The Chadsian: Epiphany 2010

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In this Issue: The College South Africa Project Regional Economic Research Talking to the New Chair of Governers

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From the Principal Dear Chad’s Alumni and Friends, As you might have gathered, the College had its best academic year last year, with 90% of our students gaining a first or upper second – a record not just for the College but for the University. This is the second year in a row that we have topped all the other colleges, and we’re unashamedly proud of the achievement of our students.

Our students are excelling on many levels. Our Collegiate Studies Programme gives all students opportunities to extend their departmental-based studies by learning about the North East, and by situating their learning within a much broader social context.

In recent years, we have been helping students to add even more to their degree by sponsoring placements both in this country and overseas. This year we have had students working in South Africa, Palestine, Israel, Jordan, Kosovo, Kenya, and the US – to name just a few. These students return to College with uncommon enthusiasm, and with renewed commitment to their studies. Throughout the year, our students are heavily involved in local charities – whether it is through the choir helping disadvantaged schools in Hartlepool, or by providing Christmas meals at a local drop-in centre. Again and again, this stretching of students pays off, and the passion of today’s Chad’s students is palpable, infectious, and academically enriching. We are incredibly proud of them and of all they are achieving.

And our staff are working exceptionally hard too. Our Policy Research Group is playing a pivotal role in the region in assessing policy initiatives, especially as we address the ongoing fallout from the recession. Working with local government, we are facing the stubborn challenges of long-term poverty; and working with local industry, we manage the input-output economic model for the North East of England, informing investment decisions and measuring their impact. We don’t just talk about making

a difference: we make it. Earlier this year, you might have heard references to government surveys of banks to see whether they were giving out government backed loans.

That was us, and we sent hundreds of people in cognito into banks with top-notch business plans to check them out. Our research work has even made it to discussions on the floor of the House of Commons – twice this year.

The College is firmly committed to making a difference, and that’s we’ve branched into applied research. We want our students to be studying in a context where others are applying their learning to some of the greatest challenges of the day.

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the passion of today’s Chad’s students is palpable, infectious, and academically enriching

And we need your support. Our government only provides 17% of our income; the rest is made up of student fees, conference trade, research grants and donations.

Some of the most effective things we do are supported directly by donations: scholarships, hardship grants, overseas placements, the Collegiate Studies Programme, chaplaincy, music and support for the arts generally – and these are all directly supported by you.

Please consider us as you plan your giving this holiday season. The future is clearly in the hands of the young, and we are doing our level best to produce a generation of thoughtful, generous, capable students who are actually more excited than daunted about the future.

With warm greetings during this Christmas season,

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Dr Joseph Cassidy

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From the Senior Man JCR President Matt Smith Looking back to the end of last year, it can definitely be said that it ended on a high. The social events that brought the year to a close were all hugely enjoyable with the Summer Ball as the definite highlight. The high spirits were maintained by a high standard of academic success and much credit must go to all our graduates for their successes at the end of last year.

This year kicked off in the usual Chad’s way – with lots of green and lots of fun. The arrival of our new fresher intake brought with it an air of excitement and the new arrivals have already settled into life in the college. The success of Freshers Week was in no small part due to the hard work of Kat Saunders (JCR Social Secretary) and Ed Roberts (JCR Vice President) as well as our incredible team of fresher reps. New additions to the freshers’ week programme such as a cathedral tour and a revamped wine tasting proved a great success and social events throughout the term have continued to be popular. This year’s Hope Ball was a huge success, raising a large amount of money for VDAY, and the Winter Ball also proved popular.

We have seen success this term too, as our University Challenge team reached the semi-finals of the intercollegiate competition and a number of the team have emerged as strong contenders for the university side. Chad’s sport is also proving strong as ever and a large intake of girls into the first year has seen many of our women’s teams flourish.

As we look toward the end of term, preparations for our 4th college pantomime are well in motion. With possibly the largest cast of any Chad’s panto so far, it is indicative of the high level of involvement throughout the JCR this year that is helping it flourish.

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Tales from South Africa from recent graduate Colin Ferguson St Matthew’s High School was founded in 1854 under the auspices of Bishop John Armstrong, who identified a need for formal teaching in the indigenous population.

Originally a Mission school staffed by nuns and overseen by clergy, this religious ethos has not left the school since its founding, and it is the Anglican fellowship that brings the school and our college together across continents, towards a common goal of high-quality education for those who need it most.

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Children from up to 80 miles away compete strongly for places at the school

Unfortunately for the school, apartheid-era policies took their toll, and their legacy remains to this day. Part of the Ciskei, one of the “bantustans” formed by the White-led government to herd Blacks into ethnically homogenous geographical areas - whether they liked it or not Keiskammahoek shows the scars of the racially-biased thinking that still underpins the culture of the so-called “Rainbow Nation”. After nearly a century of providing an inspiring level of practical education and spiritual guidance to the local rural population, the school was threatened with closure and was only rescued by the intervention of Jennifer Taberer, great-granddaughter of Charles Taberer, who was instrumental in the early years of the school in making it a centre of excellence.

Despite its rocky past in the last half-century and the neglect of the Ciskei government, the school still stands today on the same land as it did over a century and a half before, in new buildings that are a credit to the new South Africa. Children from up to 80 miles away compete strongly for places at the school which boasts a 96% pass rate for final-year students.

However, to say that the school is one of the shining lights of all government-funded schools in the Eastern Cape is to say little: the nearest high school in the area teaches less than two hundred pupils, under a tin roof that leaks in the rain, and lacks any teachers qualified to teach any Science subjects or Maths; to achieve a pass grade requires only a mark of 40%, making the earlier statistic ring hollow; and most of the students in Grade 12 - who would be of equivalent age to UK school-leavers - have difficulty with conversational levels of English, despite it being the compulsory “Medium of Instruction” that they are required to speak to graduate from High School.

