Mansfield Magazine 2022/23

Contents

03 Message from the Principal

04 Our new Campaign: For Mansfield. Forever.

06 Meet Chris Foster: Mansfield’s lead benefactor

10 For Mansfield. Forever. People

12 Endowing Fellowships

15 New Fellows’ spotlight

16 Withstanding disaster: how can we ensure that buildings survive earthquakes?

18 Putting queer history on the map: an introduction to Professor Matt Cook, Jonathan Cooper Chair of the History of Sexualities

20 Language politics and education: navigating ‘postcolonial shame’ in India and Wales

22 Deliberate strangers: Black transatlantic literature and radicalising the ‘canon’

24 Fellows’ focus

26 ‘There is a crack, a crack in everything…’: how to live with cracks in materials

28 For Mansfield. Forever. Place

29 Building partnerships: introducing Stories and Feilden Fowles

32 Treading lightly: our plans for sustainability improvements

34 For Mansfield. Forever. Culture

35 Thank you for creating life-changing opportunities at Mansfield!

Produced by the Development team

Editor: Eleanor Hutson, Alumni Relations Officer

36 Successes in access and outreach

38 Highlights of the year: from the JCR and MCR

39 The Mansfield-Ruddock Art Prize: supporting new talent and creating a contemporary art collection at College

40 Celebrating creativity at Mansfield

42 Moments of commemoration and celebration at Mansfield

44 Shelter from the storm: sanctuary at Mansfield

46 Widening the environmental debate

48 Forging positive change in Stephen Lawrence’s memory

50 ‘For Mansfield’: poem

51 Sporting highlights

52 Blowing our own trumpet: Communications and HR at College

53 Bonavero Institute of Human Rights and UNESCO

54 Alumni Relations & Engagement

56 Where are they now?

57 Spotted in the news

58 Our supporters

60 Obituaries

63 College and University prizes 2022/23

65 Examination results 2022/23

68 Upcoming events in 2024

Copy Editor: Philip Harriss Design: Aligned Design Co Print: The Graphic Design House

Photography: Images are credited to the generosity of our colleagues, academics, alumni and students, for which we give our gratitude and thanks. We would also like to give special thanks to photographers Andrew Bailey, John Cairns, Brian Doherty, Keiko Ikeuchi, Ander McIntyre, Nicholas Posner and Ian Wallman for their expertise.

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Message from the Principal

What happens in this College is exceptional. Every year, the magic unfolds. New ideas, shared experiences, and revitalising bonds are formed by the changing academic and student body in extraordinary ways.

Yet within that constant change is our continuity. And in that sense, 2023 has been both another remarkable, and another ordinary Mansfield year.

The steady stream of success has continued: there has been widespread recognition through awards for our academics; we have welcomed new professors and a new Professorship; our Women’s First Eight have won bumps; and actor Samuel West held a masterclass on how to make historic language sound new.

All this is part of Mansfield’s enduring life: a community of hard work and high aspiration. Central to our ethos is reaching out to a wider constituency, to find brilliant people who might not otherwise find us. Where we lead on widening participation, the rest of Oxford enviously follows; we are consistently in the top third of the Norrington Table; and we nurture not only academic achievement but whole people, to live fulfilling, valuable lives.

This is our ordinary, but remarkable, ‘business as usual’.

But 2023 has also been an extraordinary year for College, in which – thanks to a transformative gift – we have made a historic commitment to Mansfield’s future.

This spring, we are launching an ambitious Campaign to secure the three pillars upon which Mansfield stands: our people, our place, and our culture. That is no less than this great College deserves. And no more than the world needs from us now.

We have named our Campaign For Mansfield. Forever.

The Campaign will be supported by the generosity of many hands, but thanks to an exceptional act of philanthropy, the foundation stones are in place. Chris Foster (Maths, 1997) has made the largest single donation in the College’s history, to support all three pillars of our Campaign. You can discover more in our interview with Chris on page 6.

Chris is backed by a strong cohort of benefactors, whose philanthropy, pledges and faith in Mansfield are having great impact: Anthony Dewell (Maths & Statistics, 2002); Jan Fischer (VSP, 1989); Guy Hands (PPE, 1978) and Julia Hands; William Jackson (Geography, 1983); Jason Klein (VSP, 1988); Alastair McBain (Oriental Studies, 1974); Lisbet Rausing and Peter Baldwin; Sir Paul Ruddock (Jurisprudence, 1977); and Joshua Weisenbeck (VSP, 2002), among many others.

Securing the future is not a ‘job done’, but the task is firmly underway. The vision of our Fellowship and the generosity of our community – through single gifts, multi-year pledges and legacies – will allow us to bolster our academic research and teaching; transform our built environment; and establish vital scholarships, experiences, and our sector-leading outreach activity.

My mission, for my time at Mansfield, is to work with Fellows, supporters and alumni, to leave the College secure in the knowledge that everyone passing through our community is truly empowered and supported to achieve, and in their own myriad ways, contribute to the world.

I hope you will join us.

Helen Mountfield KC

For Mansfield.

Introducing our transformative new Campaign.

We’ve always set out to change things. From our proud history of dissent and pioneering support for human rights, to our ongoing mission to democratise access to a world-class education. In fact, at Mansfield our commitment to change is one thing that never changes.

We’ve helped change thousands of lives, and as part of Mansfield’s community, we’d like to think we’ve changed yours too.

Now we’re intent on transforming our own future so that we can create more opportunities for brilliant people to have a life-changing experience at this amazing college. And we need your support.

When you arrive at Mansfield today, you can see a great deal from the front gates. You see our magnificent, historic buildings; you see students heading into tutorials or meeting up with friends; you might even see Beatrice and Basil, the College cats, lurking under a windowsill.

But it’s what you don’t see, what you can’t see, that really sets us apart.

Our buildings are beautiful, and they are open to anyone with the potential and commitment to succeed.

Mansfield’s students are hardworking and highachieving, and they come from more diverse and representative backgrounds than anywhere else in Oxford.

Our community is welcoming and friendly, and we seek to include the excluded. Always.

This is a new era for Mansfield. For a college stepping forward to transform and modernise our site, champion our world-class teaching, and create life-changing opportunities for generations of students to come. For a future in urgent need of experts and leaders from every walk of life – now more than ever.

For our People, who make a world-class education accessible to all.

For our Place, where generations of you have found and will always find a home, a community, and yourselves.

For our Culture, knowing that if you have the talent and the potential to succeed – we see you, we welcome you, and we are here to create opportunities for you.

For Mansfield. Forever.

We change lives.

Our ability to discover talented people, and then guide them to success within the world’s best university, is proven. We are determined to secure it.

Led by our dynamic Principal, Helen Mountfield KC, we are embarking on the largest and most ambitious fundraising campaign in our 138-year history.

People

Academic excellence, and our community of educators, are at the heart of the College and the student experience.

We aim to secure the College’s key posts, most notably our tutorial positions, so that our undergraduates are always taught by leaders in their fields. We aim to endow at least one Fellowship in each of our main subjects.

Place

A world-class education requires world-class facilities. We will provide an environment in which Mansfield’s hardworking students are fully equipped to live, to learn, and to succeed.

We will seek to redevelop the south side of the College site, currently occupied by the John Marsh building, to deliver a greater number of student bedrooms and further space for teaching, research, and recreation while enhancing the historic Champneys buildings and taking Mansfield to net zero.

I am determined to ensure that everyone who joins our community has everything they need to thrive

Helen Mountfield KC, Principal of Mansfield College

Culture

‘Access’ is not just about admitting a broad range of students to Mansfield. It is about having the determination and resources to enable them to thrive when they are here.

We seek to secure a strong programme of academic and social support – from scholarships, to hardship funds, welfare provision, sports, music, and our many societies –so that every student at Mansfield from every background can fully engage with and enjoy their time at Oxford.

Our Campaign, For Mansfield. Forever. is how we intend to achieve all of these aims.

A transformational gift of £25m, the largest in the College’s history, from Chris Foster (Maths, 1997) has kick-started our Campaign. With many other alumni supporting us too, we hope our entire community will be inspired to get involved at this landmark moment for Mansfield.

Your support, at any level, is and will continue to be absolutely crucial to accomplishing our goals.

As our Principal, Helen Mountfield, explains: ‘There’s nowhere else like Mansfield. We have a community of intellectual pioneers and experts, deeply committed to making the very finest education available to everyone with the capacity and dedication to thrive here, at the heart of a world-leading university.

‘I am determined to ensure that everyone who joins our community has everything they need to thrive: expert-led teaching and supervision, world-class facilities, and the support to seize every opportunity presented to them.’

Meet Chris Foster: Mansfield’s lead benefactor

Nearly 24 years after graduating from Mansfield with a first, Chris Foster (Maths, 1997) has become the lead benefactor of the College’s most ambitious fundraising campaign to date. We asked Chris why he decided to make a gift of £25m to Mansfield in support of all three pillars of the For Mansfield. Forever. Campaign – People, Place, and Culture – and what he hopes this remarkable benefaction will achieve.

Jane Waghorn Head of Communications & Tess McCormick Development Director

‘I’d guess for most people, going to Oxford changes your life’, muses Chris. ‘But looking back later in life, you realise that somebody had to make the decision to give you that opportunity. You ask yourself why they did that. How did it come about? And how are you using that opportunity?’

Since Mansfield, Chris has used his talents to build a stellar career in trading and investment. Today he is a Senior Portfolio Manager at Citadel, one of the most successful investment firms globally. Prior to university, in the mid1990s, Chris was a bright state school teenager with a particular aptitude for maths, living in a small town in the northwest of England on the outskirts of Wigan. It was his economics teacher who encouraged him to apply to Oxford.

