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THE QUEEN’S COLLEGE

THE QUEEN’S COLLEGEuniversity of oxford

NewsletterI s s u e t w e n t y - e i g h t m i c h a e l m a s T e r m 2 0 1 6 1 2 / 1 6

College celebrates 675th Anniversary

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THE QUEEN’S COLLEGE www.queens.ox.ac.uk

Several Old Members have asked for my views on how the Brexit vote aff ects the College. The direct fi nancial eff ects are unlikely to be pronounced: the College itself does not receive any money directly from the EU. The University Departments do – up to 30% of research income in the social sciences, for example – so that consequences for the volume of research activity across the University are likely, and already there are reports of grant applications and collaborations refused.

The considerations around free movement of people are more signifi cant, both immediately and in the longer term – as in the wider University, the College has become very cosmopolitan with 5 (out of 37) Governing Body Fellows and 12

(out of 22) Research Fellows from the non-UK EU. The Research Fellow proportion is striking and most accurately represents the composition of the research community as these are appointments which have been made recently. Nobody is anticipating any changes in the formal position of existing residents but many of our Fellows are re-evaluating their longer term situation. As one Fellow from France put it ‘when I took the position in the UK, I felt that I was moving within Europe and with an understanding of what that meant for my rights and those of my children – now this feeling of citizenship is disturbed, and the xenophobic sentiments which have accompanied the discussion are very unsettling’.

The University would very much like the future arrangements on international movement for students and academics to remain as they are, to sustain the strongly internationally connected position that the University has attained in both teaching and research – we have had a very good decade, as signalled by the “best in the world” ranking recently trumpeted for Oxford in the Times Higher Education Supplement.

Given the centrality of the issue, the Vice-Chancellor and Council have just created the post of Head of Brexit Strategy, to ensure we have a team focused exclusively on identifying opportunities and managing the ever-changing situation. Professor Alastair Buchan, Head of the Medical Sciences Division has agreed to take on the role and will assume the title of Pro-Vice-Chancellor (without portfolio) and lead this initiative from January 2017.

Old Members have also asked me about Queen’s having come bottom in this year’s Norrington Table. The table provides a particular measure of a college’s academic performance, awarding fi ve points for each fi rst, three for a 2:1, two for a 2:2 and one point for a third. This year 21 of our fi nalists achieved a fi rst, compared with 32 at Merton (who were top of the table this

year, 24th last) and we were tenth in this year’s table for 2:1s. We need to convert those 2:1s to fi rsts.

Interestingly, Queen’s has a higher than normal proportion of students reading subjects in which fewer fi rsts are ever awarded (for example French and History). Despite such a refl ection, the unfortunate truth is that we have not been in the top half of the table for a number of years and we are determined to address the situation. Investing in the new library was a deliberate decision to place intellectual endeavour at the heart of the College, both literally and metaphorically.

We have created a new, improved College website, an important reference point for potential applicants. Our Access and Outreach Offi cer is working hard with schools, especially in our allocated target area of the Northwest, and the number of applicants to Queen’s has increased substantially, especially from that region. We are reassessing the value of scholarships and introducing collections prizes to reward good marks in College examinations. The Senior Tutor is reviewing the teaching provision in each subject, we have improved the way we provide feedback to students and we have introduced a fund to support extracurricular workshops and visiting speakers to enhance the academic life of the College.

Our current students are doing very well, as witnessed by a record number of distinctions in Prelims and Mods last year, and have played an active part in reviewing the above measures. We expect to see a substantial improvement in our Norrington Table position in this and subsequent years.

We also expect our students to continue to enjoy the many extra-curricular opportunities that life at Oxford has to off er. Their challenge is to do the very best for themselves, with the very best support we can off er them.

ContentsPages 3–5 News from Queen’s

Pages 6–7 Celebration

pages 8–9 College celebrates 675th Anniversary

page 10 new fellows

page 11 books

pages 12–13 development report

pages 14–15 seabirds and ocean health

back cover events

letter from the Provost News from Queen’s

The Right Reverend David Jenkins (1925–2016)David Jenkins came up to Queen’s in 1947, having served in the Royal Artillery. He read Greats and Theology, graduating in 1951, after which he moved to Lincoln Theological College to prepare to become a minister. Having been ordained, he returned to Queen’s in 1954, succeeding Dennis Nineham as Fellow, Chaplain and Praelector in Theology. He is widely remembered for his pastoral sensitivity and provocative teaching from which the College benefi ted for 15 years. Caring deeply and speaking his mind were qualities present throughout his lifetime. As one of the great scholar-bishops of Durham (1984-1994), he drew attention to, and cared for, the communities aff ected by the closure of coal mines. His fresh approach to theology engaged many,

though his donnish turn of phrase was occasionally misunderstood in the press. A full obituary will appear in next year’s College Record.

