Lucy Cavendish Star

LUCY CAVENDISH

EDITION ONE SUMMER 2017

STAR THE NEWSLETTER FOR LUCY CAVENDISH COLLEGE

Rowing to victory We celebrate three students in the winning Boat Race crew

Shami Chakrabarti Read an interview with our new Honorary Fellow

Anna Bidder Society Celebrating and honouring our legators

Telephone campaign We catch up with alumnae and friends

Alumnae news We receive a gift of £500,000 for student support

WELCOME > Welcome to the first issue of the Lucy Cavendish Star, our new annual newsletter for alumnae and friends.

This first issue of the Star brings together some of the highlights of the year so far from our alumnae, Fellows, students and staff. We interview new Honorary Fellow, Baroness Shami Chakrabarti who told us why she thinks this is the perfect time for her to join an all-female College. We catch up with progress at our new accommodation on Histon Road with Charlotte Fiehn, a student who lives there with her two children. We also include a report on our telephone fundraising campaign, and we do sincerely thank everyone who answered the phone to our wonderful student callers.

Compiling stories for newsletters like this one is a great reminder of how much we achieve here every term and how special this community is. I truly understand why so many alumnae choose to stay in touch with each other and with Lucy Cavendish College.

Thank you to everyone who attended our events this year and to all the contributors to this newsletter.

These days we rely on emails, social media and our award-winning website to communicate our immediate and daily news (you can find the details of all of these on page 12). However, many of you tell us that nothing beats taking a break from the screen and sitting down for a proper read now and then. We do hope you enjoy reading this publication, and would welcome any suggestions about what you would like to see included next time.

Kate Coghlan, Editor

Contents Page 3

Student News and Elevenses with our Librarian

Page 4

Interview with Baroness Shami Chakrabarti

Page 6

Living at Histon Road

Page 7

An update on The Anna Bidder Society

Page 8

A student caller reports on our telephone campaign

Page 9

Meet our team and the Alumnae Association

Page 10

Alumnae News

Page 12

Upcoming events and Ways to stay in touch

Krc36@cam.ac.uk

Why the STAR? The inspiration behind the name ‘Lucy Cavendish Star’ is the little gold stars in our College shield of arms, which are symbols of light and reflect the name of Lucy.

Stars are often associated with bringing news from afar.

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Contributors: Rachel Hill, Catherine Thornley Photographs: Martin Bond, Kate Coghlan Design: Cameron | Print: Healeys

STUDENT NEWS RAISING FUNDS FOR A CHILDREN’S LITERATURE COLLECTION The award for the ‘best student fundraisers’ so far this year must go to PhD students Jen Aggleton and Jessica Lim who run the Children’s Literature Society. In their quest to raise funding for a collection of children’s literature, they have put on numerous events including a Roald Dahl supper, the Children’s Literature Formal Hall (with speakers), The Art of the Children’s Book evening, a piano recital by Jessica and a cake sale on World Book Day. Their second symposium on 10 May sold out quickly and the fund for their collection currently stands at just under £500.

ROWING TO VICTORY

We were proud to cheer on three of our students in the recent Cancer Research Boat Races: Melissa Wilson and Myriam Goudet in the Cambridge University Women’s Boat Club crew and Olivia Jamrog in the Lightweights crew. Both crews rowed to victory, with CUWBC winning for the first time since 2012 and completing in the record time of 18 minutes and 33 seconds.

Meanwhile, our combined College club HHLCC Boat Club has had a busy year training more novices than ever before.

They even persuaded College President Jackie Ashley to give rowing a go for the first time, along with Admissions Tutor Victoria Harvey and our own Development Director Sarah Westwood.

Following strong performances at the Bedford Head, the Pembrooke Regatta, the Lent Bumps and the Women’s Head of the River Race, we await the May Bumps with eager anticipation.