After passing the entrance exam, Chris secured an interview at his first-choice college, St John’s, and while in Oxford, was invited to interview at Mansfield.

‘That’s where I met Janet [Dyson]’, he remembers. ‘The interview went really well. I definitely wasn’t a polished candidate, but I think Janet saw my potential.’ Chris did not receive an offer from St John’s but gained a place at Mansfield.

‘When I arrived at Mansfield, I had this benefit of being around a completely different circle of people than those I grew up with, people from completely different backgrounds to me. The power of being surrounded by people who are different and think differently, inspires you to think differently.’

Dr Janet Dyson, College Lecturer in Maths, 1977-87, Maths Fellow, 1987-2013 (and now Emeritus Fellow), had a major impact on Chris.

‘Janet used to say that many who come to study Maths at Mansfield from state schools feel behind at the start. And it was true. It’s like you’re trying to learn a new language. But

Janet reassured me, and others, that if I put in the work, I would catch up. Throughout my first year, I had to work very hard. I got a high IIi in mods, but Janet said to me - in that quiet, gentle Janet fashion: “Chris, if you were more confident you would have got a first.” And I think it was at that point I started to believe it.

‘Would I have got to where I am today if it hadn’t been for the teaching, the encouragement, the people I met, and the experiences I had at Mansfield? Absolutely not. True, having a first-class Maths degree from Oxford on your CV does help. But ultimately, what influenced my career was the confidence that Mansfield, and especially Janet, instilled in me.

‘If I could get a first-class Maths degree from Oxford, I could do anything.’

Chris talks about how, aged 18, he didn’t fully comprehend the context around the opportunity Mansfield had given him.

‘When you’re young you just accept the world as it is. You don’t quite have an understanding of what goes on in the background. I assumed that if I was good enough to go to Oxford, I would get in, and if I wasn’t, I wouldn’t.’

In the late 1990s, 50% of Oxbridge’s intake came from

private schools, but only 7% of students were educated at a private school in the UK.

‘As a mathematician, that percentage was mind-blowing’, reflects Chris. ‘Looking back, I realised that somebody had to make the decision to diversify the intake across different socio-economic backgrounds, and then to act on it. This is difficult when looking for potential in a competitive field, when many candidates will have had greater advantages and appear more polished. Even then, Mansfield had a state-school intake of around 60%, so I could see they weren’t taking the easy option, they were taking an active position to bring about change.’

But widening access to elite education does not only have an impact at an individual level. Chris remembers how a friend of his father’s, Alan Hurst, a woodwork teacher in a state school near Wigan, would ask after Chris throughout his time at university.

‘To Alan, the fact that the son of one of his friends was at Oxford, was staggering. Napoleon said: ”To understand the man, you have to understand what was happening in the world when he was 20.” Alan had a similar upbringing to my father: the norm for them was to leave school at 15. University was for rich people. That was Alan’s world when he was 20. He couldn’t believe that his friend’s son was not only going to university, but to Oxford. I think that “network

effect” – the impact of seeing social mobility happening – evidences a sense of progress, and a sense of hope. Everything’s not completely stacked against you, there is access to opportunity, it can happen.’

What made Chris decide that now was the moment to support Mansfield so generously?

‘I’m a believer in Oxford as a world class institution. It’s highly likely it will continue to educate our future leaders of and in society. Who wouldn’t want the best educated in positions that make a difference? It seems obvious to me that such people need to come from backgrounds that represent the broad makeup of society – a form of “distributive justice” if you like. Philosophically speaking, I like the schools of thought of John Rawls and Michael Sandel. Mansfield has been a pioneer in access, and I think deserves significant support as a leader.’

Chris is a firm believer in leadership by example, and he also credits fellow alumnus and leading benefactor at Mansfield, Guy Hands (PPE, 1978), with playing a part in inspiring his giving to Mansfield today.

‘It’s about the past influencing the present, and the people in the present hopefully influencing the people to come. A future major benefactor to Mansfield probably already exists and is hopefully reading this.

‘In my view, the ideal outcome is if every alum chooses to support the Campaign, with whatever they are able to give, be that £20 a month or a £25m gift. The idea of a community coming together to say, ”yes, that place is important to me, I want to be a part of this effort.” That groundswell of support from many, is to me just as meaningful as one person giving millions. You are sending a message to the future that this is important.

‘I’d like to think that every Mansfield alum thinks this College is a special institution. And it’s important we don’t take Mansfield for granted. It seems incredible to me that the Oxford college that has done the most to widen access, is almost at the bottom in terms of its endowment.

’Elite education is a lot like elite sport: you get the best results when you invest in talent that comes from the biggest talent pool possible. Backing access to opportunity for all, offered to the best and brightest, no matter their background, is something the pioneering admissions tutors at Mansfield have been doing for decades. And we need to support them to continue it.

‘Mansfield’s future isn’t yet secure, but I believe in what it stands for, what it has achieved so far, and I admire the ambitious, entrepreneurial and forward-thinking leadership today. Humans, by our nature, often go for the easier option in life, the path of least resistance. But the world needs leaders who push for what’s right, not what’s easy, to bring about the change that needs to happen. That’s what Mansfield is doing and that’s what this Campaign intends to achieve. And I believe in that.’

Backing access to opportunity for all, offered to the best and brightest, no matter their background, is something the pioneering admissions tutors at Mansfield have been doing for decades. And we need to support them to continue it

The late US investor and philanthropist, Charlie Munger, once said: ’…if you have a big edge, back it heavily, because you don’t get a big edge often. Opportunity comes, but it doesn’t come often, so seize it when it does.’

This is a quote that resonates strongly with Chris as, for him, the opportunity to secure Mansfield’s future is now. He is pleased he gets to see the impact of his investment at Mansfield now, and to know, through building the College’s endowment and asset base, that his generosity will also benefit students here for many decades to come.

As Chris asserts: ’To secure Mansfield, someone needs to take that risk and step up – much like Janet took a risk on me back in 1997. That someone can be us, the wider Mansfield alumni community.’

Chris’s thoughtful giving and incredible generosity to Mansfield has been inspired by current and past philanthropists, particularly those investing in elite higher education institutions. Like them, he understands the power of education to bring about change in society, and he highlights the words of Andrew Carnegie:

’The best means of benefiting the community is to place within its reach the ladders upon which the aspiring can rise.’

We look for polish

Change doesn’t just happen. Someone, somewhere, has to see a new way of doing things and then, perhaps harder still, actually do it.

At Mansfield, it is our people who have both forged our legacy and will shape our future. They are the disruptors and changemakers who look for potential where others haven’t, see in someone a capacity to excel given the chance, and deliver an unparalleled education.

That care, focus, and dedication – made possible by tutorial teaching – is not a given. But without it, how many of those who passed through Mansfield would not have discovered a lifelong passion? How many would not have had the confidence to pursue their dream job? How many would have accepted their world the way it was, rather than explore the potential it held?

To guarantee that there will always be people at Mansfield with the commitment to nurturing and guiding generation after generation of students, we must protect and resource the College’s posts through their endowment.

The support of our incredible community is already making this vision a reality. In just the past three years, we have been able to endow and name:

The Janet Dyson Tutorial Fellowship in Mathematics

The Michael Freeden Tutorial Fellowship in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics

The Tony Lemon Tutorial Fellowship in Geography

The McBain Access Officer, ensuring that access and outreach will always remain at the heart of Mansfield’s mission.

With your support, we aim to endow at least one tutorial position in each of Mansfield’s core subjects.

Our ambition also extends to junior and senior research positions, and posts across the College – it is these people who enable Mansfield to excel both academically, and in our access and outreach work.

Mansfield is a life-changing place. And the reason for that is the people at its heart who have shaped the College into an egalitarian, forward-looking institution: one that understands that while potential is spread evenly throughout society, opportunity is not.

And someone has to do something about it.

Endowing Fellowships

To secure teaching excellence for future generations, Mansfield newly endowed three Fellowships in 2022/23: the Janet Dyson Tutorial Fellowship in Mathematics supported by Chris Foster (Maths, 1997), Anthony Dewell (Maths & Statistics, 2002) and other Maths alumni, the Michael Freeden Tutorial Fellowship in PPE supported by Guy Hands (PPE, 1978) and his wife Julia Hands MBE, and the Tony Lemon Tutorial Fellowship in Geography supported by William Jackson (Geography, 1983). Here our Fellows discuss their subjects and the importance of commitment to perpetuity.

Emeritus Fellow Dr Tony Lemon and Professorial Fellow Derek McCormack

Tony: In 1969, Mansfield decided to focus on four non-theological subjects – English, Law, History and Geography. My job was to develop Geography. Gradually Mansfield became known as one of Oxford’s leading Geography colleges, as it remains today. How does the endowment of this Geography Fellowship impact on Mansfield and on Geography within the College?

Derek: The endowment has had several impacts. For the College, it represents a major contribution to our efforts to put Mansfield on a secure financial footing. For Geography, the endowment is a marvellous opportunity to recognise the fantastic contribution you have made. I was delighted to be named as the Tony Lemon Tutorial Fellow.

Tony: Geography has changed hugely over the past halfcentury, but its focus on space, place and environment remains. It brings together natural science, social science and humanities in a way no other discipline does. How has the undergraduate course changed since 2010?

Derek: Since I arrived in Oxford (2006) the biggest change is that students have much more choice in their second and third years. We now have options on topics as diverse, and timely, as war, the Anthropocene, data science, and sustainability.

Tony: My impression is that Geography is a degree widely welcomed by many employers today. Why do you think that is?

