A Letter from the Mistress

A Letter from the Mistress

Dear Friends,

I am writing towards the end of the summer, surrounded by boxes, and alarmed by how many I need to accommodate 13 years of Mistressing. What a journey! During my 4748 days in office, I have welcomed over 3000 students, followed 11 entire cohorts from freshers’ week to graduation, caught up with seven of those yeargroups at their MA reunions and even crossed paths with some of them at their tenth anniversary dinners. I have travelled the length and breadth of the UK, visited Old Girtonians in more than ten countries, hosted events with even wider international reach in Cambridge and Singapore and connected in all kinds of ways (not least, of late, via Zoom) with literally thousands of Girton’s alumni family.

I surely must have bumped into most of you one way or another, and without exception it has been a privilege and a pleasure. I have learned a lot, made new friends, and been dazzled by the warmth, energy and strength of support you bring to our College. Your generosity in completing A (very ambitious) Great Campaign has also been overwhelming: thank you for any part you may have played in it and please enjoy reading about those transformational gifts in the pages that follow.

Now that I am leaving, people frequently ask me what the Mistress actually does. The answer is more intriguing than you might think, so with the help of Historian Dr Hazel Mills and archivist Hannah Westall, we have assembled an exhibition describing the early Mistresses and their office. You will find it in the online archive together with a more speculative account by me of the life and work of my predecessors. One thing we Mistresses certainly share is a unique vantage point from which to view the College.

In this letter, my last to The Year, I would like to extend that view to you, by offering a few thoughts on just what it is that makes Girton so impressive.

First, Girton was founded for inclusion. Not many higher education institutions can say that, mean it, and put it at the heart of all they do. Girton is one of them; the first in the UK properly to recognise that inclusion is essential to the advancement of knowledge. What, then, of comments

The final Fellows to be admitted by the 19th Mistress, May 2022. (L-R): Dr Soudabeh Imanikia, Bye-Fellow, Biological Sciences, with Dr Shyane Siriwardena and Dr Marieke Dhont, Foundation Year Bye-Fellows

Jeremy West

in the news along the lines of: ‘Inclusion is all very well, but what about excellence? What about brilliance? What has happened to meritocracy?’ These questions remind me of the way the major international universities in the mid-nineteenth century – Cambridge, Harvard, Yale and so on – managed to exclude women for so long. They argued, and they believed, that admitting women would lower standards. Fortunately Emily Davies and her coterie had no truck with that, and Girton is rooted in their conviction that it is impossible to claim excellence while excluding sections of the population by appeal to arbitrary characteristics with no bearing on intellectual ability or promise.

Inclusion is, of course, a work in progress. Having achieved degrees for women, Girton has been mixed for over 40 years, but we are not done with gender or sexuality, or with those intersecting exclusions around race, religion, income, wealth and more. Girton will always engage with these issues because inclusion is a condition of excellence, and no-one can achieve their best if they cannot be themselves, or if they feel they don’t belong.

There is much to do, but one game-changing initiative, inspired by your breathtaking generosity, has been the expansion of our bursary funds. By the end of A Great Campaign you had endowed enough bursaries to support 30 brilliant undergraduates who might not otherwise have had the means to take up their places. The classgifts project has been particularly successful, spectacular even, as whole year-groups have clubbed together to create life-changing opportunities for the next generation. Campaigning like this for inclusion takes excellence to the next level.

Secondly, make no mistake, excellence is the heart of the matter. Girton is a permanent institution in a world-class University: our students should expect the best, and that is what they get. Here, I want to pay tribute to the Fellows of the College who work so hard and with such commitment to deliver all that makes Cambridge unique, whilst maintaining their own programmes of world-class research and writing. It is not just about bespoke, College-based, small-group teaching, though that is a tremendous way to learn. There is also the commitment to each and every student that our Fellows make, from first contact through outreach and admission, to directing studies, attending to individual learning needs and supporting career aspirations. Girton’s vibrant subject societies flourish because Fellows inspire them, attracting speakers, stimulating debate and encouraging a sense of adventure at the frontiers of knowledge. Those same Fellows may also be tutors, together providing a 24/7 support service that is unmatched in the sector, so that our students can embrace life and prepare for work. That is how excellence thrives at Girton; it happens every day.

I have had the pleasure of admitting 136 new Fellows during my time in office who, whether visiting, completing time-limited early career projects, or signed up for the duration have brought immeasurable skills, experience and other gifts to our community. Many of our Fellows hold University lectureships, but Girton has, additionally, committed, on a scale unique within Cambridge, to supporting its own career positions for Fellows, because a mix of College- and University-based scholarship is a winning combination. This is only possible, however, because across the life of A Great Campaign we – that is, you – have endowed 13 named Fellowships to support both College and University teaching and research at Girton. Amongst many other things, this has given Girton the confidence, and the human resources, needed to restructure the academic division to better enable students and Fellows alike to realise their full potential.

Our 2022 MA Congregation procession crossing the Cam

Vicky Argent

In a first for Cambridge, the incoming Senior Tutor will be supported by a new Office for Student Services, a new Head of Student Welfare and Wellbeing, and a Deputy Senior Tutor overseeing the undergraduate teaching and learning programme, together with the postgraduate offer and a new suite of CV-building initiatives including volunteering and internships. The newly created Enterprise Fellowships will add to this mix, with support from the inaugural incumbent, Dr Sabesan Sithamparanathan. This innovative structure reflects the tireless energy of our outgoing Senior Tutor, Dr Sandra Fulton, whose contribution over nine years is recognised later in this issue. The baton going forward is in the safe hands of Professor Toni Williams, who is every bit as pioneering, progressive, and fearless as the institution she has joined.

