A Legacy of Care, Inclusivity and Fun

A Legacy of Care, Inclusivity and Fun

Professor Susan J Smith retired on 30 September 2022 after 13 years as Mistress of Girton and as the University’s senior Head of House. Her tenure as Mistress was exceeded only by Mary Cartwright (1949–1968) and Elizabeth Welsh (1885–1903), though Welsh’s successor, Emily Elizabeth Constance Jones (1903–1916), also served for 13 years. As she leaves the office of Mistress, Professor Smith speaks to E Jane Dickson about her life and work

Susan Smith cannot resist an open door. ‘I’ve never had a career plan,’ she says, ‘but if a door opens, you’ve got to look through it.’ Her first glimpse of Girton was decisive: ‘A lot of people, when they visit the College for the first time, say they get a wholly positive feeling. I believe them, because I had exactly the same experience: there is a friendly, open atmosphere here that makes it easy to be yourself.’

Susan, who retired in September after 13 years as Mistress, came to Girton from the University of Durham where she was Professor of Geography and a founding Director of the Institute of Advanced Studies: ‘Being elected Mistress of Girton was an unexpected and, as it turns out, exhilarating turn in my career. I had moved to Durham from the University of Edinburgh only three or four years earlier, and had no thought of leaving, much less applying to head up an Oxbridge college. I might, at that stage, have considered becoming a dean or pro vice-chancellor, but I wasn’t really attracted to those roles because there is so much heavy administrative lifting and so little direct engagement with students. When I was approached by Girton, the penny dropped. I thought, “Here’s an opportunity to do something interesting in, and with, the world of higher education yet still be surrounded by 800 young people nearly every day. Perfect!”’

At the time of her appointment, Susan was one of two women heading a mixed Cambridge college and she often jokes about her career as ‘second woman.’ In 1981, she became the second female fellow at St Peter’s College, Oxford, where she undertook postdoctoral research; she was one of two female professors of Geography in the UK when she assumed the Ogilvie Chair at Edinburgh in 1990 (and one of only two female professors in the University); and in 2008 she was one of two women geographers elected to join a handful of others in the Fellowship of the British Academy. For all that, she considers her election as 19th Mistress of Girton in 2009 her ‘most radical achievement by far.’

Professor Susan J Smith

David Johnson

Once in office, Susan was immediately keen to build on Girton’s history as a progressive, inclusive institution. Access to Oxbridge was high on the public agenda and, as a Geography undergraduate at St Anne’s College, Oxford, she had learned first-hand the difference between inclusion and belonging:

‘I grew up in inner-city Leicester,’ she recalls. ‘Mum and Dad both left school before they were 15, and I didn’t know anybody who had gone to Oxford or Cambridge. I just thought if I was going to University, I might as well aim high, so I applied to Oxford and, by some miracle, got in. I enjoyed the course – I was one of those people who went to every lecture – but I was conscious of my working-class accent nearly all the time. Of course, there were students with more challenging issues, and I was lucky to have good friends, but there was definitely a sense that something was amiss if you didn’t insert an ‘r’ before the ‘t’ in ‘bath.’ While accent wasn’t the only factor, that self-consciousness persisted until I had my first academic job, which took me to the west coast of the United States – where they all thought I was Australian! I was shocked by how liberating that felt.’

Growing up in Leicester

Widening participation, Susan points out, is a constant work in progress. ‘It’s not about ticking boxes and closing the files: it’s something that will always need our attention.

It’s easy to remind people that Girton was the first UK institution to educate women to degree level, but it’s also easy to forget what a struggle that was. Those doors had to be kicked down. Because of that struggle, the door today stands open under a large ‘Welcome’ sign. Yet not everybody feels confident enough to come in, and when they do, they may not feel at home.’

As Susan sees it, the most pressing challenge is to build an all-round educational experience that acknowledges complex histories and geographies of disadvantage, dispossession and exclusion: ‘If people from all walks of life, all beliefs, backgrounds, identities and sexualities, and those with a wide range of disabilities, are to feel properly supported, and enabled, then Girton has got to continue as it started – by being bold, innovative and vigilant.’

This same interdisciplinary approach has shaped Susan’s career as a geographer. ‘As an undergraduate, I enjoyed Physical Geography – I was fascinated by deserts and sand dunes. For my PhD, however, I chose a project on fear of crime in inner-city Birmingham. I’ve always been interested in everything, including methodologies and philosophies, but in terms of core research, I’ve ended up in the wide arena of housing studies. And that’s Geography: it teaches you to be literate and numerate, develops your ability to make connections, and encourages one thing to lead on to the next, which is a very exciting way to work.’

