The Chadsian: Michaelmas 2002

St Chad’s College News November 2002

An Infinite Number of Monkeys did Durham The College turned out in force (over 300 strong) to welcome Tim Higham (Chad’s 1997) and James Campbell to perform at the Gala Theatre. Between performances, Tim writes for Smack the Pony and for Rory Bremner, and his humour last Tuesday was in the same vein.

Congratulations to Tim and James, and to the Senior Tutor, Michael Hampel, for all his hard work in bringing the duo to Durham. There was a lot of work behind the scenes, notably by James Randle and Mandy Griffin of the Development Team, Tony and all the staff in the kitchen, and the tutors for their persuasive marketing work.

Thanks also to the whole College for coming together to celebrate the work of one of our former students.

BUILDINGS The Quad. Although it’s not obvious to the eye yet, things are progressing. We have received listed building consent for the works, although we have not received the paperwork, and so cannot apply for building regulation approval. We have hired an architect, George Stastny, and a planning supervisor, DTA Consulting Engineers. We have also received rough estimates on adding underfloor heating; and we are arranging to hire someone to oversee compliance with health and safety regulations.

There are a few decisions to be made about boiler-replacement, etc., but the major task is to get detailed building plans prepared in November.

We are going to try to get the floor done before the Candlemass Ball. We can’t afford to risk having it only nearly-done, so we’re going to have to monitor this very closely; and if there’s any risk at all we’ll have to begin after the Ball.

We should have a roof over our heads before or around Easter, and then there will be further work to do re flooring, lighting, etc. We’re conscious of the problem of noise disruption, and College Officers will liase with students to ensure that it’s kept to a minimum. The Quad, when finished, will serve a variety of purposes. The College will sometimes want to use it as an extension of the Dining Hall and for occasional lectures or recitals, but generally the new Quad/Hall will be extra common space B and it will feel like an extension to the JCR. Having such a large, central common space should enhance our sense of community.

The Toastie Bar. Following a decision made last year, the Toastie Bar will now be open during the day as a second JCR lounge. It’s hoped that the serving hatch in the Toastie Bar will become a tuck shop, but more on that from the JCR themselves.

The Fenton Library. We’ve got all the permissions we need for the conversion of the Main College loft into a library: work has actually begun, but we are getting concerned about the pace of things. The difficulties revolve around two tasks: the first is extending the staircases into the loft area, and the second is moving a series of major pipes that affect all the heating in the College. Because neither of these tasks can be done during term time, other aspects of the work have been delayed.

We’re starting to get concerned about the timing, so we have hired a Project Manager to ensure it all happens. We had planned on finishing the library by next summer, and we’d like to keep to that deadline.

Ferens House/Trinity Hall. Over the summer the College agreed to lease a property from Durham Cathedral. The building had been used as a residence by Durham School for a very long time, but they no longer have enough boarders to fill it. The building had been called ‘Ferens House’, but the School has given that name to another building. We have tentatively named it ‘Trinity Hall’ – ‘Trinity’ for obvious reasons, and ‘Hall’ to distinguish it from the Durham School houses in the vicinity.

The building will include lodgings for the Principal and twenty-three mostly en-suite rooms.

The Principal hopes to move there between New Year’s and Easter, and work will continue on the other part of the building until late in the summer. We are receiving tenders for the extensive plumbing work required, and we are considering a bid from a Planning Supervisor and Project Manager.

The new student rooms will be offered chiefly to postgraduates: we are leasing the building at market rates; and to make ends meet we need to let the rooms out on a yearly basis. Over the years, of course, our needs may shift and other uses may be found for the building. As an add-

ed bonus, there is a perfect space for a tennis court.

The Horsfall Room. The Horsfall Room (which used to be the MCR) has returned to being the MCR. The former MCR (the Codrington Room) in Lightfoot is now a double bedsitting room, which is what it was three or so years ago. The changes were necessitated by the increase in undergraduate numbers and by the need for a larger admissions/development office.

The shifts underline the need for more public space, a need which the College is addressing by covering the quad.

The SCR. The SCR has been modestly refurbished over the summer and is now a more sociable space. Because of problems with noise, we reluctantly moved the piano from the Hall into the SCR. Unfortunately, that has meant that students can no longer use it, but the College is very open to suggestions about where to place other pianos. The current plan is to purchase a grand piano for the Quad, and this will add substantially to the College’s provision.

Students are reminded that they can still use the piano in the Horsfall Room (the new MCR), between the hours of 9:00 – 11:30 and 14:00 – 16:30 during the week, providing that the room is not already in use.

The Research Library. Mrs Wilcox and her team of student librarians have been working hard to catalogue and clean up our damaged books. In particular, the Research Library is being de-cluttered and extra study space is being added. All students, undergraduate and postgraduate, can ask for a key to look through the holdings, which focus especially on Church History, Liturgy, and Theology, but which also include older History, Classics and ancient Language texts. Just a reminder, though: the books in that library must stay in the library itself.

STAFF NEWS Sara Maitland has joined the College as a longterm Visiting Fellow. Sara is an eminent British

novelist, and feminist writer, author of Daughter of Jerusalem (which won the Somerset Maugham Award), Virgin Territory, Three Times Table, Home Truths, Brittle Joys, and, with Michelene Wandor, Arky Types. She has also written short stories in various collections: Telling Tales, A Book of Spells, Women Fly When Men Aren't Watching, and, with Zoe Fairbairns, Valerie Miner, Michele Roberts and Michelene Wandor, Tales We Tell our Mothers. She is also the author of such non-fiction books as A Big Enough God, Vesta Tilley and A Cunning Plot. The College is delighted to welcome her to its ranks.