Chad’s became motivated to help the school through links in the Anglican community. After correspondence with the school and a visit by Dr Cassidy, it was decided to send a graduate to the school, and I volunteered for the opportunity to become involved in such a worthwhile project. My brief was clear: to get a feel for how the college could best help the school and to prepare the ground for an initial group of Chad’s students to help at the school.

I spent three months at St Matthew’s, working closely with the teachers and a charitable organisation working in the area, the Calabar Foundation. In my time there, I found myself welcomed into a community that showed incredible warmth and friendship towards visitors. I was made to feel at home, and my contribution was met with the gratitude of a school earnestly looking to rise above the prejudice of the past and create a future filled with potential for its students.

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showed me how much of an impact the College’s project has the potential to achieve

My work initially involved supporting teachers through afternoon tutorial work with the oldest students. Despite having a roster of over 600 pupils, the school only has 17 teaching staff, leaving classes chronically over-populated and preventing teachers from focusing on individual students when necessary. As a result, the school quickly started me in English and Maths classes of between 10 and 15 students, to focus on reinforcing key skills. The tutorials were well received and offered an effective starting point for me to get to know the pupils.

In addition to my work directly with the students, I focused a lot of my time on repainting the house where future Chadsians will stay. Formerly a residence for teachers, and located on the school premises, the school’s management agreed to let it be used as accommodation for our volunteers. Years of neglect had left the house in a bad state of repair, but efforts made shortly before my arrival had transformed it. With fresh paint and new furniture, the house is now a property for the school to be proud of, and it had inspired similar work on the neighbouring teachers’ houses.

An easily identifiable issue for the students was the relative paucity of extra-curricular activities. Given that the school provides hostel space for around 400 girls, who live on site seven days a week, this lack was keenly felt in the evenings and on weekends. By the time I left, Sunday evening campfires had become a regular feature, where the girls had the opportunity to stay outside later than the matrons would normally allow them to. A running club was also firmly in place, with between 15 and 20 girls meeting twice a week to train after school.

That relatively simple efforts such as these were appreciated so much by the students showed me how much of an impact the College’s project has the potential to achieve.

It truly is inspiring to see a school where so many students strive to better themselves and their community. It is humbling to be appreciated so greatly that students will cry to see you leave. It speaks volumes that the Taberer family is still involved in the school, though they now live over 600 miles away in Cape Town: they personally award a scholarship bearing their name every year to the student with the highest leaving grades.

The College has chosen an extremely worthy project that will not only benefit the young people of South Africa, but also our own students. I look forward to hearing of the progress made by the first group, which heads out in January. They will be warmly received. With support from home, many more will, too.

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Ngoma Vuma African drumming comes to Chad’s In October many Chadsians became aware of a mysterious group of guests living in college. All was revealed however on the evening of the 28th, when these guests took the Quad by storm in an all-singing, all-dancing extravaganza.

This group of people turned out to be Ngoma Vuma Afrika, an African drumming group, who had travelled from South Africa to perform in Durham. St. Chad’s were honoured to be given a free performance, supported by the Collegiate Studies programme. This performance opened St. Chad’s doors to the public, welcoming both old and young to share in such a privilege.

Possibly the most memorable part of the performance was the much anticipated gumboot dance. The sheer energy with which the dance was performed left even the audience breathless. Framing this internationally recognised dance was a wide range of music, spanning the cultural length and breadth of Africa. Despite the fact that the group are based in a South African university, they brought music from a wide variety of African countries, including Kenya and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Their songs offered a range of emotions, from joy to sadness, both lively and sedate. The contrast between songs such as ‘Thula’, a traditional lullaby from South Africa, and ‘Jambo’, an upbeat song of welcome from Kenya, only accentuated the wide ranging talents of the group. Underlying all the singing was the constant drumming, the catchy rhythm of which the audience could not help but tap their feet to.

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The night was a thoroughly enjoyable experience, and doubtlessly enjoyed by everyone who attended

For Chadsians, one of the most exciting parts of Ngoma Vuma Afrika’s visit was the opportunity for our own African drumming group, Ngoma Vuma Europa, to work with their African counterparts. Towards the end of the concert Ngoma Vuma Europa joined the performance, contributing to both singing and drumming. Despite having rehearsed for a limited period, the performance that the joint group delivered was excellent. However St. Chad’s participation did not stop there. After the music had finished the children in the audience were invited to take part in an informal drumming workshop, which they seemed to enjoy with a certain amount of gusto! The older members of the audience were able to buy CDs and tickets to future performances in Durham.

It is a testament to Ngoma Vuma Afrika and Europa’s talents that the Quad was so full that not everyone was able to get a seat. The music was universally appreciated by a wide ranging audience, from small children to Papa Joe himself!

The night was a thoroughly enjoyable experience, and doubtlessly enjoyed by everyone who attended. Many thanks go to Peter Okeno for all his hard work, to Ngoma Vuma Afrika for their infectious enthusiasm and to Ngoma Vuma Europa for adding that Chad’s spirit.

Hannah Smith and Helen Wintersgill

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Chad’s Sport The story so far Sport in St Chad’s College is one of the great unifiers of this institution, a means to create lasting bonds and providing students with a platform to achieve something more than academic success. Through sport we show our talents as individuals and gain an enormous sense of pride through winning as a team and as a college. The sporting ethos is one of strength through inclusivity and like all seasons St Chad’s have shown that despite our small size we are still mighty!

The season began with a new intake of sporting freshers and extremely active post-graduate students who joined the rest of student community to get involved with a myriad of different college sports and take on the cream of the college crop.

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punching above our weight in the college sporting arena

Chad’s have also seen a number of its students get involved in sport at a higher level with students representing the University in rugby, rowing, cycling, boxing, hockey and squash.

A special mention should be made to Tom Beaumont who despite being in his first year is currently playing for the Durham University 1st XV and a number of Chad’s women have stepped up the play for the women’s University rugby team including Kate Langham, Emma Tonks and Polly Crossman.