What has not changed is my enjoyment of research-led teaching. I learn so much from the students

Derek: Study involves the combination of literacy, numeracy, and understanding critical problems. The opportunity the degree affords to students to undertake a substantive research project is also attractive to employers – they learn project management skills and rigorous techniques of data collection, interpretation, and presentation. I also consider Geography to be a great degree for other reasons. It really does produce informed citizens of the world.

Tony: How have your research interests developed during your time in Oxford?

Derek: At first, I was especially interested in the cultural geographies of affect and emotion. I’m still interested in this, not least through the question of atmospheres as shared spaces (Mansfield, for instance, is especially good at generating atmospheres of inclusivity). I have also written about the elements (air, water, etc) as cultural spaces. What has not changed is my enjoyment of research-led teaching. I learn so much from the students.

Emeritus Fellow Dr Janet Dyson and Professorial Fellow Ian Griffiths

Janet: Tell me about your research.

Ian: I am interested in developing mathematical models to solve 21st-century industrial-applied-mathematical problems. Highlights include: models to predict the lifetime of arsenic-removal filters, which facilitated the deployment of 45 community-scale and family-home filters serving more than 150,000 people in India; and theories for glass manufacture, which are used in the making of Samsung bendable smartphone displays. Presently, I am tackling global cleaning challenges, such as how to capture microplastics before they are ejected into the oceans.

Janet: In your view, why is it important to have an endowed Fellowship in Maths at the College?

Ian: The endowed Fellowship means that the post is now secure in perpetuity. This provides the essential financial security to deliver world-leading personalised teaching to students, while placing a spotlight on Mathematics and its importance at Mansfield. The endowment also means we can allocate money to other important parts of our Mathematics team at Mansfield. Since this endowed Fellowship has been funded by Mathematics alumni, it reflects the value placed by them upon the teaching delivered by Mansfield’s Mathematics tutors.

Our Fellows and tutorial team form one of the largest mathematician groups in any of the colleges

Janet: What is special about Maths at Mansfield within Oxford?

Ian: Our Fellows and tutorial team form one of the largest mathematician groups in any of the colleges. This means we can offer expert tutorials in all the first- and secondyear courses. We also have a sense of a family here, holding social events for tutors and students including boardgame evenings and an annual Mathematics dinner.

Janet: How has the teaching of Maths changed in recent years?

Ian: Janet, you set a standard for the Mathematics tutorials at Mansfield in which you not only provided high-quality tuition but also got to know the students personally. It is fitting that the endowed Fellowship is named in your honour. Many students now need to learn about machine learning, artificial intelligence, big data and modelling of industrial challenges, and we are continually responding to such needs as we shape our undergraduate course. However, many parts of the Mathematics course structure have stayed the same for centuries. I am excited to see what the future holds and with the security of the Janet Dyson Fellowship we can proceed with confidence.

Emeritus Fellow Professor Michael Freeden and Professorial Fellow Vanessa Berenguer-Rico

Michael: What is your view of the compatibility of Philosophy, Politics, and Economics as a single undergraduate degree, not least because most students prefer to specialise in two of them, at best with a minimal smattering of the third?

Vanessa: I think PPE is a very interesting degree, especially for students who want to understand the world, its societies and its people. Trying to comprehend the world by using Philosophy, Politics and Economics is a very enriching exercise. The three branches of knowledge are much interrelated in real life. It is true that within the degree each of these three branches is taught, more often than not, as separate units. So, usually, it is left to the student to make the connections between the three subjects. Nonetheless, I still think PPE is a highly enlightening degree. It gives students a great variety of (thinking) skills, which they can then use in their future lives and careers.

Michael: When I became the first Politics Fellow of Mansfield, back in 1978, I was given the scary responsibility for arranging teaching in Economics and Philosophy as well as Politics, in addition to organising admissions interviews for all three PPE subjects. Since then, matters have mercifully improved beyond recognition. What is your experience of managing the teaching of Mansfield Economics alongside your research programme?

Vanessa: First of all, I want to say that it is very impressive that you managed to arrange teaching and admissions in Philosophy, Politics and Economics (all of them!). This is certainly very different now. Since I arrived in 2014, Mansfield has always had two Economics Fellows. Moreover, we can also do teaching swaps with specialists in other colleges.

This means we can align our teaching and research

interests. For instance, within PPE I teach three statisticsrelated subjects in Economics. It is no coincidence that my research is precisely in econometrics. I fell in love with the subject as an undergraduate and this drove me to pursue a career in econometrics. During my graduate studies, I started working on time-series analysis. My research in this area has focused on analysing, modelling and testing for non-linear relationships among nonstationary time series. More recently, I have been doing research on robust statistics. In particular, analysing the properties of statistical algorithms that involve outlier detection as well as developing new statistical tools to improve some of the available methodologies. I feel fortunate that Mansfield allows me to teach the subjects in PPE that are so closely aligned with my research interests.

Michael: Knowing, understanding, and interpreting –each employs different skills across the PPE spectrum. How does Economics balance those features?

Vanessa: I think those features are balanced by having a well-organised and clearly linked set of lectures and tutorials. Knowing starts in the lectures. Understanding and interpreting can also happen during the lectures. But deeper understanding and interpretation happens (i) with the work students put into the tutorial assignments (often set by the lecturers in Economics) and (ii) during the tutorial discussions with the corresponding tutor. To some degree, this is probably also true of Philosophy and Politics.

Michael: What does an endowed Fellowship add to the perceived robustness of PPE as a Mansfield subject?

Vanessa: It allows Mansfield to continue delivering highquality teaching in a degree with more than 100 years of tradition at Oxford.

New Fellows’ spotlight

Professor Carl Benedikt Frey Dieter Schwarz Associate Professor of AI & Work, Oxford Internet Institute; Director, Future of Work and Oxford Martin Citi Fellow, Oxford Martin School; Fellow of Mansfield College

Will machines equipped with artificial intelligence (AI) render human workers redundant? Is work as we know it about to be terminated? Does remote work spell the end of urbanisation? Why has the internet failed to accelerate research productivity and breakthrough innovation? And is AI a centralising technology that threatens worker autonomy?

As an economist interested in how technology is reshaping our societies, I will be focusing my research on these questions among others. At the Oxford Martin School, I lead a team investigating the broader labour market impacts of AI, and at the Oxford Internet Institute, I teach a core module on the Frontiers of Social Data Science, exploring the role of data in society, and how big data can be used to answer many of the burning questions of our time.

His expertise spans ageism, social gerontology , and quantitative social science

Dr Reuben Ng Inaugural Principal’s Visiting Fellow at Mansfield in partnership with Schmidt Futures’ International Strategy Forum (ISF) Fellowship scheme; Behavioural and Data Scientist and Assistant Professor at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy

Shukria Rezaei Communications Officer

As a distinguished Behavioural and Data Scientist and Assistant Professor at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, National University of Singapore, Reuben Ng brings a wealth of experience and knowledge to the College community. His expertise spans ageism, social gerontology, and quantitative social science.

In addition to his new role as the Principal’s Visiting Fellow at Mansfield, and his post at Singapore, Dr Ng is Lead Scientist at the Lloyd’s Register Foundation Institute for the Public Understanding of Risk. He holds a PhD in Epidemiology & Public Health from Yale University.

Principal Helen Mountfield KC expressed her enthusiasm about Dr Ng’s appointment:

‘I’m delighted that, thanks to the generosity of the International Strategy Forum by Schmidt Futures, we are able to welcome the fascinating and dynamic Professor Reuben Ng as an ISF Visiting Fellow this year. Dr Ng joins us from the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy at the University of Singapore, where he specialises in the use of big data to identify public attitudes and to inform public policy.’

Withstanding disaster

How can we ensure that buildings survive earthquakes?, asks Professor Sinan Acikgoz, Fellow in Civil Engineering. He finds previous assumptions shaken to their foundations.

Two earthquakes occurred in south-eastern Turkey and north-western Syria on 6 February 2023. The media reported tens of thousands of fatalities caused by the 7.8 and 7.5 magnitude quakes. However, it wasn’t the numbers that alerted me to the gravity of the situation. It was the stories of the survivors and emergency workers. Sounds coming from the rubble. Rescuers crawling in extremely confined areas to reach survivors. People burying their own dead.

One month after the earthquakes, an opportunity arose for me to go to the disaster zone in Turkey with the Earthquake Engineering Field Investigation Team (EEFIT). EEFIT had organised similar missions in the past and shared findings with the engineering and seismology community. I was optimistic these efforts could also help people in the region as many buildings had not yet been assessed by engineers.

Nevertheless, my initial optimism gave way to doubt. Don’t we already know everything about how to make buildings safe against earthquakes? After all, it takes only one look for experienced earthquake engineers to identify design deficiencies. Many of my colleagues argued that the damage was due to poor governance and extensive corruption. Besides, some Turkish state establishments had treated researchers from foreign institutions with caution; would we be able to access the region and help in a meaningful way?

I went to the disaster zone uneasily, fearing that the only clear beneficiary of the mission would be us, its attendants. These doubts quickly vanished as we entered cities ravaged by the earthquakes. The scale of destruction was (and still is) hard to describe. It dawned on me that these places would need help from anyone and everyone just to exist again.

My research deals with understanding the mechanical behaviour of historic masonry structures. In this specific field, we know far less than we should. The construction techniques and materials used internally in structural components and foundations are often hard to characterise. As a result, even with sophisticated modelling tools, we cannot predict with certainty whether a building

would be able to withstand an earthquake. This, above all, is our task as engineers. If we cannot answer this question, we cannot claim to know enough, let alone know everything.