A GROWING REPUTATION FOR RUGBY

The College hit the sports pages when it was announced that current Captain of the Cambridge University Women’s Rugby Club, Alice Middleton would hand over her title to fellow Lucy Cavendish student Lara Gibson later this year. Both played in the team for the last two Varsity matches (winning in 2015 and losing in 2016) and Lara says she has great plans to win back the Cup later this year. Join us to watch at Twickenham if you want to help cheer them on!

SPEED MENTORING WITH ASTRAZENECA We were delighted to welcome 22 female leaders from biopharmaceutical company AstraZeneca for an innovative ‘speedmentoring’ event. The informal evening provided students with a platform to meet some of AstraZeneca’s female science leaders and gain perspectives on potential career paths in STEM. Oshi Abeyakoon (PhD Radiology) said: “It was refreshing to meet a group of individuals who really felt like a team and connected with students across disciplines.

It opened our eyes to opportunities that we didn’t know existed.”

ELEVENSES WITH… > Céline Carty, Librarian

Easter is our busiest term and often every desk is in use.

We give practical support including printing dissertations and moral support such as encouraging people to take a break from revision. Students like to switch off from study with jigsaw puzzles or colouring books, and we’ve even had a few requests for Lego.

One of our most popular initiatives is ‘elevenses’, when anyone from the College can gather for a hot drink and fruit or a biscuit while they chat.

Students say it’s a great place to mix across subjects and generations. The bi-weekly sessions became so popular that our President has agreed to fund daily ‘elevenses’ this term to keep spirits up during exam season.

The most rewarding part of my job is seeing students through the journey of their time here.

One PhD student visited with her children last week and we celebrated her passing her Viva. The toughest part of the job is balancing resources.

We would love to say “yes” to every request but our time and budgets are limited.

We are very lucky here though; it is a great library for a College of this size and students and alumnae are supportive and engaged. We receive some great comments on our feedback wall and many generous donations, including enough funding from the student-run Children’s Literature Society to start a good collection.

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IN CONVERSATION With Shami Chakrabarti The College was delighted to announce the appointment of Baroness Shami Chakrabarti CBE as an Honorary Fellow this spring. Her appointment was marked with an official ceremony on 2 March 2017, followed by a talk and discussion with students.

Baroness Chakrabarti is the Shadow Attorney General and a member of the House of Lords.

She is Chancellor of the University of Essex, Honorary Professor of Law at the University of Manchester, Honorary Fellow of Mansfield College, Oxford and a Master of the Bench of Middle Temple. She was Director of Liberty, the National Council for Civil Liberties from 2003 to 2016, and a member of the panel of the Leveson Inquiry, the judicial inquiry into UK phone hacking in 2011.

Her first book, On Liberty, published in 2014, highlights the many threats to our fundamental rights of freedom, equality and dignity. >

Interview by Kate Coghlan (Editor) and Ellen Gage (second-year English student)

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My motto is that anyone’s equal, no-one’s superior.

> Joining Lucy Cavendish as an Honorary Fellow is a privilege. It feels like a real opportunity and a lovely fit. Part of what makes Lucy Cavendish unique is its identity as a women’s College. I’ve been to many Colleges all over the world, but I think you’ve got something really special here. I love the vibe; there’s a feeling of collective experience and community.

When I visited on International Women’s Day 2016, I spoke about women’s issues and the Human Rights Act. What a year it’s been!

My perspective is quite different now.

We’ve had Brexit and Donald Trump. These factors are a particular threat to women.

Trump’s attitude to women is terrifying.

He describes women as dogs, as bitches, and jokes about journalists menstruating.

He had the audacity to ban US NGOs from doing their work, surrounded by men.

However, the upside is the opportunity to unite against adversity. There has never been a better time for a resurgence of feminism.

The other side of that image is the one of the Swedish Deputy Prime Minister signing a climate change law, surrounded by women.

The picture speaks for itself. This is a moment of adversity but also of opportunity, particularly for feminism.

A year ago, I’d have said that financial pressure was the main issue facing students. I graduated in the 80s, in a recession. I know what it is to be uncertain, unemployed, to do bar work and

waitressing. However, my generation benefited from free education, from zero tuition fees and maintenance grants.

