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Lincoln Imprint 10 (e):Lincoln College news 17/8/10 18:16 Page 45

EditorialAs Imprint 2010 goes to press Oxford is enjoying a spell of warmsunshine and Lincoln has golden light shining on its beautifulmedieval quads. This good weather has been a long time comingas 2009-10 has seen us struggling through many cold dark winterdays and a few heavy bouts of snow!

Meteorological happenings aside this has been a great year forLincoln, as these pages will show. Our students have excelled, bothin and out of the Exam Schools. The year began with the news thatLincoln had made the top ten of the Norrington Table for thefourth consecutive year (page 4). Since then the students havebeen busy adding to this achievement with football trophies (page28), rowing blades (page 29), drama productions (page 24) andmuch more besides.

Lincoln’s Fellows and alumni have once again had a year of muchnews and achievement – this year’s Alumni News section isparticularly bumper! – and we thank those who have taken thetime to share some of their news and work with Imprint.

This has also been a jam-packed year for the Development Office,as we have maintained our busy programme of alumni events andfundraising activities. See pages 31-34 for full accounts ofTelethons, trips abroad, reunions and an update from the Directorof Development.

Perhaps the highlight of our events programme came at the veryend of the year on Friday 2 July when 90 alumnae came togetherfor a gala dinner in Hall to celebrate 30 years since the first femaleundergraduates matriculated at Lincoln. It was wonderful to see somany alumnae from across the three decades together (see pages14-17 for further coverage of the event and anniversary).

Please turn to the back cover of the magazine for events datesgoing forward into 2011 and mark any relevant ones in your diary.We hope to see as many alumni as possible at events over thecoming year. We also encourage everybody to carefully read theenclosed sheet showing the contact details we currently hold foryou. If any of these are out of date, please correct them on thesheet and return it. This is a big help in ensuring we can keep youup-to-date with publications, event invitations and College news.

We hope you enjoy reading this year’s Imprint magazine. If youhave any questions about any aspects of its content or have anysuggestions for next year’s issue please get in touch. And do call inif you are ever in Oxford!

THE DEVELOPMENT OFFICE TEAMLincoln CollegeTurl StreetOxfordOX1 3DR

T : +44(0)1865 287421

E : [email protected]: www.lincoln.ox.ac.uk

RECTOR’S MESSAGE PAGE 1

INTRODUCING: THE COLLEGE OFFICE PAGE 2

COLLEGE NEWS PAGE 4

FELLOWS’ NEWS PAGE 5

INVISIBLE IN THE STORM PAGE 7

Dr John Norbury on retirement and his latest book

VERCELLI 2010: FATEFUL DISCOVERIES PAGE 8

Dr Winfried Rudolf reflects on this year’s palaeography trip

MATTERS OF THE HEART PAGE 10

Dr Marie Schroeder shares news of her research into heartfailure

THE INTIMATE DISCONNECTIONS

OF JOHN WESLEY, 1756-65 PAGE 12

30 YEARS OF WOMEN AT LINCOLN PAGE 14

THE POWER OF SPORT PAGE 18

Alastair Ruxton (1988) on being a lawyer for London 2012

JOHN LE CARRÉ HONOURED

WITH LITERARY AWARD PAGE 19

THE ASHMOLEAN: A MUSEUM TRANSFORMED PAGE 20

Henry Kim (1992) is Project Director of the AshmoleanRedevelopment Project

THE JCR 2009-10 PAGE 22

The JCR President and a selection of student societies share their news

THE MCR 2009-10 PAGE 25

STUDENT NEWS PAGE 26

STUDENT SPORTS: 2009-10 ROUND-UP PAGE 27

VACPROJ 2009 PAGE 30

DEVELOPMENT AND ALUMNI RELATIONS PAGE 31

The Development Office staff share their news of the year

LINCOLN ALUMNI IN POLITICS PAGE 35

ALUMNI NEWS PAGE 36

MY LINCOLN: NAOMI ALDERMAN PAGE 40

Contents

COVER IMAGE: 30 years of alumnae, gathered together for the gala dinner in July 2010. Photo © Keith Barnes


Last year I discussed our plans for theextension and refurbishment of theGarden Building, better known to many ofyou as the Library before it was moved toAll Saints Church nearly 40 years ago. Agenerous trust has donated £4m, whichwill greatly add to the success andimportance of the building, especially forour students whose cultural activities willbe much enhanced by it. It will alsoprovide for a new dining room sufficient toseat at least 50 diners, in addition to ourprincipal dining hall, as well as spacesintended to improve our music, drama andother arts, as well as better lecture andseminar facilities. We are in hope that wewill start the reconstruction of the GardenBuilding in the summer of 2011 andcomplete it about a year later.

In the meantime we have anothersignificant new project, which we havebeen broadly planning for some years. Thisis the Turl Tavern which many of ouralumni will recall in various of its formsover the years. In recent years it has rarelyattracted Lincoln students, probablybecause it is no longer a very salubriousplace. Its condition is not well kept up,though tourists continue to use it atlunchtime especially in the summer. Whatis particularly objectionable are theunpleasant consequences that in evenings,especially on Fridays and Saturdays, cangive rise to noise, filth, and sometimescriminality that affects both sides of theTurl. Whitbread manage the first two floorsof the Mitre for their restaurants, and alsomanage the Turl Tavern as a bar that alsoserves light lunches. The rest of the Mitrehas since the late 1960s been used forstudent accommodation. It is worth noting

that the Mitre and the whole of thesebuildings has in fact been a freeholdproperty ever since Lincoln took ownershipin 1467.

Taking back the Turl Tavern is not only amatter of refurbishing a disagreeablydownfallen public house. For some yearswe have preferred to improve itsappearance including that of a number ofnear buildings which are unsatisfactoryand severely outdated for matters such asfire exits, lifts, loud heating andconditioning machinery, and a large andobjectionable generator. Many of thestudent rooms that are part of the TurlTavern area can readily be made muchmore attractive to the inmates. There isalso the importance of taking over the TurlTavern in order to use some parts of it forteaching rooms, and also better rooms forthe JCR and MCR to allow them morefacilities usable by members, clubs and soon. There remains the matter of taking fullownership. The leasehold of the Tavern wastechnically capable of allowing us to regainit in 2005. In fact it has taken rather sometime to complete the process. But weexpect that we will be able to bring it backwithin the uses of the College and itsstudents and Fellows.

The Tavern and the accompanyingbuildings at the back of the Mitre were allbuilt in 1925-26. Before that time they wereold stables which were essential to theMitre stage-coaches that went to and fromLondon from Oxford. The ‘Defiant’ stagecoach pictured outside the entrance of theMitre is shown here in 1825, just a centurybefore the abolition of the stables and theirhorses. The buildings that we wish to keep

in properly restored fashion wereestablished to provide additional hotelrooms as well as an attractive barincluding billiard rooms. They are in anArts and Crafts style showing historicaltimber-framing with exceptional fittings,including iron casements with leadedpanes, and numerous catches, handlesand latches. The courtyard will have irongates, natural stone slabs, and a pleasantoutlook both on the buildings andbeyond the gateway towards Turl Streetand the College buildings opposite, aswell as the All Saints Library.

This will not involve very large sums ofmoney, probably little more than £1mwhich we are able to draw from ourreserves designed for relatively limitedprojects. The aim is mainly to improve theexterior and interior of the buildings andalso provide a setting fully appropriate forthe shops and neighbouring buildings. �

Professor Paul Langford, Rector

Rector’s Message

Rector’s report 01

Rector’s introduction

L The Mitre Tavern, re-opened in November, 1925. “An ideal inn, where the globe-trotter may satisfy hisinner man when his mind has imbibed great Oxford’sknowledge.”

L The Mitre Inn, Oxford. (from an engraving by J. Fisher,showing the ‘Defiance’ Coach which ran betweenOxford, Henley and London. c. 1825).

L Architects' proposal for the Turl Tavern – East Elevation


the point of contact for all the facultiesand departments with regard to ourstudents and Fellows.

“The best part of my job is having a closeinvolvement in everything that makesLincoln special. I help everyone to achievewhat they want: students, Fellows and thewhole College community. I enjoy gettingto know a lot of the students well, despitenot doing any teaching. The College Officeis a real hub at Lincoln and my job iseternally varied.”

Jemma Underdown, Academic Administrator“I’m the Senior Tutor’s right-hand woman.My main responsibility is to assist her inrunning the academic side of College life:appointing new Fellows and lecturers,organising outside tuition, maintainingstudent records, making sure they areentered for the right exams, helpingstudents experiencing difficulties, andorganising support for students withdisabilities. I’m the first contact for allundergraduate students if they have anyquestions or problems.

“There are about three weeks of quiet in themiddle of the summer, otherwise I amconstantly busy! The summer exam season isa very stressful time for students, and we

All aspects of academic life at Lincoln comeinto contact with the College Office atsome point. Its team of five is responsiblefor providing administrative support tostudents and Fellows alike, and ensuringadmissions, tutorials, essays and examsrun smoothly each year. Here, thedepartment members explain their rolesto Imprint and let us in on some of thehighlights of their jobs.

Louise Durning, Senior Tutor“I have overall responsibility for allacademic activity in College, this includesoverseeing undergraduate and graduateadmissions, academic discipline, theelection of Fellows, and acting as the tutorfor graduates. I also work closely with theChaplain on welfare provision.

“The job keeps me busy all the time, fromthe beginning of the year when thefreshers arrive, to the admissions period inDecember, through to exams in Trinity. Ilike how the year has a nice rhythm youcan follow. I seem to interact witheveryone in College, and work particularlyclosely with the Fellows, the Bursar, theDomestic Bursar, the Development Officeand the Rector.

“I also represent the College on a numberof University committees, including theConference of Colleges where we reviewcollege and University policies. I am also

might need to make special arrangementsquickly. Once term and exams are over andthe results are in there is some peace beforethe A-level results are published and we needto start making preparations for the newfreshers. Michaelmas Term is quite hectic asthe students settle in, and Hilary Term iswhen we usually advertise for new posts,which means lots of paperwork andmeetings. Then the cycle starts again…

“I work very closely with Louise, and there is alot of overlap between my responsibilitiesand Carmella’s and Dianne’s. We liaise closelywith the Domestic Bursar’s Office to arrangeaccommodation for students and rooms forFellows. We also pass information to theDevelopment Office so that exam results canbe reported in The Record, and I allocate someof the funds raised through the Telethon,including the Senior Tutor’s Fund which helpsstudents with academic expenses.

“I interact with the central University a lotas well. I have to register new students andupdate the Student Records Office withany suspensions or returns. This is veryimportant as students won’t receive theirloans if they aren’t correctly registered. Ialso work with Exam Schools to make surestudents are entered for the right exams.I’m on very friendly terms with theProctors’ Office as I’m frequently in touchto make special exam arrangements forstudents with dyslexia, or to arrange

Introducing: the College OfficeL Back: Alice Wilby, Louise Durning, Jemma UnderdownFront: Dianne Gull and Carmella Elan-Gaston.

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02 College & Fellows


3College & Fellows 03

extensions on submitted work whenstudents have been ill. During the exams Ican write to them several times a day!

“The best thing about the job is the variety.It’s also great to support the students: I’vebeen at Lincoln for nearly two years sonext summer I’ll have seen my first cohortof undergraduates through from their veryfirst day to their final exam, which will bevery satisfying. I’m also very lucky in mycolleagues; we all look after one anotherand enjoy each other’s company.”

Carmella Elan-Gaston, Graduate Officer andAcademic Assistant“I assist the Senior Tutor with all theadministration of Lincoln’s graduate students.This means I am the first point of contact forall graduates post-admission and I handle allrelated day-to-day administrative issues. I alsoassist some of the Fellows with secretarialmatters (when I first joined Lincoln I wasFellows' Secretary so it has stuck in somecases!), including the Wine Steward andthe Steward of the SCR. Additionally, Iorganise Undergraduate Collections at thestart of each term.

“Every term is busy for different reasons. InMichaelmas there is the registering andprocessing of graduate freshers andsorting out Graduate Advisors. DuringHilary I plan six Graduate Advisors lunches,and set up Graduate Collections (Taught)and Senior Scholarships. Finally in Trinity Iarrange the Schools Finalists’ dinners forundergraduates, organise another lot ofGraduate Collections (Research), andfinalise reading lists for undergraduatefreshers as set by tutors and departments.

“Because we share an office Jemma and Inever take holiday at the same time sothat one of us is always in the office toassist students and the Senior Tutor. I relyon Admissions to feed me the correctinformation about freshers, and I liaiseclosely with Accounts on matters ofgraduate funding. Outside of College, I alsowork with the graduate studies assistantsat each of the University faculties.

“The best part of the job is the constantinteraction with people – students, Fellowsand colleagues alike. I am privileged to bepart of the global community that isLincoln – I love this place! My interests arein languages and arts, so it is a delight forme to learn about the different languagesand cultures represented within thegraduate community.”

Dianne Gull, Admissions Officer“I am responsible for all the administrationassociated with Lincoln’s undergraduate andgraduate admissions process. When someoneis applying to Lincoln I am the person theydeal with for any queries.

“November and December are the busiestmonths of the year for me – this is when wereceive application forms and conductadmissions interviews for all prospectiveundergraduates. At this time I work flat out,sometimes doing 12 hour days.

“The administration for interviews has startedto switch from paper to email – it is bothquicker and more reliable. Students are nownotified by email of whether they are invitedto interview and of the time and date. They dostill receive offer or rejection letters by post.

“I also have a busy two weeks in late Augustwhen the A-level results are published. OnMonday of the third week of August theUniversity gives me a list of everyone whohas not achieved the required grades. I getquite a few phone calls from kids and parentsthat week, perhaps asking if they can still beadmitted despite a slipped grade, or askingwhat to do if they are waiting for a remark.

“The admission process for graduateshappens over a longer period of time. TheCollege is now responsible for sending eachnew graduate student a formal statement ofwhat their tuition fees and other costs for thecourse will be. This is quite a big responsibilitythat has recently been passed by theUniversity to the colleges.

“There is a real feeling of masochisticpleasure at triumphing over theundergraduate admissions period! Thatfeeling when it is all over is probably thebest part of my job. I also like the fact thatI am the face and voice of Lincoln for those

who are considering applying here. I amthe first port of call for all prospectivestudent enquiries and I enjoy that contactwith them.”

Alice Wilby, Schools Liaison Officer“My main responsibilities are liaising withschools and running events to encourageapplications to Oxford. I am the first point ofcontact for schools who want informationabout the College and who want toencourage pupils to apply. Every college has aregion that they focus on in their schoolsliaison activities. Lincoln’s are Lincolnshire,North Lincolnshire, North East Lincolnshire,Bath, Bristol, North Somerset and SouthGloucestershire.

“I work fairly autonomously within theCollege Office but help the AdmissionsOfficer with the interview process inDecember, and I organise the team ofstudent helpers who look after thecandidates. I work half my week at Lincolnand the other half next door at Exeter Collegeas their Schools Liaison Officer.

“I also organise the College open days. In thepast year I have run between 120 and 130events across the two colleges (Exeter andLincoln). That represents approximately a50:50 split between events here in Oxford(open days and individual school visits), andme going out to visit schools. I write to all theschools in my regions once a year to ask ifthey would like to come to Oxford or have avisit from me. I also get unsolicited enquiriesfrom new schools fairly often.

“Part of the job is also to encourage moreapplications from under-represented groups. Iwould say about 60% of this work is donewith sixth formers, and 40% is with pre-GCSEpupils. It is worth working with them andgetting them to think about Oxford becauseGCSE results do count when it comes toapplying.

“Lincoln has had a Schools Liaison Officersince 2006 – most colleges have introducedthe post in the last five to 10 years. Lincoln isone of the busiest colleges in terms of theamount of access and liaison events andvisits it holds. The College has invested a lotinto this area!

“I really like the varied nature of the job – Ifrequently get to see new places and meetnew people. And I like the sense ofsatisfaction when it works and I can see theresults of the work I do in encouraging peopleto apply to Oxford.” �

“I really like the variednature of the job –

I frequently get to see newplaces and meet new people.

And I like the sense ofsatisfaction when it worksand I can see the results of

the work I do in encouragingpeople to apply to Oxford.”

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K The Rector at AoyamaGakuin

College newsLincoln College website re-launch: In February 2010 theCollege launched an all-new, re-designed website. Thenew site is easier to navigate and the content hasbeen fully updated. The re-design was done by Oxford-based web design company, Rare Form New Media.Visit the new site now at www.lincoln.ox.ac.uk.

Let there be light: Thanks to a generous donation froma Lincoln alumnus, Richard Hardie (1967), spot lightinghas been installed to illuminate the portraits in theDining Hall. Diners have very much enjoyed being ableto better appreciate these wonderful historic works.

Lincoln in literature: Lincoln College is the setting forHeresy a new novel by SJ Parris (the pseudonym ofObserver journalist Stephanie Merritt), published byHarperCollins in March 2010. The book is anElizabethan-set thriller about a monk in England onthe run from the Spanish Inquisition.

Domestic Bursar: Dr Rachel Buxton joined Lincoln inMay in the new position of Domestic Bursar. Rachelwas previously Senior Tutor at Merton College, Oxford.We wish her all the best in her new role managing thedomestic side of College life.

Chef Honoured for Professionalism: Chef, Jim Murden,has been elected a Fellow of the Institute ofHospitality in recognition of his “commitment toprofessionalism over the years” and “standing in theindustry”. We congratulate Chef, now Jim Murden FIH,on this wonderful achievement.

Lincoln makes the top ten again: Lincoln Collegeretained its top ten position in the Norrington Table forthe fourth consecutive year, coming in eighth out of

the 30 Oxford colleges for 2008-09 in the famoustable of undergraduate results started by Sir ArthurNorrington in the 1960s. Lincoln has now sat amongthe top ten colleges since 2005 when the Collegestormed its way up the table from 24th to eighthplace. Congratulations go to all of Lincoln’s 2009finalists for their fantastic results.

Aoyama Gakuin Celebrates 135 Years: In 2009 AoyamaGakuin University in Japan celebrated the 135thanniversary of its foundation by American Methodistmissionaries in 1874. For over a decade Aoyama Gakuinand Lincoln College have been closely associated,thanks to their shared connection to the Methodistmovement. Several of Aoyama Gakuin’s Presidentshave visited Lincoln College, including most recentlyPresident Sadayoshi Ito. In 2003 when Lincolncelebrated John Wesley's 300th anniversary, it wasdeeply honoured by a visit from Aoyama Gakuincolleagues. The institution also generously assistedLincoln in the restoration of the Chapel. �

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College & Fellows 05

L Sir John Boardman (Honorary Fellow ofLincoln and Emeritus Professor of ClassicalArt and Archaeology) was awarded theinaugural Onassis International Prize inHumanities in December 2009, whichrecognises international distinction inpromoting Greek cultural heritage in thefields of Archaeology, History andLiterature. Sir John is also leading a team ofresearchers at the University’s BeazleyArchive to trace the gems from what isthought to have been Britain’s largestcollection. The 800 pieces were previouslyowned by the fourth Duke of Marlboroughat Blenheim Palace.

Perry Gauci (VHH Green Fellow in History)recently had the pleasure of addressing abroader academic public in connectionwith his current interests in London history.He was invited to give the annual lectureto the Beckford Society in the augustsurroundings of the Travellers' Club in PallMall, and also spoke to the Skinners'Company about the broadeningopportunities for the study of the liverycompanies.

Keith Gull (TO Ogunlesi Senior ResearchFellow in Molecular Parasitology) leftLincoln in September 2009 to take up theposition of Principal at St Edmund Hall, ajob he will be combining with his researchon Trypanosomes at the Dunn School ofPathology. Fortunately, he is leaving bothhis wife, Dianne Gull (Admissions Officer inthe College Office – see page 3) and anumber of his graduate students atLincoln. The College has since elected

Professor Bass Hassan, also at the DunnSchool, to the TO Ogunlesi Fellowshipvacated by Keith.

Christopher McCrudden (Tutor in Law) tooka sabbatical during 2009 and sends thefollowing news: “For academics, sabbaticalsare a wonderful opportunity to refreshone's intellectual batteries. This is the storyof one such sabbatical. From January to July2009, I undertook a pupillage at BlackstoneChambers in the Temple. This involves,essentially, serving an apprenticeship for sixmonths with more experienced practisingbarristers (usually it is 12 but I was given ashorter period), during which the pupil issupposed to learn the practice of law. Thiswas a daunting experience, not leastbecause one of the other (three) pupils wasa former BCL student of mine, and a secondwas a law fellow at St John's.