Thirdly, Girton is a College that lives and breathes the fact that it is a residential educational establishment. As well as studying for their degree, students have time, space and encouragement to explore the many other avenues for learning that a well-founded higher education implies. Sports, the creative arts, music, drama, poetry and more are therefore part and parcel of our offer, and in this, Girton is ahead of the game.

As well as the best on-site sports facilities in Cambridge, we have no fewer than three visiting schemes for artists, whose briefs all specify student engagement. The longestestablished is the Mary Amelia Cummins Harvey Visiting Fellow Commonership, established by a generous bequest in 1985. The 23 incumbents to date – visual artists, musicians, poets, creative writers and more – have added immeasurably to the life of the College. More recently, we have, with donor support, partnered with the University to create the Cavendish Arts–Science scheme at the interface of great art and leading-edge science.

There is much in this vein to celebrate, and I am mindful that none of it would be possible without the hard work of our 120+ professional administrative, support and operational staff. It is because of them that guests love to visit, alumni queue up to return, Fellows feel supported and cohort after cohort of students enjoy a unique homefrom-home. Speaking personally, I cannot imagine anyone anywhere having the good fortune to have worked for so long with such a constructive, effective and generousspirited group of colleagues.

Thinking of the all-round residential experience staff and Fellows alike help nurture, this year my shout-out is for music. Music as a subject has been part of the College since the Music Faculty and Tripos were established in 1947, though music performance has been integral to College life from the very earliest days (think of the College Songbook). A turning point for Girton on both counts was a gift received over 30 years ago to endow the Austin and Hope Pilkington Fellowship in Music. The

first incumbent, Dr Martin Ennis, is still in post. Under his leadership, music of all kinds has flourished at Girton, energising students and attracting – as visitors, to the fellowship, and as musicians-in-residence – an array of brilliant composers, performers and practitioners of music. As a result, Girton has become one of the most important Colleges for music in the University.

So I am beyond excited, in the wake of a review of music performance in the University championed by Dr Ennis and Bye-Fellow Professor Margaret Faultless – and following an implementation exercise, chaired by me – that the Music Faculty, CUMS and the University itself have joined forces to create a new Centre for Music Performance, whose inaugural Director, Simon Fairclough, is himself a Girton Fellow. At a time when the performing arts are still struggling to recover from Covid, and as universities pour effort into re-establishing their physical presence, what clearer statement could there be of the value of music to learning, to life and to the wellbeing of our students?

Some members of our Legacies of Enslavement Working Group presenting their findings to alumni in July 2022 (L-R): Dr Hazel Mills, Professor Dame Marilyn Strathern (Chair), Dr David Dibosa (1986) and Dr Carolina Alves

David Johnson

None! And that is why Girton has taken this one step further, establishing its own new fund for music performance in College. This complements the choir fund by providing an array of opportunities for instrumental and other music-making at all levels, across all subjects, in all genres. I am so bowled over by Council’s recent decision to name that fund after me that I am shamelessly inviting you to support it, because I have seen for myself the difference it makes when students’ lives are enriched by the fun, the challenge, the sheer, raw, joy, of creating and making music of all kinds. (You can find out more at https://www.girton.cam.ac.uk/news/ launch-susan-j-smith-fund-music-performance or do please get in touch with the Development Office direct).

Passing the baton. The Mistress with Vice-Mistress, Dr Hilary Marlow (left) and Mistress-Elect, Dr Elisabeth Kendall (right)

Jeremy West

I have a fourth and final observation from my last days in the Mistress’s office. Girton has taken important steps in the last few years to recover and celebrate the vision and values of its Founders. We explored their legacy with our counterparts among the ‘Seven Sisters’ in the USA, celebrated the centenary of votes for women, reflected on 100 years of women in law, marked the 70th anniversary of degrees for women at Cambridge, and more. We contributed to the University’s much-admired ‘Rising Tide’ exhibition, and reformatted the ceremony for the Commemoration of Benefactors to better recognise the lives and work of those whose wisdom and generosity helped found the College and fund its development.

However, we have not yet excavated our whole history or recognised the entirety of the debt we owe to the hidden figures of the past. That is clear now that the College Council has received the first report of a working group (now a standing committee) exploring the legacies of enslavement embedded in Girton’s foundation and development. In response to that report, there will be a programme of ongoing research, reflection, commemoration, communication and action, which may run alongside other projects exploring the more recent histories of Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic students in College.

As well as looking back and learning from the past, Girton is, as ever, facing forward, planning for the future and eager to make a difference. Change is in the air, and that is what this College thrives on. Two years ago, we welcomed a new Bursar who has paved the way to divestment and is working up some ambitious proposals for the estate; this summer we appointed a new Senior Tutor who will lead the most exciting plans for teaching and learning this College has ever made. Last year, we elected a new ViceMistress, Dr Hilary Marlow, whose first task was to chair a committee in search of my successor. She did a magnificent job, so that later this year, as Girton welcomes Dr Elisabeth Kendall, its 20th Mistress in 153 years, the future could not be brighter. Let’s go!

Susan J Smith, Mistress