Now with Brexit you may not get the opportunities that I got; to study and travel freely in Europe, to be European.

That’s partly why I’m doing what I’m doing.

I’m not a career politician but I’m embarrassed about what my generation is doing to the next, so I’m trying to put it right.

My time at university was enriching. It gave me the confidence to hold my own. My motto is that anyone’s equal, no-one’s superior.

I wish I’d had that in my head when I was 20.

Be confident without being arrogant. I speak to so many senior, successful women – investment bankers, politicians, judges – who still have the imposter complex. That’s why solidarity is so important – reach out and support each other. I think lists like the ‘Woman’s Hour 100 Most Powerful Women in the UK’ [in which Shami featured in 2013] can be overplayed. We are all potential role models.

Politics, like Law, needs ‘good people with good hearts’. My transition into politics has been a challenge. My feminism has become the most important aspect of my political identity, and my motivation comes from the 2015 intake of Labour MPs, particularly the women. We have a very female shadow cabinet, and I urge people to get to know these new political voices; people like Rebecca Long Bailey, Sarah Champion and Debbie Abrahams. The Labour party has had a difficult time, but its future lies in its feminism.

When politics spits me out, I’ll carry on writing. I’m writing my second book, currently titled Of Women, which is my feminist book. Writing it has been very cathartic. Lack of gender equality is the single greatest collective injustice on the planet. My friends and I studied alongside men, and started our careers with them.

We were going to conquer the world together, but that hasn’t followed through.

We have to speed up the process of change.

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Living at Histon Road > BY STUDENT CHARLOTTE FIEHN (ENGLISH, 2015)

I was making dinner in our flat the other day when, underneath the window, I heard raucous laughter.

I quickly surmised that two of the children responsible for these outbursts were my own. About ten minutes before, both my kids had bolted outdoors to enjoy the last of the sunlight and, more crucially, to test out a new bubble machine they had persuaded me to buy at Hever Castle, of all places. The other two voices,however, were rather less familiar and, I guessed, rather younger...

> I had a quick look out of the window and spotted the other two kids - our downstairs neighbours - both of whom were bounding about, popping the bubbles that my son was distributing according to my daughter’s characteristically dictatorial instruction. Now, what I have just described, in many respects, is a typical example of what happens on any given evening (weather permitting) in most family homes. Yet, this particular scene wasn’t happening in a suburban backyard or a childfriendly urban pocket. Instead, it was happening on College grounds, and, yet more remarkably, on College grounds that include a quite substantial number of flats for families.

When my children and I came to Cambridge in 2015, for the start of my English undergraduate course, Histon Road was barely two years old. I remember a conversation I had with my mother, who has mixed feelings (at best) about a single mum going back to school. She warned me that college accommodation is not usually all that nice. She cited the experience of two of my siblings who studied in London. My dad probably chirped in too with some equally unhelpful comparison

to his own set at the other place. I had done my research, though, and short of having an actual tour, I was pretty confident that Histon Road was a different story, rather like Lucy, relative to most other colleges.

One of the reasons things are so different here is Lucy’s focus on supporting the education of women. Edwina Dunn (pictured above) and her husband chose to support Lucy and the development of Histon Road, specifically after first learning about the College and its unique mission.

She explained: “We loved everything about the College.

It fits in with the mission of my not-for-profit organisation ‘The Female Lead’, which is very much about supporting the unique situation of women and giving an opportunity to those who perhaps missed out on a traditional path to college.”

“It is also about recognizing how important woman are in society as role models.

The Jean Dunn room is named in honour of my mother and the role she played in my success”.

Personally, I think Histon Road stands out because it shows one of the ways Lucy really recognizes the unique situation of many female students and responds to them within its own sphere. To my eleven-year-old, our two-bedroom flat is “like a hotel”. And that, in a sense, is the point. To Jason, it’s like a hotel because of the keycard entry. To me, it’s like a hotel because of its emphasis on comfort, safety, and practicality. It is designed to support me as a student, and that is apparent in every detail, from storage space to the desk and chair set, to the relative affordability, the proximity to all other parts of the University, and the security of being a place for me and my kids to live for the duration of my degree.