After many tribulations and trials (punintended), I succeeded in completing therequired period without too many tears,and became a (non-resident) tenant atBlackstone in July. This means I will practiseoccasionally, but not full-time and onlywhen consistent with research andteaching (my first love). My first case, asluck would have it, was before the newly-opened United Kingdom Supreme Court inOctober, in which I acted as Junior Counselto Lord Pannick. We represented JFS, aJewish School in London. We lost, but the 5-4 decision left me at least somewhatconsoled. Those of you who want to seeyours truly in action, or at least the back ofmy head (in wig) bowing a lot, can findcoverage of the judgment being deliveredby Lord Phillips, the President of theSupreme Court, in December on YouTube(search ‘JFS loses Supreme Court appeal’).Altogether an experience that wasfrightening, exciting, and very, very hardwork. I loved it.”

Peter McCullough (Sohmer Fellow inEnglish) has been awarded a prestigiousArts and Humanities Research Council(AHRC) Major Research Grant of £515,000to fund work on The Oxford Edition of theSermons of John Donne, of which he isGeneral Editor. The grant will fund (overfive years) a full-time Post-DoctoralResearch Associate, plus travel andresearch costs for the contributing editors,and three major international conferences,two of which will be held at Lincoln. Dr McCullough's other major researchinterest, Donne's contemporary, bishopLancelot Andrewes, has become a subjectof new popular interest as the 400thanniversary of the King James Bible (ofwhich Andrewes was a chief translator)approaches in 2011. Dr McCullough is onthe curatorial committee for the BodleianLibrary's major 2011 exhibition on 'Oxfordand the King James Bible', which willfeature the copy of the Bible once ownedby Charles II and given to Lincoln byNathaniel Lord Crewe (displayed at thisyear's Murray Society event in October). Dr McCullough has also filmed his debutas a talking head in a televisiondocumentary produced and directed by thefilmmaker Norman Stone; he has alsoconsulted for another documentary on thesame topic for the BBC, and workedextensively with the playwright DavidEdgar for his forthcoming playcommissioned by the Royal ShakespeareCompany to mark the anniversary.

Edward Nye (Elf Fellow and Tutor in French)sends a preview of his up-coming book onthe art of mime: “Why would a tutor inFrench literature write a book about thehistory of mime, a more-or-less wordlessform of art which knows no nationalboundaries? Most theatre is and always hasbeen at least partly an art of words, sowhen they are self-consciously removed bymime artists, all sorts of fundamentalquestions arise about the nature oftheatrical, not to say artistic representation.Many of these questions relate to what atutor in literature discusses all the timewith his students. And for some reason,France has a special place in the history ofmime, not only because the first modernname we often think of in this context isMarcel Marceau, but because the ‘father of

Fellows’ newsCollege &

Fellows

Those of you who want to see yourstruly in action, or at least the backof my head (in wig) bowing a lot,

can find coverage of the judgmentbeing delivered by Lord Phillips, thePresident of the Supreme Court, in

December on YouTube...


modern mime’ was Etienne Decroux,because Pierrot was invented by Deburau inthe 19th century, and because theCommedia dell’arte’s home from home foralmost three centuries was Paris. Soperhaps it’s the duty of a French specialistto broaden his horizons and think aboutthe international impact of French mime.The book, Mime, Music, and Drama in theEighteenth-century, comes out in 2011 withCambridge University Press.”

Mark Roberts (Praelector in Biochemistry)organised the first Sutton Trust SummerSchool in the Department of Biochemistryin July 2009, which brought 30 sixth-formers from non-privileged backgroundsinto the department for a week to attendlectures and tutorials. They were given theopportunity to conduct experiments,attend talks from leading scientists, and trytheir hand at a computer programmewhich models the docking of a drug to itstarget protein. The students stayed incollege accommodation along with otherSutton Trust participants.

Pietro Roversi (EPA Fellow in Biochemistry)has already experienced considerablebenevolence and tolerance from his

colleagues, whooften forgive him histaste forconversationsoutside his remitand expertise. Nowhe has pushed hisluck even further byhaving a book ofpoetry, Una crisicreativa, published in Italy. On his part, andin a manner of penance, Dr Roversi willendeavour to refrain from mentioning thebook or quoting poetry (his or otherpeople's), and to stick to science and itsimmediate surroundings. He hopes in sodoing he can avoid being called aNuisance-Renaissance man, or even just anamateurish all round good egg.

RRR Smith (Lincoln Professor of ClassicalArchaeology and Art) is working tocomplete a monograph that will publishand interpret some 90 marble reliefs from

a Sebasteion or imperial temple-complexdedicated to the worship of the earlyRoman Emperors at the site of Aphrodisiasin Turkey, where he conducts field research.The reliefs represent emperors such asAugustus and Nero in the guise oftowering Olympian deities, juxtaposedwith scenes from local Greek heroicmythology. The reliefs were put on displayin a new museum at the site last year, andpart of the three-storeyed building whichthe reliefs decorated, is being reconstructedin situ, using casts of the reliefs. Both thisstone-for-stone reconstruction (oranastylosis) and the monograph are due tobe completed next year.

David Vaux’s (Nuffield Research Fellow inPathology and Tutor in Medicine) researchteam has recently completed a major studyon a new role for the human breast cancerassociated gene BRCA1 in the frequentlylethal spread of breast cancer cells to otherparts of the body. The BRCA1 protein is wellknown as a regulator of DNA integrity, butthe new work shows for the first time thatthis protein has an additional role incontrolling how mobile the cancer cellsare. When the protein works normally, cellsretain contacts with their neighbours andmove little; when the protein fails to work(usually as the result of a mutation in thegene) the cells lose their cohesion withadjacent cells and become independentlymotile, increasing the risk of spread toother parts of the body. Further work isnow underway to dissect the molecularmachinery, with the long term goal ofpreventing this increased motility andreducing metastatic disease.

Herman Waldmann (Professor of Pathology)has been made an Honorary Fellow of bothKings College and Sidney Sussex College,Cambridge. �

L Temple-complex in Aphrodisias, Turkey, whereRRR Smith conducts his field research

L A moving breast cancer cell: Green = BRCA1;Red = actin, the cell’s muscles; Blue = ERM, thecell’s adhesive connection to other cells

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His colleagues often forgive him his taste for

conversations outside his remit and expertise.


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Dr John Norbury is due to retire as Tutor inMathematics at Lincoln College in September. Born inAustralia, he came to the UK after completing hisundergraduate education to study for a doctorate atthe University of Cambridge. He then taught at UCLand NYU before joining the Fellowship at Lincoln. Dr Norbury teaches applied mathematics toundergraduate and graduate students, and haspublished extensively in this area. His current researchwork is in mathematical biology and the mathematicsof weather forecasting. The latter is the subject of hisnext book, Invisible in the Storm, co-authored with IanRoulstone, and due to be published by PrincetonUniversity Press in 2011.

Good news – our book is accepted for publication.After more than five years’ work on this hobby project,with its stolen hours between teaching,administration and proper research, time for asummer holiday. But no; page design, an index,advertising copy and so on must be completed. Whenwill it appear, we innocently ask Princeton UniversityPress, our publisher. Early next year comes the reply.The title, Invisible in the Storm, hints at the role thatmathematics plays in both weather and climateprediction – alongside the more visible billion dollaractivities of meteorological science andsupercomputer development.

Observations of Earth from its weather satellites showthe swirling cloud masses of the blue planet,transported by the ceaseless winds that move bothheat energy and moisture around the surface of our

globe. It is difficult to predict next week’s rainfall overmuch of the farming regions that sustain humanity.How will the climate change over the rest of thiscentury, and what are the significant modifiers of ourclimate?

We wrote the book to explain how importantmathematics is in organising the computercalculations, and getting the best out of theexperimental data. In it, we describe how ideas frommodern geometry and algebra are essential in thisgame. If we think of modern science as ‘the world in acomputer movie’, then science is about both the choiceof pixels to represent reality, and the construction ofrules to evolve the pixel description. Successful sciencemeans the movie corresponds to what we see in thereal world. And since mathematics is both thelanguage of the pixel description and the logic behindthe rules, getting the best predictions implies gettingthe best out of mathematics.

Retirement in September means that I will bespending more of my time on research, in particularsupervising two Lincoln DPhil students working onlarge-scale weather prediction topics. I am alsoworking with a marine biologist in Australia on how tocreate better plankton blooms in the oceans –plankton exchange oxygen and carbon with theatmosphere, so perhaps we should ‘clean and green’the oceans as well as more of our land. But that’s forthe autumn ... now, after congratulating another greatLincoln student generation who have just completedtheir finals, I must get back to that index. �

Invisible in the stormDr John Norbury explores the role of mathematics in studying weather patterns

How will theclimate changeover the rest of

this century, andwhat are the

significantmodifiers of our climate?


Vercelli 2010: fateful discoveriesIn April 2010 Dr Winfried Rudolf (Darby Fellow inEnglish at Lincoln College) was joined by Lincolnstudents and other graduate students of OxfordUniversity for the annual trip to an internationalresearch seminar on medieval palaeography, whichtakes place at the Chapter Library and Archives inthe city of Vercelli (Piedmont, Italy). Under theguidance of Dr Rudolf the students from BritishGuiana, Canada, Denmark, Ireland, Switzerland, theUK and the USA had made plans to spend five daysexploring places, culture and learning along the ViaFrancigena, the medieval pilgrims’ route fromCanterbury through Gaul to Rome. But this yearevents would turn out to be even more excitingthan any member of the party had imagined.

Located on two major European roads in the MiddleAges, the city of Vercelli is home to one of the mostimportant and most fascinating medieval libraries inthe world, which has witnessed more than 1,600years of cultural exchange. The city, a major centre ofthe Lombards in the seventh and eighth centuries,played an important role in the fight against theArian heresy. St Eusebius became the champion ofAugustinian thought there and became the city’spatron saint later in the fourth century. Bishops Attoand Leo led book-production in Vercelli to newheights, their traces still being visible in numerousbooks of the 10th and 11th centuries, and in animpressive golden crucifix hanging in the cathedral.Both bishops also encouraged the transalpineexchange of knowledge, of which the variety ofmanuscripts in the collection gives impressiveevidence.

During the official work sessions the Oxfordstudents were allowed unrestricted access to thetreasures of the archives, among them the fourth-century gospel-book of St Eusebius, known torepresent the oldest version of the Latin gospels inthe world, an eighth-century copy of Gregory theGreat’s Homilies from the monastery of Nonantula(Italy), the famous Lombard law codes of the samecentury, a sacramentary from Fulda (Germany) and arichly decorated evangelistar from 12th-centuryPiedmont. The collection is most renowned,however, for the much celebrated Vercelli Book, a10th-century composite manuscript from Kent andone of the four principal witnesses of Old Englishpoetry, containing the unique versions of pricelesspoetic gems such as Andreas, The Dream of the Roodand Elene. The exact circumstances of its transportto Vercelli remain a mystery to this day.

As usual, the study sessions were accompaniedby the expertise of local librarian Dr Timoty Leonardi,and received full media coverage by La Stampa andRAI 3 television. This year’s seminar paid special

attention to the identification of codices,palimpsests and fragments, as the Cathedral Archivestill lacks a definitive catalogue of the materials itcontains. More intensive work than last year wasdedicated to the Vercelli Map from the late 12thcentury, which suffered recent damage in anattempt to restore it. A number of rotuli containingepiscopal acts, trees of Jesse and scientific diagramson vices and virtues were also analysed. Among thediscoveries this year were the adaptation leaves in a13th-century missal added by Franciscans, and twoleaves with early 11th-century musical notation. Oneentire codex was identified to contain a complete12th-century version of Haymo’s homiliary.

While intensive work with the Anglo-SaxonVercelli Book was the expected highlight, theseminar took an unexpected turn when volcanic ashfrom Eyjafjallajökull prevented the group fromreturning to Oxford as scheduled. Emergencyaccommodation was kindly offered to the studentsby the local theologian seminary and – all flightsbeing suspended – the group was permitted tocontinue working in the archives for an extra fourdays. Sometimes fate plays a part in these things,and to the astonishment of everyone involved, anearly 16th-century prayer book of English origin wasdiscovered among the uncatalogued materials. Itcontains three specimens of Middle English – anindulgence, a rhymed prayer to Mary (see excerptbelow), and a penitential invocation of Jesus. Thisnew manuscript, its palaeography, codicology and itstexts will be given full attention in a forthcomingvolume, which will be edited by Dr Rudolf and collectcontributions of the seminar’s participants.

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An intriguing and hugely rewarding journey into the heart of the medieval world

L The group outside thechurch San Pietro in Ciel d'Oroin Pavia, which holds thetombs of Boethius andAugustine © Zachary Stone

Sometimes fateplays a part in these

things, and to theastonishment of

everyone involved,an early 16th-

century prayer bookof English originwas discovered

among theuncatalogued

materials.


Mari modyr helpe at nede ou art gud in cunforth in care and in dred. upon thi synful seruant laydy take hede. That I may hawe schryfte and houzelle and heuen tomy mede. Amen.

The field trip also included the annual visits to themonastery of San Andrea in Vercelli, founded byCardinal Guala Bicheri, the personal advisor to KingJohn I of England. The Peggy Guggenheim collectionand the frescos of Gaudenzio Ferrari in the church ofSan Cristoforo were particularly enjoyable, as was theday-trip to Pavia with the tombs of Ss Augustine andBoethius and its famous Carthusian monastery. A newattraction this year was a visit to the AmbrosianLibrary in Milan, home to a breathtaking manuscriptcollection and picture gallery. Guided by the directorof the library foundation, the group received an expertintroduction to the Ambrosiana’s works by Leonardoda Vinci and Raphael Santi, examined one of the fewsurviving textual witnesses of the Gothic bibletranslated by bishop Wulfila in the fourth century, andhad a look at Petrarch’s own copy of Virgil.

Air-traffic back to normal again and all studentshaving safely returned, the quest finally found itshappy ending at a lovely dinner in an Italian

restaurant in Oxford, where the group discussed theforthcoming publication project. Everyone involvedwould very much like to thank The College of theBlessed Virgin Mary and All Saints Lincoln, theArchivio Capitolare and theologian seminary inVercelli for their kind and generous support of thistruly magnificent academic adventure. �

Dr Winfried Rudolf

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Photographs on this page © Vercelli, BibliotecaCapitolare 2010

A report on the group’sfindings was filmed by RAI 3TV in Italy and can beviewed on YouTube (searchOxford MSt in Vercelli 2010)

J Vercelli, BibliotecaCapitolare, MS CCXXXIII, thehidden sketch of a woman'shand made visible under bluelight

K Vercelli, BibliotecaCapitolare, MSB, 12th Century


Matters of the heartDr Marie Schroeder, Post-doctoral Research Fellow in Medical Sciences

Dr Marie Schroeder has spent part of the lastacademic year across the pond in Torontoconducting research into the diagnosis of heartfailure. We reported in Imprint 2009 that Marie wasawarded a Sir Henry Wellcome Post-doctoralFellowship to support her research, here sherecounts the journey this has taken her on over thelast 12 months.

I was tremendously sad as I boarded the HeathrowExpress at Gloucester Green on 5 October 2009, thefirst step in a long route terminating at Toronto’sSunnybrook Hospital. As the coach plodded downthe still quiet Oxford streets and over the MagdalenBridge, I could not help but think how much I hadenjoyed the previous year. I arrived at Lincoln Collegeas a Junior Research Fellow in Michaelmas 2008, andsince had been utterly spoiled by the company of mycolleagues and the luxuries of Chef’s meals. InJanuary 2009 I had my DPhil viva in the LincolnSmoking Room, and in June 2009, I was married inthe Lincoln Chapel, with a celebration in the Hallexecuted to perfection by the Butler and Chef.

Oxford felt more like home than ever before, and itseemed the exact wrong moment to leave itsdreaming spires.

That being said, it was exactly the right time for meto go to Toronto, where I would arrive as a visitingresearch fellow. In June 2009 I was awarded a SirHenry Wellcome Post-doctoral Fellowship, a newfunding initiative from the Wellcome Trust thatenables early career scientists to pursue research oftheir choice over four years, via collaborationbetween UK and international institutions. In myapplication, I had proposed a collaboration withSunnybrook Hospital that presented the ratherunique opportunity to translate my basic scienceDPhil thesis research into the clinic, with theultimate goal of improving the diagnosis of heartfailure. There was no doubt in my mind thatacademically, a sabbatical in Toronto was the bestcourse of action.

The term ‘heart failure’ refers to a collection ofconditions that result in an inability of the heart to

The term ‘heartfailure’ refers to a collection of

conditions thatresult in an

inability of theheart to supplysufficient blood

flow to meet thebody’s needs.

Example metabolic images acquired from healthy (toprow), ischemic (i.e. pre-heart attack, middle row), andfailing hearts. All images were acquired at SunnybrookHospital in Toronto.

In the top row, A) the ‘hyperpolarised’ carbohydrate tracermolecule that we infused can be seen in the blood pool. Inimage B) carbon dioxide exists as a metabolic wasteproduct, implying that the intensity of the CO2 image isindicative of the rate of conversion of carbohydrates intoenergy. And in C) the healthy heart should have access toenough oxygen to prevent the production of any lacticacid, as shown.

In the middle row, D) restricted blood flow to the heart inan isolated area caused a reduction in energy productionand an increase in lactic acid production in that area. E)One day later, the lactic acid production was maintained,though energy production seemed to recover.

In the bottom row, the effects of heart failure onmetabolic flexibility can be seen. F) In hearts withoutdisease, the energy production is high. G) In hearts withdeveloping heart failure, energy production fromcarbohydrates is reduced. H) In failing hearts, energyproduction is drastically reduced.

ControlHeart failure

Post-Ischemia

Inarticulate speech of the heart

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While there aremany reasonswhy the heart

can fail, evidencesuggests that the

heart is anengine out offuel... hence, non-invasive

metabolicimaging could be a valuable

tool to diagnose,characterise,

and stage heartdisease inpatients.

these advancements were obtainable in Oxford,both exactly suited the strengths of ProfCunningham’s group in Toronto: they havedeveloped the world’s most sophisticated MRmethods for acquiring metabolic images, and haveexactly the equipment required. Therefore, acollaboration integrating my knowledge of cardiacmetabolism into the Toronto group’s expertise andtechnological resources seemed an ideal approachto investigate cardiovascular disease usingmetabolic imaging.

Over the last few months, my initial work in Torontowith Prof Cunningham has revealed two importantpreliminary results, illustrated in the images (left). Itis well known that the healthy heart is an omnivore– in other words, the heart can generate energyfrom any fuel that is available in the body. However,in the progressively failing heart, it appears that thismetabolic flexibility is lost. Our second conclusion isthe most relevant in translation of our research intothe clinic. When we compare our results from heartsthat are healthy, failing, or ischemic, our method ofmetabolic imaging reveals the presence of diseaseat an early and reversible stage, and distinguishesbetween metabolic patterns that characterisedifferent causes of cardiovascular disease.

Collaborating with Prof Cunningham at SunnybrookHospital has had a tremendously positive impact onboth the quality of my research, and on my personalgrowth towards becoming an independentinvestigator. A research project of this scale couldnot be undertaken without multi-disciplinarycontributions, and I have been privileged to havebrilliant collaborators from different fields tofacilitate my research and to improve myknowledge. While the challenge of leading a large-scale research project initially overwhelmed me,within just a few months of taking on this challengeboth my self-confidence and leadership ability haveimproved. Retaining ties with Oxford has beenequally important. My research mentors, ProfessorsClarke and Sir George Radda, have been consistentlysupportive of my evolving research goals, and arealways quick with advice on the rather frequentoccasions at which it is required!

It is almost a year since my first voyage to Toronto.By now I have traversed the Magdalen Bridge on theHeathrow Express many times, going east to Torontoand coming west into Oxford. When I cross thebridge coming west I am always excited to catch upwith my Lincoln colleagues, to share my researchexperiences with my students, and to plan futureexperiments with my mentors in the Department ofPhysiology. When I cross the bridge going east I stillreminisce about the personal and professionalmilestones that I have achieved while at Lincoln.However, regardless of which direction on the BridgeI am travelling, I am now always excited to reach mydestination. �

supply sufficient blood flow to meet the body’sneeds. Heart failure is a relentlessly progressivedisease: it often originates with an initial insult tothe heart, such as a heart attack, which over yearsweakens the heart’s mechanical pumping abilityuntil it can no longer function. It is also a commondisease: more than 2% of the US population isaffected, and 30 to 40% of patients die from heartfailure within one year of receiving the diagnosis.These devastating statistics may be partiallyexplained by the limited diagnostic methods bywhich most cardiovascular patients are assessed.Many common tests identify irreversible damage tothe heart, but struggle to recognise viable ‘at-risk’myocardium. This is a particular problem in patientsadmitted to the hospital following a heart attack. Ifa portion of the affected region is damaged but stillalive, then surgical intervention could rescue thistissue and improve patient prognosis; however, if thetissue is predominantly dead then the surgery offerslittle benefit and poses an unnecessary risk. Howcan the cardiologist predict the likelihood of surgicalsuccess? My Toronto research could be the first steptowards developing a sensitive diagnostic techniqueand answering that question.

