A Letter from the Mistress

My first ‘Mistress’s Letter’ comes with a hefty sprinkling of enthusiasm after a fantastic year absorbing, enjoying and throwing myself into the huge array of activities that characterise Girton. This is without doubt the busiest, buzziest college I’ve ever experienced.

Arriving at Girton was a (happy) baptism of fire: a tea-drinking marathon as I met every single fresher face-toface; a majestic ceremony and dinner to mark my installation; a moving commemoration of benefactors; a dinner to mark our foundation; a robeflowing ceremony to admit Scholars, Exhibitioners and Fellows; a joyful party for new Fellows; not to mention the students cheerfully including me in their Freshers’ Week events: GADS showing no mercy in their opening musical as they ribbed the new Mistress (alongside the perennial character of the wicked plotting Bursar). There were myriad choir performances; research presentations; JCR yoga; apple harvesting; football matches…I could go on. Surely the College could not keep up this pace? Yes it could!

That initial fortnight of non-stop drama turned out to be merely the opening curtain on what was to be a fantastic year-long play in three very active acts: Michaelmas, Lent and Easter, plus a lengthy curtain call as our international programmes sprang back to life over the summer. Girton is nothing if not industrious – at every level: teaching, research, sports, music, drama, art, activism, volunteering, entertaining, conferencing, summer programmes – and through it all, Girton is always learning, always enjoying, always advancing. I have also been joined by many other new faces this year among the Fellowship: you can read all about them in the pages that follow, but I want to extend a special welcome to our exceptional new Senior Tutor, Professor Toni Williams.

I’ve marvelled too at just how much goes on behind the scenes at Girton. As I’ve walked around our stunning grounds, bounded up the Tower to peer around, wandered along our corridors and toured our vast kitchens, I’m filled with admiration at the enormous team effort that goes into making our College run smoothly. This is greatly helped by some excellent new Heads of Department: Deji Olaniyi-Maxwell, our trailblazing Head of Welfare and Wellbeing; Julia Andersson, our visionary Head Gardener; Stephen Fleming, our always welcoming Head Porter;

Andrew Enticknap, our super-charged Head of Finance; Hugh Matthews, our long-suffering yet always creative Head Chef; and Maxine Purdie, our savvy new Head of Catering and Conferencing. We can all rest easy that our College is in safe hands.

It is a huge privilege to be based at the heart of this lively College. I love the day-to-day running across colleagues and students, sometimes quite literally as I jog around our beautiful perimeter in an effort to counteract the dangerous talents of the College kitchens. I’ve also really enjoyed meeting some of you on my visits to the USA and Singapore together with our Development Director, Deborah Easlick. I can’t wait to visit more of you to update you on new developments and listen to your ideas. I want to take this opportunity to thank Deborah for her service to College over the past seven years and wish her a happy and no doubt active retirement.

Many new initiatives are underway, from digitised task lists and action logs to communication firsts such as ‘Spotlight Girton’ and exciting video projects, all produced in-house. You can keep up with all we’re doing and publishing by following our social media feeds. I particularly want to highlight our new series of reflections exploring Girton’s Legacies of Enslavement as the College seeks to clarify its own knowledge of itself. We are very fortunate to have former Mistress Professor Dame Marilyn Strathern steering us through the sensitive curation of these important narratives.

As Girtonians, we can feel proud of being part of something really special. Our College is blessed with outstanding Fellows whose teaching and research continue to push boundaries, dedicated staff who keep the College ticking over so successfully, talented students who bring joy in the present and instil hope for the future and gloriously diverse alumni whose post-Girton trajectories prove that it’s all worthwhile. This is, of course, a wonderful testament to my predecessors, and I particularly want to thank Professor Susan J. Smith for her 13 stellar years of stewardship.

You will be hearing again from me in the next few pages, so I’ll resist the temptation to go on. Let me close by saying that, if I reflect on all the impressions Girton has made on me over my first year, I realise that what I love most is the College’s cheerful spirit and can-do attitude, doubtless inspired by its pioneering history. It’s easy to take this for granted or pass over it in the all-consuming hustle and bustle of our packed terms, but it is a terrific asset and –I believe – exceptional among colleges. While there is no doubt that Girton’s academic excellence is truly world-class, it is this caring, inclusive and happy ethos that makes Girton so distinct. It is a quality greatly cherished by our Fellows, valued by our staff, fondly remembered by our alumni, remarked on by our visitors and loved by our students.

So, in case you haven’t noticed, I can report that I am a 100% fully converted Girtonian and that I feel extraordinarily lucky to have landed in this special corner of Cambridge. I want to thank you all for your extremely warm welcome and for helping to make this an unforgettable first year of ‘Mistressing’.

Elisabeth Kendall, Mistress