As we travelled across the earthquake zone, we listened to people’s stories and tried to imagine what had happened. We also formulated theories, to explain why structures

Antakya after the earthquake, 2023

The reality is that failings at every level transformed this natural hazard into a disaster

failed and why the damage was so extensive. Some of us suggested that the historic construction techniques were problematic: if only the walls had been built using diatons (large stones that extend along the thickness of the walls) or timber tie beams and metal reinforcements linking the stones, then surely the buildings would have survived. Others were worried about modern interventions to historic buildings which did not function as intended. However, could we be sure the buildings would have fared better without these interventions?

On state TV, a media campaign had begun, describing the earthquakes as the ‘disaster of the century’ and highlighting how the ground shaking was stronger than expected. But modern earthquake engineering codes require buildings to ensure life safety regardless of the earthquake size. So, where did it all go wrong?

Centuries-old monuments and engineered multistorey buildings collapsed in the centre of the ancient city of Antakya (Antioch), while shoddy constructions in the hills survived (see photo). Earthquake records suggest that this may have been due to the amplification of ground motions in the alluvial deposits underlying the city centre, leading local governments to question its future location. Should the city be rebuilt in the same place? Doubtless, similar questions were asked by the past residents of Antioch, which was rebuilt many times over the two millennia of its history. Don’t we have the technology to rebuild safely this time, knowing it is likely that the residents of Antakya will return? Will we be able to do it in a way that preserves the unique culture of the city?

Stories help us empathise, but there can be a dangerous side to them. Focusing on a single cause for the destruction could give the impression that a quick fix is possible. The reality is that failings at every level transformed this natural hazard into a disaster. The only way to address catastrophic earthquakes is for all stakeholders to investigate and acknowledge their own failures. Until we do so, we will only be fooling ourselves by asserting ‘we know everything about protecting people and buildings from earthquakes’. For engineering researchers, this means developing practical tools to answer the only question that matters: ‘how can we ensure that this building survives a likely future earthquake?’.

Sinan Acikgoz

Putting queer history on the map

An introduction to Professor Matt Cook, Jonathan Cooper Chair of the History of Sexualities

Jane Waghorn Head of Communications

In June 2023, Mansfield announced the UK’s first permanently endowed Professorship in LGBTQ+ History, in association with the Faculty of History. The renowned historian, Professor Matt Cook, became the first Jonathan Cooper Chair of the History of Sexualities when he officially joined the College at the start of Michaelmas term 2023, but the announcement of his appointment had already prompted almost blanket coverage in the UK national media, and was also picked up overseas.

Made possible by a £4.9m gift to Mansfield from the Arcadia Fund, the Professorship was named in honour of Jonathan Cooper OBE, who passed away in 2021. Jonathan was an inspiring human rights lawyer, tireless advocate for LGBTQ+ rights, and commentator on issues such as trans rights, conversion therapy and the rights of people living with HIV.

Matt, who was previously Professor of Modern History and Director of the Raphael Samuel History Centre at Birkbeck, University of London, specialises in queer history in the 19th and 20th centuries and is the author of London and the Culture of Homosexuality (2003), Queer Domesticities (2014) and Queer Beyond London (2022). He has worked extensively with the museum, archive, and heritage sectors on issues of LGBTQ representation and is an editor of History Workshop Journal.

We asked Matt why this headline-grabbing appointment is so important. ’I think the Jonathan Cooper Professorship really puts queer history on the map and shows that it matters. It is an opportunity, not for me to have a platform, but to foster the very diverse historical and interdisciplinary conversations that are happening within, and across the UK, and globally in this field. It offers a real chance to bring those voices together, to have those debates and to flag this thread in historical debate, give it some prominence and show its significance – not just to a minority of people, but as part of the heft of historical inquiry.’

Matt is currently putting the finishing touches to his new book Writing queer history, part of the Bloomsbury series, scheduled for publication in autumn 2024 to coincide with his Inaugural Lecture at the University. He has also been busy planning his teaching at Mansfield, starting with peppering the History curriculum with guest lectures and seminars. Come the 2024/25 academic year at Mansfield, Matt will be running his own undergraduate and postgraduate modules on queer history.

To mark World Aids Day on 1 December 2023, Matt delivered his first public talk at Mansfield: ‘Archives of feeling revisited’, offering a topical take on his research on a key turning point in the history of the AIDS crisis in Britain. Drawing on government papers, film, music, and a wide array of testimonies, Matt explored the feelings at stake in the epidemic, how they related to press

How can we think about emotions in the past to inform the present?

and politics, how they shaped everyday lives, and how they played out for those dealing most directly with the escalating crisis.

’I believe it is important to ask ourselves: “how can we think about emotions in the past to inform the present?” Here we are again, amid new culture wars on trans issues, Islamophobia and the refugee crises, and we need to ask: “what can we learn from this prior moment of fear and what damage occurs when that fear is mobilised?”

‘Such “archives of feeling” are fundamental to our understanding of social and intimate lives – past and present. It is by returning to such moments of emotional complexity that we may be able to see more clearly the dangers which threaten us now.’

June 2024 will also see the first of what Matt hopes will be an annual week-long event at Mansfield, celebrating and raising the profile of queer history, and opening important conversations with the next generation of queer and trans historians.

Together with the Faculty of History, Mansfield is seeking to build on the great generosity of Arcadia. We hope to attract further philanthropic support to create a new research cluster in LGBTQ+ history at Oxford, including graduate scholarships and a new Career Development Fellowship.

Already making his indelible mark on Mansfield, Matt has ambitious hopes for the future. ’I want to embed queer history teaching in our curriculum and create a publicfacing research culture which will cement Mansfield and Oxford’s national and international reputation for work in this vibrant, creative field.’

Language politics and education: navigating ‘postcolonial shame’ in India and Wales

Mohini Gupta (Asian & Middle Eastern Studies, 2020) is a DPhil candidate researching language politics and education in India and Wales. Her interests originate from her decade-long enquiry into language hierarchies, language stereotypes, language shame, and youth culture in urban India. Here, in our ‘three-minute thesis’ feature, she presents a synopsis of her work.

In 1909, MK Gandhi remarked, ‘Mr Lloyd George is taking steps to ensure that Welsh children do not forget their language. How much more need is there for Indians to preserve their language than for the Welsh to preserve theirs, and how much more keen should we be?’ Linguistic connections between India and Wales go back to the 1800s, when the Welsh missionary Thomas Jones wrote down the Khasi language for the first time and provided the spoken language with a script.

My DPhil research at the Faculty of Asian & Middle Eastern Studies highlights the threats faced by Indian and Welsh languages due to a common coloniser since the 1800s, and the oppression that these languages were subjected to through the creation of a language hierarchy in which English was given a superior status. The theoretical underpinnings of my doctoral project are drawn from the discipline of sociolinguistics, primarily focusing on the theory of ‘language ideologies’ and ‘language socialisation’.

It is through language that students start to learn about the world they inhabit

According to American linguist Michael Silverstein, linguistic (or language) ideologies are ‘any sets of beliefs about language articulated by the users as a rationalisation or justification of perceived language structure and use’. My research looks at how language ideologies of the state are reproduced in educational institutions, especially ideologies around the hierarchy between English and ‘regional’ languages. In 2011 Elinor Ochs and Bambi Schieffelin explained the concept of ‘language socialisation’ by stating that young people are socialised simultaneously ‘into and through’ language at school. It is through language that students start to learn about the world they inhabit, and comprehend social cues and contexts. Ideas about the self, society, and the nation are primarily formed through an understanding of language. Therefore, language teaching not only reinforces language ideologies, but also propagates cultural ideas about ethical, moral or patriotic values within a nation, and hence becomes important as a field of study.

In terms of education, the ‘Minute on Indian Education’ speech by Thomas B Macaulay in 1835 stated that English must be taught to every Indian for the purposes of ‘intellectual improvement’. Macaulay went on to declare that ‘a single shelf of a good European library was worth the whole native literature of India and Arabia’. Similarly,

the 1870 Education Act in England and Wales ensured that English-medium education was established as superior to Welsh-medium education. This Act was rooted in previous findings by the UK Parliament in an 1847 report which stated that ‘because of their language, the mass of the Welsh people are inferior to the English in every branch of practical knowledge and skill’. In both cases, the argument against the Welsh language in Wales, and Sanskrit and Arabic languages in India, was that they did not contain ‘practical’ or ‘scientific’ information and that the people’s intellectual development and enrichment was impossible without learning English.

These ideologies also translated to discriminatory practices in the classroom where children were shamed for speaking their ‘mother tongue’. Practices like the ‘Welsh Not’ in Wales, where students were made to hang a piece of wood around their neck if they were ‘caught’ speaking in Welsh, ensured that the shame and humiliation attached to the language continued. It was a direct result of these policies that the percentage of Welsh speakers in the country fell from 54% in 1891 to 18% in 1981. In many Indian schools too, practices that punish or fine or parade-around students who are ‘caught’ speaking their mother tongue on school grounds continue to this day.

Such linguistic and educational practices only reinforce cultural and linguistic hierarchies and perpetuate language ideologies among a new generation of students. As a result, there arose a similar sense of ‘postcolonial shame’ in India and Wales attached to learning these languages, since an official and structural hierarchy was created between the languages through education policy. Structural changes in language and education policy led to an internalisation of language hierarchies over the years and gave birth to a generational trauma attached to learning ‘native’ languages in these regions. It is this trend and its impact on the urban, educated youth that I aim to study in my DPhil research through a first-of-its-kind cross-cultural comparison between the two geographical regions: India and Wales.