OM John Hudson (Lit Hum, 1965) remembers:

I knew that David Jenkins was special … because he had open communion. David had found out that pre-reformation Oxford college chapels were not bound to use the Book of Common Prayer and took full advantage of this to create innovative service forms … David had a rock solid faith but no time for ‘peripheral issues’. … Those who claim he had no faith had never challenged him on the central tenets of faith … He is fondly remembered as the College Chaplain who took off his gown and worked in the town as well.

© Edmund Blok

Queen’s Library Exhibition: The 17th Century Scientific Revolution Queen’s is fortunate to own some of the most important scientifi c publications from the late 17th century, still regarded as amongst the most seminal texts of all time. They demonstrate the research and endeavour that fl ourished despite the earlier years’ turmoil of the English Civil War and the Cromwellian Protectorate.

This exhibition runs until the end of Hilary Term 2017, displaying 12 key texts including the John Tradescants’ Musaeum Tradescantianum: or A collection of rarities, Robert Boyle’s The Sceptical Chymist and Moses Rusden’s A Further Discovery of Bees.

The exhibition is open Monday – Friday, 9am – 7pm and Saturdays, 9am – 1pm during term; and Monday – Friday, 9am – 5pm during vacation until the end of Hilary Term 2017.

Robert Hooke, 1635-1703. Micrographia: or some physiological

descriptions of minute bodies made by magnifying glasses: With observations and inquiries thereupon, 1665. Sel.f.77

Isaac Newton, 1642–1727. Philosophiæ naturalis principia mathematica, 1687. Sel.f.41

David Jenkins’ photograph from the College Entrance book, 1947

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THE QUEEN’S COLLEGE www.queens.ox.ac.ukTHE QUEEN’S COLLEGE

15 years at Queen’s Many Old Members will know Robert Saberton-Haynes and Anthony Page, both of whom celebrated 15 years at Queen’s as SCR Butler and Under Butler in October. Robert joined

us after 22 years at Jesus College, Anthony fresh from his apprenticeship at All Soul’s. In that time the team (and the workload) has doubled, thanks to an extensive calendar of Old Member events as well as the business of the SCR. Robert stewards the College’s extensive wine cellar and OMs are always keen to find out more, some have even

been known to bequeath their cellars to Queen’s. Both enjoy meeting Old Members at events, especially those who have been students over the last 15 years and return for the ‘Ten Years Later’ Lunch and the MA Reunion.

Huge thanks to Robert and Anthony for all they do looking after the SCR, Old Members and Guests, do raise a glass to the next 15 years.

Mrs Vivian (Viv) Masters (1956–2016)

In September, Queen’s lost one of its most committed and long serving members of staff, Viv Masters. Viv joined Queen’s in 1988 as a Seamstress before taking up her role as Caretaker at the Cardo Building, where she looked after countless new students over the years. Her daughter Natalie continues her tradition working in Cardo. Helen Bentley (History, 2008) remembers:

“Viv was more than a Caretaker, she was like family. She always made sure that the students staying at the Cardo building were safe and comfortable. And she always brightened my day with her cheery smiles and interesting conversation. Moving away from home for the first time can also be a stressful experience for parents, knowing that Viv lived next door certainly put my parents’ minds at ease. Viv was a wonderful woman, with a huge heart and a great sense of humour so I am sure that she will be missed by many people.”

College bids farewell to Chaplain, the Reverend Dr Dan Inman (Theology, 2005)The Reverend Dr Daniel (Dan) Inman left Queen’s in October to take up post as the new Diocesan Director of Ordinands (DDO) for the Diocese of Chichester. Dan had read his Masters and DPhil in Theology at Queen’s between 2005 and 2009 and so was ‘coming home’ when he took up the position of Chaplain in 2013. He was hugely popular with our students, with whom he connected on many levels and whose well-being was one of his primary concerns. In his final sermon, full of relevance for today’s undergraduates, Dan said:

Chapel isn’t a place for therapy, but it is place where, firstly, you develop the habit of sitting for half an hour without checking your phone (or, at least, some of you do…), half an hour where your tutors aren’t expecting an outcome

or an improvement in the Norrington Table, and half an hour where you can just sit and be yourself. Chapel is not a religious adjunct to the college, but an essential component in its wellbeing. For all the emphasis upon mindfulness and wellbeing classes, our university’s governors could do worse than look at the sustained practice of this Chapel for the past six hundred years. This is not a place to be ‘religious’, but to be yourself.

