Hung Cheng Dr Lanna Cheng Lewin Ms Hilary Clauson Dr Roger Collins Dr Victor Cook Mrs Esmerent Cope Bowley Professor Stephanie Cragg Mr Alasdair Crawford Ms Cailin Crockett Professor Peter Day Mr Muzahir Degani Professor John Dewey Dr Elona Dhembo Dr Ziqian Ding Dr James Dodd Professor Michael Dunne Dr Michael Durkin
Ms Natasha Ebtehadj Professor Peter Edwards Mr Chris Elings Mr Tomiwa Erinosho Dr Bronwen Everill Miss Emma Farrant Ms Cynthia Fellows Dr Benjamin Fenby Dr Brian Fence Dr Christopher Ferguson Dr Aliza Finkler Dr Margret Frenz Mr Noel Fuller Dr Edward Furgol Miss Shelley Xiaoyan Gao Dr Katharine Gearing Mr Anthony Geffen Dr Eva Gluenz Dr Grizelda Graham Professor Thomas Griffith Mr Rui Guo Professor Sir John Gurdon Dr Pär Gustafsson Dr Klaus Hachmeier Professor David Haig Dr Alison Hall Mr Derek Harrison Professor Henrietta Harrison Mr Tom Hassall Mr John Hendry Ms Hilary Henson Mr Paul Hermann
Professor Susan Hockey Mr Frederick Hodcroft Ms Suzy Hodge Professor Jonathan Hodgkin Dr William Honey Professor Ronald Hope Professor Lord Julian Hunt Dr Simon Hunt Miss Laura Hurst Dr Kenneth Hylson-Smith Dr Kawori Iguchi Professor Harold Jaffe Ms Patricia Jayne Dr Brent Jenkins Professor Wendy Johnson Professor Alan Jones Professor Jonathan Jones Sir Mark Jones Professor Martin Jones Mr Joseph Jordan Dr Professor Mrinal Kaul Mrs Karin Keeble Ms Laura King Professor Sir John Kingman Professor Dame Frances Kirwan Professor Marc Knight Professor Kristine Krug Dr Geoffrey Lairumbi Miss Georgia Latsi Mrs Judith Ledger Dr Anthony Lemon Mr Adam Levin
COMPANIES, TRUSTS & FOUNDATIONS Americans for Oxford Interest Account Art Fund Databiology Ltd Ethiopian Academy of Sciences Fullerscope Services Ltd Google Ltd
Landis International Inc Mabs Mardulyn Foundation Royal Microscopical Society Society for Applied Microbiology Southend High School for Girls St Hilda’s College
TCS Biosciences Ltd Uehiro Foundation on Ethics and Education Wolfson Foundation
LEGACY PLEDGES Dr Philip Beckett
ANONYMOUS DONORS We would also like to thank 14 anonymous donors to the College.
INDIVIDUAL DONORS Mr Yuxuan Li Dr Petros Ligoxygakis Dr Mary Lloyd Mr Jonathan Lloyd-Davies Dr Laura López Pascua Dr Anastassia Loukina Ms Victoria Love Mr Alan Lowne and Mrs Carol Lowne Professor Terence Lyons Dr Johannes Machielsen Mr Manuel Manrique Gil Mr Les Mara Dr Aruna Marasingha Mr Peter Mathias Mr Panos Mavrokonstantis Professor Nicholas Mayhew Mr Robert McLatchie Dr Elizabeth Mellor Dr Michael Milner Dr David Mitchell Mr Prashant Mohan Dr Michelle Momany Mr Jasper Morgan Dr Charles Mould Dr John Moussouris Dr Penny Moyle Mr Vladimir Mukanaev Mr Ryan Murray Dr Beatrix Nagyova Mr Steve Ngo Professor Richard Nichols
Mr Michael Noone Mr M. F. Norman Professor Berl Oakley Mr Jonathan Oakley Dr Ana Oliveira Mr Paul Oliver Dr Joseph Olliver Dr Suzanne O’Shea Ms Algi Ozbarcin Dr Jacqueline Papo Mr David Parker Mr Yogesh Patel Dr Jack Paton Dr Margaret Pelling Mrs Bronwen Percival Professor Fran Platt Professor Sir Martyn Poliakoff Mrs Monique Praill Dr Catherine Price Mr Alexander Rayner Mrs Catherine Remmington Viscount Matthew Ridley Mr Christian Rieck Mrs Chris Roberts Professor Steve Roberts Professor Derek Roe Mr David Rogers Mr Ivan Romanovski Ms Jessica Sack Dr Almut Scherer Dr Katharine Scott Dr Mustapha Sheikh
Dr Ji Young Shin Dr Elena Simakova Ms Therese Skatun Dr Lorna Smith Mr Kuo Tong Soo Dr Thomas Soper Professor Garrison Sposito Mr Charles Starkie Mr Peter Strong Professor Azim Surani Dr Glenn Swafford Dr Alan Taylor Mr Bernard Taylor Mr Clive Tee Mr Nigel Thomas Dr John Tiffany Dr Andrea Tighe Professor Dr Philip Tinker Mr William Tollett Miss Abigail Tompkins Miss Mary Tregear Professor Miltiades Tsiantis Dr Richard Tucker Dr Ruth van Heyningen Ms Anne Vandenabeele Mr Marc Vastenavondt Professor Martin Vessey Dr Michael Ward Professor David Warrell Professor Bernard Wasserstein Mr Simon White Dr Eric Whittaker
Mr Douglas Wigdor Mrs Julia Wigg Dr Edward Williamson Dr Paul Williamson Professor Lord Robert Winston Mr Brian Woolnough Ms Mengbing Xi Mr Weijun Xu Dr Oleksandr Zhurakovskyi Professor Jack Zussman
ST CROSS COLLEGE MAGAZINE
|
2016
31
ST CROSS PHOTOGRAPHY COMPETITION 2016 This year’s photography competition, entitled ‘Four Corners’, saw a varied and accomplished selection of photos from all over the world submitted to the College’s Arts Committee. Photos were judged taking into account the photographers’ technical skill and how well they interpreted the theme. The winning entry was ‘The man who walked around the world’ submitted by DPhil student Siyu Chen. Siyu also won the Hilary Term competition with his charming entry ‘We take the Golden Road to Samarkand’, featuring the famous St Cross teddy bear posing in the College’s armillary sundial. The Master presented Siyu with prizes for both competitions at Encaenia on 22 June, where guests were able to view all competition entries on display in the Common Room.