Professor Philip Sheldrake will also be joining the College in January as the Stephen Moulsdale Fellow. Professor Sheldrake is going to be Leech Fellow in Practical Theology in the University, but he also wanted to have a College base, and he wished particularly to be associated with St Chad’s because of the work he does in Ignatian spirituality. Professor Sheldrake will also be a College tutor.

Professor Carl-Erik Kühl is a Visiting Fellow in Music and Philosophy. Professor Kühl’s office is on the first floor office corridor, across from the Chaplain’s office. Professor Kühl will be working in the College for the whole academic year.

The Principal, Dr Cassidy, is now officially working as full-time Principal. However, and contrary to an odd rumour in College, he is still a member of the Theology Department, the only difference being he no longer has a contractual obligation to lecture postgraduates and can devote more time to research. Dr Cassidy has just finished writing a chapter he co-authored with Douglas Davies for the Oxford Textbook of Palliative Medicine; and he is finishing a chapter for another book, entitled, ‘Trinitarian Ethics’.

He is also preparing a paper to be given in March responding to the Ethical Framework used by British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy. In the next few weeks he’ll be a member of two panels, discussing war in Iraq and cloning. After that, he’ll be in London for General Synod in early November, where he represents the Universities of Durham and Newcastle.

The Senior Tutor, Michael Hampel, recently spent a week in the U.S. conducting research on Dorothy L. Sayers at the Marion E. Wade Center at the University of Illinois. He has an article in an upcoming issue of the Art and Christian Enquiry Bulletin; and he has registered his PhD with Ann Loades and David Brown, on the topic of Religious Drama in the 1930s and 1940s.

The Chaplain, Dominic Barrington, has been pleased with the choir this year. He continues his Cursillo work, not to mention his work managing conferences and pilgrimages.

The Revd Josiah Choms is being offered the Traidcraft Fellowship, and he should be in residence (in the Fellow’s Flat) from January to April, 2003. His research will be on bribes and gift-giving in African development work.

Nora Alderton, our Head Housekeeper retired at the end of the Summer Vacation after many years of service to the College. A staff lunch was held to mark the occasion and presentations were made to Nora to show the College’s appreciation for all she has done for our communal life.

DEVELOPMENT NEWS The Senior Tutor is preparing a development plan for the College, which he will submit to College Council in December. In the meantime, a new graduate tie has been established and a silver Chad’s Cross necklace has been designed. Both are available from the College Development Office. The College now has its own-label wine and plans to have several other varieties available in the future. Students can purchase the wines from the JCR’s wine cellar.

ACADEMIC NEWS New Institute. Plans are moving ahead to establish the North East Institute for Theological Education (NEITE). The College's Council will establish the Institute, which will share the College's exempt charity status.

If the plans are approved by all the governing bodies involved, the Institute will be comprised of a number of organisations across the Northeast of England that provide theological education through courses validated by the University of Durham. The governance of each course will remain entirely with the governing boards of each member organisation.

The Institute will be largely independent of the College, and very little of the teaching, if any, will be done in College. It will be financed by each of the member bodies, but the College will help fund the validation fees charged by the University. This will be done by apportioning a small part (<2%) of the government block grant the College receives for teaching and teaching-support.

Lest anyone think we are once again becoming a theological college, the College has no such plans. The College is in a unique position to help these groups in the Northeast; and, were it not for our efforts, they would have to seek validation from a University outside the region.

From the College’s point of view, it is crucially important for the College to support and to be seen to support actual university-accredited teaching through our government grant. This initiative will help protect the whole College’s future funding.

Associateship. The College is preparing a new academic programme, designed along the lines of the Associateships offered by King’s College, London, and by Canterbury Christ College. Basically, students will be able to enrol in a programme that leads to an award alongside their degree, becoming an Associate of St Chad’s College Durham (ASCD).

Our initial ideas are to offer a number of paths

to become an Associate: there will be a lecturebased option spread over two years; there will be a work-placement/summer-placement option, and there will be a voluntary-work option.

Students will be asked to help design the course to fit their needs. It is hoped that St John’s will jointly offer the programme, so that their students could become Associates of their college.

FIRE BRIGADE STRIKES It is likely that there will be a series of rotating strikes among Fire Brigades. Even though there is never an excuse for not being vigilant, we ought to use this opportunity to reinforce our fire procedures and to minimise the risk of false alarms.

The College’s procedure in the case of fire or suspected fire is to signal the alarm and for everyone to evacuate the building. The first priority is always human safety, so quick evacuation of the building is key. At the same time, the Porter must be called. The Porter will verify the fire and ring the Fire Brigade (or the army).

During a strike, the Porter will have to give detailed driving directions to the emergency personnel. Only if the Porter cannot be found should students ring 999.

As a precaution not so much against fire but against false alarms, the College asks residents not to use stoves, toasters or microwaves after 9.30 pm during strike periods.

LAST, BUT NOT LEAST… The College wishes to offer thanks to the JCR Exec for their sterling work in welcoming the Freshers and helping them to settle into College. In what was a very busy week the Exec did a fantastic job of showing our newest recruits how to have fun and play a full part in College life.

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