Thus, we continue to wear our green cross with pride, punching above our weight in the college sporting arena and long may this tradition continue.

C’mon the Chad’s!

Ashley Farrell Sports Rep. 2009/2010 Season

The highlights thus far have included the men’s football team’s epic win in the first round of the floodlit cup where Chad’s managed to fell the sporting Goliath of Hild & Bede 1st XI. The girl’s hockey team have also undergone somewhat of a Renaissance under the leadership of Jen Laws and Will Brooke, no doubt due to the introduction of innovative training techniques, which has attracted a large number of students taking up the sport for the first time.

The men’s rugby team have performed well in Division 1 and the women’s rugby team have been so successful this year that they have been promoted to a higher league.

The college boat club also continues to go from strength to strength; the new intake of freshers are looking to repeat the success of last year’s crew in the Novice Cup this weekend and we shall put forward crews in a number of regattas across the country.

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Chad’s People...

Chatting to the new Chair Featured Alumnus

Iain Carter talks to Jonathan Blackie

Birte Muller talks to Alistair Buchanan

Jonathan Blackie, The Top Civil Servant in the region as Regional Director of the Government office for the North East has succeeded The Bishop of Newcastle, The Rt Revd Martin Wharton as the new Chair of the Governing Body.

Alistair Buchanan has been Chief Executive of Ofgem since 2003 and was appointed CBE (Commander of the British Empire) in December 2008. He is also a member of the Business Energy Forum and the UK Energy Research Partnership (UKERP).

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The Alumni are an important part of what the college is all about

When the position became available he was very keen to be considered, as he explained he has ‘admired St Chad’s from a distance for a number of years, in particularly as someone active in regional development issues’. During his term he has a range of ambitious goals, which include building on the success of achieving the best results of all Durham Colleges, Make the most of our assets on the Bailey and build on our contribution to regional affairs. However his greatest focus is going to be on the contribution the college can make to the wider community, in the city of Durham and beyond. He explained that this has already started with Chad’s backing of the Durham book fair and the South Africa project is something he is keen to develop such links further.

He also hopes that his time will be marked by a greater involvement of the college alumni. He said ‘The Alumni are an important part of what the college is all about’ and hopes to follow the universities lead in connecting with them. In doing this the college will be able to benefit from the myriad of ways the alumni can contribute to its community.

Alistair studied Politics in Durham (1980-1983) and became a chartered accountant for KPMG. His reason: “I realised that I had not done any numeracy since I was 15! Fear was a key driver I think.” At the time of the privatisation of the electricity industry in the early 1990s he worked as an award winning analyst at Smith New Court. From 19952000 he moved to New York where he ran the American Utilities Research at BZW before moving on to Salomon Smith Barney. Returning to London with DLJ he also worked for ABN AMRO before taking up his current post.

For Alistair the most interesting feature of his job is how to understand the global energy scene. Obtaining all its energy from the North Sea only ten years ago the UK didn’t have any worries. “Now we have to evaluate things like the likelihood and timing of the pipeline from Europe to Turkmenistan. This includes being aware of the uneasy three way relationship between Turkey, Armenia and Azerbaijan”, to give only one example of new concerns.

Asked what he learned at Chad’s that still helps him today Alistair replies: “When I was at Chads it was wonderfully tolerant place, and usually any strife was dealt with through laughter. The values of the absurd were quite high on the agenda. I believe all these things are really useful in the work place.”

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BT Today

Artist in Residence 08/09

Chad’s Graduate - Greg Roberts (2007) Nadia Hebson Whilst many companies tighten their belts to survive these tricky economic times, or to get their houses in order, times may be looking a little bleak for contemporary graduates. However, an eight month secondment working in graduate recruitment with BT taught me a number of things that should hold true not just for BT, but for other large companies.

Firstly, companies will still be taking on graduates next year, albeit not in the same numbers as previous years. Graduates are a source of “future talent” in many companies, and to cancel an intake would interrupt the flow of potential leaders. Companies that cut on graduate recruitment in previous recessions then had to pay large amounts of money to plug their lack of skills in key areas.

The second positive point is that life experience counts for much, not just on a candidate’s CV, but also in how they react to assessment centres that are designed to put them under pressure. This should hopefully be where Chad’s graduates’ time away from study will pay dividends – as an assessor, seeing a candidate with the confidence and articulacy to challenge the rest of the group in a discussion task was always a highlight.

Companies are still looking for candidates with potential, and whilst the competition for places may-well be more intense than in previous years, you can be assured that it will be fair. The old boy network is worth nothing when it comes to entering the larger programmes. With a great deal of money and effort spent on finding the best candidates for the given company, there is not really much scope for an individual assessor’s judgement or preferences.

The fabrication of an acute and mysterious image comes about from a continual engagement with observational painting and a sifting and condensing of found images.

More exactly from a keen awareness and manipulation of the very split in working process. From an adamant belief that painting can elucidate a psychological space, delicate and compressed images begin to articulate a sentient experience. Through the obsessive build up of tentative and bold marks which find their measure in an intense sustained gaze, an ambivalence arises, alluding to the space between: experience and recollection, internal and external, real and imagined.

A line between the explicit and subfusc is sought, echoed in the treatment of light, shifting between low tone and luminescence, revealing and concealing intentions, thoughts, and gaze, quietly and precisely avoiding metaphor. Borrowing from a bewildering array of art historical precedents from the portraits of Hans Memling, to Dutch marine scapes, to the flower studies of Gwen John, these seemingly disparate sources raise the game to a further awkward but necessary pitch. Removed from the logical the paintings become free to carve out their own distinct atmospheres. (www.nadiahebson.com)

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Exploring the Balkans Internships with UNDP This summer, fifteen Chadsians - past and present – travelled to Kosovo to take part in the United Nations Development Programme’s internship scheme. Here, two of those interns – Matthew Walters and Shiz Gerami – take a look back at the experience.