32
CROSSWORD
|
2016
Placing second was alumna (DPhil Modern Greek, 1987) Sarah Ekdawi’s entry ‘Sunrise on the Mekong’.
‘We take the Golden Road to Samarkand’ by Siyu Chen.
DPhil student Paolo Rosson’s entry ‘Columns and Quatrefoils’ placed third.
ST CROSS COLLEGE MAGAZINE
|
2016
33
THE COLLEGE YEAR
THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY GAUDY The College’s 50th Anniversary Celebratory Gaudy rounded off a year of events in celebration and commemoration of the past 50 years at St Cross. Alumni, Fellows and friends from all four corners came back to the College, with old friends reconnecting over the weekend’s programme. On Thursday 1 October 2015 the Fellows’ Dinner marked the official 50th anniversary of the College. Michelin Star chef John Campbell joined our own kitchen team to produce a specially conceived four-course menu for the occasion. Chancellor of the University Lord Patten gave the after-dinner speech, remarking on the significant growth and achievements of the College and its bright future, represented by the new building taking shape in view of the dining hall. Saturday 3 October saw the arrival of alumni and friends, and the College’s alumni representatives enjoyed a special breakfast to start the day. An impressive array of tea and cakes awaited arriving guests in the Common Room, and old friends had a chance to catch up and share news.
Alumnus Doug Wigdor (MLitt Social Studies, 1993) gave the first lecture of the day, on the topic of “Litigation challenges involved in prosecuting sexual assault cases”. Doug drew on his considerable experience as one of the leading labour and employment lawyers in the US to speak about two recent cases with which he was able to bring about lasting change to the laws protecting women against sexual assault. The second lecture was delivered by Diarmaid MacCulloch, Professor of the History of the Church and Fellow of the College. He spoke about his most recent programme Sex and the Church, which aired on BBC Two in 2015, and the challenges involved in bringing such a topic to the screen. An experienced broadcaster, Diarmaid regaled everyone with tales from the world of documentary making. Guests were then treated to a champagne buffet lunch in Hall, and guest speaker Professor Sally Mapstone, alumna (DPhil English, 1982) and then Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Education fondly remembered her years at St Cross and the lasting connections she
Director of Development Susan Berrington, Lady Patten, Lord Patten and Master Sir Mark Jones
Founding Fellow Dr Ruth van Heyningen
Alumnus Doug Wigdor
Alumnus Dr James Dodd
had made whilst a student at the College. After lunch, Project Manager Richard Todd led tours around the building site, explaining the progress made so far. College Fellow and archivist Professor Emilie Savage-Smith gave the final lecture of the day, on “a History of St Cross”. Emilie discussed the significant challenges faced by the Founding Fellows of St Cross in establishing a new college within the University, the ‘Wooden Hut’ days when the College was situated on St Cross Road, the move to St Giles, and the notable figures along the way that have helped St Cross to become the college it is today. The lecture was greatly enhanced by the presence of Fellows and alumni from the College’s first days, including the College’s first ever matriculated student, Professor Roger Kitching (DPhil Zoology, 1966), who were able to reminisce and contribute their own memories of St Cross. Emilie also presented an exhibition of some of the College’s archival material and photos. The evening’s celebrations began with Evensong in Pusey House Chapel, an opportunity for quiet reflection. A drinks reception followed, at which the Master Sir Mark Jones thanked all those attending, particularly those who had travelled from afar. The Master presented the Alumnus of the Year 2015 award to Roger Kitching, the College’s first matriculated student, and Roger paid tribute to those who had made his time at St Cross so memorable. We were delighted that Roger and his wife Beverley were able to travel from Australia to attend the Gaudy. The Master took the opportunity to thank those that have so generously supported St Cross over the last 50 years. He presented the College’s commemorative 50th anniversary medal to those supporters present: Doug Wigdor, Dr Lanna Cheng Lewin and Dr James Dodd. The Master also presented the medal to Professor Dame Hermione Lee, alumna and President of Wolfson College, paying tribute to the close connection and history that St Cross and Wolfson share. Dame Hermione also gave the after-dinner speech, emphasising the importance of St Cross’ egalitarian and international ethos. We were also delighted that Founding Fellow Dr Ruth van Heyningen was able to attend and be presented with the College’s medal.
