New College Donor Impact Report 2022

Donor Impact Report 2022

Introduction from the Warden

Over the past few years the philanthropic support of Old Members has been both touching and striking.  Without that generosity, very many of the things we are doing to sustain College life and support our students would not have been possible.

During the pandemic we saw income fall significantly, but donations ensured that our support programmes could continue at a time when our students needed them most.  Today we face an even more challenging environment, of dramatically rising costs on almost every front.  Meanwhile, the students themselves, and their families, are going to live through a cost of living crisis which will increase inequalities in society.  I foresee the Student Financial Aid Fund being relied upon more than ever.

Looking to the future, we need to expand our access programmes further, showing still more students from underrepresented groups that Oxford, and New College, is open to all – especially in the subjects that are hard to recruit for.

Work has continued, despite everything, on our Gradel Quadrangles.  Opening next year, they will have a dramatic impact on perceptions of our ability to house our students without forcing them into the uncertainties of the private housing market.

While many things in the immediate future look uncertain, New College is more than up to facing the challenges that will come its way.  But we couldn’t do it without the support of our Old Members, and I thank you most sincerely.

MILES YOUNG WARDEN

Access & Outreach

Together, we are widening access to Oxford.

Being able to offer an education to outstanding students from a diverse range of backgrounds who wouldn’t otherwise be able to study at the College is so important. From welcoming Year 11-13 students through our Step-Up Programme, to funding postgraduate places for Black Academic Futures students, your support is helping to ensure that New College is an inclusive place to live and learn.

“The Step-Up programme is designed to deliver sustained contact to selected schools across the UK over two or three years, starting in Year 11 for schools and Year 12 for sixth forms. Sessions happen throughout the academic year in school and at New College, all free of charge to our schools. It has been a real joy to deliver the programme for the first time since the pandemic. I have been overwhelmed by the sheer enthusiasm and raw intellectual talent shown by our Step-Up pupils. Once they get past their initial fears, many of them are not only keen to apply to Oxford, but to raise their aspirations. Teachers often report their students taking on further reading, researching Oxford independently, and exploring a wider range of courses after a Step-Up visit. I was thrilled to know we would be expanding this year (although it does mean lots more driving for me!). None of this would be possible without our generous donors.”

SHELBY HOLMES OUTREACH OFFICER

“My time in Oxford has been all the more special for the diversity of people that I’ve met along the way - many of whom did not always see themselves as a typical Oxford student. I also applied to Oxford with the help of an outreach programme like Step-Up. Not only does widening access give young people the chance to study in a place full of opportunity and academic excellence, I believe Oxford itself benefits hugely from a greater wealth of individuals, their stories and experiences. As a Step-Up Ambassador, I have seen the difference that this programme has on state school students across the country. Lots of the brilliant students that I’ve met were unsure of how they’d fit in or how to begin such a daunting application process. This programme provides young people with the information and confidence to believe that they, too, can find their place in Oxford.”

EI LWIN 2ND YEAR MEDICINE STUDENT

“It was an extraordinary privilege to study at New College and to have access to the opportunities of student life here. It is important for me that I should donate to New College’s Access & Outreach appeals because I believe strongly that such a privilege should be available as widely as possible to students of all backgrounds who have the intellectual potential to thrive in Oxford. This is not only a matter of fairness and of promoting equality of opportunity. I also think that making the possibility of coming to New College real for under-represented groups is vital to New College’s continued success as an academic institution.”

JONATHAN FOWLES (1998)

Student Support

Together, we are supporting students in need.

Oxford can be a challenging environment and ensuring students are well supported once they arrive in College is incredibly important. Our student support programmes are here to help students when they need it. Whether it is a bursary that supports them through their entire time with us, a grant from the Student Financial Aid Fund in their time of need, or access to essential welfare services, our student support programmes can be vital in helping our students through their university years.

“I donate to the New College Student Financial Aid Fund simply because I want people to have the same opportunities I was so lucky to have. My family were comfortable but not well-off - my parents planned and saved for years so that my sister and I could benefit from university.  But it wasn’t easy - and I suspect in similar circumstances today, putting two children through higher education may be much more financially challenging. New College changed my life - in a slightly roundabout way it showed me what I wanted to do; it pushed and supported me to do the best I could; it gave me confidence; and it trained me to interpret, challenge, write, make links and ask good questions - skills I use every single day. It also gave me many of my dearest friends, even 30 years on - the only change is that we are now celebrating 50th birthdays instead of 21sts! So I know the difference it made to me - and I hope that by donating, I can help it to make that difference to other people too.”

ANNA CRISPE (1991)

“Students at New College benefit from a professional and well-resourced Welfare team available throughout term time to provide confidential and skilled support for a wide range of student concerns. The College separates welfare, decanal (discipline), and academic matters so that students can present with welfare issues and not be worried that these may be communicated to tutors or beyond (unless, of course, they permit it or it is necessary).The Welfare team has benefited greatly from access to a welfare fund, generously financed by alumni. Access is easy and quick for students: a short application note is reviewed by the Tutor for Welfare and Academic Registrar, for a sameday decision. Funds have been used for medical support equipment, assistive software, living costs for a student escaping an abusive home, and one-off private therapy; funds have also been used to train and upskill Welfare team members.”

JONATHAN BLACK PROFESSORIAL FELLOW AND TUTOR FOR WELFARE

“I would like to thank the Old Members of New College for their generous contributions to the Student Financial Aid Fund. The support I have received from the fund has allowed me to continue studies at Oxford by alleviating financial strain, which was particularly worsened by COVID-19. I hope the former students who donate to the fund or are considering donating understand how grateful we students are, especially those of us who experience hardships that might detract from our time at New College.