The Roma Regional Project I was selected to work for nine weeks at the Roma Regional Project, a project which since 2007 has aimed to improve the way in which Kosovo’s governmental institutions deals with issues facing the Roma-Ashkali-Egyptian community (known as the Roma community) in Kosovo. The Roma community have historically struggled to integrate into wider Kosovan society. A large percentage of Roma are unemployed, or – if they do have employment – they’re often paid some of the lowest wage rates in the entirety of Kosovo. Illiteracy is a key problem, as are low standards of educational performance and attainment among Roma children. Very few Roma teenagers complete high school, and even fewer make it to university. Together with NGOs, UNDP Kosovo – and more specifically the Roma Regional Project – has worked to provide as many opportunities as possible for the Roma community to develop themselves and their communities, supporting community, educational, and infrastructure projects.

Albania During the penultimate weekend of my stay in the Balkans, I travelled to Albania, and more specifically its capital, Tirana. It seemed to me that Albania was simply a country I had to visit. Albania’s history, its culture - even its language - penetrates the Balkans region, and a large majority of Kosovo’s Albanian population in particular naturally feel a great affection towards the country – and vice versa. Tirana’s a fascinating city, one whose drivers can initially make the main thoroughfares seem like Silverstone! During my stay, I travelled on the Dajti Express cable car – giving panoramic views over Tirana and much

of Albania at a final height of 1230m above sea level. I visited Albania’s National History Museum, which gave an enlightening insight into a nation with several histories: a fascinating medieval history as part of the Byzantine Empire, then as part of the Ottoman Empire, and then into the twentieth century with the rise of communism and later its collapse.

Ambassador In an international environment with a strong British presence, we as a group were extremely fortunate to be able to meet Andy Sparkes, British Ambassador to Kosovo, who invited us to his residence in the heart of Pristina’s diplomatic district. He talked to us about the work of the British Embassy in Kosovo, and the relationship it has on the ground with international governmental and nongovernmental partners. After some light refreshments and a few questions, the Ambassador took questions from our group of interns – a few of whom later seized upon the opportunity to visit the British Embassy itself, seeing its day-to-day work and learning in greater depth about British diplomacy. One particular highlight was seeing the letter signed by Gordon Brown in February 2008 that officially recognised Kosovo’s independence.

Prizren A city in the south of Kosovo and one only a few miles north of the border with Albania, Prizren – a quaint city peppered with mosques, imposing Ottoman architecture and narrow, mazy streets – is, to many observers, one of the jewels in the Kosovan crown. It’s really not hard to see why. Multicultural but with a strong feeling of community, the city is home to 170,000 people and each summer hosts an international film and documentary festival. I developed a close and intimate relationship with Prizren, travelling on several occasions to work with a community radio station that served the city’s Roma-Ashkali-Egyptian community.

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Serbia Travelling to Serbia also felt like a must. For political reasons, it was necessary to travel to Serbia via Macedonia – which meant catching an overnight train from Skopje to Belgrade. Set at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, Belgrade is a vibrant city, steeped in centuries of history. Being sure to visit the Belgrade Fortress (overlooking the Sava and the Danube), we strolled in Belgrade’s parks, browsed the city’s shops, and ate in Skadarlija – the city’s bohemian district.

Daily Life Blue Kosovan flags and red Albanian flags flying everywhere.

Wedding ceremonies in which the car was wrapped in different coloured ribbons; and the surrounding cars would beep and honk, sending their wishes to the newlyweds.

Mother Teresa Street where hand vendors would sell toys, popcorn and smoked maize; where children would whiz up and down on their skates and bicycles; the older people would sit on benches chatting and watching, and young men and women, usually back for summer from which ever corner of the world they currently live, going round the bars saying hello and asking after friends and family.

And there would always be, amidst all that merriment, beggars sitting by the road, little children selling cigarettes or telephone cards, an old man next to his scale offering to weigh someone in exchange for some money. Thus is the picture of life in Prishtina.

Mirusha Waterfalls The bus dropped us off a few kilometres away from the location, in the middle of an isolated road. After walking for a while in the heat, a taxi came by and all nine of us crammed into it, one on top of the other. We were dropped off at the beginning of a dirt road that led to the waterfalls.

Hot, sweaty and impatient, we finally heard the noise of running water... and people, lots of them! There was a relatively big waterfall, and the boys would climb a cliff

and jump down the water fall, over and over again. We sat by the edge, assessing the high 7 metre fall... They invited us to jump with them. Logic and English risk assessment responded with a brisk ‘don’t be silly!’ But after watching them for a while, eagerness and youthful stupidity soon got the best of most of us, and before we knew it, we were falling, falling, falling, screaming, and Splash! It was most definitely worth overcoming the fear!

Women’s Safety and Security Initiative (WSSI) You might be surprised to hear that we actually did some work out there as well. We were in a whole range of projects within the UNDP; ranging from environmental, media and communications, engineering, minorities, gender equality etc. WSSI for example, was a project that was mostly focused on combating domestic violence and human trafficking. It was involved in activities ranging from granting funds to shelters supporting the victims of violence; helping to create legislation in support of these victims; and coming up with projects that will help enhance their situation. We helped out in organising events, writing reports, helping with projects and a whole variety of things.

Hiking Njeri Which translates to ‘The Hiking Man,’ was a TV programme to raise awareness on different parts of Kosova. Over the weekends they would go on hikes in different regions of the country and talk about its history or geography. Joining them was a brilliant opportunity; not only one got to go to beautiful regions of Kosova, unknown to the guidebooks and the international community; delve in their culture and experience a different face of Kosovan life; but one was also given the chance to get to know amazing local people from interesting backgrounds and become more familiar with their thoughts and interpretations of how they perceived the war and the international organisation’s presence.