Indeed, it was just over there about twelve years ago, on a dark and wintry Friday night, when, instead of being attentive to the service, I sat wondering about what to do with my life. My mind sifted the tremendously exciting possibilities of the civil service, teaching and academia, but for a moment I pondered ordination. And I experienced

then a striking sense of peace and rightness that I simply couldn’t shake off and which I had to explore. That was the beginning of an adventure that’s been so far indescribably enriching, surprising, that has allowed me to see tremendous moments of beauty and compassion, of sadness too, but also joy and even the occasional glimpse of truth.

And twelve years on, after three years back in the heart of Eglesfield’s foundation, I can say with confidence that it has been an extraordinary privilege to share some of your adventures and to call you friends. May Queen’s flourish for many more centuries to come, and may we all discover that fullness of life which is the promise of God in Jesus Christ.

Old Girls’ reunite to play Women’s Football TeamOld Members from The Queen’s College Women’s Football Team returned to Fortress Riverside to play the current home team in November and it’s set to become an annual event. We lent the ‘Old Girls’ a few players to complete their team and kicked off after a lengthy warm-up. The current team were disconcerted to be playing against last year’s fantastic goalkeeper, Sophie Ward (Cell and Systems Biology, 2013), whose skills haven’t diminished. Our chances came thanks to a penalty and two shots by current star player Lucy Williams (Biological Sciences, 2015), who in the previous match had scored 7 goals. However, the Old Girls were undeterred and put the current defence under real pressure. Result: 3-0 to the Current Team.

Old Member Charlie Hicks (Neuroscience, 2013) refereed the game and many others came down to support. The challenge

of 45 minute halves could be seen on everyone’s faces! The Head of the River pub provided a well-deserved pub lunch and a chance for old and new Queen’s students to catch up. A big thank you to everyone involved: we’re looking forward to next year’s match!

Tilly Thatcher (Modern Languages, 2015), JCR Sports Representative.

When the ancient Babylonians made predictions in politics they didn’t take opinion polls, they asked the gods. Asking the question over a sacrificial sheep, they believed that the gods would write the answers in the entrails. Back in May Dr Selena Wisnom gave a talk on this subject at the British Museum, illustrating the process with a question of her own: Will Donald Trump take the kingship? The answer was yes.

Rather than sacrificing a sheep in the lecture theatre she used photographs of an Armenian sheep liver. These sheep are not fed antibiotics, so their livers still have many of the strange markings left by parasites and disease that produce the ‘ominous signs’. The Babylonian omen series explains what they mean, for example: ‘If the Dyeing Vat is concave on the right, the army of the prince will go on a terrifying campaign,’ and ‘If there is a long Presence: the days of the prince will be long’.

Dr Wisnom joined Queen’s this year as our first Junior Research Fellow in Manuscript and Text Cultures. Her research tries to

disentangle the rules of this system, to understand why the Babylonians thought in this way and the logic of their scholarly

thinking. These texts constitute some of the earliest evidence in the world for the history of science. The Babylonians made a systematic attempt to classify signs in the world around them and explain what they mean. Dr Wisnom explains: “we can think of these signs as ‘data’, which are organised into large and complex series according to certain principles, and come up with theories about what they mean. It is a scientific project in the sense that it attempts to make sense of the world through systematic data gathering and interpretation. The world view underpinning this is the idea that the gods send signs as warnings, and

we must pay heed so that we can take action. Strange as it may seem to us, it is perfectly logical from a Babylonian standpoint.”

Consequently, for the Babylonians, fate was not fixed but could be changed: these signs were not thought to cause the events that follow, only to forewarn us of them.

Trump win predicted by sheep entrails

Dr Selena Wisnom

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THE QUEEN’S COLLEGE www.queens.ox.ac.uk

celebration

Reuniting with contemporaries at Queen’s College hosted three reunion events this term for diff erent matriculation years. In October we welcomed matriculands from 1966 (pictured right) and in November those from 2006 and 2009. We look forward to seeing many more back in College in 2017 (please see events calendar on back page).

Celebrating student successes with 650th Anniversary Trust Fund

Throughout the 675th Anniversary Gala (see p8) Junior Dean Matthew Tompkins performed walk-around magic and illusions for guests, something he’s been doing for the last decade. Matt’s DPhil is in Experimental Psychology, focusing on the relationship between magicians and psychologists, and how magic tricks can be adapted into laboratory paradigms that can be used to study perception. He’s had a busy summer having succeeded in securing much sought after 650th Anniversary Trust funding to fi nance his trip to this year’s Edinburgh

Fringe. There Matt (pictured in action above) spent a week performing his street magic show, ‘Not-actually-a-Doctor Tompkins’ Genuine Fake Miracles’.

The Fund, created by Old Members to celebrate the College’s 650th anniversary, enables students to undertake educational, sporting and cultural activities arising from their life at Queen’s, particularly when they have no other funding avenues. Grants are awarded by a Committee of Old Members annually each April.