I probably would have found a way to study at Lucy, even if College accommodation had been unavailable, but I know that my kids and I would be nowhere near as secure, nowhere near as happy, were it not for Histon Road.

> Lucy Cavendish is enormously grateful to Edwina Dunn, the Wolfson Foundation, and all those donors who contributed to the construction and ongoing costs of Histon Road.

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THE ANNA BIDDER SOCIETY CELEBRATING AND HONOURING OUR LEGATORS

Guests

In October, we celebrated the relaunch of the Anna Bidder Society, which was founded to say thank you to those alumnae and friends who have kindly remembered Lucy Cavendish in their wills. Members of the Society and their guests were invited to a celebratory lunch at Lucy Cavendish hosted by the Society’s first President, Pauline Perry, Baroness Perry of Southwark. Lunch was followed by a highly entertaining talk by crime writer and poet Sophie Hannah, who told us about her relationship with Hercule

MY LEGACY :

Sophie Hannah

Poirot, as captured in her latest novel Closed Casket.

The generosity of Society members will help to support the long-term financial security of the College for future generations of students. Membership of the Society is growing, and we hope to welcome even more of you to our second annual lunch on 21 October 2017, when the guest speaker will be our Honorary Fellow, Dame Stella Rimington, the first woman Director General of MI5.

Baroness Perry of Southwark

If you have mentioned Lucy Cavendish in your will, please do let us know so that we can include you in the Society’s membership and send you further details about the lunch.

If you are thinking about remembering Lucy Cavendish in your will – thank you.

Please do get in touch with the Development Office if you would like any help or information.

> CHRISTINA POOLE MAJERUS (ARCH & ANTH, 2006)

> When I think of Lucy Cavendish, I picture myself in the library, looking out over the gardens, and I remember the warm embrace of an inclusive and welcoming College.

I felt comfortable at Lucy Cavendish right from the start, even during my interview.

Lucy Cavendish students arrive with varied and interesting back stories and a wide range of life experiences, and I think that’s what gives the College its unique atmosphere. As an older mature student, it meant a lot to be considered, and accepted. I enjoyed my time at Lucy Cavendish immensely and threw myself into College life, sitting on the Library Committee and even representing the College on University Challenge! My personal circumstances meant that I didn’t need financial support, but if I hadn’t been married and already living in Cambridge, I wouldn’t

have been able to fund my studies myself.

I know that for many women, the cost of fees and accommodation can be a barrier to studying, especially later in life.

I will be leaving an unrestricted legacy gift to the College in my will, but also hope to be able to make smaller, ad hoc donations during my lifetime. I enjoyed my time at Lucy Cavendish so much that it feels right to give back. It gives me a stake in the College and its future. I’m quite envious of the women studying there now!

I come to alumnae reunions when I can, and enthusiastically encourage others to do the same.

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TELEPHONE CAMPAIGN IN NUMBERS

A REPORT ON OUR TELEPHONE CAMPAIGN BY STUDENT CALLER, HOLLIE WELLS (2016, ENGLISH TRIPOS)

367 367 ALUMNAE CALLED OVER TEN DAYS

Lucy 1 ALUMNA NAMED HER DAUGHTER LUCY!

CATCHING UP WITH ALUMNAE & FRIENDS FROM ARGENTINA TO ZIMBABWE > This March a group of ten Lucy Cavendish students took part in our first telephone fundraising campaign since 2010, and it was a resounding success.

Calling friends and alumnae from all over the world – and at all hours of the day and night – we were able not only to raise over £66,000 in pledged donations over the next four years, but also to reconnect and exchange stories and memories with the women who have helped carve out such a unique and trailblazing place for Lucy in the University’s history.

Sharing experiences spanning over 50 years, in a panoply of languages and from every corner of the world, the same message was repeated to us over and over: I spent the best days of my life at Lucy.