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The Policy Research Group Birte Muller talks to Paul Braidford Entering the offices of St Chad’s Policy Research Group in Main College, one feels the friendly, open atmosphere of the group. Refurbished during the past summer, the suite of offices has been developed from former college guest rooms. Group member Paul Braidford, who has agreed to talk to me about the work of PRG has just made coffee; he settles on his chair and introduces the research group and its work to the Chadsian.

The Policy Research Group (PRG) is a team of six economists and social scientists employed in the College, researching local and regional regeneration, employment and skills, enterprise and the third sector, as well as operating a complex forecasting model for the regional economy.

In addition, a group of half a dozen or so ‘Associates’ are connected to PRG, cooperating on relevant projects.

“As a research centre, we are very unusual for Durham”, begins Paul, “because we are part of a college, rather than a department.” The independent status of St Chad’s provides the Principal with scope to develop new initiatives - and the arrival of PRG at St Chad’s two years’ ago is perhaps one of the boldest diversification steps taken by a college in recent times. At a stroke, the academic and research basis of the College was given a big boost, as well as expanding its capacity to pursue its social justice mission. At a time when many research centres in universities throughout the region and beyond have been struggling to survive, PRG has been flourishing as a self-supporting research group that effectively bridges the gap between university research and the world of practical policy. That is has the confidence of policy-making bodies – government departments, development agencies, local authorities – is plain from the constantly full (even over-full) state of its order books.

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one of the boldest diversification steps taken by a college in recent times

Fred Robinson, one of the PRG Directors and a Professorial Fellow at St Chad’s, got involved with the College about 10 years ago because of its Collegiate Studies Programme.

Four years later, in 2003, St Chad’s became his new home.

While Fred’s work has been enriching the academic life at College for several years now, he more importantly sees his research as trying to bring more social justice to the North East. One project which reflects his long term involvement in the North East is a review on Newcastle’s historic Grainger Town – which he undertook with his close research-associate Ian Zass-Ogilvie and a number of Chad’s students. Grainger Town has been undergoing serious economic problems, but Fred has good news: “Actually the area does quite well and the findings came as a bit of a surprise. But still it does need support.” The perception was that recession should be hitting the area hard but it was resilient and the buildings are in a good shape.

During 2007, when the future priorities of the Business School were very uncertain, Ian Stone, the other director, talked to Fred about the problems over a beer. The meeting in the New Inn led to Ian talking to the Principal Dr Joe Cassidy, and to the whole team moving to St Chad’s - joining Fred under the banner of the ‘Policy Research Group’. Ian is still employed for part of his time as a Professorial Fellow in the Business School – an arrangement which helps maintain academic and research links with the University and its departments.

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Durham County Council has recently appointed the PRG to provide ongoing research support

A concern for the local area is prominent in the work of the more recently arrived PRG members. One major project is a model that permits forecasting in the local economy.

What is now known as the ‘North East Economic Model’ (NEEM) has been developed since 2003 by Andrew Hunt (with support from Ian Stone). It took Ian two or three years to convince the Regional Development Agency (ONE) of the need for such a model (which is still one of only two in the country) and to secure the necessary funding for its development.

This complex model, with around a million items of data embodied within it, incorporates the buy-sell-linkages between all the different companies, organisations, households etc in the region – and, as if that wasn’t enough - with the ‘outside world’ also. The result is a model that can track through the effects of changes to the economy.

If we have a forecast of growth in say business services for the next five years, it is possible using the model to say what this means in terms of the impact on production, employment, the demand for different skills and – after recent additions – even the environmental impact in terms of carbon emissions etc. The model is one reason why Durham County Council has recently appointed the PRG to provide ongoing research support for their economic development policy. “The model allows us to investigate complex scenarios for the council”, explains Paul Braidford.

As part of its interest in addressing social and economic deprivation in the region, the Group uses its skills and

experience to help tackle long term unemployment and promote enterprise. This is one of the principle reasons the PRG was a ‘good fit’ for St Chad’s – its work helps to meet the College’s social justice agenda and provides strong, very real links into the local area. I walked a few yards along the corridor to find Maxine Houston, who explains her role in relation to this work.

Maxine has been involved in a range of projects in South Tyneside, one tending to lead to another, based on PRG’s reputation and skills, and the close working relationship that has developed over time. With fellow PRG team member Gordon Allinson, Maxine has been evaluating successive programmes in South Tyneside to help the long term unemployed and the borough’s £16m Local Economy Growth Initiative Programme to promote business startup and growth. “There is a strong drive to find solutions for unemployment and poverty”, explains Maxine, “but in the current economic situation it is too easy to make a knee jerk response and switch resources away from those with the most serious, longstanding problems to easier, quicker fixes. We try to ensure that the strategy is the right one in the first place and that programmes stay true to their purpose – keeping the focus on those in greatest need”.

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Now the College publishes an academic journal - “the best regional journal in the UK”

After working together for so long, the core group members of St Chad’s Policy Research Group are close-knit in the way they work and interact. It is a major strength, and reason for the group’s success over the years. This way of working is illustrated by Paul: “I chip in everywhere when it comes to analyses, data crunching or focus groups.” One of his long term interests, however, is gender focused. He has been researching why fewer women than men start their own businesses and trying to find ways of how to make it easier for women to become entrepreneurs.

“There are not many guys working in this field. It is a bit funny giving a presentation at a conference about gender topics as there will be about 250 women and 15 men attending.” Together with Ian Stone, he provided the Department for Business with evidence regarding the role of centres for helping women launching their businesses in other countries which found its way into the planning of the national government. Paul thinks that women are not facing barriers in a factual way anymore, but do face problems with society’s expectations. “The image of women’s jobs hasn’t really changed.” Also, women are more strongly affected by problems of insufficient child care possibilities. “Our aim is to engage women in the support that is already there.”

