Development Director’s report

Photo by John Cairns.

DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR’S REPORT by Sara Kalim

We are always deeply grateful for the philanthropic support we receive from our community and friends – but never more so than amidst the tempestuous conditions of 2020.

It is thanks to the strength and steadfast loyalty of the Somerville community of donors that the college has been able to weather the storm of Covid-19 into which we were thrown just over halfway through the academic year. We cannot thank you enough for your unfailing loyalty and kindness, which continued even as the world descended into uncertainty.

To say that 2019-20 was a year of two halves has become a cliché – but, like many cliches, it is founded in truth. Amongst the real highlights of the first half of the year had to be the September Family day when we welcomed 400 alumni and their children to enjoy an afternoon of fun and learning on the quad, made possible by the generosity of Sîan Thomas Marshall (1989 Human Sciences), a member of the Somerville Development Board. Shortly thereafter, we had a magnificent opener to the 140th anniversary year of the establishment of Somerville. Our birthday book, taking us on a journey of the college history through its objects, was launched at a wonderful birthday celebration in October 2019, when our Vice-Chancellor, Prof Louise Richardson, joined us to hear from eminent and well-loved alumnae including Shirley Williams and Esther Rantzen, as well as readings from Mary Somerville’s letters by actress, Lesley Manville. Then there was the cake! With its tribute to the tiles of Green Hall, the Nobel Medal of Dorothy Hodgkin and the beloved Basil Champneys façade of the library, it really was a triumph of both style and substance!

There was a memorable trip to India in December of that year, a trip on which we saw many of our Somervillians doing a range of interesting work from Delhi to Mumbai, and we were honoured to be hosted by the British High Commissioner to India, Sir Dominic Asquith at his residence. Addressing a roomful of Somervillians, he reminded us of his own links to our college – with his sister and aunt both “ours”. He also enthralled us with the story of Cornelia Sorabji (in whose name we have established graduate law scholarships for Indian students supported by many of India’s most eminent legal minds) and her reading of Tennyson’s ‘Crossing the Bar’ at the poet laureate’s own funeral. The Principal signed an exciting gift agreement for the Oxford India Centre for Sustainable Development, marking a new partnership with agribusiness, UPL in Mumbai, more of which can be read on p14.

At the start of this academic year, we launched the Covid Hardship Fund to mitigate the lasting effects of 2020.

Another significant milestone for our fundraising efforts was the closing of the campaign to fund our new Dorothy Hodgkin Career Development Fellowship, which so many of you have supported and encouraged. Establishing this new post to support an outstanding woman scientist is all part of

Somerville’s commitment to its tradition of excellence and inclusivity. This was an ambitious appeal and the happy conclusion comes with advent of the inaugural holder of the fellowship, Dr Fay Probert, about whom you can read on p10. We believe Professor Hodgkin would have thoroughly approved and, during a year in which science has never felt more important, it has been an added pleasure to see several Somerville scientists recognised in the Queen’s Birthday Honours, with Professor Susan Scott (Rhodes Visiting Fellow, 1985) taking the Prime Minister’s Prize for Science, the highest award of its kind in Australia.

Then came Covid-19 – and everything changed. Plans were cancelled, gaudies and reunions postponed. It soon became clear that the consequences would be felt by our entire student community, as well as our staff, and that the pandemic would sorely test the financial resilience of College.

We took some time to assess the impacts on our students, those who went home and those who couldn’t go home and for whom we remained open throughout the summer. We soon came to learn of the loss of family income that some students were experiencing and the potential for inequality of experience for those who did not have adequate IT provision for the pivot to online learning.

Our graduates continue to experience serious delays to their fieldwork and laboratory research, and many will experience significant need for financial support. As ever, in response to these challenges, Somervillians rallied. At the start of this academic year, we launched the Covid Hardship Fund to mitigate the lasting effects of 2020, and we were bowled over by your response. The members of our Development Board deserve special mention and gratitude here, having unreservedly given up their time to help us though the current challenges and establish a Matched Fund which effectively doubled all donations to the campaign, meaning that we raised an incredible £142k in just 4 weeks.

I must also take a moment to pay tribute to all my extraordinary colleagues in the Development and Alumni Relations team. Together, they have gone above and beyond to connect and engage our global family, building on long-standing friendships and associations of many years.

Thank you for your generous support, your belief in what is special about Somerville and, as ever, please continue to walk with us on this journey.