Others who benefi tted this year include: fi rst year Biological Sciences student Brittany Maxted, with help towards the cost of an expedition to Honduras to work as a biology research assistant; fi nalist, Bernadette Johns with an award towards the cost of studying at a residential singing school; and fi nalist James Lam with a grant towards leading an expedition to Svalbard for scientifi c research (mentioned in the Trinity Term Newsletter).

This support enables Queen’s students to achieve dreams that may not otherwise be possible and can be life-changing. Bernadette was ‘scouted’ during her singing course and off ered lessons by a renowned former opera singer who is now a Professor of Voice and teaches a wealth of professional singers.

For Brittany, the expedition to Honduras was the fi rst time she had travelled alone and outside Europe: “This has been an unforgettable experience. It has given me great new confi dence in myself, expanded my outlook and increased my eagerness to explore, both within and outside my own country”.

Continuing the year’s celebratory theme, here are some of the Queen’s couples who married in college during our 675th year

Hannah Behrendt (PPE, 2005) and Richard Muscat

Hannah and Richard met during Hannah’s fi nal year at Queen’s whilst Rich was studying for his DPhil at Wadham (Physics, 2006). After graduating they worked in the US, so coming back to Oxford for their wedding felt like coming home. Hannah sang in the choir whilst at Queen’s, together with Dan Inman, our recent College Chaplain, and one of her bridesmaids, Julia Barr (née Savage) (Law, 2005). Hannah was especially pleased to be able to walk down the aisle in such beautiful and familiar surroundings, with her father, Old Member Dr Gerhard Behrendt (Mathematics, 1979), by her side.

Robert Gaunt (Mathematics, 2005) and Ana CARVALHO (Music, 2014)

Having met each other in the dining hall in October 2014, just a month after Ana arrived at Queen’s, marrying in Queen’s Chapel, where Ana was often a reader at services,

was a natural choice. Robert had been here for 11 years (as undergraduate, DPhil student and then as a postdoc). He was a tutor for Probability and Statistics for six years and the VP at Cardo for fi ve. The couple married in September and moved up to Yorkshire in October 2016 to start their new life together.

Stephen (Physics, 1993) and Hannah Mullan

Stephen and Hannah were married at Queen’s in September. Both have a connection with Queen’s, as Hannah’s father is Old Member Colin Parker (Mathematics, 1976)

Paul (Modern History, 1997) and Kelly Foster

Paul met Kelly when she was on a working holiday in the UK from her native New Zealand. Following their wedding in November 2015, Paul and Kelly held a Blessing in College in July 2016. Inspired by the Rugby World Cup, Paul and Kelly wanted to bring their two cultures together and incorporate traditional New Zealand Maori elements into the very English surroundings of Queen’s. The Maori blessing and songs followed by the performance of a Haka (most likely a fi rst for Queen’s!) was a real highlight. Guests included Neil Sutcliff e (Modern History, 1997), John Dignan (Maths, 1998) and Neil Condron (English, 1998).

© Rachel Movitz Photography

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College celebrates 675TH Anniversary

On Saturday 17th September 2016, more than 800 Old Members, their families and friends came to Queen’s to celebrate our 675th Anniversary. Garden party guests spanned the generations and balloon-modelling, face painting, mini golf and a grand cream tea were much enjoyed.

Dinner guests were joined at sunset by a couple of hundred more Gala attendees, for a reception in the beautifully lit Front Quad. Entertainment during the evening included a ceilidh, a casino and live music in a marquee in Back Quad. Performers included Mary Erskine

(Modern Languages, 2004) with her band MeforQueen and The IMMposters, featuring Queen’s Fellows Professor Chris Norbury and Dr Steven Kelly, who closed the night playing to a packed dance fl oor.

Over 1,600 Old Members from 50 countries browsed the silent auction with its Queen’s-centric prizes from rare wines from the Queen’s Cellar through attending Encaenia with the Provost to an Egyptology

Experience with Professor Parkinson. £8,000 was raised for Student Support and £5,000 for the Library.

We would especially like to thank the following Old Members: Richard Leach (PPE, 1986) whose company Leach created the wonderful display graphics in Front Quad on which the enclosed timeline is based; Thomas Putter (PPE,

1977) whose company GiveSmart created the silent auction; Robin Wilkinson (PPE, 1973), Desmond Cecil (PPE, 1961) and Andrew Kojima (Lit Hum 1997) for their generous auction prizes. Thanks too to our sponsors including Oxford Royale Academy, Lowe & Oliver Ltd, B-Line Business Supplies Ltd, and Trinity Fire & Security Systems.