Mohini school visit to Wales, 2019

Deliberate strangers: Black transatlantic literature and radicalising the ‘canon’

What does it mean to be a ‘stranger’ and how do writers, particularly Black writers and theorists in the 20th and 21st centuries, reimagine their own identities in light of systemic prejudice and enforced difference? Dr Christy Wensley, Leverhulme Early Career Fellow at Mansfield, outlines her research.

My Fellowship project is entitled ‘Deliberate Strangers: James Baldwin, Stuart Hall and the Cult(ure) of Henry James’. It opens with Baldwin’s and Hall’s responses to novelist Henry James (1843-1916) and develops beyond this relationship to theorise what it means to be a ‘stranger’ through multiple connotations, grounded in exploring how Black writers revolutionise and reimagine literature. I argue that their use and interrogation of broader literary criticism and methods that developed out of modernist critique and theory (beginning with James and other turn-of-the-century ‘canonical’/ canonised figures) has radically upended literary and cultural studies, which have been historically limited to and by whiteness.

Both writers saw American expat Henry James as a representative figure of literary study and transatlantic encounter. In The American Scene, recounting his return to America after a 20-year absence living in England, James describes himself as both an ‘inquiring stranger’ and ‘initiated native’, exploring the tension of the émigré experience. In their own work, Hall and Baldwin (re)position themselves in their stranger texts to challenge historical, cultural, and literary exclusion. These stranger texts focus on the authors’ expatriation, from Jamaica and the United States respectively, and include Hall’s autobiography, Familiar Stranger, published posthumously in 2017, and Baldwin’s ‘Stranger in the Village’, from the collection Notes of a Native Son (1955). Hall and Baldwin radically reimagine the ways in which the Black stranger is denied the subjectivity of the individual by the structures in place. They also negotiate their own estrangement from their ‘native’ and adopted homes in England and France; and offer a deliberate position of ‘strange(r)ness’ to interrogate and challenge cultural boundaries.

In part, I’m asking, ‘Why James?’ My PhD on Henry James

James Baldwin

and race was inspired by Baldwin’s writing and interviews about the author. Baldwin’s insistence on James’s ability to ‘see’ the complexities of America’s relation to itself and its failures corresponds with his admiration of James’s style and focus on class. These complexities are reimagined in Baldwin’s own writing, particularly about race in America and the encounters between America and ‘others’ – both within its borders and beyond. As an American living in England myself, these questions have a personal resonance that contributes to my interest in all these writers.

I am thrilled to be at Oxford, in part because of its connection to Stuart Hall. Hall attended Merton College as an undergraduate before beginning a DPhil there on the international theme in Henry James. He leaves Oxford and his DPhil in 1956 but sees the connection between his research and what will become Cultural Studies and its important theorisation of class, race, and culture. Hall states in Essential Essays that his ‘thesis on Henry James was not as distant from these preoccupations as all that. It was on the theme of “America” versus “Europe” in James’s novels. It dealt with the cultural-moral contrasts between America and Europe, one of the great cross-cultural themes in James.’

The purpose of my study is not to suggest that Baldwin and Hall – towering figures of the Black Arts Movement and unprecedented critics and theorists of race, art, and

I explore these writers’ own enormous influence on literature, literary and cultural theories

culture – could not have existed but for James. Rather, it investigates why James was, for them, such a surprisingly enabling presence and how their relationship to his work reveals new depths within it.

Through this project and in my teaching, I explore these writers’ own enormous influence on literature, literary and cultural theories, and their critiques of the failure to understand and recognise Blackness. My ambition is to theorise the ‘stranger’ through Baldwin’s and Hall’s work, showing how ‘strange(r)ness’ became a main literary and cultural form of critique in their time – and is increasingly implicated in our own time, amid rising isolationism and nationalism predicated on race and racism.

Christy Wensley

Stuart McPhail Hall

Photography: © Brownie Harris/Corbis Historical via Getty Images

Photography: © Donald Maclellan/Hulton Archive via Getty Images

Building the digital world

Professor Helen Margetts OBE, FBA Professorial Fellow in Society and the Internet, Director of the Public Policy Programme at the Alan Turing Institute for Data Science and AI

In 2018, I set up the public policy programme at the Alan Turing Institute, the UK national institute for data science and Artificial Intelligence (AI). We carry out research that can help government to maximise the opportunities of AI technologies, while managing challenges and risks in a responsible way. At the start, I was worried there might not be enough interest in AI for the programme to take off, but the enthusiasm across government has been phenomenal. We now have more than 55 researchers, working with over 40 affiliated researchers and more than 100 public organisations. Most AI is developed in the private sector, for the private sector, from a narrowly technological perspective – so it feels great to be building a centre of multidisciplinary, objective expertise for sound governance and the public good.

Fellows’ focus

Discover some of the latest research and projects undertaken by our academics.

Navigating justice

Law, Professor of Civil Justice Systems, part-time practising barrister at the Victorian Bar (Australia) with expertise in mass tort litigation

As the academic member of the Civil Justice Council (CJC), overseeing the modernisation of the civil justice system, I am currently chairing the CJC’s review of pre-action protocols. I also serve as General Editor of Civil Justice Quarterly and publish on all aspects of procedure, but enjoy branching out too. Recently, I joined forces with a former student and Mansfield alumnus, John Yap (Jurisprudence, 2019) and together we won the Australian Academy of Law’s essay competition. I have also published a note critiquing Australia’s lack of administrative and constitutional safeguards following the Australian Government’s decision to deport Novak Djokovic ahead of the 2022 Australian Open. Read the full article at https://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4024648.

Professor Andrew Higgins Professorial Fellow in

Madpeople’s Coping Mechanisms

In September 2023, I organised a conference with my friend and colleague Sofia Jeppsson from Umeå University in Sweden called ‘Madpeople’s Coping Mechanisms’. It was funded by a grant from the Wellcome Trust as part of the project Renewing Phenomenological Psychopathology, which is based at the University of Birmingham.

The conference followed on from a series of online workshops which I have been running with Sofia and others since 2020 entitled ‘Philosophy of Psychiatry and Lived Experience’. In both cases, the aim was to bring people with lived experience of ‘mental illness’ (me included) together to learn from each other. Sofia and I are now in discussion with International Mad Studies Journal about turning the presentations from Madpeople’s Coping Mechanisms into an edited volume. Read more about the conference at www.mansfield.ox.ac.uk/Madpeoples-CopingMechanisms.

Researching race and the impact of the Voting Rights Act in southern USA

The 1965 Voting Rights Act – a federal law that removed discriminatory voting practices across the southern United States – sparked widespread political participation and strengthened economic conditions for Black communities. In a recent study, published in the Journal of Political Economy, my colleagues and I show that the policy led to greater racial representation in local governments, increasing the number of Black elected officials. We used data from the US Census and from the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) to track the number of Black elected officials in local governments in the US South from 1962 to 1980, which rose from only 1470 officials to 6440 over this period. The policy also led to an increase in spending on public infrastructure in Black communities, from about $1000 per capita to $2000. This research underscores the importance of policies that ensure all individuals, regardless of race, have the right to vote and that their voices are heard in the political process. Continued vigilance in protecting the right to vote is necessary, as evidenced by the recent surge in voter suppression efforts across the United States.

Professor Paul Lodge Professorial Fellow in Philosophy

Dr Andrea Bernini Career Development Fellow in Economics

‘There is a crack, a crack in everything…’

Leonard Cohen ‘Anthem’

Almost every material is cracked to some degree, and we need to live with these cracks. The challenge, for an engineer, is to determine the conditions that can cause a crack to grow or propagate. Professor James Marrow (Professorial Fellow in Materials Science at Mansfield; James Martin Chair in Energy Materials at Oxford) elaborates on his current research.

The concept of how to live with cracks in materials underlies the field of ‘structural integrity’, also called ‘fracture mechanics’. Determining how cracks propagate is of vital importance, since this information can be used to predict a structure’s strength and the loads it can sustain over its lifetime. Cracks can grow by many different mechanisms, of which brittle fracture, fatigue, stress corrosion, thermal shock and corrosion fatigue are just a few. Understanding how cracks develop within a material’s microstructure also allows the design of damage-tolerant materials or optimisation of the material’s manufacture.

Brittle fracture is an example of ‘applied thermodynamics’. When a force is applied to a cracked body, it deforms and elastic strain energy is stored – rather like in a coiled spring. The crack tip concentrates force (or stress) in a local region with very high amount of strain. Thermodynamically, the crack tip can only propagate into this region if that would cause an elastic relaxation of sufficient energy to increase the crack’s surface area. Other crack propagation mechanisms, such as ductile fracture, fatigue and stress corrosion are not so simply described by thermodynamics. Nonetheless, the crack tip conditions necessary to crack propagation are still determined by the surrounding elastic strain field, so calculation and measurement of the ‘singularity’ of the crack strain field underpins virtually all of fracture mechanics.

My research group generally studies cracks and their singularities in materials used in energy generation and storage. These are as diverse as metals and alloys used in nuclear fusion, the graphite in nuclear fission reactors and ceramic composites for their potential replacements, and novel ceramic electrolytes for future lithium batteries. We are driven by the need for designers, operators, and regulators to have high confidence in the safe performance of the material, and so avoid over-conservatisms that can have adverse economic consequences on lifetime and operating costs. This is important if these energy systems are to have potential to contribute to net-zero carbon global goals. One challenge is that the properties of materials can change over their lifetime, with effects difficult to predict. Some of our most exciting results have come from experiments at the Diamond Light Source (the UK’s national synchrotron X-ray science facility) and the ISIS Neutron and Muon Source (at the STFC Rutherford Appleton Laboratory), both located near Oxford at Harwell.