Paul Braidford has another task within the Policy Research Group: He is the editor of the Northern Economic Review, while other members of the team – Maxine and Gordon – undertake editing and administration duties. The journal was started by Fred Robinson in 1981, when he was at Newcastle University. After that, Ian Stone took over as editor before handing over the reins to Paul in 2007. Now the College publishes an academic journal – “the best regional journal in the UK” - though one which

aims for a wide readership. Most articles are written by academics, but with less theory than for purely academic publications and in this way the Northern Economic Review is an important link between the research carried out at universities and the dissemination and actual implementation of those findings.

Many other projects and activities were alluded to during my visit. One was the major investigation of street trading and pedlary in Great Britain, managed by Gordon Allinson, that established the basis for the review of legislation in this field currently underway. Another was the survey to gauge the effectiveness of the government help for small business through the Enterprise Finance Guarantee scheme. Andrew Hunt has used the model recently to contribute to a major study investigating the impact on the region of the demise of Northern Rock, while Professor Stone has recently advised both the Chilean and Canadian Governments in relation to labour markets and skills.

There is plainly much going on in this vibrant and very busy group, and their impact in the community – local, national and international - is not to be under-estimated.

If you want to know more about the work of the Group, simply go to the PRG pages on the St Chad’s College website.

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Black Holes Susan Nelmes Gravity is a familiar, fundamental force: a comfortable, ever-present constant, yet the finer details of what gravity is and how it works have be troubling physicists since the ancient Greek philosophers and look set to continue to do so. One of the most striking predictions of the study of gravity, and a favourite of science fiction, is the existence of black holes. Part of my research has been to explore what black holes are and how they can be classified, both in the familiar four dimensions of spacetime and in more exotic higher dimensions.

To illustrate this, first consider how fast a ball needs to be thrown upwards in order for it to escape the gravity of the Earth and head off into orbit. The speed at which this happens is known as the ‘escape velocity’ of the Earth and is 11.2 kilometres per second, faster than the speed of sound and over hundred times the speed of the fastest of tennis serves. The escape velocities of larger masses such as Jupiter or the Sun are higher as it becomes more difficult to escape their gravity and get into orbit.

Einstein’s theory of relativity states that nothing in the universe can travel faster than the speed of light, even with the best technology or as much energy as possible, so the question arises whether objects can exist that are so massive that their escape velocity is faster than the speed of light and therefore, nothing, not even light, can escape their gravity. These are precisely the objects that are known as black holes, first proposed in the eighteenth century and have since been verified as existing in the universe, most notably for example is the black hole at the centre of the Milky Way. There are billions more black holes in our universe and the task of classifying and categorising them naturally arises.

While there are many ways to classify the stars of the universe; by type such as red giants and white dwarfs, by luminosity, mass, temperature and many other properties,

the classification of black holes actually turns out to be rather simpler. This is formally expressed as the ‘Black Hole Uniqueness Theorem’, [1] which simply states that only three parameters are needed to describe any black hole: its mass, its rotation speed and its electric charge. There are no other measurements that can be taken for a black hole and nothing can be found out about how black holes have been formed (normally by the collapse of massive stars into very dense masses) as all the information is lost inside the black hole and could never be observed by an outsider.

The Black Hole Uniqueness Theorem is certainly true for the four dimensional space that we are familiar with, consisting of the three spatial dimensions and the dimension of time. Physicists such as R. C. Myers and M. J. Perry began to consider whether the theorem could be generalised to cases of higher dimensions. Two questions naturally arose, the first concerning what an extra dimension is, and the second whether, if an extra dimension does not describe the reality of spacetime, then why consider a generalisation at all?

Three spatial dimensions can be easily imagined as the world appears to consist of three dimensional objects that have length, depth and height. The appearance of two dimensions comes about from representational drawings, which have only length and height, while an object with only one dimension appears as a line that only has length. An extra-spatial dimension to our familiar three dimensional space continues this sequence upwards. Thus an object in four dimensions would have length, depth, height and also another, unimaginable, property. There is no need for concern if the idea of extra dimensions is troubling, as it is near impossible to construct a true representation of four spatial dimensions.

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(Left) Representing 1, 2, and 3 dimensions in 2D (Above) A three dimensional representation of a black rings which have doughnut shaped horizons.

The second question of why physicists consider generalisations to higher dimensions can be answered in two ways. The first regards the fact that there are many other physical theories where higher dimensions become important (including many which state that our reality may be actually made of more than four spacetime dimensions, such as string theory) and it is important to see how higher dimensional black holes fit into these theories. The second answer is that exploring generalisations of ideas allows more to be discovered about specialisations and how they fit into the larger theory. Of course, these situations are also studied out of purely academic interest.

The question of whether the black hole uniqueness theorem generalises to higher dimensions was undoubtedly answered in 2006 when S. Tomizawa and M. Nozawa [2] found that there could exist two black holes that had the same mass, electric charge and speed of rotation but were quite clearly different from each other. The difference was in the shape of the black holes. The shape is defined as the shape of the surface from which light cannot escape, otherwise known as the ‘event horizon’. A normal black hole in four dimensional spacetime has a spherical event horizon. In five dimensional spacetime there also exist black holes with spherical event horizons (albeit spheres in four spatial dimensions) but there is an additional class of black holes known as ‘black rings’, which instead of spherical, have ring, or doughnut, shaped event horizons.

As it was discovered by Tomizawa and Nozawa that there existed black holes and black rings with the same mass, electric charge and speed of rotation in five dimensional spacetime the Black Hole Uniqueness Theorem no longer applies.

(Opposite) ‘Black Saturns’ are named after the planet due to a spherical black hole being surrounded by black rings.

Soon after the discovery of black rings it was shown that stable combinations of these black objects can be constructed. A ‘black Saturn’ is a spherical black hole located inside a black ring, while ‘black bi-rings’ and ‘black di-rings’are combinations of two black rings. In even higher dimensions more exotic constructions are allowed, with many violations of the black hole uniqueness theorem.