As students at a young college in this venerable old university, it’s easy to underestimate the significance of the

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College’s own past when we’re wandering round the daffodil-dotted gardens, or working away in a library that’s still only 15 years old. But what we were left with at the end of the telethon, besides the fond memories of being plied with pizza and Battleships, was the sense of our history as a vital, dynamic thing. The stories of our friends and alumnae all over the world reminded us of just how ground-breaking an institution Lucy has been and continues to be. With their generous support they have made it possible for us to continue to raise the academic bar, invest in our college facilities, and break down the barriers faced by women who come to Cambridge at different stages of our lives, bringing with us a kaleidoscope of past experiences and possibilities. We are so grateful.

25-83 DONORS AGED FROM 25 TO 83

117 COLLECTED 117 NEW TELEPHONE NUMBERS

57 COLLECTED 57 NEW EMAIL ADDRESSES

99 99 GIFTS CAME FROM NEW DONORS

THE DEVELOPMENT OFFICE > BY DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR SARAH WESTWOOD

Jo, Julia, Sarah and Tom

Sarah, Jo, Julia and Tom are the team who organise events for alumnae and supporters in Cambridge and further afield, and raise funds to support the work of Lucy Cavendish and its fantastic students. We are based in College House at the heart of Lucy Cavendish and always pleased to see its friends – do call in and say hello!

We would be delighted to have your feedback on this first edition of the Lucy Cavendish Star, and welcome suggestions for articles and regular features so please get in touch with us at the address below.

The Development Office Lucy Cavendish College Cambridge CB3 0BU 01223 339241

We look forward to seeing you back at Lucy soon!

Email: development@lucy-cav.cam.ac.uk

LUCY CAVENDISH ALUMNAE ASSOCIATION > BY PRESIDENT JUDITH ROBERTS

The Alumnae Association is having a very productive year, working to develop our two main purposes: supporting undergraduate and graduate students by offering bursaries and prizes; and providing opportunities for alumnae to meet each other, either in College or on Alumnae Association trips.

Our Association already supports students by way of a bursary and two prizes, one for contributions to the arts and the other for graduate excellence. We plan to offer a second bursary next year, for a graduate student on a one-year programme. We recognise the importance of assisting women who want to continue their academic studies in an increasingly competitive climate.

We also have fun! During this year we have enjoyed a variety of trips and events, including a guided tour of the Royal Opera House, visits to two historic Cambridge libraries (The Pepys and The Parker) and an evening at The Ivy Club in the company of Rory Bremner and Andrew Marr.

We have summer trips planned too, where we hope to meet more alumnae friends.

News of alumnae, their lives, careers and memories are published every term in Nautilus, our on-line newsletter.

We hope that you receive it – if not, then please contact the College Development Office. We look forward to seeing you at one of our events. | 09

ALUMNAE NEWS > BURSARY RECIPIENTS RETURN THE FAVOUR

Two alumnae who received bursaries during their time here have recently offered donations to support current students. Here are their stories:

Alumna Cynthia Hill (History, 1982) came to Lucy Cavendish with two small children. She has made a legacy pledge to the College and said:

Alumna Julia Jarzabkowski (Law, 1989) now splits her week between her role as Deputy District Judge on the South Eastern circuit and working as a barrister at the Law Commission. She has three children; her daughter is a second year medical student at Kings College London, her elder son starts at UCL London studying mechanical engineering in October and her younger son is doing his GCSEs. Julia said:

Lucy Cavendish was a hoot and I have very fond memories of my time there. I loved poking around the market stalls between lectures looking for vintage clothes or walking out to Grantchester for beers on the weekend.

I have chosen to donate to Lucy Cavendish because I received a bursary myself and it fed me for a year.

I was an undergraduate at Lucy in the 1980s while in my 40s and benefited from several bursaries and awards, without which I would not have been able to contemplate even starting my course. The support and understanding of all at Lucy to a young mother with two small sons was something I will never forget.