Graphite – critical for the UK’s Advanced Gas-cooled Reactors (AGR) – is one example. It is inevitable that elements of the AGR graphite core will crack as the reactor ages, with potential effects on safe shutdown in the event

of an earthquake: a possibility that must be anticipated, even in the UK. Addressing this problem involves monitoring the reactors, supported by predictive modelling of the evolution of crack populations and careful assessments of their consequences. Our work on the fracture mechanics of graphite is just one small part. We have used X-rays and neutrons to study graphite microstructure and observe in situ their deformation and fracture when mechanically loaded. Diffraction and 3D tomographic imaging have allowed us to quantify the stress and strain fields with high spatial resolution. This has helped us understand how nonlinear deformation contributes to the high toughness of graphite by relaxing the magnitude of the stress singularity. We are now designing novel test methods to qualify the new graphites required for next-generation nuclear fission advanced reactors.

We are driven by the need for designers, operators, and regulators to have high confidence in the safe performance of the material

We have also used X-ray tomography and diffraction to address a significant challenge in solid-state lithium-ion batteries. Cracking of the ceramic electrolyte creates pathways for short-circuits that limit the maximum energy storage capacity and lifetime. In situ studies have revealed how cracks can nucleate, and the complex interactions between the movement of lithium within the electrolyte structure and the propagation of cracks. These insights now guide strategies for the design of damage-tolerant electrolytes.

X-rays and neutrons are not the only tools available to study cracks. Interactions between electrons and the crystal structure of materials allow stresses to be mapped at high resolution. We are now applying analyses of backscattered electrons (HR-EBSD) to cracks to quantify their singularities at very small length scales. Ultimately, we will study the fracture properties of interfaces within materials microstructures, and how they are affected by environmental factors such as irradiation, oxidation and temperature. Our aim is to support predictive modelling of their lifetime behaviour, allowing us to live with these cracks confidently and safely.

James Marrow

Left: Testing graphite at 800°C with in situ synchrotron X-ray diffraction observations at the UK Diamond Light Source to study damage development. The material is a candidate graphite for nextgeneration nuclear fission power. (Unpublished work.)

Always changing lives.

Where did you live in College? B Block? E Block? The Tower?

Would you have changed anything about your accommodation? Maybe, but also maybe not. For generations of Mansfielders, we know that their space at College became their home-from-home: single glazing, shared bathrooms, less-than-reliable running water and all.

The point is, it felt like home. There was a place for you here.

We want to bring that feeling to more of our students. To put ourselves in a position where, if you want to live at Mansfield the whole time you’re at Mansfield, you can – in a great room, with modern amenities, in the heart of the College.

That goal certainly comes with its challenges. How do we retain everything that makes Mansfield feel like Mansfield, while also making some fairly big changes to the size and shape of our spaces? Crucially, how do we ensure that any new development meets our expectations for sustainability: physically, operationally, and environmentally? Central to any development at Mansfield must be the sustainable use of energy, the protection of our natural resources and biodiversity, and the health and wellbeing of our community.

We’ve brought in some best-in-class developers and architects to help us work it out. And we’re consulting closely with you, our community, to understand better your feelings about Mansfield’s evolution.

What we do know is that a redevelopment of the College’s site – largely the south side, rather than the historic buildings – must be carefully thought through, sympathetic to our existing architecture, and truly sustainable.

Most importantly, Mansfield will retain what actually makes it such a unique place: its openness, its warmth, and its true sense of community.

Mansfield as a place is so much more than bricks and mortar, bedrooms and offices. It’s home to – and part of – a community that has grown and evolved over generations. With the right investment, it can be home to generations more.

Watch this space, watch this place, for what’s next.

Building partnerships

Introducing Stories and Feilden Fowles, Mansfield’s consultants in its major redevelopment programme.

Stories – Mansfield’s partner

Mansfield has always prided itself on having big ambitions, but its latest project – to renew the College facilities for generations to come – will be transformational. The first step in realising this aspiration was to choose a development partner.

Stories was appointed by the College to investigate how investment in the existing buildings and spaces could improve its amenities. As Mansfield’s development partner, we will provide expertise in managing the brief, design, funding, planning and development process. We will also help identify other organisations to work alongside, including the now-appointed architect, Feilden Fowles.

Stories has already fostered a close collaborative relationship with Mansfield. We have worked on similar projects with partners including The Crown Estate, the University of Oxford and the NHS, and bring experience from major ventures such as London’s King’s Cross regeneration.

The process happens in stages, called the RIBA Plan of Works. Each stage acts as a gateway, for Mansfield’s Governing Body to review progress and ensure the best outcomes for the College.

Where have we got to?

Our approach can be summarised in four key questions:

Does it work?

Do we love it?

Can we afford it?

Can we deliver it?

To answer these, we have taken time getting to know Mansfield: exploring the beautiful grounds and historic buildings; researching and surveying, above and below ground. We have spent many hours speaking with Fellows, students, staff and alumni. We have even consulted institutional funders to investigate the College’s options. This is a once-in-a-lifetime assessment of Mansfield’s estate and we want to be thorough.

Mansfield’s site has developed in phases over time, resulting in a collection of buildings that both we and the College believe could be much more efficient and accessible. An overall strategy would seek to improve the living, teaching and operational efficiency of Mansfield, benefiting its students, academics, staff and visitors.

Together, we are calling this plan Mansfield’s Estate Development Strategy. It will involve a reconfiguration and refurbishment of some existing buildings and spaces, and potentially the replacement of some structures with better designed, more efficient, environmentally sensitive buildings. A crucial initial step was finding the right architect.

As Mansfield’s development partner, we will provide expertise in managing the brief, design, funding, planning and development process

The team at Stories

Phyllis Agbo Senior Development Manager at Stories

Feilden Fowles – Mansfield’s architect

In 2023, following engagement with Mansfield’s Estate Development Sub-Committee, Stories, alongside architect-commissioning expert Municipal, ran a closed architectural competition. After a tough evaluation process, Feilden Fowles was selected by Governing Body.

Edmund Fowles Director at Feilden Fowles

Feilden Fowles is excited about the opportunity to reimagine the College estate on a scale not seen since Basil Champneys’ magnificent original buildings were constructed. The project aims to bring long-term social, financial and environmental sustainability to Mansfield, fulfilling its target to become carbon neutral by 2030.

Feilden Fowles was established in 2009 by Fergus Feilden and Edmund Fowles, who met while studying Architecture at Cambridge University. The practice has delivered a range of buildings across the UK and received numerous awards, including being shortlisted for the RIBA Stirling Prize for

The Weston, a new gallery at Yorkshire Sculpture Park. It has recently completed the new Dining Hall for Homerton College, Cambridge.

Working closely alongside Stories and the wider team, we have enjoyed getting to know Mansfield and spending time with students, staff and Fellows to develop a detailed understanding of the College’s physical characteristics, patterns of use, operations, constraints and features as well as more social and nuanced qualities. The illustration (right) captures some of the communal activities observed.

We understand that a college serves many roles: as a place of work and learning, as well as a social space and home for students at a pivotal moment in their lives

The team at Feilden Fowles

We understand that a college serves many roles: as a place of work and learning, as well as a social space and home for students at a pivotal moment in their lives. These functions overlap, creating changing environments serving sometimes more public, formal purposes and at other times private and domestic needs.

Together with Conservation Architect Marcus Beale, we have also enjoyed learning about Mansfield’s rich history, exploring Basil Champneys’ fine buildings. Fortunately, Champneys was a keen writer and we can understand much about his design intent, to inform future additions to the College, including a few maxims:

‘Make art your aim from the first; Keep clear of fixed ideas; Take your time; and Quality before quantity.’ Basil Champneys, ‘Some Principles and Methods of Design’ in The British Architect (March 1891)

The project is still in its early stages, but this is an exciting time for Mansfield. There will be more engagement with the College community, current students and alumni, before the Estate Development Strategy is finalised later in 2024 and design work begins.

Illustration by Feilden Fowles showing social activities of the College

Treading lightly

The Estate Development Strategy includes plans to reduce Mansfield’s carbon footprint and enhance biodiversity and wider sustainability – in keeping with the College’s 2030 goals. Working with sustainability consultant, Skelly & Couch, and the project team, the College has highlighted eight areas for sustainability improvements. Students have been closely involved; here they share their views.

Energy – operational carbon

‘If the UK is to reach net-zero carbon targets by 2050, it’s important for us to do our part in creating sustainable buildings that incorporate high efficiency design: from passive solar to on-site renewable energy generation.’

Connor Durkin

(MSc Environmental Change & Management, 2023)

Although the College has taken steps towards improving its energy sources, energy usage and energy wastage, there is only so much that can be done, given its beautiful Champneys buildings and the ‘leaky’ bedrooms to the south. The development project can make the College more efficient with, and more cognisant of its energy use. Much can be done sympathetically to the historic buildings to manage their energy requirements better. Also, climate-controlled bedrooms and teaching spaces can be delivered. Mansfield aims to reduce carbon emissions from existing buildings by 50-80% between now and 2050. Where providing new buildings, the Strategy will ensure they are net-zero carbon in terms of operational energy.

Sustainable communities and social value

‘Mansfield innovates on equality and social values, and we have the potential to be at the forefront of technology and sustainability. Physical planning could be optimised to create a place where people feel connected to both community and the environment.’

Charlotte

Wargniez (MSc Sustainability, Enterprise & the Environment, 2023)

The College prides itself on being open, welcoming and inclusive. This building project will create fit-for-purpose community spaces, secure private spaces and strengthen Mansfield’s open nature by improving the gateway to the College.