In conclusion, the Black Hole Uniqueness theorem is only applicable to the familiar four dimensional spacetime that we appear to live in. When we consider higher dimensions we need not only the three parameters of mass, electric charge and rotation speed to describe a black hole, but also the shape of the event horizon, or horizons in the case of multi black-object constructions.

The nature of Einstein’s theory of General Relativity means it is very difficult to find which black objects can and cannot exist. My ongoing research will explore different methods to find these objects in various dimensions, often using very different types of mathematics than those often associated with relativity.

[1] W. Israel, Phys. Rev. 164, 1776 (1967).

[2] S. Tomizawa and M. Nozawa, \Vaccum solutions of five-dimensional Einstein equations generated by inverse scattering method. II: Production of black ring solution,” Phys. Rev. D73 (2006) 124034, arXiv: hep-th/0604067.

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News...

Mongol Car Rally Five St Chad’s College Alumni undertake an epic journey from England to Ulaan Baatar in aid of charity Having to contend with 10,000 miles over some of the toughest terrain Europe and Asia can offer in a specialised off-road vehicle sounds hard enough, to do it in a car with an engine of less than one litre sounds insane. But every year since 2004 this is a four week journey several hardy souls embark on in aid of charity in what has become known as the Mongol Rally.

On the 18th July 2009, five Chad’s alumni set off, with a planned route that passed through Central Europe, Turkey, Iran, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Russia and Mongolia.

David Andrews (2007), Nicholas Hawkins, George Crowther, Matthew Davis and Advait Patil (all 2006) decided that a 1 litre engine was not enough of a challenge, so opted instead to drive an ex-service ambulance which they would donate to a local hospital on arrival (if it was still in one piece!). In addition to this donation the team hoped to raise money for the Oxford-based charity Helen and Douglas House, the world’s first children’s hospice which,

alongside Douglas House formed later to address the needs of young adults, provides exemplary and unique facilities to an incredible range of people.

So, almost inevitably, the ambulance which was to become their home for a month was affectionately nicknamed ‘Dougie’. The target of £10,000 pounds has nearly been reached, with three quarters of the total successfully raised to date.

Ramsey window Durham Cathedral will be dedicating a stained glass window in memory of Archbishop Michael Ramsey on 25th September 2010. The window is on the theme ‘Transfiguration’ and has been given by the Friends of Durham Cathedral to mark their 75th anniversary in 2008.

Alumni may want to note that a day of events is being planned to mark the dedication, for which further details will be available nearer the time on the Cathedral web site.

Accommodation & catering will be available at St Chad’s, and booking forms will be available from the Cathedral & College websites in the New Year.

Canon Rosalind Brown is preparing a book of people’s memories of the Ramseys’ years in Durham and would welcome recollections for inclusion. Please send them, however brief or seemingly insignificant to her at Durham Cathedral, The Chapter Office, The College, Durham, DH1 3EH or nave.canon@durhamcathedral.co.uk

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Across the pond

Former Chaplain to lecture in USA The Revd Robert MacSwain - Ramsey Fellow and Chaplain at St Chad’s College, 2005-2008 -has accepted the position of Assistant Professor of Theology and Christian Ethics at the School of Theology of the University of the South in Sewanee, Tennessee, USA. Known simply as ‘Sewanee,’ the University of the South was founded by several American Episcopal bishops in 1868.

From the beginning, like St Chad’s, it was intended to provide both a College of Arts and Sciences for undergraduates Southern Reunion - Wednesday 24th February 2010 and a Theological College for the Episcopal Church.Today - 5.00pm - Attend Evensong at Westminster Abbey the university has about 1300 undergraduates reading all - 6.00pm - Meeting in the Old Library, Cheyneygates subjects, and 80 postgraduates reading theology. (at the Abbey) – open to all alumni - 7.00pm - Alumni Reception – wine and nibbles Rob’s appointment is in the School of Theology: he will teach postgraduate courses in theology and ethics and also Northern Reunion - Saturday 27th February 2010 preach in the seminary chapel and help future clergy for - 10.30am - St Chad’s Day Eucharist – Durham cathedral ordained ministry. He’s very excited about this opportunity, - 12 noon - College Run – Palace Green and looks forward to finally beginning the teaching side of Full details of the programme will be his academic career. available at www.stchads.ac.uk

Events 2010...

Book by Chad’s academics

Tuesday 26th January 18:30 - Organ Recital by James Lancelot (College Fellow) in Chapel Tuesday 9th February 13:15 - Informal Lunchtime Concert in Chapel Sunday 14th February The book is designed to meet the needs of today’s teachers 15:00 - College Choir sings Evensong in Ripon and students of theology by bringing together a range Cathedral Tuesday 16th February of relevant primary texts on the doctrine of the person of 17:15 - Choral Scholars of St Chad’s College sing Jesus Christ, and is available from Amazon.

Evensong in Durham Cathedral Monday 1st March 17:15 - College Choir sings Evensong in Durham Cathedral from www.dunelm.org.uk Tuesday 9th March By setting up an email account at www.dunelm.org.uk you 13:15 - Informal Lunchtime Concert in Chapel can tell Dunelm your actual email address and all your friends Wednesday 17th March your Dunelm address. The Dunelm account then forwards 19:30 - Concert sung by the College Choir (Chapel) your mail to an address with your Internet Service provider Tuesday 11th May or a web mail system like hotmail. It means regardless of 18:30 - Organ Recital by James Davy (Alumnus) in your email address or Internet Service provider your friends Chapel Monday 7th June can always stay in touch.

17:15 - College Choir sings Evensong in Durham Visit www.dunelm.org.uk and under the ‘Keeping in touch’ Cathedral tab you’ll find more information and details of how to Tuesday 22nd June 18:00 - Concert sung by the College Choir (Chapel) register for the forwarding service.

SCR President, Ann Loades and Jeff Astley, a Professorial fellow and tutor at St Chad’s have recently had published the book that they jointly edited: ‘Christology: Key Readings in Christian Thought’.