ST CROSS COLLEGE MAGAZINE
|
2016
35
Later in October, the College hosted a Poetry Prizegiving and Hall to celebrate the conclusion of the 50th Anniversary ‘Four Corners’ Poetry Competition. College members, poets and those involved with poetry from the University and beyond gathered in the Common Room for a drinks reception, prizegiving and poetry reading evening. Hosted by ViceMaster Professor Rana Mitter and Fellow Dr Kate Venables, the competition’s organiser, the evening also served to launch the St Cross Poetry Anthology, featuring the commended and winning poems. Readings were given by the competition winners Di Slaney and alumnus
Thomas Paul Burgess (MSc Educational Studies, 1989), and by the competition’s judges Mimi Khalvati and Giles Goodland, and guests enjoyed a special Poetry Hall to round off the evening. Please contact the Alumni Office if you would like to purchase a copy of the poetry anthology. In November, Director of Development Susan Berrington travelled to Chicago and enjoyed an intimate dinner at the University Club with alumni at the USA Founders’ Feast. As December came around, College members enjoyed a festive favourite in the St Cross Calendar: the Carol Service
Chicago Founders’ Feast
held in Pusey Chapel. The St Cross College Choir, made up of students, staff, Fellows and friends, were led by Former Fellow Peter Ward Jones, and
In March the College welcomed alumni and their families and friends to the annual ‘Fred’s Lunch’. We were delighted that Founding Fellow Fred Hodcroft, after whom the event is named, was able to attend. The Master took the opportunity to present him with the College’s medal and celebrate all that he has done for the College.
The Master with Professor Luciano Floridi at our London Winter Drinks 2015
Alumni and friends travelled to London for our annual Winter Drinks at the Oxford and Cambridge Club. We were delighted that Fellow Professor Luciano Floridi could join us, and he treated guests to a very entertaining and enjoyable talk entitled “Artificial Intelligence: Should You Be Worried?”, which sparked a lively debate and Q&A session afterwards. A champagne reception followed, with Sue Berrington and Sir Mark taking the opportunity to relay the latest West Quad news as the building reached roof level.
Amsterdam Reunion
We rang in 2016 with our inaugural alumni reunion in Amsterdam. Alumni and guests enjoyed a cruise down the Amster, and caught up with friends over lunch and drinks. We were delighted to welcome so many guests to our first event in the Netherlands. Sir Mark and Sue Berrington then travelled to Berlin for an alumni dinner at the Sky Kitchen, with fantastic views over the city.
36
CROSSWORD
|
2016
sang a sparkling programme of carols old and new. We are grateful, as always, to all at Pusey who make this a fantastic event year on year.
March also saw the College host the annual Audrey Blackman Society Lunch which serves as an opportunity to thank those that intend to leave a legacy to the College. It was a pleasure to welcome friends and supporters to St Cross to thank them personally. Sir Mark remarked on the dedicated support and philanthropy of St Cross members in his closing speech. This dedicated support was apparent in our annual Telethon Campaign, also in March. A fantastic £30,000 was donated by alumni towards the West Quad Campaign and our Student Support Campaign. We are deeply grateful to all who gave, and to our wonderful team of student callers. In April, Sir Mark and Sue Berrington travelled to Washington DC for an alumni reunion as part of the University’s ‘Meeting Minds’ Alumni Weekend. With so many alumni in
Washington our events there are always fantastically well attended and we were delighted to get the chance to speak to so many alumni there. Once again the dinner and reception were held at the wonderful Georgetown Alumni House in central Washington DC.