THE QUEEN’S COLLEGE www.queens.ox.ac.uk

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new fellows books

Dr Christopher Metcalf, Fellow in ClassicsBorn to Anglo-German parents, Dr Metcalf grew up in continental Europe and West Africa. In 2003 he came to Britain to study classical and ancient Near Eastern languages in Edinburgh, Oxford and London, graduating with a DPhil in Classics from Oxford in 2013. He took his fi rst academic

appointment at SOAS, University of London, where he taught as a substitute for the Professor of Babylonian, A R George, in 2012‒13. He returned to Oxford as Junior Research Fellow in

Lesser Known Languages and Scripts of the Ancient World at Wolfson College from 2013 to 2016, and held a postdoctoral research fellowship awarded by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation at the Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg, Germany, before joining Queen’s in October 2016.

The College’s strong traditions of teaching and research in languages in general, and in classical and oriental languages in particular, make Queen’s his ideal academic home. In his main piece of published research so far he has explored the relationship between early Greek poetry and the literatures of the ancient Near East, in particular Mesopotamian and Anatolian texts (The Gods Rich in Praise: Early Greek and Mesopotamian Religious Poetry, OUP 2015).

Professor Seth Whidden, Fellow in FrenchBorn, raised, and trained in the US, Professor Whidden received his MA from Ohio State University and his PhD from Brown University. He worked at Villanova University, Pennsylvania, for a dozen years – during which he spent a

term as Starr Research Fellow at Lady Margaret Hall – before joining Queen’s in September.

His research interest is 19th century French literature, focussing on poetry and questions of subjectivity, authority, collaboration, and parody. His fi rst book, Leaving Parnassus: The

Lyric Subject in Verlaine and Rimbaud, considers poets Arthur Rimbaud and Paul Verlaine and their complex relationship with Parnassian poetry of the mid-nineteenth century. In Authority in Crisis in French Literature, 1850–1880, his second book, a series of close readings shows how tensions from the Second Empire and the 1871 Paris Commune played out in theatre, poetry, and short stories, raising questions about authorship through literary collaboration, parody, destabilised poetic form, and narrative voice. He has also directed several collections of essays and produced critical editions and translations and is currently working on a biography of Rimbaud. As the editor of the scholarly journal Nineteenth-Century French Studies, Professor Whidden follows the ongoing research in his fi eld very closely; taking great pleasure from working with colleagues and helping get their best work to print.

Eric Garcetti, honorary fellow

Old Member Eric Garcetti (International Relations, 1993) has become our most recent Honorary Fellow. Mr Garcetti was elected the 42nd Lord Mayor of Los Angeles in May 2013, and is running for re-election next year. Mayor Garcetti was elected to the Los Angeles City Council in 2001 and became its President in 2006 – a position he held until he took offi ce as Mayor. His key priorities include creating jobs, fi ghting poverty and homelessness, conserving water, reducing traffi c congestion, and improving Los Angeles’ public transportation system. Mayor Garcetti earned his BA and MA from Columbia University, was a Rhodes Scholar at Queen’s and studied at LSE. Prior to joining the City Council, he taught at Occidental College and the University of Southern California. He serves as a Lieutenant in the U.S. Navy Reserve, and is an avid jazz pianist and photographer.

Queen’s Dr Ruth Dixon awarded book prize at Westminster awardsDr Ruth Dixon and Professor Christopher Hood, Emeritus Fellow of All Souls College, picked up the WJM Mackenzie Book Prize at the end of November at the Political Studies Association’s Annual Awards in Westminster. The awards pay tribute to those who have made outstanding contributions to politics in the past year. Hood and Dixon’s book, A Government That Worked Better and Cost Less? Evaluating Three Decades of Reform and Change in UK Central Government, off ers a unique evaluation of UK government modernisation

programmes from 1980 to the present day.

Dr Dixon is the fi rst female winner of the WJM Mackenzie Book Prize. She is a researcher at the Blavatnik School of Government and an associate member of the University’s Department of Politics and International Relations. Originally a chemist, Dr Dixon worked for many years on the biochemistry of disease here in Oxford and continues to teach Biochemistry at Queen’s.

catharOld Member and Honorary Fellow Sir Christopher Bland (1958) has just published his second novel, Cathar, a compelling historical fi ction set in the Languedoc at the end of the 13th century. François de Beaufort

is a young knight and Cathar who, with friends and family, is pursued relentlessly by the Inquisition in its brutal drive to stamp out the Cathar religion in France. Sir Christopher vividly describes their lives and experiences: war, religion, romantic and courtly love stories across the years are all beautifully written. Historical detail and religious context blend with emotive storytelling and whilst it is a thoroughly absorbing read, he pulls no punches about the harsh realities the characters face. Cathar has been painstakingly researched (as you’d expect of a Queen’s historian) and it is a thoroughly enjoyable ‘page-turning tale’ (The Times).

This novel follows swiftly on from Ashes in the Wind, Sir Christopher’s debut novel in 2014, based on his own Anglo-Irish roots and described by Melvyn Bragg as ‘an epic novel … extraordinarily gripping and moving’.