Email Forwarding Service

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Choir Another exciting year for the choir In 2008/2009 St. Chad’s Choir had one of its most exciting

In June we visited Manchester to sing Choral Evensong

and eventful years to date, playing in a range of venues to

and also sang all three services in Durham Cathedral on

many audiences. This year we were delighted to welcome

the third Sunday.

many new members and several new Choral Scholars into the Choir who have provided a fresh and welcome

In April 2010 the choir will record another CD and in June

impetus.

will visit Canada to sing concerts and services in Toronto and the surrounding area.

In addition to our regular responsibility of singing the regular services in the College Chapel on Sunday mornings

As always, I would like to thank the entire Choir for their

and Thursday evenings, we enjoyed many special services

enthusiasm, dedication and hard work over the past year.

and events over the year. The Advent Procession in the

Those members of the Choir who left Durham this last

Cathedral at the end of the Michaelmas Term is always a

year had given much to us and it was sad to say farewell

memorable occasion and it was wonderful to hear many

to them. Very special thanks must, as always, also go to

alumni comment on the particularly high standard of

our Sub-Organist, Peter Swift, for his organ playing and

singing from the Choir. We were pleased to again take part

help with making our music making such a rewarding

in the Friends of Durham Cathedral Christmas Celebrations,

experience

where we shared the stage with Durham Johnston School and the Durham Cathedral Young Singers. Last year also saw the re-lease of the new CD recording ‘Journey’ which has been well received and has generated very favourable feedback from those who have listened to it.

In February the Choir visited Hexham Abbey to sing Choral Evensong which was followed by a meal in a local Italian restaurant. As part of the celebrations of St Chad’s Day the Choir led the singing at the Festival Eucharist in Durham Cathedral on Saturday 28th February and sang at Evensong in the Cathedral on St Chad’s Day. The Easter vacation saw the Choir making a memorable return visit to the USA when we toured to Washington, Baltimore, Chantilly and Alexandria over a wonderful fortnight. The Choir sang excellent music in some truly memorable places.

Where there’s a will...

Durham is a great University and St Chad’s is a great College - not just academically but also in preparing students for life. St Chad’s is a living legacy. Each generation of students passes on the torch to the next.

By leaving a gift in your will you could help to ensure that St Chad’s can continue to flourish and enhance the lives of many in this country and beyond.

Are you prepared to be committed to a vision of St Chad’s College that stretches beyond your own lifetime?

Would you consider making a gift in your will to support your college and enrich the lives of young people. To find out more about leaving a gift to the College please complete your contact details and tick the relevant box on the donation form.

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Boston Rowing Marathon What better way to spend a Sunday When I put my name down I didn’t really consider what I was letting myself in for, the 50.2 km (31 mile) race from Lincoln to Boston was originally rowed in 1946 as a pub bet.

It’s that kind of event. After a few days training in Durham with those who were either stupid or naïve enough to sign up, we made the long way down to Lincolnshire. ‘It’s only a bit of pre-season’ I was told, ‘nothing to worry about!’. With one coxed four staying the night before in Lincolnshire and the other driving down from Durham on the morning of the race, we cheerfully said our goodbyes and agreed to meet in Boston where our ordeal would begin.

Laughs and jokes carried us all the way down the A1, but looking at the course, after the gourmet meal of pasta and malt loaf, it suddenly didn’t seem so funny. Our race plan?

None of us knew. How were we to know how we would be feeling after a measley 25km, let alone at the end? ‘Just finish it’ we all agreed, we would push off every kilometre and trust grit and determination for the rest. The 37km point was, for me, where I wondered if we were going to get to the finish at all- photos would later show that by this point the ‘beautiful weather’ was already causing some rather distinctive lycra-shaped sun burn.

The sound of the tannoy at the finish summoned one final push (I still wonder where all that energy came from) and we crossed the line, all collapsing in exhaustion. After tending to thoroughly blistered hands and swapping race stories, the results showed that the Men’s crew had not done too badly at all, finishing half way down their category in a respectable time of 4 hours 18 mins. Our mixed Chad’s entry had only smashed the course record of the category above their current status! As a result, Chad’s is the only University college to hold a record at what is seen as perhaps the hardest rowing event in the country. ‘Never again’ I said as I crossed the line. I think I can be persuaded though- we’ve got records to defend.

New Boathouse Planning begins

The need for a new St. Chad’s boathouse has been recognised and we are happy to announce a project for this development is now being pursued. We anticipate a structure that has the capacity to house all of the existing boats and in addition five ‘eights’ for which we currently have no room. Modern racking equipment will be provided to enable easier handling of the boats as well as the incorporation of lighting and power, and washing and toilet facilities. It is proposed that the new boathouse will be built on the paddock at the bottom of the College steps and adjacent to the Kingsgate Bridge. A first exploratory meeting has been held with members of the Planning Department of Durham County Council which went well and, on the understanding that the criteria of the Environmental Agency are met, we anticipate few serious problems. We will continue to collaborate closely with the Agency and although there is much work to be done we are satisfied with what appears to be a promising start.

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Copyright © 2009 St Chad’s College - All rights reserved

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St Chad’s College 18 North Bailey Durham, UK DH1 3RH T: +44 (0) 191 3343358 F: +44 (0) 191 3343371 E: chads.development@dur.ac.uk W: www.dur.ac.uk/StChads Chair of Development Group: The Revd Dr Ashley Wilson T: +44 (0)191 3343362 E: ashley.wilson@dur.ac.uk

Editor Ashley Wilson Design & Layout James Walker Journalists/contributors Iain Carter, Claire Creagh, Polly Crossman, Colin Ferguson, Shirin Gerami, Mike Huxtable, Birte Muller, Ben Pfeffer, Ed Roberts, Matt Walters

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St Chad’s College is an exempt charity Company registration number 109442