Tokyo Alumni
Back in Oxford, College members and the public alike enjoyed the second Lorna Casselton Memorial Lecture, given by Professor Ada Yonath, Nobel Laureate, on “Global Challenges in Modern Medicine and in Revealing the Origin of Life”. At the start of June Director of Development Susan Berrington travelled to Australia and New Zealand for the College’s first alumni reunions there. Despite rather inclement weather, Sue enjoyed a good turnout in Sydney for a harbour cruise and lunch. In Auckland, guests were treated to a private curatorial tour of the Auckland Art Gallery.
Our first reunion in Japan took place in May, at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Tokyo. Sir Mark and Sue hosted lunch for alumni and their guests and hugely enjoyed the opportunity to meet alumni in such a fascinating city.
Our Auckland reunion
Alumni in Sydney
Later in June, College members celebrated Encaenia with a garden party in the Quad. The Master presented the 2016 Inez Oliver Essay Prize to Social Science of the Internet student Bryce Goodman, for his essay ‘The Informational Commons’. Student Siyu Chen was also presented with prizes for winning both the Hilary and Trinity Term photography competitions (see page 32). Inez Oliver Essay Prize winner Bryce Goodman with the Master
Photography competition winner Siyu Chen
ST CROSS COLLEGE MAGAZINE
|
2016
37
The St Cross Members of Common Room took the opportunity to give Sir Mark a farewell gift: a printed textile work by John Piper. Alasdair Crawford, Member of Common Room, thanked the Master for his support of College members and his lasting contributions to the College. Tours were then given of the new building, led by architects Níall McLaughlin, Gillian Brady and Tilo Guenther, and project manager Richard Todd. Later in the evening College members attended a Farewell Dinner for the Master, where he was presented with gifts from the College Fellowship. Vice-Master Professor Rana Mitter paid tribute to Sir Mark and conveyed his thanks for the last five years.
Níall McLaughlin leads Encaenia guests on a tour of the building.
‘Three generations of Pitt Rivers’ – St Cross Fellows Dr Dan Hicks, Dennis Britton, and Professor Chris Gosden
July brought the College Ball, with the theme of ‘To the Four Corners of the World’. Mirroring the College’s motto, the ball reflected the international nature and global outlook of St Cross, with delicacies and drinks from all over the world, eclectic music and guests encouraged to wear national dress. In honour of the occasion, the Ball Committee commissioned Hook Norton Brewery to create a special St Cross ale, ‘Procrosstination’, which was served on the night. More recently, Sue Berrington has been visiting Canada, where she welcomed alumni to our Vancouver and Toronto reunions. Our annual Family Afternoon Tea allowed us to welcome many alumni back to College to meet our new Master, Carole Souter. At the start of 2017 we will be travelling to San Francisco and hope to see many of you there. All dates for your diary are on the back page and at www.stx.ox.ac.uk/alumni. At the time of writing, our new students – 230 in all – are beginning to arrive and settle into College life. We have already shown our new West Quad residents into their new home and look forward to seeing the building come to life and add to the life of the College. This coming academic year marks a new era for St Cross, and we hope you share in our excitement as we look to the future.
38
CROSSWORD
|
2016
If you would like a digital copy of any of the featured images in this issue of Crossword please contact communications@stx.ox.ac.uk.
Encaenia
Encaenia
The Master’s Farewell Dinner
Students at the St Cross Ball 2016 Students at the St Cross Ball 2016
Students at the St Cross Ball 2016
DATES FOR YOUR DIARY London Winter Drinks Monday 5 December 2016
Fred’s Lunch Saturday 18 March 2017
St Cross and Pusey House Carol Service Tuesday 6 December 2016
Encaenia Wednesday 21 June 2017
San Francisco Alumni Reunion Saturday 28 January 2017
Alumni Afternoon Tea Saturday 16 September 2017
A range of informal reunion events take place throughout the year in College and at various locations throughout the world. You can keep updated on events near you through our social media streams, College website and email communications.
ST CROSS CENTRE FOR THE HISTORY AND PHILOSOPHY OF PHYSICS Booking is required for HAPP events. Please visit www.stx.ox.ac.uk/happ/events Lecture: “Particle Physics since 1945 and the Emergence of the Standard Model” given by Professor Sir Jim Virdee FRS Thursday 20 October 2016
One-Day Conference: “A History of the Moon” Saturday 19 November 2016
Follow us on social media:
ST CROSS COLLEGE UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD
To book a place for any of the above events, please contact the Development and Alumni Relations Office: Alumni Relations Office St Cross College 61 St Giles Oxford OX1 3LZ United Kingdom Tel: +44 (0)1865 278 480 E: alumni@stx.ox.ac.uk