Good health and wellbeing

‘College life is very important to my health. I’d love to have a gym on site, improved kitchen facilities, more locally sourced foods, more interaction with animals and access gardens to improve mental health.’

Alice Gallagher Boyden (MSt English, 2023)

Buildings and external spaces can foster good health in many ways. The new designs will look to enhance wellbeing using daylight, sunlight, natural materials, thermal mass, connections to nature, fresh air and spaces facilitating social interactions.

Finance and facilitation

‘Mansfield could be a leader in what a sustainable college looks like. I’d like to see the College assess its activities and affiliations and consider how it contributes to an environmentally sustainable future.’

Hannah Sassi (MSc Sustainability, Enterprise & the Environment, 2023)

Mansfield is not just concerned with environmental sustainability but is determined to become more financially resilient. Through development, Mansfield will have a better understanding of its energy use. This information is key to improving operational efficiency and reducing costs.

It’s important to me that Mansfield does its part to mitigate climate change

Phyllis Agbo Senior Development Manager at Stories

Biodiversity

‘It’s important that sustainability strategies combine nature-based solutions during site design and management of existing areas such as gardens and greens.’

Buildings – embodied carbon

‘It’s important to me that Mansfield does its part to mitigate climate change and minimise embodied carbon while also creating a comfortable environment.’

Laura Murphy (MSc Biodiversity, Conservation & Management, 2023)

Mansfield is fortunate that its historic and more recent buildings are made from stone and timber which are naturally low in embodied carbon. Additional development needs to carefully consider the environmental impact of materials used. This project will assess Whole Life Carbon, durability and robustness as key metrics.

Resources

‘I would love Mansfield to demonstrate leadership in stewarding our natural resources, including managing water impacts, pollution, and waste.’

Jordan Calverley (MSc Sustainability, Enterprise & the Environment, 2023)

Due to climate change, water will probably become scarce in the not-too-distant future. Mansfield could improve its water-recycling capabilities and educate its community to be more resource conscious.

Leonard Jenkins (MSc Sustainability, Enterprise & the Environment, 2023)

Mansfield has a direct and indirect impact on biodiversity both within and outside its estate. The College is aiming for a biodiversity gain of over 10%. The development project will consider bringing planting within the buildings and potentially on roofs.

Travel

‘It’s great to have an accessible college with safe biking routes connected to town. I would like to see wider biking routes, and more flexible support for biking and bike safety from the College.’

Maia Vitkovic (MSc Biodiversity, Conservation & Management, 2023)

Mansfield’s location in central Oxford helps limit its need for motorised transport. The College already promotes walking and cycling but wishes to provide better cycle storage. Where driving is necessary, charging infrastructure can be provided for electric vehicles.

If Mansfield is to achieve its sustainability goals in its stipulated timeframe, immediate action must be taken. The College’s transformational development project identifies many ways of achieving these ambitious goals, both realistically and tangibly.

Illustration showing decarbonisation opportunities in the Champneys buildings

People like you don’t go to Oxford

We create opportunities for people with the potential to succeed. It sounds simple. Doing the right thing often does.

Different people need different opportunities – there’s no one-size-fits-all.

If you go to a school where people don’t often even consider – let alone get into – Oxford, opportunity might look like someone coming to visit you and saying, ‘You could do it, you know. Come and see for yourself.’

If you’ve been in care, opportunity might look like year-round accommodation.

If you don’t have the means to self-fund your way through a master’s or DPhil, opportunity could look like a life-changing scholarship.

Opportunities don’t have to be few and far between. They don’t have to change everything all at once. It might be a book grant, or a new laptop when yours dies unexpectedly mid-year. It might be a chance to go and see the world or complete an internship.

Find out more www.mansfield.ox.ac.uk/culture

Mansfield is a place where people from every walk of life have a chance to study. But it’s also a place where everyone has a chance to explore, and to thrive: to find your voice; to get out on the river; to discover what moves you. To become yourself.

We are committed to fostering a culture where every student has access to the opportunities and support they need to flourish – academically, personally, and socially.

It’s not simple. But it is right.

Telethon Callers, 2023

Thank you for creating life-changing opportunities at Mansfield!

Redrei Visaya (Theology & Religion, 2021) Telethon Caller, 2023

The Telethon provides an excellent opportunity to connect with Mansfield alumni worldwide, spanning many generations of former students. I heard wonderful stories, essentially travelling through the history of our College via the experiences of the lovely people who took time to talk to me. I hope I reminded alumni of their Mansfield community and the value they bring to it.

As a current student relishing my time at Mansfield, I firmly believe in being an active member of the College and helping its initiatives as best I can. I wanted to give back to the place that has already given me so much.

During my Telethon training, I learned how crucial alumni support is. It’s a lifeline providing vital resources for current and future students. Whether funding scholarships, maintaining facilities, or enhancing the overall college experience, this support has a lasting effect, and the impact is felt in the everyday activities of students.

Alumni play a pivotal role in upholding Mansfield’s standards of excellence and transforming students’ lives.

Donations also have immediate and tangible consequences, enabling Mansfield’s exceptional access and outreach programmes to prosper, and providing academic prizes, hardship support, beautiful artworks and more. Your commitment ensures that our College continues to be a place of learning and growth and reflects our shared vision for a thriving academic community. Telethon was a genuinely inspiring experience for me.

To all donors, I extend sincere gratitude for your generosity and ongoing support. Your involvement sets the stage for future generations of students to thrive and contribute meaningfully to society, ultimately making Mansfield an even brighter and better place.

Thank you for being an integral part of Mansfield’s journey.

Successes in access and outreach

Mansfield has long been a leader among Oxbridge institutions for its work in access and outreach. The results are especially gratifying, reports Sarah Large, McBain Access Officer, when students who attended our outreach programmes go on to attain a place at our College.

The 2022/23 academic year has been my first at Mansfield and it has been a brilliant one. As I’m writing this, I have received a card from a teacher thanking me for hosting a group of Year 12 students at the College last week (as happens each year), commenting: ‘We always feel very warmly received and welcome’. Such praise is earned by the commitment of our wonderful student ambassadors, academic staff, and administrative staff, without whom my job would be considerably harder. The community at Mansfield makes me confident that the students I meet would genuinely thrive and enjoy their time here if they chose to apply to our College.

The past year has been busy, with the continuation of regular school visits to Mansfield, outbound trips to Yorkshire & the Humber and South London, the Universitywide Open Days, and the return of our annual Further Education and Sixth Form College Open Day (which started more than 20 years ago). Alongside this established access work, we are always looking to expand and enhance our provision to make a positive impact on as many students as we can.

I am particularly proud of the successful pilot of a threeday residential programme for Year 12 students from Yorkshire & the Humber, which ran in March 2023. A total of 49 students from 18 schools across the region participated in the event. The programme offered them the experience of living in Mansfield undergraduate accommodation, dining in the Chapel Hall, and engaging in academic workshops. Current students were on hand to answer questions about what being an Oxford undergraduate is really like and to guide the students around the University and the city. The aim of the residential was to provide students with the knowledge to make an informed decision about applying to Oxford, as well as showing them how to make a successful application if they did choose to apply. We had lots of positive feedback following this event, but one particular response to a question we asked really stuck with me: ‘What have you learnt during this visit?’ ‘That Oxford is for me.’

access visits CULTURE

What have you learnt during this visit?

‘That Oxford is for me’

insight into university-level learning, and guidance on the application process. We would love to expand this programme to cover more schools in our link regions and potentially create a longer programme that spans multiple year groups.

Commenting on ‘Next Steps’, David Cooper, Aspire Leader at John Leggott College, Scunthorpe, has told us: ‘As the students are becoming more familiar with Mansfield, and yourselves in particular, we can see their confidence growing as they become more comfortable with the environment and process.’ David goes on to explain that the programme is not only helping students see admission as a realistic prospect, but that the question ‘Do I stand a chance?’ is ceasing to be relevant.

Achievements from 2022/23 165 +

over 4000

Facilitating sustained contact programmes with schools in our link regions has been a major focus of ours this year. Sustained programmes help us to build relationships with schools and their teachers as well as students, making it easier for both to feel confident asking for help and sharing what they need from us. This year I began the ‘Next Steps’ programme with three of our Yorkshire & the Humber Further Education Colleges – John Leggott College, Wilberforce College, and Franklin College. The programme includes an introduction to Oxford, an

The academic year 2023/24 is looking even busier than the last for access and outreach. We have recently formed a partnership with a local Oxford primary school, St John Fisher in Littlemore, through the Oxford Hub’s Twinning Programme. The goal of this initiative is to address the attainment gap that exists in Oxford city. Each class will have a visit to Mansfield during the year and a group of our students will provide weekly tutoring to the school’s Year 6 class.

In addition to working with the local community, we aim to enhance our relationships with departments across the University to facilitate subject-specific outreach. This will give prospective students an insight into their subjects at university level, expose them to unfamiliar subjects and encourage them to pursue these fields of study at Mansfield.

In October 2023, I helped to welcome the new freshers to Mansfield, some of whom I had met previously at our annual interview workshops (we host these each year in the regions we work with to provide interview guidance and support to students who have applied to Oxford or Cambridge). It is so rewarding to see students who we work with arrive at Oxford and even more so when it happens to be at Mansfield. I am looking forward to meeting plenty more students this year who have the potential to excel at our University.