A leader in the field of housing policy – in 2014 she received the Royal Geographical Society’s prestigious Victoria Medal – Susan is pragmatic about combining ‘Mistressing’ with academic work. ‘I knew when I signed up that I wouldn’t be designing any more social surveys, but I thought the world could live with that. I hoped, though, that I would be able to keep some research going, and Girton has been supportive.’ Spanning 40 years, her research focuses mainly on the challenge of inequality: she has written widely on the compatibility of markets with an ethic of care; on the role of housing wealth in the restructuring of welfare states; and on the way that owner occupation has an impact on economic inequality in the long run.

In recent years, Susan and her collaborators have become increasingly concerned about ‘the expanding, indebted edges of home ownership.’ She believes effective housing policy should take into consideration affordability, suitability, security and satisfaction. Instead, she argues, it is generally preoccupied with the merits of owning versus renting – a false dualism which is at best unhelpful and at worst a trap: ‘There’s no need to force people to choose between owner occupation – today’s dominant tenure, which is increasingly about building an asset base for the future – and the mixed qualities of renting, which can be cheaper and more flexible, but does not offer the same financial perks. I would prefer people to choose from a thousand tiny tenures, with the option to own all, part or none of the property they occupy, with or without the leverage of mortgage debt and in proportions that can easily be adjusted over time without the upheaval of moving home.’

It’s an ambitious vision and one that demands a radical rethink across the sector. ‘It is probably,’ Susan concedes, ‘too complex to set out in a short interview. It requires an innovative approach to housing, a new way of thinking about the nature of the housing stock, and a different style of politics. I’m aiming for a nation of home stewards who are invested in housing markets, but not up to the hilt, and who are as concerned about preserving their homes for future generations as about winning the lottery that property has become.’

Portrait of The Mistress by Benjamin Sullivan RP

At the end of her term of office, Susan is slightly surprised to find herself the University’s longest-serving Head of House and joint third-longest-serving Mistress of Girton. ‘The years have flown by, and there are so many more things I’d like to do, but I’m well aware that unfinished business is part of the human condition; you just have to focus on what you have achieved and decide where to draw the line.’

It is not her style to talk of legacy: rather, she views her term of office in the context of an evolving tradition: ‘I’m really proud of all we did to celebrate Girton’s 150th Anniversary in 2019. Everyone loves a party, and we had plenty of those, but as well as celebrating the brilliant research of our world-class fellowship, we took the opportunity to reflect on the achievements of our founders, consider key moments in our history and think critically about where we are today.’

Like other colleges, Girton must evaluate its historical involvement with colonialism, and Susan has been quick to engage with this difficult issue: ‘We already have a good sense of where Girton featured in the unstoppable, interlinked campaigns for women’s education, enfranchisement and entry to the professions; and we know these movements were closely involved with anti-slavery activism and abolitionism. But no Victorian institution that really puts its spectacles on can fail to recognise how multifaceted these histories are. So we have established a Legacies of Enslavement working group (now a standing committee), and I am sure we will be challenged by its findings. I hope, however, that some of the work we did for 2019 will inspire the College to be bold in embracing a deeper past, enlarging the present, and reaching for a future that properly recognises those whose unfree labour – in particular enslavement – helped make us who we are.’ opportunities for all-round personal development in a community where you know you belong.’

Whether playing the euphonium in student ensembles, hosting alumni events or leading the College in times of sadness, Susan, along with her partner Jeremy West, has placed herself at the heart of that community: ‘I’ve always appreciated settings that don’t feel too hierarchical’, she says. ‘Girton is like that, and the dispersed governance system helps. Of course, there are certain responsibilities which, as Mistress, you can’t escape, and you hope that people will respect the office, but everyone here is clever, engaging, hard-working and, actually, very kind, including our students, who bring so much to the table, and I’ve really loved the job.’

Life after Girton has yet to take shape: ‘It turns out that I’ve only had one period of sabbatical leave in my entire academic career, and that was over 25 years ago! So a break is definitely in order.’ Susan may not be keen, in the immediate future, to chair commissions or charities, but her energy and experience will surely be in high demand. And she will take with her ‘the Girton spirit’, that peculiar blend of excellence, aspiration and altruism that has opened doors for so many and that resonates deeply with the 19th Mistress:

‘On the whole, ‘she says, ‘if people are given time and opportunity to explore the frontiers of knowledge, to think critically about science, society, politics and economy from every angle, they will find a way to do the right thing. If young women and men understand that they can make a difference, and maybe change the world, then by and large that is what they will do. The history of our College is testimony to that. And to be part of that history has been the most fantastic privilege.’