While there are many reasons why the heart canfail, evidence suggests that the heart is an engineout of fuel: in other words, derangements inmetabolism (i.e. the biochemical reactions by whichthe heart produces chemical energy) may be adominant factor in the deterioration of cardiacfunction. Hence, non-invasive metabolic imagingcould be a valuable tool to diagnose, characterise,and stage heart disease in patients. My DPhilresearch, conducted under the supervision ofProfessor Kieran Clarke and Dr Damian Tyler inOxford’s Department of Physiology, Anatomy &Genetics, addressed this concept from a basicscience perspective. By ‘hyperpolarising’ keyintermediates of carbohydrate metabolism toincrease the magnetic resonance (MR) signal theyproduce by >20,000, and detecting their conversionsto other metabolic species using normal MRscanners, we demonstrated, for the first time, that itwas possible to non-invasively monitor theprocesses by which the heart produces energy.

My collaboration with Toronto’s SunnybrookHospital, in particular with Professor CharlesCunningham (elected Canada’s Premier Youngresearcher in 2008), arose from two technologicalrequirements that limited application of my DPhilwork in patients. Firstly, I needed to image thebiochemical conversions of hyperpolarised tracersinto other species with high spatial resolution. Thisrequirement was crucial for detection ofheteregeneous metabolic changes, such as the typecaused by myocardial ischemia (i.e. restricted bloodflow). Secondly, I needed access to MR scannerspositioned next to the equipment that produces‘hyperpolarised’ metabolic tracers. While neither of

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It could be questioned whether John Wesley’srelationship with Mary was ever truly intimate, but Ithink that it had been. Early correspondence betweenthem, and comments to others reveal a certain depthof intimacy or at least fondness between the two,but by 1756 the letters from John Wesley to Maryreveal little of intimacy. He continues to refer to heras ‘my dear,’ or ‘my dear Molly,’ occasionally, ‘my love,’and he typically signs his letters as ‘your affectionatehusband,’ but these terms were not unusual in hiscorrespondence, and the contents of his letters to herfrom this point amount to recollections of hisitinerary, and extended discussions of businessmatters with requests to Mary to look after mattersin London. In fact, reading John Wesley’s letters toMary in the years 1756 and 1757, one is struck by howsimilar they would seem to letters to one’s businessmanager. The very first letter in my new volume willbe a letter from John Wesley to his wife Mary, writtenfrom Lewisham, and dated 7 January, 1756. Thecontent of this letter is very typical of Wesley’scorrespondence with Mary in this period:

When I saw you, my dear, I did not expect to haveso large a demand made so suddenly upon me. Ishall be puzzled to answer it without coming totown on purpose, which I am unwilling to dobefore I have finished the Address. I desire youwould give John Spencer (taking his receipt) orBrother Atkinson (unless you choose to pay MrDavenport yourself) what note-money remainsin your hands. Unless you can help me out for amonth or two, I must borrow some more intown. If you can, you will do it with pleasure. Mydear, adieu.

Commentators have noted that John Wesleysometimes displayed a surprising lack of feelingtoward other persons, and one might be tempted toattribute John Wesley’s business-like correspondencewith his wife in these cases as an instance of thismore general emotional hardness. Or one could saythat this was not yet the Victorian era andmarriages were, after all, business propositions.

The intimate disconnections of John Wesley, 1756-65Ted Campbell (1977) is Associate Professor of Church History at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas. He is currently editingJohn Wesley’s letters in the period 1756-65. The following article is adapted from his lecture entitled “John Wesley’s IntimateDisconnections, 1756-1765”. It relates to the breakdown of Wesley’s marriage to Mary Wesley, which begun in 1758. Ted used a version ofthis talk in May 2010 when he gave the annual John Wesley Lecture, which is always held at Lincoln College in association with OxfordBrookes University and the Wesley Memorial Methodist Church.

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So perhaps it is true that it was not regularlyexpected even in John Wesley’s age for a man totake his wife as his intimate partner in discussion orcorrespondence. But what might an 18th-centurywife think about a husband who became anintimate correspondent with other women? JohnWesley’s private letters show that he had in factbecome very intimate in conversation and incorrespondence with a few younger, married womenassociated with Methodist societies.

The most problematic of these relationships withyounger women was with Sarah Ryan, whosereputation for sexual infidelity prior to herconversion was widely known and who wasrumoured to have been married to one man, thenmarried another man, then had an affair with athird man, and all of this without having legallydissolved her first marriage. Despite all of theseaccusations, John Wesley made Sarah Ryan thehousekeeper of Kingswood School in August, 1757.According to a manuscript life of Sarah Ryan writtenby Mary Bosanquet Fletcher, Sarah Ryan hadoriginally tried to befriend Mary Wesley, and indoing so revealed to Mary some of the details ofSarah’s pre-conversion lifestyle. But Mary Wesleywas not pleased with John’s choice of Sarah Ryan ashousekeeper for the Bristol School.

What John Wesley’s private letters to Sarah Ryanreveal is no overt sexual infidelity, but rather, theyreveal a depth of intimacy that is simply unmatchedby anything in John Wesley’s correspondence withhis wife. On 8 November, 1757, John Wesley wrote toSarah Ryan giving her a set of family rules to governher work at Kingswood. This letter did not reveal anyparticular intimacy but simply encouraged her torely on divine grace:

You have no experience of these things, noknowledge of the people, no advantages ofeducation, not large natural abilities, and are buta novice, as it were, in the ways of God! Itrequires all the omnipotent love of God topreserve you in your present station.

But a little more than two months later John Wesleywrote to Sarah Ryan, asking at first a series ofquestions about the state of her soul. These werethe kind of questions that Wesley frequently askedof his correspondents, for example, ‘How did you feelyourself under your late trial? Did you find nostirring of resentment, no remains of your ownwill...?’ Wesley then bared some more intimatethoughts,

The conversing with you, either by speaking orwriting, is an unspeakable blessing to me. Icannot think of you without thinking of God.Others often lead me to Him; but it is, as it were,going round about: you bring me straight into Hispresence. Therefore, whoever warns me against

trusting you, I cannot refrain, as I am clearlyconvinced He calls me to it.

We could guess who it was that warned John Wesleyagainst trusting Sarah Ryan. But Wesley left theletter to Sarah in his coat pocket, as yet unsealed.This led to Mary Wesley’s intercepting this veryletter, as John revealed in a letter to Sarah Ryanexactly a week later, on Friday 27 January, 1758:

My Dear SisterLast Friday, after many severe words, my wife leftme, vowing she would see me no more. As I hadwrote to you the same morning, I began to reasonwith myself, till I almost doubted whether I haddone well in writing or whether I ought to write toyou at all. After prayer that doubt was taken away.Yet I was almost sorry that I had written thatmorning. In the evening, while I was preaching atthe chapel, she came into the chamber where Ihad left my clothes, searched my pockets, andfound the letter there which I had finished but hadnot sealed. While she read it, God broke her heart;and I afterwards found her in such a temper as Ihave not seen her in for several years. She hascontinued in the same ever since.

Was it God who broke Mary’s heart, or was it JohnWesley himself? Mary Wesley could not have failedto recognise the difference in tone from the way inwhich her husband typically wrote to her, that is, shemust have recognised that he expressed intimacywith Sarah Ryan in a way that he did not to Mary.

So far as I can see, John Wesley never recognised or atleast never acknowledged the harm he had done tohis wife. In a series of letters back and forth heaccused her of stealing his private property and agrowing list of other grievances. This was goingnowhere. In fact, from the time Mary Wesleyintercepted the letter from John Wesley to Sarah Ryanin January, 1758, their marriage was de facto at an end.Methodists later would paint a monstrous portrait ofMary Wesley, but the private letters show that Johnhad in fact betrayed the relationship of intimacy hehad, however briefly, with her. As his letters expressedit repeatedly, it was all about his rights to his propertyand the obedience his wife owed him,

till 1. I am an adulterer; 2. you can prove it. Tillthen I have the same right to claim obediencefrom you as you have to claim it from NoahVazeille [her son]. Consequently every act ofdisobedience is an act of rebellion against Godand the King as well as against,

Your Affectionate Husband,John Wesley

The manuscript of this letter shows that in this casehe deeply and deliberately scored through the word‘Affectionate.’ �

Methodists laterwould paint a

monstrous portraitof Mary Wesley, butthe private letters

show that John hadin fact betrayed the

relationship ofintimacy he had,however briefly,

with her.

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In October 1979 Lincoln College opened its doors to female undergraduates and a group of24 women matriculated along with their male peers for the first time. Though they metsome resistance at first these women and those who followed them have made theirmark on College life, and over the last 30 years Lincoln has evolved into a fully co-educational institution where women and men have equal representation at all levels. Itis amazing to realise that women have been at Lincoln for just 30 years (or 5%) of its 583year history – in that time they have served as JCR and MCR Presidents, sports captains,choir members, play directors and more.

In celebration of this anniversary, nearly100 alumnae from across the threedecades gathered together at Lincoln onFriday 2 July 2010 for a gala dinner tohonour all that women have contributedto the College since 1979. It was amemorable evening for all involved andwonderful to see the Hall full but withouta man in sight! To mark the anniversary inImprint, a few alumnae have also agreed to

share some of their memories of the last30 years of women at Lincoln.

1980s“When I arrived at Lincoln in 1979 theCollege was a bastion of machismo largelycentred on the second and final yearstudents. The MCR and Fellows were farmore liberated in their outlook – even dear‘old’ VHH Green. Anyone that could wear

leather trousers with his panache was anhonorary feminist of the AlexandraKollontai mould.

On my first evening at Lincoln I had amoment of revelation as to the extent ofopposition to women. I found myselfbetting against a second year student thathe would not be able to raise a petitionovernight signed by 50 of his peers that ‘awoman’s place is in the kitchen and thebedroom’. It was proudly presented to meearly the next morning signed by far morethan the required number. After thathumiliating debacle I was known as‘Tinkerbell’ or ‘Tinks’ for short. When wewomen came to found our first femaledining society at Lincoln, ‘The Fairies’, (tothe men’s ‘Goblins’) the deep irony was loston the male students They were, after all,

30 years of women at LincolnAlum

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botanist. I quickly gained a reputation forclimbing trees, having pioneered the ‘singlerope technique’ for gaining access to therain forest canopy in 1978. Somewhere, Ihave a cartoon, drawn by a female Lincolnundergraduate at the time, of a womanclimbing a tree in College, gown billowing,apparently oblivious of the ‘Keep off theGrass’ sign. More seriously, though, thethree years at Lincoln, interspersed with

fighting a rearguard action against theinevitable move towards greater genderequality.

Looking back we were lucky. As the firstcohort of females entering Lincoln, we didbenefit from ‘tokenism’, from beingunusual and from the unwavering supportof the Fellows (especially Susan Brigden –our ‘Titania’). We also benefited fromreceiving a superb education that hadbeen denied our sex for centuries. Our yearof 1979 was not a remarkable one, noleading politicians, no CEOs, or other‘movers and shakers’, but whilst we werethere, the new intakes of female studentsgrew stronger, more dynamic andforthright. Perhaps we paved the way,made their passage slightly easier by beingthe initial doormats on which those

testosterone-fuelled males wiped away theprejudices of the majority.Annabel Haddock née Bradford (1979)

I was interviewed, offered and accepted theClaridge Druce Junior Research Fellowship inPlant Taxonomy at Lincoln College and theBotany School on 6 June 1980.

The Fellows were welcoming, graciousand curious about the research of a tropical

L 30 years of alumnae, gathered together for thegala dinner in July 2010. I Matriculation, 1979. The year that women were firstadmitted into Lincoln.

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nearly a year of field work in Malaysian andIndonesian rain forests, launched my careeras a plant taxonomist and ultimately led topublication, in 1992, of a monograph ofAglaia, the largest genus in the mahoganyfamily.

In 1990, Lincoln College Fellow,Christopher McCrudden, and I were married.We have two children and I have been a full-time mother throughout their childhoods,but this did not mean abandoningacademic life. The monograph inspired newwork by and collaboration withphytochemists and molecular systematistsand I have continued to publish in theseareas. I shall always be grateful to Lincoln foropening its doors to women Fellows in 1980.Caroline Pannell, first female Junior ResearchFellow at Lincoln

The readiness was all. When I came downfrom Newcastle in the spring of 1980 foran interview for a temporary teaching postat Lincoln, it was only my second visit toOxford. Sleepless, freezing in the Fellows’Guest Room, I leafed through ancientcopies of The Record, trying to imaginewhat life at Lincoln would be like. Thirtyyears on – incredibly, luckily for me – I amstill here. In the Senior Common Room in1980, I still felt like Mowgli among the wolfcubs. I found great kindness there – andstill do – and those who, so I suspected,had been prepared to die in thepenultimate ditch opposing the admissionof women, were particularly gracious.

I followed the slightly anarchiccounsels of Vivian Green and Dennis Kay,who taught me that it was the Collegewhich mattered and that the intrusionsfrom the Faculty might largely be ignored.In those more relaxed times, there werewalks at lunchtime around Christ Churchmeadows with Paul Langford and VivianGreen, a chance to gossip and plot. Lordand Lady Trend provided home from homeand comforting teas in the kitchen of thelodgings. Having promiscuously promisedto teach all sorts of papers which I had notpreviously studied, the undergraduateswere kindly indulgent of my ignorance,and we learnt together. We still do, andtheir companionship continues to meanmost of all.Susan Brigden, first female Tutorial Fellowat Lincoln

In Oxford, I saw for the first time a worldmade by men for men. It is a world I haveencountered many times since. The civilservice, where I started my career, and theEuropean Commission, when I joined 15

years ago, were similar. At Lincoln, womenwere able to forge a place for ourselves,while being treated fairly and with respect.If we could do it there, surely we couldanywhere!

Women were quite active in College. Iwas a founder member of the Women’sGroup at Lincoln. It was a refreshingchange – a group conceived by women, forwomen. My friends and I also put togethera second women’s rowing eight for thosewho fancied having a go. I also set up thefirst women’s athletics team at Lincoln.

My early career was very conventional:post-graduate study in Germany, joiningthe civil service, then taking a competitionfor the European Commission. For most ofmy career, I have been in a small minorityof women. This is slowly changing.Opening up higher education andOxbridge colleges to women has probablyhelped enlighten the world of work. When Istarted out in the civil service “fast stream”,the balance at recruitment was not bad,but meetings with senior management orministers were almost all male-only affairs.Likewise, when I joined the EuropeanCommission I was frequently the onlywoman in meetings and one of very fewwomen speaking at conferences. This isquite different today. In the new intake tothe Commission for management grades,there seems to be a predominance ofwomen.

Being at Lincoln showed me that wewomen can make our way in apredominantly man’s world, while justbeing ourselves. Christine Jenkins (1980)

I came up in 1980 with the second intakeof women. In a college of 200 or so therewere about 40 women in total, and wevery much felt like a persecuted minority. Itwas made plain to us early on that the JCRhad in previous years voted against takingwomen time and again, and some of thethird years really were Neanderthals,looking back on it! There was definitely ahandful of men who simply resented ourpresence and couldn’t actually hold aproper conversation with us.

We divided roughly into the studiousquiet types, the quirky types, and the gin-swilling socialites propping up the bar inDeep Hall every Friday night. As well ascreating a really fun atmosphere in College,women also improved Lincoln’s academicstanding on the Norrington Table once ouryear got to Finals, and by the time I left,although there was still a lot of oglingfrom the men when new women came up,

there were also a lot of in-collegerelationships (several of which ended up inmarriage) so it was a two-way street. Anastasia Parkes (1980)

I was in Lincoln’s third year of women butsince there were very vocal women now inall three years, this hardly occurred to us.Indeed, it seemed that women’s traditionsat Lincoln like the Fairies had been aroundfor ever - so much so that in 1984 a groupof us started a (short-lived) rival, and, wefelt, more “assertive” Lincoln women’ssociety called the Nymphs! Certainly,women were always a driving force in thelife of the College. Men and women mixedeasily together from the start and evenage old bodies like the D’Avenant Societyalways seemed as open to women as men.Susan Brigden was a wonderful academicrole model and confidante.

Lincoln then was a very social placeand women, including myself, were at theheart of arranging and attending parties –whether hamming it up in pantomimes,mixing colourful bowls of lethal brews forEnts Committee cocktails, cooking upspaghetti in Museum Road or spinningrecords and getting the dancing going inDeep Hall discos.

Outside Lincoln it was a complex mixof feminism and post feminism: the timeof Greenham Common marches againstTrident missiles and complex yogicceremonies of women’s unity. I wasinvolved setting up Oxford’s first women-only theatre group “Medusa” and singingvocals with Fiona Bruce (yes, she of TVfame) in the weirdly named band “Don’tChew Blue Tack”. But at Lincoln, women’slives were much more low-key. It was awonderful, cosy, nurturing environmentwhich built strong, supportive friendshipsamong women and men alike.”Liza Milijasevic née Purvis (1982)

PROFILE: Fiona McPhee (1986)How would youdescribe theexperience of being awoman at Lincoln inthe 1980s?The ratio of men towomen in the Lincoln MCR wasapproximately 4:1 at the time, and thesame was true for the laboratoryenvironment. However, I never felt this washeld against me or affected howcolleagues interacted with me. Theleadership style of my DPhil advisor, thelate Gordon Lowe, taught me how to be

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more independent, take career chances,and be responsible for the direction of myfuture. I look back on both lab and Collegelife with great fondness, a time of bonding,limited responsibilities and rich in socialand learning experiences, even though Ihad no money!

Did you feel women played a significantrole in College life?Yes. There was equal participation fromwomen in College activities, whether it wasgoing to plays, walking in the Cotswolds,participating in rowing and other sports, orexperiencing great wines in organisedwine-tasting evenings. I was MCR Treasurerin my second year and was actively involvedin organising the social calendar.

Do you feel opportunities available to womenhave evolved since you were at Lincoln?Mentors during my time were mostly menespecially in the sciences although BaronessSusan Greenfield was a rising star, and mychosen industry is still dominated by men atthe top but advances have been made inmiddle management. I am a manager ofmanagers and find myself to be in a ratio ofaround 4:1, as was the case as a student atLincoln. It will probably be another decadebefore the ratio is equal. There is still an ‘oldboys club’ as you advance up the careerladder and it is sometimes hard to makeyourself heard. I think of the times mycomments have been ignored only to be re-iterated by a male colleague at a later date toa better response (or sometimes within thesame meeting!).

On a personal level, being at Lincoln inthe 1980s was an exciting time. I felt theworld was my oyster and that there wasnothing stopping me from going anywhereand doing whatever I wanted. I also had thepleasure of befriending a number of assertiveand extremely bright women who are nowmentors themselves influencing the nextgeneration. The Lincoln College students ofthe late 1980s are today’s bosses supportingthe advancement of women in their careersputting the next generation of women on amore equal playing field. I look forward to thetime when the testosterone levels inboardrooms and governments aresignificantly reduced.

1990s and 2000sMy year group had a disproportionately smallnumber of female students for whateverreason; I think the ratio was three males to eachfemale. As a result of this, I think the femalestudents in my year banded together morethan we might otherwise have done.

I got more involved in College sport as a resultof the small number of women in my year andended up captaining the women’s rugby team. I certainly think that I got just as much out ofmy time at Lincoln as my male colleagues.Rhiannon Evans (1996)

Women’s rowing at Lincoln has been at theheart of my life in College. It’s been great topursue excellence in training and competitionand what’s more the women’s captains inrecent years have been very strong onparticipation and inclusion. It’s been great tohelp make sure that there is coaching andencouragement for rowers at every level, fromthe Saturday-paddlers to several women’sblues in recent years. Comparison with themen’s boat club is perhaps unfair - but wesmell less, train just as hard, and try not to eatour own weight in protein shakes!