On retiring from a career during which he chaired some of the country’s most iconic institutions, including the BBC, BT and the RSC, Sir Christopher took himself off to a creative writing course run by Faber. With hindsight he says he wished he had become a writer earlier. The results speak for themselves and should encourage all those who might harbour the same dream.

The Good ImmigrantThe Good Immigrant is a collection of essays exploring what it means to be black, Asian and minority ethnic in Britain today. Vera Chok (Archaeology and Anthropology, 1996) wrote, ‘Yellow’, which explores “being a

‘yellow’-skinned person in the UK”.

The book examines why immigrants come to and stay in the UK, and what it means to be ‘other’ in Britain. The collection won the Readers’ Choice Award for Book of the Year at the recent Books Are My Bag awards.

Beyond the Northlands Former Queen’s Extraordinary Junior Research Fellow in English (2011–2013), Dr Eleanor Rosamund Barraclough, recently published her fi rst book: Beyond the Northlands: Viking Voyages and the Old Norse Sagas (Oxford University Press).

Dr Barraclough examines the medieval world through the lens of the far-travelling Norsemen and their saga storytelling culture. She illuminates rich but often confusing saga accounts with a range of other evidence including archaeological fi nds, rune-stones, and medieval maps, to help understand just how the world was experienced, remembered and imagined by this unique culture from the outermost edge of Europe. In 2013 Dr Barraclough took up a lectureship in Medieval History and Literature at Durham University and was selected as a BBC Radio 3 New Generation Thinker.

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THE QUEEN’S COLLEGE

Launching the Queen’s Fund and The Queen’s SocietyWe are renaming the Annual Fund The Queen’s Fund better to refl ect its ongoing, not just annual, importance to our college community and we

are creating The Queen’s Society to recognise and thank all those who are able to commit to making a regular gift to College. Members of the Society play a

continuing role in Queen’s day-to-day life and will be invited to an annual donor reception by way of thank you. Currently 451 Old Members make such a regular gift by way of direct debit or standing order and we hope to be able to thank and welcome many more to The Queen’s Society over the course of the coming year.

We have an outstanding opportunity to raise another £100,000 this year, as well as

increasing the number of our regular givers, as a generous benefactor is off ering to match the fi rst year value of all new regular gifts. Do please help us to hit this double jackpot by making any gift you are able to make a regular one. Please contact Henry Cosh for more information: henry.cosh@queens.ox.ac.uk or +44 (0)1865 279214.

We remember and thank the ten Old Members and Friends whose bequests of £546,000 have been used to help build the New Library. We also received 52 new legacy pledges, bringing membership of the Taberdars’ Society to 186. Legacies have played a consistently important part in funding core projects over the last decade and we deeply appreciate this very personal commitment to Queen’s.

Major gifts (£25,000+) to a combined value of £246,000 were gratefully received in support of the New Library,

Student Support, the French Fellowship Appeal and our Foote Junior Research Fellow.

All other gifts were made to our Annual Fund. Over 900 Old Members contributed, together raising £439,000. Of that sum £160,000 came in the form of regular gifts that are especially helpful as they enable us to plan in the medium term. Some of the areas these gifts helped fund include Student Support, Access and Outreach, Fellowships, Graduate Scholarships and the New Library. We are especially grateful that 70% of gifts to the fund

were unrestricted and so could be used wherever the need was greatest.

The New Library “This is a truly transformational project – both of Queen’s physical library space and our intellectual life. It will provide a modern working environment, access to nationally important historic collections and the most up to date print and digital materials that will enable, inspire and energise our outstanding students.” Dr Rebecca Beasley, Fellow in English, Fellow Librarian.

The New Library extension will be completed during Hilary Term. The Library Team will supervise the move of as many as possible of the 140,000 books that need re-housing during the Easter vacation. All will be on hold during Trinity term, however, for students to take full advantage of the 36 new reading spaces to focus on their revision. Everyone has been superbly understanding during the build and the huge benefi ts are about to be realised.

The College has committed up to £4 million and is very grateful for the £3 million already raised from Old Members, Friends and Foundations. We are working hard to secure the remaining £3 million and we have a number of opportunities at all levels, from naming rooms to desks. This must be a once in a life time chance to have your name carved on a Queen’s library desk!

All donors (£1+) will be included in the commemorative brochure and be invited

to the offi cial Library Opening for Old Members, currently planned for Saturday 16th September 2017, the Old Members’ Dinner and Alumni Weekend. Please save the date, more news to follow.

Gifts of all sizes are vital to help us reach our goal. Do please contact Anna Thorne, Development Director at anna.thorne@queens.ox.ac.uk / +44 (0)1865 289119 for more information.