> ALUMNA TAMSIN WIMHURST DISCOVERS THE DAVID PARR HOUSE We recently published a blog on our website by alumna Tamsin Wimhurst (MSt History, 2005) who now manages an incredible local history project, The David Parr House. This Cambridge property looks like an ordinary terraced house from the outside, but contains treasures so special that she has now devoted her life to fundraising to restore it and open it to the public.

Of her time here, Tamsin said:

Lucy Cavendish College helped me to change direction by not only giving me the chance to go back to education but also by walking into a hallway, surrounded by paintings not of eminent men but eminent women, that inspired me to want to uncover more of women’s history and the role they played in our past.

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> THE POWER TO CHANGE THE WORLD We live in a world where millions of people cannot access affordable, reliable power. Working to solve this problem is Lucy Cavendish alumna, Enass Abo-Hamed. She is co-founder of H2GO Power, which develops low-cost hydrogen technologies to transform how we produce, store and access energy. Enass launched her company whilst completing a PhD in Chemistry at Lucy Cavendish.

Reflecting on her time in Cambridge, Enass said:

The College supported me in many ways, from sourcing my accommodation to providing travel grants that greatly enhanced my studies.

Through the Lucy Cavendish Women in Entrepreneurship programme I met one of H2GO’s co-founders. I also forged great friendships which have carried me through the tougher stages of my PhD and beyond.

As a recent Cartier Women’s Initiative Award finalist, Enass has joined a global network of leading female entrepreneurs who are solving contemporary challenges. This accolade opened up new opportunities to share the company’s vision, taking it from strength-to-strength.

It is possible to bring life-changing, affordable, safe, green power to millions of people – it is my ambition to make this happen.

> GIFT OF £500,000 FOR STUDENT SUPPORT We received our largest ever lifetime gift this academic year, in the form of £500k of shares in Abcam plc. The generous gift comes from Abcam’s Chief Operating Officer Jim Warwick, the husband of alumna Jane Dominey who completed her PhD in Criminology at the College in 2015. The donation will endow the Breaking Barriers Student Support Fund, funding a Dominey Bursary for an undergraduate and a Dominey Scholarship for a graduate student each year, with additional provision for hardship funds. Jane said:

Jim and I are keen to support women to study, regardless of their financial situation. The demands on students are greater now than ever before and we are pleased to be able to offer some help.

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UPCOMING EVENTS DATE

EVENT

INFORMATION

> Fri 16 June

Garden Party

4.30pm – 6.30pm. All invited. Please book online at http://www.lucy-cav.cam.ac.uk/events/

> Fri 22 Sept 2017 4pm

Alumni Festival Panel Discussion

Joint event with Newnham and Murray Edwards taking place at Lucy Cavendish.

“Feminism: back by popular demand? How women are responding to the rise of populism.”

> Sat 23 Sept 2017 7pm-9.30pm

Alumnae Reunion Dinner

At Lucy Cavendish College.

> Sat 21 Oct 2017

Anna Bidder Society Lunch

Lunch for legators and their guests followed by a talk from Dame Stella Rimington.

> TBC (End of October/ start of November)

Law Networking Reception

More details to follow on the College website later in the year. http://www.lucy-cav.cam.ac.uk/events/

> Sat 25 Nov 2017

Carols around the tree

More details to follow on the College website later in the year. http://www.lucy-cav.cam.ac.uk/events/

> Thursdays during term

Formal Hall

Alumnae, Associates and Emeritus Fellows are very welcome at Formal Hall which occur on most Thursdays and some Fridays during Term.

> Tues 6 Feb 2018

Save the date to celebrate centenary of women getting the vote!

We are planning a special celebration on 6 February 2018, the centenary of The Representation of the People Act when women first gained the vote. More details to follow on the College website later in the year. http://www.lucy-cav.cam.ac.uk/events/

For the latest information about Lucy Cavendish events, please keep an eye on the events section of the College website: http://www.lucy-cav.cam.ac.uk/events/

WAYS TO STAY IN TOUCH www.lucy-cav.cam.ac.uk Facebook@LucyCavCollege @lucycavcoll lucycavendishcollege development@lucy-cav.cam.ac.uk