Medicine in my year at Lincoln has beenan all-female affair, perhaps part of thenational trend towards more female doctors.It gives me hope that flexible working andfamily-friendly contracts will be a reality if andwhen I reach that stage, and I hope that theexcellent grounding in the basic sciences thatLincoln has provided as well as the clinicalexperience we are gaining will help to silencethe nay-sayers who think that women doctorsthreaten to bankrupt the NHS!Rosalind Brock (2005)

I was a member of the ‘Teeny Weeny SkirtsSociety’ which I think was started by a groupof girls who came up in 2004, and they invitedtheir College daughters (including me) to joinwhen we matriculated in 2005. It was reallyjust an excuse for a night out but with aplayful twist on the Oxford propensity tomake a ‘society’ out of everything withtraditions and membership being standard.We then invited our College daughters toparticipate when they matriculated in 2006and we had a great time doing a ‘challengenight’ in two teams all over Oxford,culminating in a human pyramid competitionin Lincoln JCR!Kate Denham (2005)

PROFILE: Olivia Dickinson (1995)How would youdescribe yourexperience of being awoman at Lincoln?I thoroughly enjoyedbeing in a mixedcollege and made male and female lifelongfriends. I felt women played a very big rolein College life – I was JCR Women’s Officerand at the same time the JCR Presidentand Welfare Officer were also women.Having said that, the year I was electedwas also the year the JCR chose to create aMen’s Officer, which did reflect a certainside of the JCR. My budget was for sanitarytowels, pregnancy test kits, and rapealarms - theirs, I think, was, for beer!

I came into office on the promise offree chocolate for all women and fulfilledmy promise! Gavin from Lindt was verygenerous and we had two ‘chocolate andBailey’s parties’. I confess now I ate rather alot on my own…I was also helpful for somewomen as a listening ear (I did a PeerSupport training course at the UniversityCounselling Service) and as a source ofcontraception, pregnancy test kits etcetera. I also attended a University-widewomen’s committee and always feltLincoln was much less active aboutwomen’s rights and participation thanother colleges (or just apathetic as we hadsuch a lovely college and great food!).

How did your career progress after leavingLincoln?I took an entry level job with a technicalpublisher in Scotland on graduation,moved from there to Amazon as a copyeditor, then had six years at the BBCcreating learning and children’s content(studying part-time for an MA in EarlyChildhood Studies at Roehampton alongthe way). I was nominated for a BAFTA in2007 for the CBeebies website. I am nowDigital Manager at Nickelodeon, managingthe websites nick.co.uk and nickjr.co.uk. �

L The Teeny Weeny Skirts Society L Women’s Dinner in 1997

Alumni

Alumni 17


Alastair studied Classics at Lincoln, then spent a year in Japan learning Japanese in conjunction with theKobe Institute (part of St Catherine’s College, Oxford). He then decided to enter the Law, and studied at theCollege of Law in York for two years before joining Slaughter and May in 1996. This was followed by a fouryear stint at Olswang before he was appointed to the London 2012 Bid Team in 2003. Once the bid was wonin 2005, Alastair stayed on as Head of Legal on the London Organising Committee for the Olympic andParalympic Games (LOCOG).

A project to believe in “I was attracted to a job atLondon 2012 because it was a once in a lifetimeopportunity to be involved in a project of nationalimportance – the 2012 Olympic and ParalympicGames will really showcase London and the UK tothe rest of the world like never before. It has alwaysfelt to me like this was a project to believe in,especially with its goal to regenerate such a largepart of London and to put the Olympic Games backon the map for young people around the world.”

Typical day “A typical day at work includes a lot ofproblem solving on diverse topics. As an example,yesterday I had a meeting on integrity and bettingissues; discussed how we will record the 205competing nations’ national anthems; helped planthe triathlon test event taking place in Hyde Park in2011; and attended a press conference to launch theLondon 2012 town planning consultation for our useof Lord’s for the archery competition (including aphoto call with Andrew Strauss). One day at LOCOGis never the same as another.”

A wealth of issues “There is a wealth of issues for alawyer in my role to tackle. These include everythingfrom contracting and procurement to consultationson government regulations and policy, tosponsorship, licensing and broadcasting rights. I alsohave to ensure that the organisation of the Gamesis running smoothly, and that there is a clear chainof command between all the different organisationsinvolved (public and private, big and small). There arealso ethical questions to navigate to make sure allaspects of the Games are fair, such as anti-dopingprocedures and regulations.”

Amazing experiences “I have been involved withLondon 2012 since 2003 when we started workingon the bid, so being with the team in Singapore in2005 when the winning announcement was madewas obviously a major highlight. It was also aninteresting experience helping take a Bill throughParliament from start to finish, as we did with theLondon Olympic Games and Paralympic Games Act2006. Winning the bid has led to many amazing

Alumni

The power of sportAlastair Ruxton (1988), on handling the complex legal issues of the 2012

Olympic and Paralympic Games and what motivated him to get involved...

“I chose to workfor London 2012because I believein the power ofsport to inspirepeople, to bringpeople together,and to create anamazing feelingof collectiveexcitement.”

I Progress on the OlympicAquatics Centre, taken inMarch 2010 (courtesy ofLondon 2012).

18 Alumni


experiences, such as attending the 2008 Games inBeijing, meeting the Queen, and working with apassionate team of people. I also met my wife onthe bid!”

Feeling of pride “London 2012 will be a brilliantfestival of sport and culture for the UK, bringingpeople from all over the world together in thecapital city. I hope it will create a great feeling ofpride in our country, helped too by the torch relay’sprogress around the country. I’m sure that theParalympic Games will usher in a sea-change inattitudes towards disability sport. I’m not sureexactly what I’ll be doing during the Gamesthemselves, but definitely working. I’ll also beentering the ticket ballot along with the rest of thepublic, so fingers crossed I’ll get some cycling ticketsas the atmosphere at the Velodrome should beelectric.”

Time at College “Studying Classics – sadly no longeravailable at Lincoln – taught me how to presentlogical arguments and how to explain difficultthings in a simple way. My Lincoln education alsotaught me how to deal with pressure and managemultiple tasks. Perhaps more importantly, my timeat College taught me that your extracurricular life isevery bit as important as your work – a well-roundedlife makes you better at your job and a moreinteresting person.”

The power of sport “I chose to work for London 2012because I believe in the power of sport to inspirepeople, to bring people together, and to create anamazing feeling of collective excitement. Only 118Fridays to go until the Opening Ceremony and evenfewer by the time you read this...” �

Lincoln alumnus David Cornwell (1952) was honoured at the 2010 OxfordLiterary Festival with the Sunday Times Award for Literary Excellence, joininga long line of famous names including Ted Hughes, Seamus Heaney, TomStoppard, Margaret Atwood and Ian McEwan. Cornwell of course joins thatlist under the far better known name of John le Carré – his nom de plumesince he began publishing novels the 1960s.

In the Sheldonian Theatre on Wednesday 24 March, le Carré was introducedby the Literary Editor of The Sunday Times, Andrew Holgate, who praised his“consistently inspiring body of work” and achievements that exist “beyondthe confines of genre.” He was then presented with the prestigious awardbefore being handed the floor to share some thoughts on a much celebratedlife and body of work, and take questions from some of the many fans whowere in attendance.

Addressing the assembled crowd, le Carré noted that “we all meddle withthe storyline of our lives, and old novelists are the absolute worst at it!” Whatfollowed was an entertaining – sometimes amusing, sometimes sad –journey through le Carré’s early life and career.

An early life in the care of his father Ronnie, surrounded by a “rotation ofDickensian characters”, led to le Carré’s departure at the age of 16 forSwitzerland to go to university in Berne. A decision taken to allow his escapefrom “the British boarding school gulag” and because “the year was 1949 andeveryone hated Germany so it could not be all bad!”

Le Carré reflected fondly on his time at Lincoln, where he matriculated in1952 to read German, and particularly on the late Vivian Green (former Fellow,Chaplain and Rector of Lincoln) of whom le Carré states: “nobody saw deeperinto human nature and knew more about tolerance.”

His post-Lincoln career began with a stint teaching at Eton College(perhaps because of a “sub-conscious need to finish my public schooleducation”) before he entered the world of secret intelligence by joining MI5.“My strongest reason for joining was that I was searching for moralcertitudes that had eluded me in the world outside – but I had come to thewrong address.”

Frustrated by working for an organisation that he felt represented “post-war, post-Empire Britain at its lowest ebb”, le Carré soon began workingtowards a small first novel and in 1961 he published his first work, Call for theDead, in which he introduced George Smiley, the most famous of hisrecurring characters. What followed was a remarkable career, spanning over40 years and still ongoing as another work is due out later this year.

Le Carré remained modest to the end, concluding by declaring that “thereare just four or five of my books I would like to be buried with!” His readersclearly feel that he can count many more than this among his great works. Itwas evident from the number of hands raised in the question-and-answersection of the evening that John le Carré remains an extremely well-lovedand respected English writer, whose work his many readers hold in highregard and affection. �

Alumni

John le Carré honoured with literary award

L Alastair Ruxton (left) with Andrew Strauss

Alumni 19

Phot

o ©

Eddi

e Gal

lach

er


Henry Kim (1992), Project Director of the AshmoleanRedevelopment Project, shares an insider's view of theMuseum's regeneration. Henry is also Curator of GreekCoins and University Lecturer in Greek Numismatics.

For those who have visited the Ashmolean since itreopened in November 2009, the new atrium space isa sight to behold. Forming one side of it is a staircasethat sweeps and cascades down six floors, providing adynamic backdrop to a new building that has helpedtransform the Ashmolean from a traditional museuminto one of the most innovative, inspiring and originalmuseums in the country. From outside, there is littleindication of the scale of change that has happenedwithin. However, once inside one can only beimpressed by the amount of space that has beencreated, the modern and uplifting look of the newmuseum and its galleries, and the new approach themuseum has taken in displaying its collections.

How did all of this begin? Work on the new buildingbegan over 10 years ago, when Rick Mather Architectswas engaged to develop a masterplan for the museumsite. Looking at the original plans from this period, it isremarkable to see most of the basic shapes of the newmuseum already sketched out. The atrium wasconceptually at the centre of the design, with bridgesconnecting galleries across it and double-heightgalleries positioned beside it to link one floor toanother. The challenge for the architects was to createas much space as possible on a tight site. The newbuilding would double the previous exhibition space

and create a total of 10,000 square metres in a spacethat had previously only contained 4,000.

On reflection the project to transform the Ashmoleanwas incredibly ambitious for an arts and humanitiesproject. At a cost of £61m, it was one of the largestmuseum projects in the country and could not havehappened without the financial support of the HeritageLottery Fund and the Linbury Trust and the backing ofthe University. It called for the demolition of a series ofbuildings situated to the north of the original Cockerellbuilding and the construction of a new building risingon six floors. The numbers associated with the projectwere staggering. Over half a million objects had to bedocumented, packed and moved by the middle of 2006.10,000 objects had to be designed into the newgalleries. 120 staff had to be relocated for just over threeyears. Remarkably, the museum remained open to thepublic until January 2009.

The basic statistics belie an even more impressivetransformation. With the new building came thechance to recast the Ashmolean and this opportunitywas seized by the museum early in the project. At theheart of the redevelopment is Crossing Cultures, adisplay strategy that has helped guide thedevelopment of the museum. Crossing Cultures isbased on the simple idea that cultures interact withand influence one another. The results of theseinteractions can often be seen in objects - in wherethey are found, what shapes and decorations theytake and how they were made and used.

The Ashmolean:a museum transformed

L Standing buddha fromGandhara, 2nd to 3rd CenturyAD. An example of Greco-Roman stylistic influence onGandharan art. EAOS.26 © Ashmolean Museum

J Chinese greenware jar,decorated with palmettes andmotifs reminiscent of classicalmetalware, c. 550 AD.EA1956.964 © Ashmolean Museum

I View of the cascadingstaircase from the 3rd floor© Richard Bryant / arcaid.co.uk

Alumni

20 Alumni


A handful of objects inspired our thinking. A Chineseporcelain plate depicting the gates to the BotanicalGardens in Oxford is a remarkable object that showshow as early as the middle of the 18th century certaingoods were manufactured to order in the East forwestern clients, a phenomenon that is little changedtoday . A standing figure of Buddha, created inGandhara in the second to third century AD, displays afusion of Indian iconography and Roman figural style,pointing to a time when India was in contact withand influenced by the classical world . An unusuallylarge and highly decorated piece of Chinesegreenware from the sixth century AD displays designsstrongly reminiscent of metalwork from theHellenistic and Roman worlds.

All of these objects had been on display in the oldmuseum, but little was said of their cross-culturalsignificance. With Crossing Cultures, the museum isusing objects such as these to explain how culturesconnected with one another and how this way oflooking at objects can change one’s perspective onhistory. What sets the Ashmolean apart from othermuseums is in adopting this approach across themuseum as a whole, in the way objects are displayed,the arrangement and sequence of galleries and theinformation provided to the public.

Developing the Crossing Cultures concept was mypersonal highlight of the project, as it helped secureits future and provided the springboard for the designof the 32 permanent galleries. However, the real work

came in managing thework of the projectteams, a task that spedalong at an unrelentingpace towards openingin November 2009.There were extremechallenges faced by theproject team andmuseum staff. Howto design over 460showcases and 200graphic panels. How toinstall 10,000 objects in lessthan six months. How tomanufacture 3,500 tailor-madeobject mounts. How to maintainquality under severe time pressures. Therewas little about this project that was done on asmall scale.

Since opening, the Ashmolean has received ravereviews and the first of what is hoped to be a series ofawards for design and service. The first in theprogramme of temporary exhibitions is now installed,and we estimate that one million people will visit themuseum in the first 12 months, nearly trebling themuseum’s annual pre-project audience figures.Among these will be many alumni who have not beento the museum in years. I hope they will be suitablyimpressed by the imagination that has gone intotransforming the Ashmolean. �

LL The Japan 1600 – 1850gallery, looking across theatrium to the West meets EastGallery and the Western Artgalleries. © Richard Bryant /arcaid.co.uk

L Chinese porcelain plate,depicting the gates to theBotanical Gardens in Oxford,c. 1755. An example of Chineseexport ware, destined for thewestern market. EA1985.10 © Ashmolean Museum

Alumni 21


Students

Lincoln College JCR 2009-10

On the sporting front, the Boat Club enjoyed phenomenalsuccess on the river this year, with three boats winningthe exceptional honour of blades in Summer Eights –bumping everyday of the competition. Undoubtedlyboosted by the recent refurbishment of the boat house,which included the addition of very high quality rowingmachines, all crews put in an excellent performanceand were well supported by members of College.

Following this example, the football team had thehonour of taking possession of the oldest footballtrophy still being presented in the world, when theywon Football Cuppers. This was the first time in 20years that the trophy has been won by Lincoln, and theCollege is delighted to have the trophy in Deep Hall.

In addition to this, the College Ultimate Frisbeeteam continued its dominance of the University,whilst the darts team complemented Lincoln’saptitude for unusual sporting niches by winningCuppers. In all, it has been an excellent year for

College sports teams, with much to look forward toin the coming years.

Lincoln has also had an outstanding year in terms ofthe arts; the Lincoln players performed an outstandingproduction of Molière’s The Miser in Michaelmas. InHilary, the College was an integral part of the TurlStreet Arts Festival. The College Choir joined forceswith the best choristers in Jesus and Exeter to performa sublime rendition of St John Passion, whilst Lincolnstaged the headline event of the festival hosting theclassic comedy The Boy Friend in Hall.

The JCR has also been busy: the Ball Committee puton one of the best Lincoln balls in memory.Meanwhile, the JCR itself helped to provide fundingfor Lincoln’s very own Film Society, an organisationformed of JCR members that will release its firstshort film in Michaelmas.

Once again, it has been an exemplary year forLincoln, and once again we look forward to forgingever upwards, as befits one of the oldest and besteducational institutions in the world. �

James Meredith (2008), JCR President 2009-10

Lincoln has had an outstanding year, with a wide variety of achievements bothon the academic and extra-curricular fronts. The College’s position in theNorrington Table has held fast at eighth place – a remarkable achievement for acollege of Lincoln’s size and specialist nature.

Family Ties‘I fancy my dad, and I’m older than my mum’

Say this in Hall, and you might get a nod ofagreement, an eager ‘who’s your dad?’, or a surprisedeye-brow raise at your taste. Say this anywherebeyond the confines of our nice cosy Lincoln bubbleand you’d get more than an eyebrow raise. Don’tworry, this isn’t a weird article proving the Freudian(and nature-defying) tendencies of our students, butin fact a short demonstration of why the abovestatement is a perfectly normal and acceptablething to say in Lincoln. I’m referring, of course, to theCollege Family system we have in place, wherebyolder students become mentors (‘parents’) to firstyears (their ‘children’). Contrary to popular belief, theCollege Family system does not exist to upset orconfuse real parents, but to help freshers settle in tolife at Lincoln, to meet their peers and mix withother year groups.

Each fresher is assigned a ‘family’: usually a ‘mum’and ‘dad’ in the year above (though Lincoln welcomessame-sex marriages and single parent families), whoact as mentors. Parents are usually matched to thesame subject as their child, and a family will typicallyhave at least two ‘children’. At Lincoln, we take theCollege Family system very seriously: people have

been known to draw up entire family trees detailingthe past six generations; entire family meals with‘aunts’, ‘uncles’ and ‘grandparents’ are regularoccurrences; College ‘marriages’ are taken seriously,and have to be broken off before new ones can beformed. A College parent writes to their ‘child’ beforehe or she arrives at Lincoln, looks out for them inFreshers’ Week, and organises at least one ‘familymeal’. In a weird mish-mash of bizarre Oxfordtraditions, the ‘parent’ will typically buy their child awhite carnation for their first exam, and ‘trash’ themwhen they finish. Whilst the system is great forhelping freshers to settle in and to establish a pointof contact in the year above (especially when it’ssomeone who’s done the same course, and thusconveniently has exactly the same essays...), thedownside of College Families is the string ofawkward comments which comes with it. Whetheryou’re confessing a crush on your ‘dad’ (or worse,‘grandad’), talking casually about your recent ‘divorce’,or worse still, lamenting a ‘miscarriage’ (referring to a‘child’ you are assigned who doesn’t get their gradescome August), to the untrained ear, conversationsabout College Families merely further the myth (?)that Oxford students live in a world of their own... �

Milly Unwin (2008), JCR Welfare Officer 2009-10

Contrary to popularbelief, the College

Family system doesnot exist to upset or

confuse realparents, but to helpfreshers settle in to

life at Lincoln, tomeet their peers

and mix with otheryear groups.

The football teamhad the honour of

taking possession ofthe oldest footballtrophy still beingpresented in the

world.

22 Students


Students

Students 23

Lincoln College Christian Union 2009-102009-10 has been an exciting year for Lincoln’sChristian Union (CU). We kicked off with a freebrunch in the JCR on the Saturday of Freshers’ Week.A third-year student spoke, and we invited almost allthe freshers to come along – and loads did! We havesince been meeting together every week to pray (inthe Chapel, with kind permission from the Chaplain)and study the Bible. This year we have looked atHaggai and Jonah, and bits of John’s gospel and Acts.

Hilary Term brought the University-wide ChristianUnion (OICCU)’s Main Event week, entitled ‘Reality’,with a series of challenging talks from RichardCunningham, Director of the Universities andColleges Christian Fellowship (UCCF). The ‘MightyMeal’, (food with speaker, in true CU tradition) in theMitre pub opposite College was well-attended, andresulted in some interesting discussion afterwards.We also gave out free copies of John’s gospel tomost freshers.

In Trinity we invited Andrew Marsh, who coordinatedthe ‘Christians and Candidates 2010’ initiative, tospeak on ‘Jesus and Politics: In opposition, or happycoalition?’ This topical lecture also proved popularwith PPEists. On a more light-hearted note, theOICCU ceilidh took place the following Saturdaynight. Over the course of the year, we have also run acouple of ‘Explore’ courses, giving people a chance tohave an informal discussion about Christianity.

We are looking forward to welcoming freshers in thecoming year, and we have some events with theother Turl Street college CUs planned for Michaelmas2010. If you were a member of the CU when youwere at Lincoln, or would like to know more, wewould love to hear from you. �

Steven Legg (2009)Lincoln Christian Union Rep [email protected]

We have hadanother successfulyear, managing todevelop our eventsfor parents intoregular ‘LunchReceptions’...

L CU Christmas quiz, 2009

The 1427 CommitteeThe 1427 Committee is a student-run body thatworks in connection with the Development Office to forge links with alumni and friends of LincolnCollege, and in particular with the parents of current students.

We have had another successful year, managing todevelop our events for parents into regular ‘LunchReceptions’ which allow families of students toexperience Lincoln in a relaxed manner by coming infor drinks, lunch and chat on a Saturday or Sunday.The Rector has delivered some enlightening talks onthe history of the College as well as its plans for thefuture, while Chef and Butler have produced sometruly delicious drinks, lunches and teas in Lincoln’s Hall.The introduction of a 1427 parents’ mailing list hasbeen invaluable in allowing families who particularlyenjoy our events to hear about them promptly.

We are looking to expand the scope of the Committeeto help facilitate greater interaction between studentsand alumni in the form of an annual lunch and talk inMichaelmas term. Members of the Committee havealways greatly enjoyed meeting alumni at Collegeevents (we usually attend the London Dining Cluband Lincoln Society Garden Party), and we are hopingto make it easier for everyone to interact with thosewho have a shared love of Lincoln College.