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www.queens.ox.ac.uk

Outreach and AccessIn just the last year our Outreach Offi cer, Harriet Rudden (History & Politics, 2011), arranged 58 events with 71 schools, both here at Queen’s and in our outreach regions, the North West (Cumbria, Blackburn with Darwen, Blackpool, Lancashire), and Sutton and Lewisham in South London. Over 1,600 young people have learned about coming to Oxford in general and Queen’s in particular. Our fantastic student volunteers helped run Open Days, College Tours and even a week’s residential course for 20 science students from Cumbria over the Easter vacation. Harriet also spent many days at schools discussing the Oxford experience and dispelling the many myths (held by

teachers, not just students).

The residential was a real eye opener for our visitors and will be repeated in 2017. Everyone enjoyed meeting current students, experiencing tutorials and learning more about how to apply, including mock interviews.

Harriet has now headed to the Department of Education, where she is putting her experience at Queen’s to use: thank you and good luck Harriet. In February we welcome Orock Nsoatabe (Stretford Grammar School, Manchester; Exeter College, Oxford). Over the last year Orock has been working as an outreach ambassador at the University of Cambridge; she’s delighted to be coming home to Oxford and we’re sure you’ll join us in welcoming Orock to the Queen’s community.

development report

THANK YOU to the 971 Old Members who made a gift to Queen’s last year. The £1,295,000 you donated was equivalent to approximately 11% of our total annual income and has made a real difference to the lives of our students and academics and to the fabric of the College itself.

Areas supported (no. students benefitting)

Value to students

Queen’s contribution to Oxford Opportunity Bursary (66) £178,000

Scholarships & Exhibitions (59) £19,350

Graduate scholarships (41) £162,500

Book, equipment and academic travel grants (many) £30,000

Outreach Programme (cost £138,000) (1,600 school pupils)

Undergraduate Sports (many) £107,000

Undergraduate Music (excluding Choir) (many) £23,000

“Thank you for supporting our JCR and MCR members; so many of us struggle to finance coming to Queen’s. we are grateful for the impact you have on our daily lives helping to reduce financial worry, enable great work and encourage sporting and artistic endeavour.

Emma Roberts, JCR President, Tim Westwood, MCR President, pictured right.

the queen’s fundSupporting Our College Community

QUE-21633 Queen's Fund Leaflet 8pp.indd 1 08/12/2016 09:23

“My Research Fellowship has been a remarkably enriching experience and, at a time in which very few academic positions are available, it has been invaluable in furthering the development of my academic career. The Trust’s support has enabled me to produce exciting new research and having built up a substantial research profi le, I secured a Leverhulme Early Career Development Fellowship at Cambridge University this year. Thank you most sincerely for this transformational career opportunity.”

Dr Emily McLaughlin, Hamilton JRF in French 2011–16

£100,000matched funding availableto match the fi rst year value of all new regular gifts and any increases in existing regular gifts.

Please pledge a regular gift this year!

The Impact of your Gifts

Cumbrian sixth formers attending Science Residential Course

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www.queens.ox.ac.uk

Puffi n with a miniature geolocator on its leg

Skomer

THE QUEEN’S COLLEGE

Seabirds and ocean health

Dr Annette Fayet joined Queen’s in October as the Browne Junior Research Fellow in Biological Sciences. Initially an engineer, she followed her life-long interest in animal behaviour and birds when she undertook a Master’s and later a recently completed DPhil in Zoology at Oxford. Dr Fayet explains her interesting research:

As a behavioural ecologist, I study the behaviour of animals and try to understand how and why their behaviour has evolved as it has in their natural environment. My research focuses primarily on the migration of seabirds, and aims to understand where they go and what they do while away at sea, how their migration routes are developed and maintained, and how important yearly events such as migration and breeding are interlinked.

Tracking seabirds at sea

My research involves a lot of fi eldwork, usually on inaccessible islands in remote locations, which tend to be the only places rats have not colonised and where seabirds can still thrive. In order to study

seabirds’ movements, I use state-of-the-art miniature tracking devices called geolocators. Weighing only a few grams, these are attached to a plastic ring around the leg of the birds, recording the approximate location of the bird and how much time it has spent immersed in saltwater (i.e. on or in the sea) every day. When the birds return to their colony to breed in the summer, I catch them and download data from the device. From this data I can infer where the birds have been and can estimate their behaviour by applying pattern-recognition techniques.

Why is this important?

