Optima 8

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Optima i s s u e 8 • au t u m n 2 0 0 5

The Master’s farewell message

Brian and Christine Johnson

Sometime ago, I was travelling on the Jubilee Line when one of our Members who I remembered well from College, boarded the other end of my carriage and when our eyes met, she cheerily called along the carriage, “Hello Master!” Now, both she and I knew what a Master (of a College) was but as for those in the rest of the carriage, they did not! It was like being at Wimbledon, rows of heads swivelling from one end of the carriage to the other. You will appreciate that I’m not easily embarrassed, but on this occasion I flushed quite vividly. A memorable moment! I suppose this more than most illustrates the delight of being Master. Contact with members of the College is always a pleasure and I know, I have friends all over the world. Recently, I have travelled to the USA, Singapore, Australia and New Zealand, not to mention, Birmingham, Bristol, Edinburgh, Exeter and Bolton, meeting so many of you and hearing your lovely stories of good times spent here. In New Zealand, I met two delightful gentlemen who had arrived at Fitz together in the late fifties. As they said, “Even in those days we had a bath at least once a week”. (I replied, “Probably a sheep dip!”). In their lodgings, there was neither bathroom nor tub so, resourceful to the end, they’d watch rugby at Oxford Road (at least once a week!) and just before the game finished, nip into the pavilion for a quick bath. Now that’s Fitzwilliam spirit! In Bolton, I met the man who first suggested the Saturday fry-up for lunch (successfully!) and the man who provided an out-of-hours entrance and exit, to and from the College, through his window. Now, there’s Fitzwilliam enterprise! Everyone I met, whether they were at Fitzwilliam House or on the College site, had wonderful, happy stories to tell and were deeply grateful for the Fitzwilliam experience. These anecdotes bring me to consider my role of Master is to ensure that all aspects of a College run smoothly, effectively and well. Throughout my Mastership, I have maintained my teaching, research and administrative role within Chemistry and the University and I have endeavoured to be involved in the cutting edge of research. In this way, I felt that I could be better acquainted with the current difficulties that beset lecturers, researchers and, most importantly, our Junior Members. Of course, this final graduation term, sets free a wholly different set of emotions. Here, I sense from

the undergraduates, an overwhelming love of Fitzwilliam and all that they have achieved over the past years. Graduation Dinner, for me a true high spot of the academic process, is a wonderful occasion, charged with the realisation that this is our ‘final’ dinner together as a group. It is an occasion when we give thanks, one to another, for all that has been achieved. It also provides the opportunity to acknowledge the benefits of a Fitzwilliam education and recognise the importance of involvement, not only with one’s subject, but also with those other features which enable us to appreciate the role of others in society. The University world has changed greatly over the past forty years – more so in the last ten to fifteen, when it has become fashionable to bring far too much business mentality into University life. I recognise that there must be checks and balances and a true assessment of achievement and of course, we should all be aware of our responsibilities – as a student, as a Fellow, and as a Master. These days, the Master stands in for the ViceChancellor and awards degrees in the Senate House to his graduation flock. I love it. As each junior member approaches, slightly nervous and aware of the grandeur of the occasion, I feel very like Father Christmas; even my costume conveys that impression. Always, after the degree has been conferred in Latin, I whisper a few words in English, hopefully to the delight of the graduating member. It represents my last chance to convey how very much I have enjoyed their presence at Fitzwilliam and also to say the most difficult of goodbyes. We often meet again, either by chance (as I began) or by design, and although I retire in September, I look forward to welcoming many of you back to Fitzwilliam for that free lunch or dinner. Finally, in this my last letter in Optima, I should like to wish my successor, Robert Lethbridge, whom I remember arriving at College, every success and happiness as new Master and to pay tribute to all the staff and Members of the College, both past and present, who have enabled the College to make such outstanding progress over this past one hundred or so years.


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