Meanwhile, as I write, we are very much lookingforward to our annual Leavers’ Barbeque, which weare responsible for organising on Thursday of eighthweek. We hope it will be an enjoyable send-off forthis year’s finalists! �

Anna Barnes (2008)1427 Committee President 2009-10

The Davenant SocietyThe strength of the D’Avenant Society hascontinued, with the past year marking many specialoccasions. The annual Birthday Dinner in celebrationof our patron Sir William D’Avenant, whilst not in itstraditional location in the Painted Room (in thebuilding that now houses Pizza Express) proved tobe a delightful evening. A special alumni dinner wasalso enjoyed by the current members and over 30alumni of the society, with many ex-memberssharing their memories from as far back as the

1950s. It was especially interesting to hear how thetone of the society had perhaps changed, andcontrastingly how time had left some elementsuntouched. Whilst perhaps not as dramatic, anongoing expedition through the society’s records,and further attempts to archive loose material, hasproven very interesting with many artefacts beinguncovered and recorded. �

Floreant Manes D’Avenantis


On Saturday 8 May 2010, the historic quads and roomsof Lincoln were filled with somewhat unusual items,people and events. These included, among otherthings, an authentic 13-foot gondola, a 36-foot by 14-foot replica of the Rialto Bridge, some 140 entertainersand 600 guests, all in support of one charity – Venicein Peril. This was the hugely enjoyable College Ball thattransported its guests from Lincoln to Venice to enjoythe luxury and exuberance of the Carnivale di Venezia.

Over a year in the making, the 2010 Ball was thecollective work of a committee of 20 JCR students whoput the Ball on for almost the entire JCR and MCR, aswell as some College staff and alumni. It was the mostinclusive Lincoln Ball to date, as well as being thelargest in terms of ticket numbers. Yet it was muchmore than a College affair, it was run in support of aworthy cause, the plight of the world’s second mostbeautiful city (after of Oxford!).

The committee proudly organised the Ball as acharity event for the first time in Lincoln’s history,and they wish to thank all those guests andsponsors who contributed through tickets sales, andin the charity raffle, to raising £2,244 for Venice inPeril (veniceinperil.org). This British-based charitycampaigns for the protection of the fabric andunique buildings of Venice from flooding and from anon-sustainable tourism rate. If you would like toknow more about the charity, please do not hesitateto contact me. �

Matt Wood (2008), Ball President [email protected]

College Ball 2010

The Turl Street Arts Festival (TSAF) is a week-longfestival held every February for students of the threeTurl Street colleges: Exeter, Jesus and Lincoln. Foundedin 2004 by the chaplains of these colleges, the festivalhas since inspired a great deal of cultural and artisticactivity among the students of the three colleges.More importantly, it has also helped to cultivate asense of community between them.

Highlights of the 2010 TSAF(which ran from Saturday 13 toSaturday 20 February), includedan exhibition of photographsby Alice Gardner (2008)celebrating 30 years of womenat Lincoln, a performance of StJohn Passion by JS Bach by allthree chapel choirs, a one-evening short film festival atExeter, a Toddy Hoaresculpture exhibition at Jesus,and a production of The BoyFriend by Sandy Wilsonstaged at Lincoln.

Charlotte Moss (2007) sharessome of her memories ofstaging The Boy Friend withImprint: “While reading thescript for the first time inthe Bodleian Library, the

directors giggled over the line, “disappearing fromOxford in the middle of the Hilary Term”. With dialoguesuch as this and the fact that Sandy Wilson waseducated at Oriel College in the 1940s, The Boy Friendcould not have been more fitting for an Arts Festivalheld annually in fifth week of Hilary.

“The production was a great success. Lincoln’s DiningHall was the perfect setting for a young ladies’finishing school on the French Riviera. The castcontained many Lincolnites as well as other studentsfrom across the University. The dancing waschoreographed with the help of Lincoln’s PatriciaWaszczuk (2006), who has achieved success in herown right with the University Dancesport team. Thefive-piece band (with Lincoln’s Senior Organ Scholar,William Thomas (2007), at the keyboard) wasconducted by myself as Musical Director. DirectorCamilla Unwin (2008) and Producer ElizabethKahn (2008) made this fun 1920s pastiche showcome to life. It was awarded four stars by The OxfordTheatre Review and was praised as “utterly delightfuland joyous”. A big thank you goes, once again, to all thecast and crew. Finally, we would not have been able todo this without the support of all College staff, inparticular the Rector, Bursar, Steward, and Chaplain.” �

Turl Street ArtsFestival 2010

L Students enjoy Venetian staples: masks and ice cream (top);Casino Room at the Ball

“While reading thescript for the first

time in the BodleianLibrary, the

directors giggledover the line,

“disappearing fromOxford in the middleof the Hilary Term”

Students

24 Students


Downing? We may never know the answer, but, forsure, the dinner duly took place anyway, renamed forthe occasion the “Lincoln Is Awesome Dinner”. Soawesome was the night that only a handful ofstudents managed the healthy walk to the Trout Innthe next day!

Our activities have not been limited to providingmerriment and enjoyment. As well as the day-to-dayadministrative business of the MCR, in which I wasbrilliantly seconded by Treasurer George Song-Zhao(2008), we continued our efforts in making Lincoln agreener college: Susie Vavrusa (2009) and RichardPassmore (2008) promoted recycling, and energysaving bulbs are now in use in the MCR. But themajor new initiative has been the creation of anMCR Charities Fund. In this first year, £2,550 wasraised and awarded on the advice of a dynamicteam led by Charities Rep Latoya Flewellen tovarious projects, which reflect the internationalbackground of the graduate community. FromGreece to Zambia, and from Poland back to the UK,our support was directed at wildlife preservationand at children with special needs, and fromdisadvantaged backgrounds. This includes of coursea donation to Lincoln’s own VacProj (see page 30).

Our Secretary, Glenn Wilkinson (2008), and ourAcademic Rep, Andrew Johnson (2007), have beenbusy organising a series of talks of broad interest.Three graduates proposed insights into theirresearch as part of the traditional Lord Florey Talkseries: Victoria Norelid (2008), reading for the MSt inLatin American Studies, presented ‘40-year-long ‘CivilWar: Justice and Truth-Seeking’; DPhil archaeologistMarlena Whiting (2006) spoke about ‘Travel andAccommodation in the Late Antique EastMediterranean’, and DPhil physicist Cyril Matti(2007) about ‘String Theory, the boundary of humanknowledge’. Two guest speakers were also invited totalk: the world-renowned science writer GeorginaFerry lectured on ‘Structure, science and society’, andentomologist Dr George McGavin entertained uswith tales of the adventurous expeditions leading tothe broadcasting of BBC nature programmes. Finally,graduate student Jonathan Harris (2008) presentedto both the MCR and SCR the Trinity TermConversazione, speaking about ‘The Reception ofPrinted Propaganda in 1530s England’.

Trinity Term saw the creation of a new annual dinnerspecifically for graduate students leaving Lincoln.Generously funded by College, this additional eventoffers us the opportunity to bid farewell to manyfriends in a very “Oxford” way. This year, 73 studentsattended the dinner, and we are grateful to leaver DrRaffaele Renella, for delivering a memorable toast! �

Xavier Droux (2008), MCR President 2009-10

The social highlightof the year was

undoubtedly ourvisit to Downing

College, Cambridge.On 28 November

2009, no less than 55 Lincolnites

made it to ‘The Other Place’...

Lincoln College MCR 2009-10Year after year the number of students reading for a graduate degree at Lincolncontinues to increase, with people coming from almost anywhere imaginable onthe planet. In this context, the role of the MCR Committee is vital in ensuringintegration and cohesion throughout the graduate community, in order to offereveryone the most enjoyable stay in Oxford.

This past academic year, the social committee(James Flewellen (2008), Richard Simmonds (2004),Jian Don (2008) and Ashley Napier (2004)) kept usbusier than ever with a wide range of activities,dinners, and parties. Our common room of courseremained the centre of MCR social life. In order tooffer suitable facilities to students, and with thekind support of the Annual Fund, worn out furniturewill soon be replaced and a complete, long-awaited,kitchen refurbishment is now under way. Duringyour next visit to College, make sure you pop intothe MCR to have a look (first floor of staircase 10)!

The social highlight of the year was undoubtedly ourvisit to Downing College, Cambridge. On 28 November2009, no less than 55 Lincolnites made it to ‘The OtherPlace’, where Downing MCR President Brett Kennedyoffered us a guided tour of his college, town, andlocal pubs. We then dined in their Hall, before alsopaying a visit to Christ’s College. In return, we wereexpecting graduates from our sister college to cometo Oxford in Hilary Term. However, for some obscurereason, no Cambridge student was to crossBedfordshire and Buckinghamshire... Was it the fearof having to acknowledge that the delicious mealprepared by Chef would outrank Downing’s food? Orthat the medieval aspect of Lincoln is far morecharming than the grand neoclassical design of

Students

Students 25


2626 Students

Kylie Murray (2005, English) has beenawarded a Knox Visiting Fellowship toHarvard for 2010-11. Only six of theseawards are given out in the whole of theUK, and Kylie is the only one of the six to begoing out as a Visiting Fellow rather than asa student. The Knox awards are one of themajor awards that allow UK scholars tostudy at Harvard, and are comparable toRhodes Scholarships.

Kylie also has an essay, ‘The Kingis Quair andScottish Literary Identity’ forthcoming in avolume of collected essays to be publishedby Palgrave in 2011, entitled Theorizing theBorders: Scotland and the Shaping of Identityin Medieval Britain, M. Bruce and K. Terrell(eds). She has also been consulted byAberdeen University and commissioned towrite a piece on some of their holdings,pertaining to a manuscript discovery shemade there in the course of her research.The final piece will be in The Collections ofthe University of Aberdeen, Volume 1: Libraryand Archival Collections, I. Beavan and P.Davidson (eds), forthcoming in 2011-12.

Kylie suffers from postural orthostatictachycardia syndrome (Pots), which causessufferers to frequently collapse with nowarning due to low blood pressure. Kyliesays: “My recent success and Knox awardhave happened pretty much against theodds. I have been through a course ofserious illness but I’ve finally hit upon alateral thinking doctor and the righttreatment. It is so radical that I am the onlyperson in Britain trying this medicine,and it could revolutionise the way peoplewith my kind of problem with low bloodpressure are treated. Even just a fewmonths ago, I was so ill I couldn’t live inOxford, but now I’m miles better. This issuch an exciting time!”

Xin Hui Chan (2007, Medicine), has beengranted a Vice-Chancellor’s Civic Award inits inaugural year of 2010. This Award isgranted in recognition of her outstandingindividual achievement in volunteering inthe local community and wider world. Onlysix students at the University of Oxfordhave been awarded this honour. XinHui received the Award after this year’sEncaenia ceremony, at the lunch at RhodesHouse on Wednesday 23 June.

Sebastian Gorecki (2007, Physics) visitedthe International Conference of YoungScientists in Bali in April 2010 thanks to aCollege Travel Grant and support from theSenior Tutor’s Fund. Sebastian representedthe UK as an observer of this competitionbetween high school students, and helpedto asses their research. He was also able toenjoy an unexpected extra five days in Balithanks to the flight disruption caused bythe volcanic ash cloud!

Michelle Sikes (2008, History) was awardeda College Travel Grant, which she used to goto Iten in Kenya to conduct oral historyresearch with some of the finest femaledistance runners in the country’s history. Shevisited these athletes in their homes andworkplaces to discuss issues such asmotivation, nationality and ethnicity, andthe commercialisation of athletics. As askilled athlete herself (see page 27), Michellealso spent some of her time running thedusty trails of Kenya’s Rift Valley Region tohelp her understanding of what the Kenyanathletes experience in their training.

Ruvi Ziegler (2008, DPhil in Law) gave a lecturein London in May 2010 to the HebrewUniversity Alumni Association UK on ‘The WestBank Barrier: Myths, Realities andLegal Principles’. The talk offered perspectiveson the legality of the Israel Defence Force’s(IDF) actions in the West Bank in view of theneed to balance security, human rights and therule of law. Ruvi has previously served as a legaladvising officer in the IDF’S Military AdvocateGeneral unit in the West Bank. He specialises ininternational humanitarian law andinternational human rights law as well as inIsraeli constitutional and administrative law.

Choir Tour to Rome In July 2009 the LincolnChapel Choir went on tour to Rome and sungmass in San Pietro in Vaticano, Santa MariaMaggiore and San Giovanni in Laterano, aswell as choral evensong at All Saints’ (Rome’sAnglican Church). Thanks go to alumni BobBlake (1946) and David Cohen (1950) for theirgenerous donations that helped make thistrip possible. Sixteen members of the Choirwill be going on tour to Tokyo from 25 to 30September 2010. They will be singing atchapels and universities in the area, includingAoyama Gakuin (see page 4) – there will be afull report on this trip in Imprint 2011.

MODERN LINGUISTS’ TRAVEL GRANTWINNERS

Modern Linguists’ Travel Grants areawarded to students reading ModernLanguages in order to enable them to travelto the country where the studied languageis spoken, either for their third year or for ashorter trip during a vacation in order tohelp with exam preparation. All of thesetrips were taken during the 2010 Eastervacation.

Emanuelle Degli-Esposti (2006) travelled toParis to practise French speaking. Sheattended the annual Salon du Livre (LiteraryFestival), visited an old artists’ atelier in theLatin Quarter, and enjoyed visiting cafés,museums and theatres.

Ben Glazer (2006) also went to Paris so hecould speak French every day before hisfinal oral exam. He returned to themagazine he had worked on as an internduring his third year, in order to practiseinterviewing in French, translating articles,and writing pieces, and also met up withold friends made on his year abroad.

Thalia Jones (2006) went to Hamburg(where she had spent her third year abroad)so she could speak German with nativespeakers in preparation for her finalGerman oral exam. She was able to meetup with many old friends and contacts inthe city.

Jo Sheldon (2006) went to Creteil, a suburbof Paris, along with three others from herchurch in Oxford to support a small churchover there in their Easter celebrations, andalso to practise speaking French.

Patricia Waszczuk (2006) visited the familyshe had au-paired during her year abroad inLe Puy en Valey during Summer 2009, andwas able to take part in their traditionalFrench Easter celebrations, including a visitto an Easter market, a large family Easterlunch and an Easter egg hunt. She alsovisited the Saint Michel chapel and thetown of Polignac.

Camilla Unwin (2008) went on a week-longintensive French language course at ILAlanguage school in Montpellier. �

Students

Student news


AthleticsThere has been considerable individual success forLincoln athletes this year. In 2009, three Lincolnstudents were selected to travel to the USA as partof the joint Oxford and Cambridge ‘Achilles Team’,which tours several Ivy League universities. This isthe oldest-known sports tour in existence, pre-dating the modern Olympics. Michelle Sikes (2008)ran a fantastic match record time to take victory inthe 1500m against Harvard and Yale, and IanKimpton (2005) in the 5000m, and Josh Gilbert(2008) in the 110m Hurdles, played their part in anhistoric win against the men of Harvard and Yale.Michelle, Josh and Ian also visited Penn and Cornellas part of the tour. Michelle’s subsequent double inthe 1500m and 5000m at Athletics Varsity 2009helped the Oxford women’s team triumph againstthe Light Blues, whilst Ian saw off his closecompetition in a thrilling 1500m, and Josh tooksecond place in the sprint hurdles, running the Bluesstandard for the first time. �Josh Gilbert (2008)Athletics Captain 2009-10

Water poloRaffaele Renella (2005) and William Nicholson(2008) both received Half Blues in the 2008-09season. Nick Worsley (2009), Jamie McDonald (2009)and William all played in the Oxford first teamsquad in 2009-10, with Oxford achieving a joint thirdplace finish in British Universities and Colleges Sport(BUCS), our best performance in many years. TheBUCS standard is very competitive, with many fullinternationals and junior internationals representinguniversity teams. �William Nicholson (2008)Water Polo Captain 2009-10

Hockey2009-10 saw a great year for Lincoln Hockey. Webegan the season languishing in the bottom league,barely able to get 11 players out a game, and so wereecstatic when many first years and graduates signedup to play. This meant (after a lot of coercing!) wewere able to get out a full strength side almost everymatch, and thanks to the quality of the team wemanaged to gain promotion this year.

Huge credit goes to the likes of Luke Newham (2007),the 2008-09 captain, who, now released from hisduties, was able to focus on terrorising the oppositiondefence with fantastic runs down the left hand side,while still preferring reverse stick to normal! AlexHammant (2009), who despite being a second teamUniversity player, showed amazing commitment toturning up for as many Lincoln games as he could.Matt Heal-Cohen (2009), captain-elect for 2010-11,also shored up the defence so we finished the seasonwith one of the lowest goals conceded figures in theleague. Ed Heywood-Lonsdale (2008), having steppedin to be in goal, trained really hard and has become anexcellent goalkeeper during the year.

In Cuppers, we were able to utilise the forces of ChrisNewman (2008, England Under 21 player and Blue)and Matthew Wood (2008, Blue) to help us through,eventually losing 6-4 to Jesus (a team second in thefirst division) in the semi final. This was an amazingachievement, seeing as they had only conceded fivegoals during their entire league campaign! Wereached the quarter finals last year, and so we arehoping we can continue this progress and be in thefinal next year.

In a new event on the Lincoln Hockey calendar, Lincolnplayed against Christ’s College, Cambridge in a“friendly” match in Oxford. Despite having to pull in afew ringers due to the match being played outside ofterm, we managed to maintain Oxford pride bythrashing the Tabs 4-2. It is hoped that this willbecome an annual fixture, and that the match will betaken to Cambridge next year. �Ben Ramsden (2008)Hockey Captain 2009-10

RugbyLCRFC had a successful start to the 2009-10 seasonwith against-the-odds victories against Jesus, Orieland Worcester. Star players included Stuart Morten(2008), Jono Lain (2007), James Tilney (2007) andAnthony Geraghty (2007), whose glorious drop goal

Students

Student sports: 2009-10 round up

L Achilles Team 2009

In 2009, threeLincoln studentswere selected to

travel to the USA aspart of the joint

Oxford andCambridge ‘AchillesTeam’, which toursseveral Ivy League

universities.

Students 27


Students

Student sports: 2009-10 round up

secured victory over Oriel. This early run of strongperformances also included the retention of theSchneider Cup for the 27th consecutive year.

After Christmas the vicissitudes of winter weatherand conscientious finalists began to take someeffect on the team. This led to difficulty in securingplayer turnout and a general malaise that developedafter a few poor performances. Yet in the midst ofthis difficult period came one of the bestperformances of the season, as LCRFC held LMH to aclose defeat despite carrying multiple injuriesbetween them. Despite this disappointing secondhalf of the season, promise for the future was inevidence, most notably in confident performancesfrom player of the season Jamie Close (2009) andcaptain, Oliver Russell (2008).

This promise shone through after Easter in SevensCuppers. A good run, in a somewhat toxin-affectedperformance on the day after the Lincoln Ball, sawus progress to the quarter finals where we wereunfortunate to lose to a strong Oriel side who wemight have defeated on another day. Throughoutthis tournament the commitment of the teamshone through, with great physicality from all, led byJohn Hudson (2008) among others. This was inmany ways typical of the character of LCRFC: at bestunparalleled for flair and commitment, at worstunparalleled in unpredictability but in either casemercurially inventive throughout. �Murdo Armstrong (2009)

FootballOn Thursday 11 March 2010, 11 Lincolnites steppedout onto the pitch at Iffley Road exactly 20 yearssince LCFC’s last appearance in a Cuppers final in1990. Starting the season in the bottom tier of JCRcollege football, and having amassed just threepoints in the entirety of the previous season, wecould not have dreamt of such an occasion back inOctober.

However, the team enjoyed an excellent 2009-10season and a fantastic cup run, beating reigningchampions St John’s and college footballheavyweights Worcester in the quarter final andsemi final respectively. Our opponents in the finalwere St Catherine’s, who had finished second in thePremier Division and were clear favourites on the day.

Nevertheless, from start to finish the team produceda trademark display of scintillating attackingfootball, and St Catherine’s were left without achance. Oxford Blue Alex Biggs (2008) was insensational form, and put Lincoln ahead with abeautifully cushioned volley from a Chris Dunn(2006) flick-on midway through the first half. Biggsstruck again just minutes later, and then anopportunistic strike from centre-half EamonMcMurray (2006) meant Lincoln were 3-0 up at halftime.