Seabirds are vulnerable to many threats, from fi sheries to pollution and climate change. They are the most threatened

group of birds on the planet, with 28% of species endangered and another 10% globally threatened. In the last 60 years seabird numbers across the globe have decreased by 70%; 90% of seabirds now have plastic in their stomach. Protecting them is diffi cult as they spend most of their time at sea, where we can’t observe them. Tracking seabirds allows us to learn about their movements and their behaviour remotely and to identify important areas for their survival (e.g. foraging or wintering areas) which should become conservation priorities. Protecting them is important not only for their sake, but also for ours. Seabirds are top marine predators and as such they are excellent indicators of our oceans’ health. If they are not doing well, neither are the oceans.

© Chris Taylor

Puffin research

One of my main study species is the Atlantic puffi n, a charismatic little seabird breeding across the North Atlantic. I have mostly been studying them on Skomer Island, off the coast of Pembrokeshire, where about half a million pairs of seabirds breed each summer. Tracking Skomer puffi ns revealed migratory patterns no one would have guessed, with some birds migrating to places as diverse as Iceland, Newfoundland, Brittany and the Mediterranean Sea. Puffi ns have suff ered over the last few decades, with many colonies across the Atlantic having very low rates of breeding success. So much so, that in 2015 the International Union for Conservation of Nature classifi ed puffi ns as endangered.

One of the projects that I am currently developing aims to track the migration of puffi ns across their whole breeding

range, to understand the drivers behind migratory patterns at a population-wide level. This may help us understand the reason behind puffi n declines. To do this, I am collaborating with

researchers in the UK, Norway, Iceland, Ireland, Canada and the US. We hope to solve the mystery behind the decline in puffi n numbers together and come up with a way to limit future reductions.

My Junior Research Fellowship at Queen’s will allow me to continue developing these projects while building new collaborations (I’m already talking about exciting new projects with other Queen’s Fellows). Being part of such a

fantastic community of Fellows and students, I feel really lucky to have been given such a great opportunity which without a doubt will have a huge positive impact on my future career.

Puffin Facts

• A baby puffi n is called a puffl ing.

• Puffi ns have spikes in their mouth to hold multiple fi sh at once.

• Puffi ns nest in the same burrow year after year, with the same mate.

• The average lifespan of a puffi n is 25 years!

© Chris Taylor

© Chris Taylor

© Chris Taylor

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THE QUEEN’S COLLEGE

Tickets and details for all events can be found at www.queens.ox.ac.uk/events

Saturday 7 January Needle and Thread Gaudy Ticketed (by invitation only)

Saturday 28 January Subject Lunch (Lawyers) Ticketed (by invitation only)

Saturday 18 February Taberdars’ Society Lunch Ticketed (by invitation only)

Saturday 18 MaRch Subject Dinner (Physicists and Engineers) Ticketed (by invitation only)

thursday 23 March Queen’s in Hong Kong Ticketed

friday 24 March Queen’s in Singapore (part of the University’s Asia Reunion Weekend) Ticketed

tuesday 25 April City of London Reception Ticketed

saturday 27 may Summer VIIIs Ticketed

Saturday 17 June Benefactors’ Dinner Ticketed (by invitation only)

Saturday 1 July The Queen’s Society Reception Ticketed (by invitation only)

Saturday 1 July Old Members’ Garden Party Ticketed

Saturday 16 September Library Opening for Old Members Ticketed (by invitation only)

Saturday 16 September Old Members’ Dinner Ticketed

Saturday 14 October 50th Anniversary Matriculation Gaudy Lunch Ticketed (by invitation only)

Saturday 28 October ‘Ten Years Later’ Lunch Ticketed (by invitation only)

Saturday 18 November MA Reunion Lunch Ticketed (by invitation only)

Saturday 16 December Boar’s Head Gaudy Ticketed (by invitation only)

Advance noticeimportant changes in Data Protection legislation, your action will be needed.

Data protection laws are changing. From May 2018 we will not be allowed to communicate with you unless you have actively given us your consent to do so (and we won’t be able to ask you for consent after that date). To invite you to any events, including gaudies, for you to receive the College Record, newsletters, emails, fundraising materials or any of the personal communications we enjoy with you individually, you must have given us your consent to contact you whether by letter, email, telephone and/or text.

We do not wish to risk losing contact and plan to gather this overall consent via straightforward online (where possible) or paper (where necessary) processes early in 2017. We will of course continue to observe and refi ne your specifi c preferences as your circumstances and interests change. The Old Members’ Offi ce has worked hard over the years to ensure we communicate with you according to your preferences; please help us meet this challenge so that our community continues to fl ourish. Thank you for your help.

Editor: Jen StedmanContributors: Paul Madden, Annette Fayet, JEN STEDMAN, TILLY THATCHER, Anna Thorne, SELENA WISNoMDesign & Published: Holywell Press Ltd

Old Members’ Offi ce, The Queen’s College, High Street, Oxford, OX1 4AWEmail: oldmembers@queens.ox.ac.uk | Telephone: 01865 279214 | Registered Charity 1142553

Events Calendar 2017