STUDENT

3RD YEAR MEDICINE

The Gradel Quadrangles

Oxford is one of the most expensive cities in the country, and finding private accommodation can be a daunting prospect and a significant financial strain on students. Having affordable rooms available to all of our students is crucial, and the new Gradel Quadrangles offer us the opportunity to provide this. The location is close enough to the main College site to ensure that all residents feel part of the New College community, and have easy access to all of the facilities they need to make the most of their time here. Donations to this project are helping us to provide a fantastic place to live and work for students for generations to come.

“Having heard an abundance of horror stories about student housing from friends and family, I was nervous about the prospect of looking for 3rd year accommodation. Powerful landlords, hordes of desperate students and awkward conversations about who’s living with who - a daunting task faced by most students. It’s a huge relief to not have to go down that road and to have such an incredible new development right on our doorstep. To be right in the centre of Oxford, near the College community, will be a great comfort when the going gets tougher and exam seasons begin. We can’t wait to move in!”

PATRICK MAYHEW JCR PRESIDENT 2ND YEAR HISTORY STUDENT

“When applying to New College, one of the worries that students have is, understandably, the question surrounding accommodation.   With the development of the Gradel Quads, not only will we be able to provide accommodation to the majority of our students for the entirety of their degree course, we will also be able to provide state-of-the-art student rooms, with shared living spaces and communal areas for our students to feel at home in.  Our students will have the opportunity to live in the historic 14thcentury buildings of New College whilst also sampling life in a 21st-century piece of cutting-edge architecture. We feel confident that this provision will hopefully quieten those worries that applicants have, and provide our students with an unforgettable opportunity to create a home-from-home that they will never forget.”

DANIEL POWELL HEAD OF OUTREACH & COMMUNICATIONS

Oxford is of course a wonderful place to study. But the city is one of the country’s most unaffordable places to live, and that can be daunting for students and a deterrent for some. So having guaranteed accommodation, close to the main College site, is really important and should relieve some of those worries. I am pleased to be part of this historic expansion of the College and I hope that future students gain as much from their time at New College as I did.

PETER ROTH (1971)

Teaching & Fellowships

Together, we are securing the future of the tutorial system.

Junior Research Fellows are an essential part of College life. Your donations ensure that JRFs can pursue their research without financial concerns holding them back. In turn, New College students get the chance to learn from their expertise through the tutorial system.

“Thessaly is not a particularly well-known part of the ancient Greek world, yet it is home to a rich archaeological landscape, which not only connects the historical narratives of ancient Macedon and the southern Greek mainland, but also has its own fascinating story to tell.

Over the past four years, it has been my aim to contribute to unravelling this story, focusing on the period between the seventh century BC and the sixth century AD and using a combination of different research approaches (from numismatic studies to archaeological excavation and from archival work to drone photography). One of the most exciting and challenging aspects of this work has been its unpredictability – the less archaeological scholarship exists, the more difficult it becomes to plan new research. The Esmée Fairbairn JRF in Classics has given me a unique opportunity to grapple with this challenge and I am very grateful to the generosity of Old Members, which has significantly contributed to making my work in Thessaly possible.”

ANNA BLOMLEY ESMÉE FAIRBAIRN JRF IN CLASSICS

“I was fortunate to be appointed the W. W. Spooner Junior Research Fellow in Engineering in 2019. My research is focused on fluid mechanics problems in offshore renewable energy, such as the design of high-performance tidal stream turbines and how wind turbine wakes develop, evolve, and eventually impact on other turbines within wind farms. It is an area full of interesting problems as we try to work out how to deliver on the (increasingly!) ambitious targets for renewable energy over the coming decades. Despite the inevitable and interminable setbacks that arose due to the pandemic – we had a number of experimental campaigns that had to be delayed multiple times and eventually abandoned – my JRF has been fruitful. In particular, New College has a sizeable community involved in different aspects of energy research which has been great to engage with. In 2021 I was awarded a highly competitive UKRI Future Leaders Fellowship, which funds me and a team of researchers to continue working on offshore renewable energy problems. Holding the W. W. Spooner JRF has been an important stepping stone in developing my research profile and was viewed very positively by the Research Council. I am therefore very grateful for the generosity of Old Members, without whom my JRF would not have been possible.”

VOGEL W. W. SPOONER JRF IN ENGINEERING

CHRISTOPHER

Recognising Your Support

New College was founded in 1379 by the philanthropy of William of Wykeham, and we are very proud that so many Old Members choose to build on that legacy by donating to the College. Support from donors is crucial to New College, and we are pleased to recognise all those who make a contribution.

The 1379 Circle

The 1379 Circle was set up to recognise and thank those who make annual gifts of £1,379 or more to New College. The College is delighted to invite all members of the 1379 Circle to a special concert and lunch in College each year. Members are also listed on our donor wall located in the Monks’ passage, and in our Benefactors’ Book.

The Founder’s Society

The Founder’s Society recognises those who choose to support New College with a regular gift. Monthly, quarterly and annual gifts allow us to plan for the future, and last year over 1,000 Old Members chose to support us in this way. Thank you.

The Wykeham Society

Legacies have played, and continue to play, a major part in the history of New College. Gifts of all sizes make an impact on all that we do: investing in the future of student support, academic posts, and the historic and beautiful buildings and facilities.

The Wykeham Society exists to thank everyone we know of who has helped us or who intends to help us in their estate plans. Each year, Wykeham Society members are invited to a lunch and concert in College - so that we can thank them in person for this gift.

If you would like to discuss making a donation or want to learn more about the different areas of College you can support, please contact the Development Office.

Email: oldmembers@new.ox.ac.uk

Telephone: 01865 279317

More information is also available on our website: www.new.ox.ac.uk