Lincoln continued to dominate in the second halfwith central midfielders Richard Simmonds (2004)and Nick Worsley (2009) producing a typicallycombative display in the middle of the park, andcentre-halves McMurray and Matthew Flood (2007)snuffing out all that the St Catherine’s attack had tooffer. The game was wrapped up midway throughthe half when captain, Joshua Thomas (2008), struckwith a long range left-footed effort which sailed intothe top corner of the net.

The team ran out 4-0 winners and were dulypresented with the oldest trophy in world football,which is currently sitting proudly behind the bar inDeep Hall. It was a truly wonderful day and I amsure that the whole team will cherish memories ofthe occasion for many years to come. �Josh Thomas (2008)Football Captain 2009-10

L Lincoln's rugby players inaction

K Cuppers Team in FrontQuad on final day

From start to finishthe team produceda trademark display

of scintillatingattacking football.

28 Students


Students

Ultimate frisbeeAt the start of Michaelmas 2009, the Lincoln CollegeUltimate Frisbee team realised it had a problem. Allbut two members of the illustrious two-years-in-a-row Spring League winning team would be leaving atthe end of the year. A serious recruitment drive was inorder, and so we arrived with our shiny trophies andtwo frisbees full of sweets at the Freshers’ Fair. It paidoff, and come Ultimate Frisbee Cuppers in Trinity Termwe had a second team of enthusiastic young’uns keento blaze the trail of Lincoln Ultimate into 2011.

Ultimate Cuppers is a one day, five-a-side tournament,with 14 teams taking part. Although not finishing highly,the second team’s Cuppers run was very promising, andthey even managed to score two points against theeventual winning team. The Lincoln first team, althoughseverely depleted in numbers on what was one of thehottest days of the year, came a very respectable secondplace in a final against our rivals of old, Brasenose.

But we all knew this was a mere warm-up to the realLincoln v Brasenose show down: the Spring Leaguefinal. Spring League is the main inter-college Ultimatecompetition, with weekly matches starting in HilaryTerm on full-size pitches with full teams (sevenplayers). Lincoln had a put in a strong performance inthe group stages, and we were coming in asdefending champions for the second year running. Wetook a comfortable 13-6 victory, meaning that for thethree years the Lincoln College Ultimate Frisbee teamhas existed, we have always won the Spring LeagueCup, an incredible achievement.

We also won the Spring League ‘spirit prize’ for beingthe best spirited team in the competition. UltimateFrisbee is a self-refereed game, where the onus is onindividual players to enforce the rules fairly. Teamsmark each other’s spirit out of 10 after a match, andthe marks are totalled after the final. To win both thecompetition and the spirit prize is an indication of thequality of Lincoln’s team, for which a special mentionhas to go the team’s founding father, Jonny Clark(2006). Starting the team in his first year by dragginghis friends to throw a frisbee around in UniversityParks when it was sunny, his unwavering commitmentto Ultimate has seen him captain the team to theirfirst Spring League victory and become president ofthe University Ultimate Frisbee Club. Graduating thisyear, his influence will no doubt live on as LincolnUltimate Frisbee is passed into the capable hands ofthe new captain, Gareth Johnson (2009). �Helena McMeekin (2006)Ultimate Captain 2009-10

RowingThis year has seen what could fairly be called areversal of the College’s rowing fortunes. Only W1raced in Torpids (W2 failed to qualify by one second),but went up one place, their chances beinghampered by cancelled racing and klaxons. ThisTrinity Term we have had three women’s eights inserious training, coached by Bodo Schulenburg(2007) for W1 and Nicole Scheumann (2007) for W2and W3. All three boats qualified for Summer VIIIs.

The first VIII was a stronger boat than the Collegehas seen for several years, and managed to stop thetrend of decline in the bumps charts, going up one,down one to hold position over the week. W2 andW3 both got blades, with W2 going up a division.This, accompanied by M2’s blades, is virtuallyunprecedented in College history (someone canremember the College getting triple blades inTorpids in 1996, but it’s even harder in Eights than inTorpids!). It was an incredibly successful Eightscampaign for Lincoln, with us getting four morebumps overall than the next college.

Our blues squad rowers this year were BodoSchulenberg (Men’s Lightweight Blue Boat), SamAlbanie (2008, Men’s Lightweight Reserve Boat), andJenni Gossen (2007, Women’s Blue Boat) –congratulations to all of them. �Susanna Bridge (2008)Women’s Rowing Captain 2009-10

L From left Alex Holehouse,Phil Jones, Phil Rodrigues,Barnaby Roberts (obscured),Jonny Clark, Tom Dawnay,Gareth Johnson

I Lincoln's rowing teams attraining camp in Spain, Easter2010

It was an incrediblysuccessful Eights

campaign forLincoln, with us

getting four morebumps overall than

the next college.

Students 29


VacProj is a charity made up of students fromLincoln who volunteer to take a group of 36 children(aged seven to 13) away on holiday each year duringthe Long Vacation. The VacProj Committee liaiseswith Oxfordshire social services to select childrenfrom particularly disadvantaged backgrounds tobenefit from the scheme. Many of these childrenwill not have been away from the area before, andthe aim is to provide them with a break fromwhatever difficulties they may be experiencing athome. This year’s Committee President, Tom Hale(2008) reports on the 2009 VacProj trip to Sussex.

“Last summer, the VacProj team took a group of 36children to Dalesdown in Sussex, a change from theusual location of Eton Dorney. The daily activitiesincluded swimming, ice skating, a visit to a nearbyzoo, a trip to Thorpe Park, bowling and laser quest.As well as this, there was a heavy emphasis on theritual game of football upon returning from theday’s excursions, which always proved atempestuous and wildly competitive affair. Anotherimportant feature of the week was the adventureplayground, which bore witness to some trulyremarkable individual performances in ‘What’s thetime Mr. Wolf?’, as well as some creative solofreestyling on the monkey bars. Incredibly, and muchto our despair, the combination of these drainingactivities seemed to have little or no capacity to

fatigue any of the children! The same cannot be saidof the leaders, all of whom were exhausted by theweek, and some of whom suffered injuries. Twocareers were threatened when promising organistJonathan Turner (2006) dislocated his knee,immediately after I (a dancer) was struck with acrippling, although medically unexplained, ankleinjury. A few days later, Samantha Hodson (2007),after bravely attempting some form of ice-skatingbackflip, suffered mild head injuries. The children, onthe other hand, thankfully emerged from the weekunscathed, and despite the leader casualty-rate, theatmosphere remained on a permanent high, withthe infectious enthusiasm of the children rubbingoff on the Lincoln students. There was a strongsense of solidarity within each group of leaders, allof whom were united by an equal desire to makethe experience as enjoyable as possible for each andevery child involved. This year, VacProj are changingvenue again, this time to Sevenoaks in Kent. Wehope the holiday will be as eventful, successful andmemorable as in 2009.” �

There are currently plans to hold VacProj reunion dinnerfor all current students and alumni who have beeninvolved in the scheme in spring 2011. A date and furtherdetails will be announced as soon as they are confirmed.Please contact the Development Office if you have anyquestions or suggestions regarding this event.

VacProj 2009L The group takes to thestage (top); VacProj studentsand children 2009

There was a strongsense of solidaritywithin each group

of leaders, all ofwhom were unitedby an equal desire

to make theexperience asenjoyable as

possible for eachand every child

involved.

Students

30 Students


Development and Alumni Relations

As any of you who have visited Lincoln thisyear will attest, the College is looking asgood as ever, the lawns and window boxesthe envy of our peers. Looking through thearticles gathered for this edition, it’s alsostriking how vibrant the studentcommunity is. With victory in FootballCuppers and three sets of blades in Eights’Week, our sportsmen and women areriding high. Artistically, we are thriving too:the Choir is off to Japan in the summer,and our actors and singers gave a bravuraperformance of The Boy Friend during theTurl Street Arts Festival. However, behindthe scenes, we are concerned about thefuture, and in particular how we willpreserve the tutorial system. The much-anticipated Browne Review into HigherEducation Funding and Student Fees willbe published later this year. Oxford’ssubmission can be found on theUniversity’s Website (www.ox.ac.uk). Atpresent, we lose a substantial amount ofmoney on undergraduate teaching – in theregion of £8,000 per student per year. Thisis a significant amount, that we are able toresource only by drawing down on ourendowment. As I wrote last year, we havestarted planning for a new Campaign,which we hope to be in a position tolaunch next year, with an emphasis onsustaining the tutorial system by adding toour endowment, and on establishing newsources of support for students in the formof bursaries and scholarships. We mustensure that suitably qualified candidatesare not deterred by financial pressuresfrom applying to Lincoln. The prospect ofincreasing our endowment to the levelsthat we believe will be necessary toprovide this additional support has oftenseemed daunting. However, this year, theCollege has made remarkable progress,with the establishment of an independentTrust, the object of which is to invest andcompound the investments over a 20 yearperiod. The brainchild of an alumnus, whohas invested over £3m of his own in thescheme, matched by the College, it willreturn the accumulated investment to theCollege endowment at the time of our600th anniversary in 2027. This means thatin the shorter term, we can focus onspecific initiatives with scope for fundingcurrent activities. There will be more toreport on this in The Record.

On to brighter things. In a College foundednearly 600 years ago, there is alwayssomething to celebrate. Last year, the MCRcelebrated its 50th anniversary, this yearsaw the 30th anniversary of the first arrivalof female undergraduates. As one of thefirst female undergraduates at Lincoln, Iwas delighted that we were encouraged tohold this dinner not just by my own cohort,but by many more recent alumnae andindeed the current generation of students –as one, now a Fellow of Somerville,commented: ‘I’m constantly reminded ofOxford’s long history as the preserve oflearned men, and think the opening up ofLincoln to a wider group of prospectivestudents is something to be celebrated’.Now, of course, it feels as though ourstudent body has been mixed forever, withroughly equal numbers at bothundergraduate and graduate levels. But Iwas very impressed with the enthusiasm ofthe current generation for marking theanniversary, and for the exhibition ofphotographs of female undergraduatestaken by second year, Alice Gardner.Somewhat predictably, we marked theoccasion with a dinner in Hall, presided overby Dr Susan Brigden, the first female tutorialFellow, and now Sub-Rector. And we take theopportunity, in this edition of Imprint, torecognise the achievements of our alumnaein many spheres of life, including, for the firsttime, in Parliament, where Shabana

Mahmood (1999) has just been elected, asMP for Birmingham Ladywood.

Meeting our alumni of all generationsremains one of the great pleasures of thisrole. Particularly pleasurable this year wasthe 1949 year luncheon, ably hosted byMichael Hill, celebrating their 60thanniversary in style. The Rector and Icontinued our peregrinations around theglobe, with trips to Singapore, Los Angeles,San Francisco, Washington and New York.Many thanks to our generous hosts in eachof these cities, who made us so welcome,particularly in New York, where we were indanger of outstaying our welcome whenthe infamous volcano ash grounded allplanes. At one point nearly every head ofhouse, development director, the ViceChancellor, Chancellor, the choir boys ofNew College and St John’s and the MagnaCarta were stranded in the University’spleasant but not capacious offices on FifthAvenue. I was impressed by the fortitude ofanother college contingent, who returnedvia Miami, Santa Domingo, Madrid, SanSebastian, Dieppe, and Newhaven andarrived a day before we did, the Lincolnalumni having ensured that our extendedstay in New York was productive andenjoyable. �

Susan HarrisonDirector of Development

Developm

ent

L The Development Team (from left) Susan Davison, Hannah Thomas, Susan Harrison and Emily Newson.

Alumni Relations and Development 31


32

One of the questions we are often askedabout the Annual Appeal is:“Why are youasking me to give £5 a month – whatdifference can that make to the College?”

As adverts for various large charities thesedays tell us, a regular gift of £5 can make atangible difference on its own, but makesmore of a difference if this same smallamount is given by many people. Unlike saidnational charities, we are not suggesting thatyou buy a goat or a mosquito net (or in ourcase individual textbooks, or lunch in Hall!),but money raised by the Annual Appeal doesgo directly to help with everyday costs and tosupport student projects that would nototherwise be possible.

The greatest strength of these appeals is thatthey show what we can do when we all jointogether for a common cause. From theunrestricted donations to the Annual Appealduring 2009-10, the Annual Fund WorkingGroup has distributed grants to subsidisestairlift access to Deep Hall, and to buyindividual keyboards for each of the College’smusic students, and new furniture for boththe JCR and MCR. It has also subsidised theLeavers’ Barbeque and Year Book, providing alink between leaving students and thealumni community they are about to join.The Annual Appeal also increased the pot forstudent hardship by £21,900 and contributed£14,800 towards the preservation of thetutorial system.

The Telethon is the backbone of the AnnualAppeal, and my first solo-run Telethon wasmade much easier by a superb team ofstudent callers, and the assistance of Rux-Burton Associates (RBA), with many thanksonce again due to John Rux-Burton (1992) forhis stalwart support. During our 14 days ofcalling, we raised our largest amount to date,thanks in no small part to a new initiative,the Leadership Annual Fund, which broughtin some of the largest gifts to the AnnualAppeal from individual alumni – we will beholding our first lunch to thank these donorsduring Michaelmas term.

However, the Telethon process was notwithout its challenges. Before Christmas, weconcentrated on calling our American alumni,which meant some late nights/very earlymornings for the callers, RBA supervisor and

the Development Officer; on one particularnight, we were in the call room until 3.30am,so we held a pyjama party (below), completewith plenty of games and snacks to keep ourenergy up.

When we returned in January, Oxfordexperienced some very heavy snow meaningthat getting to the calling room in the EPACentre on Museum Road in the eveningsbecame more of an adventurer’s expeditionthan a commute! On one evening, the firealarm went off in the middle of calling, andwe had to hang up and go to stand outside inthe snow – not quite what we had planned!

Despite these minor trials, the Telethon was agreat success, not least because it put ourstudent callers directly in contact withalumni, which they found very rewarding.Elizabeth Hennah (2007) said of herexperience:“Lincoln College alumni made theTelethon an enjoyable enterprise: not onlywas their generosity overwhelming, but theirstories of Lincoln were hilarious and theircareer advice invaluable. I am most gratefulto them for making the experience bothenlightening and entertaining.”

We are very thankful to all the alumni whotook the time to talk to us and in particular toeveryone who made a gift. The 2010-11Telethon will once again be running inDecember and January. During this time, ourcallers will be reporting on their progress via

32 Alumni Relations and Development

Annual Appeal 2009-10

Twitter – do feel free to say hello and ask howthings are going we are @LincolnCalling.

With responses from our April Annual Appealletter still coming in to the DevelopmentOffice, our overall total for 2009-10 so far is astaggering £222,000! If you have alreadymade a pledge and not yet made a gift, it isnot too late – please contact theDevelopment Officer.

We begin the Annual Appeal 2010-11 on 1August - we hope that you will continue tolook generously on the College, helping us tomake a day-to-day difference for all ourstudents. �

Hannah ThomasDevelopment [email protected]

Telethon statisticsNumber of calls made: 1,230Amount Raised: £187,095.27Very late nights: 3Snowball fights: 2Fire alarms during calling sessions: 1Cups of tea/coffee drunk: Innumerable!

Telethon callers 2009-10Peter Beamont, Mark Brakel, LawrenceCochran, Monica Freely, Alice Gardner,Elizabeth Hennah, Sam Kennedy, EleanorLischka, Charlotte Moss, Melissa Rodriguez,Daniel Savigar, Toby Virno

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From the roaring fire in Hall to the immaculate lawnof the Rector’s Garden; from the skyscrapers ofManhattan to the opulence of a Club on Piccadilly –Lincoln’s 2009-10 events programme has once againcovered every corner of College and the globe.

Here at Lincoln we have had the usual host of YearDinners and Gaudies. The Gaudy programme for theyear started in September with 1964-66, which sawabout 60 alumni gather together for the traditionalmeal and reminiscing, and concluded in March with agroup of about 70 alumni from 1970-72. The latterevening was topped off by a reunion performance bythe Frothy Green Stools (latterly known as theFrothies!). Band members, Neil Forsyth (1970), JeremyCoombes (1970), Robert Kerr (1971) and Perry Kitchen(1971) had not performed together since their studentdays and managed an impressivecome back that kept everyoneswinging until Deep Hall closingtime.

Year Dinners have also been held for1959 (hosted by Anthony Hudson inSeptember), 1969 (hosted by MaxThorneycroft in October), 1949 (aluncheon hosted by Michael Hill inNovember), 1980 (hosted by JimWalton in March) and 1990 (hosted byDominic Geer in April). Thanks go to allthose who have hosted during 2009-10, both for assisting during theplanning stages and speaking on theday of their reunions.

The Rector and Susan Harrison,Director of Development, havecontinued with their regular overseastravel in order to host events for ourinternational alumni. They began theyear with a visit to California inOctober, and our thanks go to SteveSohmer (1992) who kindly hosted areception for alumni at his LosAngeles home.

The Rector then visited Australia in March, wherehe hosted a dinner at The Australian Club inMelbourne, and a reception at The Union Universityand Schools Club in Sydney. He was then joined bySusan Harrison in Hong Kong, where they hosted areception for alumni at The Tanglin Club. The Rectorand Susan followed this trip a mere two weeks laterby travelling to the north-eastern United States.Thanks must go to Richard Sauber (1973) who hostedafternoon tea for local alumni at his home in

Washington DC. Their subsequent stay in New York –which incorporated a Lincoln dinner at the UniversityClub to coincide with the University of Oxford NorthAmerican Reunion – ultimately lasted a week

longer than planned thanks toEyjafjallajökull's cloud of volcanicash!

We have continued with our Lincolnfor Life programme for youngalumni, with a ‘Welcome toLondon’ drinks gathering inOctober to bring new alumni inthe capital together. We are alsohosting a City drinks event in lateJuly. Thanks must once again go toEd Hayes (1998) and RhiannonEvans (1996) who have continuedto assist with organising theseevents, and to represent the

group on Facebook. As Ed has nowleft London for a new job in Bristol,we would very much like to hearfrom anyone who might beinterested in getting involved withthis events programme. Pleasecontact Emily Newson (AlumniOfficer) in the Development Officefor further information.

The Development Office has alsosupported the student-led 1427Committee, a group that organises atermly gala lunch for parents ofcurrent students. These events have

proved very popular with parents and they havefrequently filled the Hall to capacity! (See page 23 fora short report by Anna Barnes, the 2009-10 1427Committee President).

Lincoln Society events (open to all alumni and theirpartners/guests) have also continued this year. TheSociety family Garden Party, last held in 2008,returned to Lincoln on Saturday 29 May (to coincide

Alumni Relations and Development 33

Events 2009-10

L Kevin Egleston (Butler) andteam at work

LL Alumni Dinner at theUniversity Club. New York

L The Frothies play Deep Hall


with the end of Eights Week). Unfortunately rainforced the gathering’s re-location from the Rector’sGarden to the Oakeshott Room but a thoroughlyenjoyable afternoon was still had by all. The guestswere treated to music from the Lincoln Singers – asmall choir of undergraduates – and a string quartetcomprised of Winfried Rudolf (Fellow in English),Sirichai Chongchitnan (Fellow in Mathematics), GuyPerry and David Yadin (both Lincoln DPhil students).The children were also kept occupied by Jake, achildren’s entertainer who provided magic tricks andballoon animals.

Thanks must go to Chef, Jim Murden, and the Butler,Kevin Egleston, and their teams for the effort theyput into arranging the food, drinks and logistics of allalumni events held in College. We are alsograteful to Laura Broadhurst in theDomestic Bursar’s Office and team,who organise all the booking,cleaning and preparation of Collegerooms for all Lincoln alumni events.

As Imprint goes to press we have justconcluded our 2009-10 programmewith the annual Lincoln SocietyDinner, on 25 June – a chance for allalumni to bring their spouse orpartner to a formal College dinner inHall – and our gala dinner on 2 July tocelebrate the 30th anniversary of theadmission of women to Lincoln in 1979-80. Both wereenjoyable and memorable evenings.

Our events programme is currently being reviewedby a sub-committee made up of the Director ofDevelopment, Development Assistant and alumnimembers of the Development Committee. We arealso trying to gather more official feedback on our

events – those of you who have attended recentdinners may have received a request to complete ashort survey the morning after. We may startsending these out more frequently and we reallyappreciate any responses we get as we constantlystrive to develop the events programme we offer toalumni. We hope to see many more of you at Lincolnevents in the 2010-11 year ahead. �

Emily NewsonAlumni and Communications Officer

The Murray Society 2009-10There have been two Murray Society gatherings

during 2009-10 – one held at College inOctober, and one held in London in March.In Oxford Murray Society members wereinvited to view some of the books held inthe Senior Library, and then to hear alecture given in the Chapel by Dr PeterMcCullough (Sohmer Fellow in English)entitled ‘Reconsidering Lincoln Chapel inthe Seventeenth Century: Patronage,Poetry and Politics’. In London they weregiven a tour of Charterhouse and alecture by Lincoln Fellow in History, DrSusan Brigden, on ‘Charterhouse in the16th Century’. Thanks must go to AlanTanner (1948) who was able to secure our

access to Charterhouse for the London event.

The purpose of the Murray Society is to recogniseand thank those alumni who have pledged abequest to Lincoln in their Will. If you would likefurther information about how to become amember, please contact Susan Harrison, the Directorof Development.

L Murray Day atCharterhouse, March 2010

L Rain hits the Garden party!

Events 2009-10

Our eventsprogramme is

currently beingreviewed by a sub-

committee made upof the Director of

Development,DevelopmentAssistant and

alumni members ofthe Development

Committee.

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L US Capitol building, Washington DC

Alumni news

Lincoln alumniin politicsOver the last 12 months it has come to the attention of theDevelopment Office that several Lincoln alumni arecurrently active in government both in the UK and USA.Here Imprint shares some information on Lincolnitesserving both in the Obama administration in WashingtonDC and the Houses of Parliament in London. This is notintended to be a comprehensive list – do let us know if youare aware of any others.

USAMichelle Gavin Senior Director for African Affairs at the NationalSecurity Council and Senior Advisor to the President of the UnitedStatesMichelle Gavin (1996), an expert on foreign policy, developmentand human rights, is currently serving as Special Assistant to thePresident and Senior Director for African Affairs at the WhiteHouse National Security Council. Her previous positions haveincluded service Adjunct and International Affairs Fellow at theCouncil on Foreign Relations in New York, Legislative Director forformer Senator Ken Salazar (the current US Secretary of theInterior), Director of International Policy and Staff Director for theSenate Foreign Relations Sub-Committee on Africa for SenatorRuss Feingold, and member of the Board of Directors of the TRACEInstitute (a non-profit organisation that works to end corruption).Michelle graduated summa cum laude from the GeorgetownUniversity School for Foreign Service and attended Lincoln as aRhodes Scholar where she read for an MPhil in InternationalRelations. She is married to Lincoln alumnus and former Boat Clubcaptain, David Bonfili (1996).

Craig Mullaney Senior Advisor at the United States Agency forInternational Development (USAID)Craig Mullaney (2000) is the senior adviser to the USAIDAdministrator for Afghanistan and Pakistan. He has previouslyworked under the Secretary of Defense as the Principal Director forAfghanistan, Pakistan, and Central Asia Policy, and as Chief of Staff forthe Department of Defense Transition Team. He was also PresidentObama’s defence policy advisor during his 2008 presidentialcampaign. Craig served in the US Army in Afghanistan in 2003, andhis military decorations include the Bronze Star, Army CommendationMedal with “V” device, Combat Infantryman’s Badge, Ranger Tab, andParachutist Badge. He is the author of the 2009 New York Timesbestseller The Unforgiving Minute: A Soldier’s Education. Craiggraduated second in his class from the United States MilitaryAcademy. He came to Lincoln as a Rhodes Scholar and completed aMSt in Historical Research and a MSc in Economic and Social History.He is married to Lincoln alumna Meena Seshamani (1999).

Dan Poneman Deputy Secretary of EnergyDan Poneman (1978) was confirmed by theUnited States Senate as President Obama’sDeputy Secretary of Energy in May 2009.Dan first entered the Department of Energyin 1989 as a White House Fellow. The nextyear he joined the National Security Councilas Director of Defense Policy and ArmsControl. Dan has previously served as a

Special Assistant to the President during the Clintonadministration, principal of The Scowcroft Group (providingstrategic advice to corporations on international projects andtransactions), and has practised law in Washington DC atCovington & Burling and Hogan & Hartson. In between theClinton and Obama administrations he served on several federaladvisory panels. His book, Going Critical: The First North KoreanNuclear Crisis (co-authored with Joel Wit and Robert Gallucci),received the 2005 Douglas Dillon Award for Distinguished Writingon American Diplomacy. Dan took his first degree at HarvardUniversity and then came to Lincoln to do an MLitt in Politics.

Bruce Reed CEO, Democratic Leadership CouncilBruce Reed (1982) is CEO of the Democratic Leadership Council(DLC), a national organisation founded 25 years ago and creditedwith launching the New Democratic movement in the USA. Hewas policy director of the DLC from 1990 to 1991, when Bill Clintonwas its chairman and is also founding editor of the DLC magazine,The New Democrat. In 1992, Bruce served as deputy campaignmanager for policy on the Clinton-Gore campaign, and prior tothat he worked as Senator Al Gore’s chief speechwriter. Beforereturning to the DLC in January 2001, Bruce was President Clinton’schief domestic policy advisor and director of the Domestic PolicyCouncil. Bruce attended Princeton University and then came toLincoln as a Rhodes Scholar to study for an MPhil in English.

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Meena Seshamani Director of PolicyAnalysis, Health and Human Services Officeof Health ReformMeena Seshamani (1999) studied BusinessEconomics at Brown University beforecoming to Lincoln to study for a DPhil inMedicine (Health Economics), where herresearch focussed on the impact of agingpopulations on health care costs. She

then graduated from the University of Pennsylvania School ofMedicine in 2005 with her medical degree. Meena worked at theJohns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore, Marylandbefore joining the Obama administration in 2009. In her current roleas Deputy Director of the Office of Health Reform, she overseespolicy development and implementation of the health reform law.She is married to Lincoln alumnus Craig Mullaney (2000).

UKBill Cash Conservative MP for StoneBill Cash (1959) has been a Conservative MP since 1984, and hasrepresented his current constituency of Stone since 1997. He readHistory at Lincoln and then qualified as a solicitor, practisingconstitutional and administrative law. He became MP for Stafford in1984 and was then elected to the new constituency of Stone in1997, where he was re-elected in 2001, 2005 and 2010. During histime in the House of Commons he has served as Shadow AttorneyGeneral and Shadow Secretary of State for Constitutional Affairs. Heis also Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Groups on Sanitationand Water in the Third World, Malaysia, Kenya and Uganda, andVice-Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Committee for Tanzania.

Shabana Mahmood Labour MP for Birmingham LadywoodShabana Mahmood (1999) was elected as MP for BirminghamLadywood in the 2010 General Election. She studied Law at Lincolnand was elected JCR President in her second year. After leavingLincoln she qualified as a barrister, having completed her pupillageat 12 King’s Bench Walk chambers in London, and then worked as anEmployed Barrister at Berrymans Lace Mawer, specialising inprofessional indemnity litigation. She is now MP for the constituencyin which she grew up and attended secondary school, and alongsideRushanara Ali and Yasmin Qureishi, has become one of the firstMuslim women to be elected to the Parliament in the UK.

Sir John Stanley Conservative MP for Tonbridge and MallingThe Rt Hon Sir John Stanley (1960) has been MP for Tonbridge &Malling since 1974. From 1976 to 1979 he was Parliamentary PrivateSecretary to Leader of the Opposition, Margaret Thatcher. Whilethe Conservatives were in government in the 1980s and 1990s heserved as Minister for Housing and Construction, Minister for theArmed Forces and Minister for Northern Ireland. Sir John studiedHistory at Lincoln and then attended Syracuse University. Beforehis election to Parliament he was a senior Financial Executive withRio Tinto Zinc. He also worked as Research Associate of theInternational Institute for Strategic Studies and as a member ofthe Conservative Party’s Research Department with responsibilityfor housing. He is a member of the House of Commons ForeignAffairs Committee and also a Vice Chairman of the NATOParliamentary Assembley’s Defence and Security Committee.

Lincoln is also represented in the Clerk’s Office of the Commons,where Robert Rogers (1967) is Clerk Assistant, and Martyn Atkins(1987) is Clerk of the Table Office. �

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John Wilson (1945) is a Trustee of CraftCentral (CGA Ltd), a leading charityproviding studios to needy youngpeople who wish to develop their ownbusinesses in the art, craft and designfields, situated in Clerkenwell Green,London.

Alan Hodson (1946) is an artist workingin oils – he has thus far had two one-man shows.

Michael Lumb (1946) has written a bookentitled All Our Yesterdays: IntroducingEnglish History. It was first published byHallmark Press International in 2008and the second edition was issued justbefore Christmas 2009. The bookconsiders most aspects of Englishhistory, with due attention being paid tothe contribution of the United Kingdomto the development of the worldthrough the growth of the BritishEmpire and Commonwealth. Hisgrandson has just sat Finals in PPE atCorpus Christi, and his granddaughterhas just concluded her first year atMurray Edwards (formerly New Hall),Cambridge, reading History.

David Bentliff (1947) taught, until theage of 75, translation from Japanese toEnglish at the University ofWestminster, following his retirementfrom Whitehall.

Nigel Lindsey-Renton (1949) has beenawarded an honorary doctorate ofHumane Letters by the ChurchDivinity School of the Pacific inBerkeley, California.

Harvey Glickman (1952) spent a weekliving in College this spring when hepresented a paper on “Neo-Neo-Realism” in International RelationsTheory at the Oxford Round Tableconference, a regular Oxford eventwhich was held at Lincoln between 29March and 2 April 2010. He reports that“the rooms were comfortable; the foodwas as good as ever; and Deep Halllooked marvellous. (We still need toimprove the weather!)”

Graham Kelly (1952) thoroughlyenjoyed a career globe trotting as adiplomat and then international civilservant up until his retirement in 1999.He has been Chair of his Parish Councilfor five years, and is enjoying fly fishingand the grandchildren (in that order)!

Arthur Wasserman (1952) auditioned in2009 and was accepted as tenor in the100-voice Bel Canto chorus inMilwaukee, Wisconsin. He has a part-

time law practice, which involves caseassignments from the office of thestate public defender – he received alaw degree in May 2005.

L Peter Roberts (1953) was awarded anHonorary Doctorate by the Universityof Chester for his many years service tothe development of the university.Peter was also for some yearsChairman of Governors of the Queen’sSchool, Chester.

Brian Southam (1953) is the formerChairman, now Vice President, of theJane Austen Society. He has alsopublished widely on Jane Austen andher works.

Anthony Birbeck (1954) is a member ofthe Companion Annual WelfareCouncil, and of the Veterinary Nurses’Council of the Royal College ofVeterinary Surgeons. He is also RuralDean for Shepton Mallet Deanery (untilJuly 2010).

Colin Edwards (1954) is now travellingthe world in easy stages, andswimming and golfing regularly (11holes max!).

Colin Buchanan (1955) is HonoraryPresident of the Electoral ReformSociety and Honorary Assistant Bishopof the Diocese of Bradford.

L Robin Sherlock (1956) was recentlyelected Chief Commoner of the City ofLondon Corporation. The Corporation isone of the 33 borough councils inLondon, but is unique in having beenthe first to be founded, as long ago asthe 13th century. The Chief Commoneris leader of the Corporation, the LordMayor being the titular head.

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37Alumni news 37

Timothy Firth (1957) is involved with anorganisation called Renewal Arts, anInternational Network of Artists who seearts as a catalyst for spiritual change.

Mark Skilbeck (1957) reports that,“Following a lifetime in a solicitor’spractice and nine years in the telecomsindustry, I have been actively engaged inretirement as Project Manager andGrants Coordinator for St NicholasChurch, New Romney. The role hasinvolved a very substantial restorationproject for this Norman church,renowned for having the finestRomanesque Tower in Kent. The workhas comprised the total replacement ofthe triple ceilings and significant renewalof the window masonry and mullions inBath stone. Grants have been receivedfrom a variety of bodies, including AllSouls’ College, English Heritage, and theFriends of Kent Churches.”

Dennis Woodfield (1957) published FromOratory to Scholarship: Historic Talks onthe American Revolution in 2008, and iscurrently working on a new book to betitled Marks of Ownership of the GreatBritish and American Book of Collectors.

Bill Myers (1958) retired from teachingEnglish at the University of Leicester in2004. He was ordained Deacon in2009 and is now part of the Parishteam at Sacred Heart Leicester, athriving, multi-ethnic parish.

Derek Blades (1959) is now anIndependent Consultant in EconomicStatistics, working in Asia, Africa andthe West Balkans.

Michael Watkins (1959) is a tutor andexaminer for the Institute of CharteredShipbrokers. He has also become alexicographer and is co-author of TheEponym Dictionary of Mammals(published by Johns Hopkins UniversityPress, Baltimore 2009). The samepublisher will bring out a companionvolume, The Eponym Dictionary ofReptiles, in 2010 or 2011.

Michael Wigley (1959) is Non-ExecutiveDirector of Conygar Investment Co PLC,Prenner Energy and Water Trust PLC.

Yale University Press has published TheItalian Inquisition by Christopher Black(1960). The book is the first overallstudy in English of the ItalianInquisition between the 15th and 18thcenturies. Christopher spent his wholecareer teaching at Glasgow University,and, having retired, is now an HonoraryResearch Professor of Italian History.

Tom Bruce-Jones (1960) is HonoraryConsul for Finland in Glasgow andChairman of Stella-Jones Inc.

Michael Holman (1960) is Chairman ofthe Tunbridge Wells Twinning andFriendship Association, and wasawarded the Civic Medallion ofTunbridge Wells in 2006.

Michael Mitchell (1960) took earlyretirement in 1995 after teachingGerman for nearly 30 years, mostly atStirling University. Since then he hasworked as a literary translator - mostrecently on a new translation of Kafka’sThe Trial for OUP.

David Ridgway (1960) retired as aReader in Classics (formerlyArchaeology) at the University ofEdinburgh in 2003. He delivered thefirst Sybille Haynes Lecture in Etruscanand Early Italic Studies at the OxfordUniversity Faculty of Classics in 2003.

Roger Allen (1961) has been awardedthe Sascha Jane Patterson HarvieProfessorship of Social Thought andComparative Ethics, School of Arts &Sciences at the University ofPennsylvania. He is also the 2010President of the Middle East StudiesAssociation of North America (MESA),the largest gathering of Middle Easternspecialists on the continent (with some3,400 members worldwide). Roger willgive his presidential address at theannual conference in San Diego inNovember 2010. He has alsoannounced that he will be retiringfrom full-time teaching in June 2011.

Peter Sutherland (1961) is now a parttime careers adviser, and manager oftours to France and Germany.

Brian Worthington (1961) is Chairmanof the Clifton and HotwellsImprovement Society, and a Governorand Member of Council at CliftonCollege.

Anthony Baker (1962) still plays bridgeand golf regularly with fellow Lincolnalumni.

Antony Cooke (1962) left Uganda atthe end of 2006 after four years asCEO of the Agakhan EducationService. He then took up his currentpost as Founding Principal of RivieraHigh School in Rwanda in January2007. The school has since gone from69 students to 450, and in 2009produced the top O-level student inthe country.

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L Raymond Busbridge (1963) (left) andNeil Kilgour (1964) (right) played on thesame squash team when they wereboth at Lincoln in the early 1960s andthey are still playing squash togethernow in Montréal, 45 years on.

Samuel Gray (1963) is Treasurer of theWilfred Owen Association and theSiegfried Sassoon Fellowship. Hepromoted a concert of war poetrysongs in London in 2009.

Ernest Lucas (1963) is the author of acommentary on the Book of Daniel involume four of the ZonoervanIllustrated Bible. He is also co-author(with Michael Pfundner) of Think God,Think Science (Paternoster, 2009).Ernest and his wife celebrated their40th wedding anniversary in 2009.

Jeffrey Roberts (1963) obtained a 2:1degree in Law through the OpenUniversity in 2009.

Richard Roxburgh (1964) is nowretired. His main project over the pastthree years has been building asubstantial house, ‘Mangwana’, on the Caribbean Island of Bequia. The house is featured online atgrenadinevillas.com

Peter Witchell’s (1964) recentcompositions include: Trio St Clement(for flute, oboe and piano), Ragawag(for string quartet) and pic n mix (asuite concoction for wind quintet).

Glenn Babb (1965) is living in CapeTown, South Africa. He resigned fromthe foreign service in 1989 afterserving as Head of the Africa Divisionin the South African Department ofForeign Affairs. He then stood forParliament where he spent two and ahalf years before returning to theforeign service as ambassador to Italy.He left the foreign service again in1995, returned to South Africa andbecame Chairman of AGIP Lubricantsin South Africa, Director of VeloVinquip and consultant for the entryof PARMALAT into South Africa. Hewas also consultant in the

Department of the Premier of theWestern Cape in constitutional andinternational relations. He owns anddirects the company Babrius, whichrepresents inter alia Italian trade fairs.He became honorary Consul-Generalof Turkey for the Western, Northernand Eastern Cape in 1998. Hisconsultancy was appointed by theAfrican, Caribbean & Pacific Group ofcountries in the EU to write a reporton the future of the ACP Group andthis was published in 2006. He servedon the Board of the CapePhilharmonic Orchestra. He wasadmitted as a translator for the SouthAfrican courts (French, Italian,Afrikaans) in 2008. He recentlypublished a study Abubakr Effendi - aYoung Turk in Afrikaans in the NationalLibrary Quarterly Review (Vol 64 No1).He married Tracey Dibb in 2003 whogave birth to a daughter now agedtwo years, and he has three otherchildren.

Patrick Magee (1966) retired fromcourt service in 1997 and then spenteight years as a member of ThamesValley Police Authority. He is currentlya Volunteer Board Member of ThamesValley Crime Stoppers.

Peter Kornicki (1968) is DeputyWarden at Robinson College,Cambridge, and Chair of the East AsiaPanel at the British Academy.

Richard Morris (1970) sent thefollowing update: “Richard and hiswife, Cindy, returned to Hong Kong inJuly 2008 when Richard took up ateaching position with the Faculty ofLaw of the Chinese University of HongKong. During 2009, Richard becameDirector of the Faculty’s programmefor the Postgraduate Certificate inLaws, the Certificate required by allHong Kong law graduates as aprerequisite for entry to either branchof the legal profession. Richard andCindy are both very content to beback in Hong Kong.”

Stephen Clark (1973) has had fourbooks published: Putting Asunder:Divorce and Remarriage in Biblical andPastoral Perspective (1999, BryntirionPress); The Da Vinci Code on Trial(2005, Bryntirion Press); Tales of TwoCities: Christianity and Politics - editorand contributor (2005, Inter-VarsityPress); The Forgotten Christ: Exploringthe Majesty and Mystery of GodIncarnate - editor and contributor(2007, Apollos). He is currently writinga book on issues of life and death.


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Robert Barnes (1974) has been a keengolfer since Lincoln days and is amember at Whiteleaf Golf Club. He isalso a Trustee of Llandovery Theatres.

After 13 years as a Conservative MP,Nick Hawkins (1975) - (whose time inthe House included two years inGovernment under John Major, andshadow ministerial roles underWilliam Hague, Iain Duncan Smithand Michael Howard, includingShadow Solicitor-General) - did notcontest the 2005 election butreturned to corporate law. He spenttime working for international lawfirms in the City and overseas. Sinceautumn 2007 he has been LegalDirector of Danoptra Ltd, a £165m UKleisure and gaming group. He is inregular touch with a number ofcontemporaries among the 1975-78Lincoln lawyers, including MikeChandler, Peter Hill and AndrewHunn. Nick writes regular articles andcolumns in a variety of legal andindustry periodicals, especially ongambling law issues.

Robert Seatter (1975) is a publishedpoet. Seren Books have published twosolo volumes, On the Beach with ChetBaker and Travelling to the FishOrchards. A third volume of his workis due to be published in 2011.

L Menorah, a painting by RogerWagner (1975), was on temporarydisplay at the Ashmolean Museum inMarch. This unusual painting shows acrucifixion scene set against thebackdrop of Didcot Power Station. Afterleaving Lincoln, Roger studied at TheRoyal Academy School of Art, London.His paintings have been shown in manysolo and group exhibitions in Britainand abroad, and his work is displayed inthe Ashmolean and the FitzwilliamMuseum, Cambridge. Menorah is thelargest contemporary painting everacquired by the Ashmolean - it has nowbeen returned to St Giles’ Church whereit will remain on permanent loan.

Michael Brigg (1976) has a greatinterest in classic racing dinghies.Last year he started sailing androwing (sculling) again on localPortsmouth harbour and theNational Firefly Circuit. He would very

much like anyone interested in“cruising sculling” get in touch.

Crispin Simon (1976) is Non-ExecutiveDirector of Imperial CollegeHealthcare Trust, and a Governor atPort Regis School.

Graham Tomlin (1977) was appointedDean of St Mellitus College, theChurch of England’s newesttheological college, in 2007.

The Stereotypes, Steve Cooke, PaulGalley and Jeremy Brill (all 1978) willrelease a new album in 2010, entitledMidnight in the Botanical Gardens.

Richard McDonald (1979) resumed theposition of Head Master at AiglonCollege, Switzerland in August 2009.He has served since 2006 as Chairmanof the Swiss Group of InternationalSchools. In October 2010 his sonHoward will matriculate at Lincoln toread Modern Languages - the thirdgeneration of the McDonald family atLincoln.

Sara Scargill née Pearse (1980) is nowliving in Spain, where her husband isAnglican Chaplain to Torrevieja (nearAlicante) and area. Her eldest sonTimothy is completing an MEng at Yorkand then planning to join her in thegeneaology business. Her next sonEdward is studying PPE at St Peter’sCollege, Oxford, and her youngest sonis at an international school in Spainfollowing a course of bilingual studies.

Elizabeth Graham née Day’s (1982)third novel, Jubilee, was published byPan Macmillan in June 2010. She iscurrently working on a fourth.

L Lynn Shepherd (1982) published anovel in April 2010 called Murder atMansfield Park. The book is described asa ‘mash-up homage’ to Jane Austen’sMansfield Park and is published byBeautiful Books Limited.

Susan Coe (1985) got engaged inLincoln College Chapel on 3 December2009. She was looking around Collegewith her (now) fiancé, Richard Lindley,and when they reached the Chapel hegot down on one knee, produced a ringand proposed! They were married at StGiles, Northampton on 22 May 2010. Sueis now Senior Disability ProgrammeAdviser at World Vision UK (aninternational NGO) and has co-authoredher first book this year, Travelling

Together: how to include disabled peopleon the main road of development.

David Everatt (1985) published TheOrigins of Nonracialism: WhiteOpposition to Apartheid in the 1950s(Wits University Press) in late 2009.

Gillian Austen (1986) organised TheGascoigne Seminar, held in Collegeon Friday 18 September 2009. Thiswas the second internationalconference dedicated exclusively tothe works of George Gascoigne,following the success of the first suchevent in 2007, and attracted scholarsfrom the USA, France and the UK.Guests included Prof Arthur Kinney(University of Massachusetts), ProfCathy Shrank (Sheffield), Dr RichardHillman (Université François-Rabelaisde Tours) and Dr Roger Pooley (Keele),all of whom have publishedinfluentially on Gascoigne.

Speakers included Dr Elizabeth Heale(Reading), Prof Susan Staub(Appalachian State University), DrSyrithe Pugh (Aberdeen) and DrRobert Maslen (Glasgow). On thisoccasion, the Seminar was partlysupported by the Society forRenaissance Studies, which providedfunding for several postgraduateplaces and two postgraduatespeakers, John Burton (Lampeter) andAndy Kesson (Kent).

The Seminar included a privateviewing of rare volumes ofGascoigne’s work, hosted at theBodleian by the Department of RareBooks. The day was a tremendoussuccess and there are plans to repeatit in 2011. The papers are beingpublished, fully revised and peer-reviewed, as New Essays on GeorgeGascoigne, by AMS Press (New York),edited by Gillian Austen.

Following the seminar, a small sum wasdonated to the Lincoln CollegeDevelopment Fund, along with adonation to the Library of someGascoigne-related texts, including acopy of the authoritative edition byG.W. Pigman III, George Gascoigne AHundreth Sundrie Flowres 1573 (Oxford,2000) and Meredith Skura’s TudorAutobiography (University of ChicagoPress, 2008). For those who areinterested, there is a discussion listassociated with the Gascoigne Seminar.

For further information contactGillian [email protected].

David Hall-Matthews (1986) stood forthe Liberal Democrats in BradfordWest in the 2010 General Election. Heis chair of the Social Liberal Forum (alobby group) and of the party policyworking group on International

Development. By day, he is a SeniorLecturer in the School of Politics andInternational Studies at LeedsUniversity.

Rohan de Silva (1987) had a baby boy,Jonah, in October 2008.

Paul Hilsley (1987) and his wife Katehad their first child earlier this year.Baby Benjamin Arthur was born on 9February 2010 and weighed in at 6lbs7oz.

Raymond Younis’s (1987) book On theEthical Life was published byCambridge Scholars in 2009, and inJuly 2009 he took up the position ofDirector Teaching and Learning atCurtin University, Sydney Campus.

Sophie Saunderson née Hiller (1988)had new baby, Edward Hugh, born on11 May 2010, weighing 9lb 8oz.

Helen Wright née Kendal (1988) andBrian Wright (1989) are pleased toannounce the birth of their thirdchild, Jessica McGregor Wright, bornon 9 December 2009, weighing 9lb9oz, a sister to Harry and Caitlin. Sheis a beautiful baby! Helen continuesin her post as Headmistress of StMary’s Calne, where she has beensince 2003. In January she took upthe role of President-Elect of theGirls’ Schools Association - she willbecome President in January 2011.

Matthew Bradby (1990) is Chair ofthe Tottenham Civic Society, acommittee member of SAVE Britain’sHeritage, and a trustee of theTelluride Association.

L Katherine Mendelsohn (1990) wasawarded the Chevalier des Arts et desLettres by the French Ministry ofCulture on Thursday 8 April, inrecognition of her work withFrancophone writers for the TraverseTheatre in Edinburgh where sheworks as Literary Manager. Katherinehas worked at the Traverse Theatrefor over 10 years. In 2000, shelaunched an international translationcommissioning scheme forcontemporary plays called Playwrights

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in Partnership, which links leadingforeign-language playwrights withtheir British counterparts to produceinternational contemporary plays inthe UK.

Emily Mortimer (1990) could be seen incinemas in March 2010 playing apsychiatric patient in Shutter Islanddirected by Martin Scorcese. Shestarred alongside Leonardo DiCaprio,Ben Kingsley and Michelle Williams.

Alf Perera (1990) and his wife Sarahhad a baby girl, Anna Esther Rohini, on8 August 2009. She joins siblings Ruth(six), Beth (five) and Joe (two), who love(and prod) her very much!

Mark Thompson (1990) joined ApolloManagement in 2009, as a partner incharge of commodity hedge funds.

Sabine Jaccaud (1991) is anindependent consultant inorganisational communications andchange management. She can becontacted via her profile on LinkedIn.

Arvinder Mangat (1992) has hadanother momentous year. He spent alot of time working with Canadian oilinterests in Alberta ensuring energysecurity for the Americas. This lead tosignificant work in Nigeria where hemet Emeka Odumegwu Ojukwu (1952)and discovered a shared interest in thethree Cs (crude oil, cricket and cigars)!He continues to work and be amazedby his children’s flexibility for worldtravel and the discovery and generosityof other Lincolnites everywhere.

Naomi Alderman’s (1993) novel, TheLessons, was published in paperback inApril by Viking, and was read by RoryKinnear on Radio 4’s Book at Bedtimeduring the week commencing Monday12 April. The novel follows a group ofOxford undergraduates through life atuniversity and beyond. Naomi’s firstnovel, Disobedience, won the 2006Orange Award for New Writers.

Sarah Howell née Meikle (1993) gavebirth to a daughter, Beatrice EmmaHowell, on 8 July 2009.

L Jerome Ellepola (1994) married DrMarie Duguay (Paris VI) at Église Saint-Colomban, in Treveneuc, Brittany in

October 2009. Jerome is particularlygrateful to Robin Griffith-Jones (formerLincoln College Chaplain) for sharinghis clerical network in Paris vis-a-visthe marriage preparation course. It hasbeen a busy few months, since thewedding, as Jerome and his new wifehave just moved back to Holland afterthree fantastic years in Scotland.

Lucy Macfarlane née MacKillop (1994)moved back to Oxford after nineyears away in 2009 with her husbandChris, and children Lily (four) andFrederick (one).

Louisa Allen née David (1995) is now asolicitor working in the Government,and has two small children, Nicholas(four) and Bethany (two). She marriedher husband Ben in Lincoln Chapel inJuly 2002, so Lincoln remains a veryspecial place for her!

Edwin Thomas (1995) published hiseighth novel The Book of Secrets(Arrow Books) in August 2009. Thebook is written under thepseudonym, Tom Harper.

Paul Williams (1995) recently took upa Royal Society Research Fellowship atReading University and published hisfirst academic textbook, StochasticPhysics and Climate Modelling(Cambridge University Press) inNovember 2009. He also won the2010 Adrian Gill Award from theEuropean Geosciences Union.

L Shawn Landres (1996) was namedin November 2009 to Forwardnewspaper’s (a US-based publicationfor the North American Jewishcommunity) list of the 50 mostinfluential leaders in AmericanJewish life. Shawn is the founder andCEO of Jumpstart, a national non-profit incubator, catalyst, thinktankand advocate for sustainable Jewishinnovation.

Elizabeth Ford née Cory (1997)worked as a medical writer in Parisuntil 2004, and then successfully

Alumni new

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Alumni news 39

completed a DPhil in Psychology atthe University of Sussex in 2008. Shehas subsequently been working as aResearch Statistician in Psychiatry atBarts Hospital and the London Schoolof Medicine. Elizabeth and herhusband Joseph are also delighted toannounce the birth of their daughter,Eva Grace, born at home in Brightonon 30 December 2009.

Jennifer Holt’s (1997) book PublicSchool Literature, Civic Education andthe Politics of Male Adolescence waspublished by Ashgate in November2008.

Helen Jenkins née Mosley (1997) andher husband Gareth Jenkins (ChristChurch, 1994) are pleased toannounce the birth of their son DavidAndrew Jenkins on 10 November2009. David is growing up quickly andbringing lots of joy to his parents.Helen continues to work as an actuaryfor St. James’s Place Capital, and willbe returning to work in Augustfollowing her maternity leave.

David Sergeant (1997)’s firstcollection of poetry, entitled Talk LikeGalileo, was published by ShearsmanBooks in April 2010.

Nicholas Woodfield (1999) and hiswife Lisa had a baby boy, Jordan, on 19August 2009, born at 4.30pm inWashington DC and weighing 8lb14oz.

L Emma Childs (2000) and JohnColdham (1998) were married atHassop Hall in Derbyshire on 31 July2009. They both studied Law atLincoln and now work as solicitors inthe City.

The best man was Ed Hayes (1998)and the bridesmaids were KateKnibbs, Elizabeth Galloway andRachel Foster née Mole (all 2000).

Edward Millais (2000) got engagedto be married in 2009 to Alice Corbetfrom Acton Reynold, Shropshire.

L Alex Faludy (2002) would like toannounce that he was ordained at St Nicholas Cathedral in Newcastle-upon-Tyne on 2 July 2009 withseveral fellow Lincolnites inattendance. He is pictured hereoutside the Cathedral, flanked byfriends Mairi Brewis (2002) and BenWhite (Christ Church, 2002). Alex ispresently serving his title curacy at St Paul’s Church, Whitley Bay, and isalso involved in Anglican-Lutheranecumenical links.

Veit Oehlberger (2003) and his wifeHedda Fehundsenden (WolfsonCollege, 2003) had a baby boy,Magnus, born on 21 September 2009.

Mirakle Couriers, the companyfounded by Dhruv Lakra (2007), wonthe 2009 Helen Keller award for“Non-disabled role model supporterof increased employmentopportunities for disabled people”.This is an award for individuals fromwithin the disability sector or outside,who have contributed substantiallyto the cause of promotingemployment opportunities fordisabled people over an extendedperiod of time. Mirakle Couriers is anIndia-based venture, set up by Dhruv,which employs only deaf adults.

Leonaitasi Kuluni (2008) waspromoted to Head/Director ofImmigration Department, Ministry ofForeign Affairs of the Kingdom ofTonga (South Pacific) in April 2010. �


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My Lincoln: Naomi Alderman

Naomi Alderman (1993) studied PPE at Lincoln and then spent several years working inpublishing and marketing before taking an MA in Creative Writing at the University of EastAnglia. Her first novel, Disobedience, was published in 2006 and won the Orange Award forNew Writers. Penguin published her second novel, The Lessons in April 2010. In 2007, she wasnamed Sunday Times Young Writer of the Year, and one of Waterstones’ 25 Writers for theFuture. Her short fiction has appeared in Prospect, Woman and Home and The SundayExpress and she was shortlisted for the BBC National Short Story Award. From 2004 to 2007Naomi was lead writer on the BAFTA-shortlisted alternate reality game Perplex City. Shecurrently writes a weekly column on gaming for The Guardian.

What are your most vivid memories of yourtime at Lincoln?I had the Vade Mecum room in LincolnHouse in my second year, which was theperfect spot from which to observe allsorts of curious goings-on late at night onthe Turl. For a writer, it’s great to be in aposition to observe what’s happeningwithout being involved. One memory thatwill stay with me forever is the night of thefootball dinner when things got a bitraucous, and I remember watching onebloke trying to shin along the lampattached to College to retrieve his clothes!

Which College rooms did you live in?My first year I was at the top of staircase13, room 11, I think, which I believe was thesecond-smallest room in College! Thesecond year I had the lovely Vade Mecumroom though, big but with a very unevenfloor. For my third year I was in the Mitre, ina room which had a separate section formy desk, but was directly above thehairdressers so constantly smelled of hairproduct. When you live in such oldbuildings all rooms come with their quirks.

Were you involved in any extra-curricularactivities at Lincoln? I was the deputy editor of Vade Mecum, theguide to Oxford which students producedat that time, and I was the treasurer of theCollege Ball. The Ball made a loss in myyear, so perhaps I wasn’t the best personfor the job - although I maintain that itwasn’t entirely my fault! The Ball hasstayed with me in vivid, hallucinatorydetail mostly because of the lack of sleepinvolved. We stayed up for more than 24hours on the day of the Ball: woke up at9am the morning of, eventually got to bedabout 2pm the following day. I rememberwandering around clearing up at 6am inthe rain, wearing a black bin bag over myclothes, picking up other people’s cigarette

butts, bug-eyed with exhaustion,wondering if it had all been worth it for afew glamourous hours in the middle!

How has your time at Lincoln influencedyou, and what particular skills and ideashas it given you?What I always say about Oxford is that,having studied there, you’ll never again beafraid to go through the big doors. When yougo to visit a castle or stately home, and yousee there are enormous ceremonial doors,you automatically look for the more modestvisitors’ entrance, the striped awning or thehelpful “information desk” sign instead ofjust going through the huge doorway with adoor three times the height of a man. ButOxford is full of ancient buildings that arenot just put away for ‘best’ but used everyday. I suppose that’s the ethos andexperience of attending an ancient collegelike Lincoln: don’t be afraid of anything, don’tbe squashed, don’t feel that the special doorsare meant for someone else. Live in the 14thcentury building, dine in the panelled hall,climb off the ancient ramparts to retrieveyour clothes. Whatever you want, stridetowards it boldly without asking permission.It can come across as arrogance, but it is alsoempowering.

Can you outline the career path you havefollowed since graduating from Oxford?It has been more of a vague careermeander, really! I suppose if any currentstudents or recent graduates are readingthis who don’t have one of those 25-yearplans to dominate the City or somethingI’d say... do not be afraid. The world is quiteinteresting and it’s alright to approach itopen-heartedly, seeing what comes up andwhere your interests lead you.

After leaving Oxford, I worked for ninemonths for a publisher of children’s books.Then I got a job in marketing for a City law

firm. I worked inLondon for threeyears, and then theysent me to NewYork. I was livingthere over 9/11, andfollowing that Idecided I reallydidn’t want towork in lawanymore and that it was time to trywriting a novel. So I came back to the UKand enrolled on the MA in Creative Writingat the University of East Anglia. After that,while I was finishing my novel, I worked forBarnardo’s for 18 months, then got a jobwriting an online computer game, PerplexCity. Then I finished my novel and sold it toPenguin (that was a good day!), whilecontinuing to work on computer games.Now as well as writing novels and games Ialso have a weekly column on gaming inThe Guardian, and am a consultant ondigital storytelling and gaming for lots ofdifferent companies.

So I couldn’t have planned that. It’s not acareer path, it’s a career wander.

Did your time at Lincoln play any part ininspiring you to become a writer, and, if so,how?Certainly it was while I was at Lincoln thatI wrote my first novel, when I was 19. It waspretty dreadful, and a Lincoln friend ofmine had no hesitation in telling me so! Ittook me years to show my work to anyoneagain! I think I already knew I wanted towrite when I arrived at Lincoln, but it wasthe kind of place where it was OK to saysomething like “I think I might want towrite a novel one day” without peoplethinking you were incredibly pretentious.So it was good to have friends I couldconfess that to, even though they didn’tthink much of my actual work! �

40 Alumni news


FAQsSome questions that arise most often are:

How do I take my MA?The MA can be taken 21 terms after matriculation – please contactSally Lacey, the Rector’s PA for further information on 01865279804 or [email protected].

How do I request a transcript of my degree results?For information on how to request a transcript of your degreeresults please contact the College Office on 01865 279801. TheDevelopment Office DOES NOT hold any academic records.

How do I arrange to look around the College on a visit to Oxford?Members of the Development Office staff are happy to give toursof College to alumni and their guests during their office hours(Monday-Friday, 9am-5pm) – advance notice is preferred. Atweekends the public areas of College are open to visitors from11am-5pm.

I would like to come back and dine at High Table – when can I dothis?Alumni are entitled to dine at High Table once per full term,Sunday to Friday, provided they are no longer students of theUniversity. A three-course meal with coffee currently costs £18.20.Please note that High Table rights are for alumni only, and do notextend to guests or non-alumni spouses. Bookings should be madevia the Lodge on 01865 279800 before 10am on the day you wishto dine, or, for Sunday dining, by 10am on the preceding Friday.

Can I get married at Lincoln?As a Lincoln alumnus/na you may be able to get married in theLincoln Chapel, subject to availability and the granting of theSpecial Licence by the Archbishop of Canterbury. Please contact theDevelopment Office or the Chaplain for more information.

Can I have access to the Library as an alumnus/na?We are occasionally asked whether alumni may use the Librarywhile in Oxford. The Library functions primarily as anundergraduate library, with graduates generally preferring to workin their departments or elsewhere - even so space is at a premium.

If you are an alumnus/na with a question about College, pleasecontact the Development Office and we will do our best to helpyou. You can reach us at:

The Development OfficeLincoln CollegeTurl StreetOxford OX1 3DR

T : +44(0)1865 287421

E : [email protected]: www.lincoln.ox.ac.uk

It is not, therefore, practical to offer space or access to theLibrary to our alumni, although members of the DevelopmentOffice staff are happy to take alumni in to see the Library ontours of the College. If you have a specific research need or feelyour case deserves individual attention, please contact theDevelopment Office.

How do I update my contact details?Return the form enclosed with this issue of Imprint to theDevelopment Office, or contact Susan Davison, theDevelopment Assistant, directly.

Can the Development Office give me the contact details of afellow alumnus/na?Unfortunately we are unable to give out other people’s contactdetails without their permission, due to the restrictions of theData Protection Act. Some alumni have indicated that they arehappy for their details to be shared, but if this is not the casewe are happy to forward a letter or email and to ask theindividual in question to respond to you.

I am interested in making a donation to Lincoln. What should I do?Return the donation form enclosed with the magazine, or visitthe Giving pages of the Alumni & Development section of thewebsite and download one. If you wish to discuss making adonation, please contact Hannah Thomas, the DevelopmentOfficer. We are hugely grateful for all the support we receivefrom alumni and friends of the College.

Susan Harrison, Director of DevelopmentT: +44(0)1865 279838; E: [email protected]

Hannah Thomas, Development OfficerT: +44 (0)1865 279793; E: [email protected]

Emily Newson, Alumni and Communications OfficerT: +44(0)1865 279841; E: [email protected]

Susan Davison, Development AssistantT: +44(0)1865 287421; E: [email protected]

Lincoln College Alumni: FAQs


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Turl Street, Oxford, OX1 3DR

01865 279800

[email protected]

LINCOLN COLLEGE ALUMNI EVENTS 2010-11

Please make a note of the following dates for theacademic year ahead. Invitations to events will be

sent out by the Development Office approximatelytwo months before the date. This schedule is

provisional and may be subject to change.

2010

Friday 10 September 1960 Year DinnerTuesday 14 September Alumni Reception in Boston

Thursday 16 September Alumni Reception in TorontoFriday 17 September 1970 Year Dinner

Friday 1 October 2002-04 GaudyFriday 8 October Reception for Alumni

in Switzerland (Berne)Saturday 9 October Autumn Murray DayMonday 1 November London Dining Club

Sunday 7 November Rotherham Circle LunchThursday 25 November 1950 Year Luncheon

Thursday 9 December Lincoln @ Varsity Rugby(Twickenham)

2011

Friday 18 March 1973-76 GaudySaturday 19 March 1971 Year Dinner

Friday 25 March 1981 Year DinnerFriday 15 April Crewe Society Dinner (Manchester)

Saturday 4 June Rector’s Council and Lincoln SocietyGarden Party

We look forward to seeing you at our events during 2010-11.


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