Highlights of the year: from the JCR and MCR

Mansfield’s JCR has continued to thrive during 2022/23

Alexander Boardman (PPE, 2021) JCR President

The year began with the unwelcome financial pressures of the cost-of-living crisis. To alleviate burdens, the Bench facilitated access to several new funds from the grant the JCR receives from College, including a prescriptions fund to subsidise students’ medical costs. In addition, the online Student Hub now makes it easier to get JCR help.

With the support of College, our Common Room has new pool and table tennis tables; they are proving extremely popular. Also enhancing our social space is the new Mansfield mural in the Crypt café, which brightens the interior while showcasing our students’ artistic talent. Welfare is a high priority for students, and we are grateful to College for its commitment to making Mansfield a supportive, nurturing environment for all.

Time seems to fly by as a student and to help capture the Mansfield experience we have, for the first time, created a Mansfield yearbook giving finalists a lasting memento of College life.

Mansfield’s nonconformist values deeply influence the JCR, galvanising increased fundraising activities to bring about positive change. This year we established an Environment Committee, which has introduced initiatives such as a community bike scheme, helping to make a tangible difference to our daily lives.

To finish, I would like to thank Mansfield’s staff and students for their fierce intellect, tireless dedication, and commitment to justice. It has been a privilege to work in such an inspiring community.

The College’s MCR strives to be welcoming and inclusive

Karim Alaa El-Din (DPhil Atomic & Laser Physics, 2022) MCR President

I often get asked what’s my favourite part about being at Mansfield. For me, there is only one right answer: the people I meet. Fostering a huge diversity of backgrounds, identities and thoughts, Mansfield and the MCR maintain a community that’s as interesting as it is welcoming.

As President, I am honoured to encourage this diversity, facilitate conversations across subject boundaries, and, alongside the Bench, make our social spaces welcoming to both new and returning students.

To that end, the entire Bench worked hard and has built on the successes of previous years to deliver a host of events: some familiar, others brand new.

Beyond an amazing Freshers’ Week featuring scavenger hunts, pub crawls, karaoke and more, we have again organised a massive, sold-out Halloween bop, and are all looking forward to more events throughout the coming year.

Furthermore, we have endeavoured to make both the facilities and the community as welcoming and inclusive as possible. This includes upgrades such as a shiny new floor, a coffee machine (crucial for tired graduate students), and a rearrangement of our wall decorations. We have also arranged various new welfare events and provisions, including dedicated women’s and LGBTQIA+ mixers.

Throughout the year, we have been keen to represent all our students, so are mindful to keep an open ear to any requests or concerns.

Throughout the year, we have been keen to represent all our students, so are mindful to keep an open ear to any requests or concerns

The Mansfield-Ruddock Art Prize:

supporting new talent and creating a contemporary art collection at College

Tess McCormick Development Director

Now in its fourth year, the Mansfield-Ruddock Art Prize, an exciting collaboration between Mansfield and the Ruskin School of Art, has become an important annual fixture at the College.

This prestigious purchase Prize is awarded to an undergraduate and a graduate student from the Ruskin School each year, with winners selected by a distinguished panel of judges, and the winning work entering a new collection of contemporary art at Mansfield.

Established by alumnus Sir Paul Ruddock (Jurisprudence, 1977) and generously supported by the Ruddock Foundation for the Arts, the Prize aims to encourage the whole academic community at Mansfield to engage with contemporary art, as well as providing important support, profile and networks for talented artists graduating from the Ruskin.

Commenting on the motivation behind the project, Sir Paul explained:

‘I was inspired to establish this Prize by my own experience as an undergraduate at Mansfield in the 1970s when I would go almost every week to both the Museum of Modern Art and the Ashmolean Museum, which fed a lifelong love of the arts. I feel, as does Helen [Mountfield], that students should be exposed in their everyday lives to the best of what Oxford artists are creating.’

Judges of the Prize to date include: Rana Begum, Amanda Levete, Adam Lowe, Yana Peel, Marc Quinn, Victoria Siddall, Matthew Slotover, Stephanie Straine, and Edmund de Waal.

Winning works from the last two years are now on show in a dedicated space at College at the bottom of the Library staircase, opposite the MCR. There you will see works by recent winners: Bunmi Agusto (MFA, 2023), Paige DiedrickEdwards (BFA, 2023), Joy Labinjo (BFA, 2022), Saba Qizilbash (MFA, 2022), and Eliza Owen (BFA, 2022).

Mansfield also hosts an annual event to celebrate the Prize, offering an opportunity to hear from the artists – often in discussion with one of the judges.

To find out more visit: https://www.mansfield. ox.ac.uk/news/mansfield-ruddock-art-prizewinners-2023.

Little Fires Everywhere, Paige Diedrick-Edwards

Baku to Multan, Saba Qizilbash

Sir Paul Ruddock

Bunmi Agusto (left), Paige Diedrick-Edwards (centre), Emily King (right).

Above right: Reaching Through Worlds, Bunmi Agusto

Map of a studio floor folded into a kite, Eliza Owen

Celebrating creativity at Mansfield

Our College holds a wealth of exceptional creative talent. Here are just some of the artistic highlights from the past year.

Striking a new chord

James Brown Director of Music

It’s wonderful to be the new Director of Music at Mansfield, succeeding Tom Hammond-Davies. Despite only completing my first term here, I am already appreciating the support of colleagues, the Music Society, and the Chapel Choir. The impressive resources of the College are an added pleasure, including its fine organ and piano, as well as the grandeur of the Chapel with its admirable acoustics. There is an opportunity to grow the profile of music at Mansfield even further, and this is a key part of my appointment. Look out for concerts, masterclasses and new musical initiatives as 2023/24 unfolds.

New scenes

Julia Males (English, 2021) Mansfield Players President

The Mansfield Players have been working in collaboration with our Principal, Helen Mountfield, particularly hard this year to bring students closer to the dramatic arts. In February 2023, we hosted writer-director Samuel West in a monologue workshop entitled ‘Making it New: Bringing Period Speech to Life Onstage’. The session brought together a group of actors who were guided through a masterclass on performance, tackling that tricky realm of archaic or metrical speech from historical texts. Students brought passages from Julius Caesar, The Seagull, and The Duchess of Malfi, making for a varied and wonderfully spiky afternoon.

As Trinity term rolled into focus, we held a new event, ‘The Mansfield New Writing Festival’. Students were set a large pitching window over the vacation to submit short excerpts of new writing (monologues, brief sketches, and the like). We then paired up the scripts with wonderfully enthusiastic student performers, and on a sunny Sunday afternoon in third week, 40-odd Mansfielders settled down in the Fellows’ Garden to watch the performances. The first was ‘The Worm Man’ written by Barbara Niven Garcia (English, 2022), Astrid Kiernan (English, 2022) and Oliver Guilfoyle (Materials Science, 2022) and performed by Eric Balonwu (PPE, 2022). This absurdist and entertaining piece features a starring role for the worms of Mansfield Quad. After such an impressive start, we hope that the New Writing Festival will become an ongoing tradition at our College. I have just handed over to the 2023/24 committee, but the drama continues. Keep your eyes peeled – there are some brilliant plans in the works.

Creative crafting

Kate French (PPE, 2021) Mansfield Art Society President

Although it was only set up in Trinity term 2023, Mansfield College Art Society (MCAS) has already run a varied programme. Our inaugural event was a childhood-throwbacks craft session, designed to take away some of that Trinity stress. We had everything from bracelet making and pipecleaners to potato stamps, helping to transport everyone back to the days of primary school.

At the beginning of 2023/24, we teamed up with Entz to welcome our new freshers with a keychain-making workshop, where participants were able to create personalised keyrings to attach to their new room keys. It was a great way for the new intake to get to know each other, as well as students from other years, in a relaxed environment.

Our most recent event has been an evening celebrating wholesome Christmas crafts, including gingerbread icing, bauble decorating and Christmascard making. It has been lovely to take some time out from Oxford’s busy terms and get creative.

Musical Mansfield

Nicole

Gibbons (English, 2022) Mansfield Music Society Publicity Officer

From the Choir singing in Chapel services each week and rounding out Michaelmas term by delivering a carol concert filled with festive joy, to the Wind Ensemble performing in termly concerts and recitals alongside other talented soloists from across the community, the music scene at Mansfield has been resonating throughout College this past year.

It has been lovely to welcome new members to our musical community at Mansfield, especially our new Director of Music, James Brown. Also new on the scene is Mansfield’s very own student band, Big Slice, who have already performed at The Mad Hatter and Jericho Tavern.

A highlight of 2022/23 was the Choir’s trip to Florence over the summer, during which they sang at two stunning churches – Santa Maria Novella and Santa Croce – and ate lots of gelato. We look forward to discovering which new musical adventures lie ahead at Mansfield in the coming year.

Moments of commemoration and celebration at Mansfield

During every term, our community marks events both solemn and light-hearted, both secular and from the wealth of the world’s religious traditions. We observe the occasions with food, music, contemplation and with joyous conviviality.

Revd Nathan Mulcock College Chaplain

In a world that often seems increasingly polarised, it is a great comfort that here in Mansfield there’s a delightfully warm embrace of each other’s religious and cultural traditions. Through the year, the variegated festivals and events are celebrated with great enthusiasm in College. Rather than share these occasions in some dreary chronological order, I thought instead to order them in a moving scale from solemnity to sanguinity: from occasions of sorrow and remembrance all the way to the most jolly, even silly offerings.

At the most solemn end are the acts of remembrance. This year we marked the Transgender Day of Remembrance, protesting against the death of those who suffered because of transphobia, incorporating music and poetry, word and silence. We also marked Holocaust Memorial Day with the inimitable Joan Salter MBE sharing her family’s stories of escaping to safety from the Nazi regime. Around

the feast of All Souls, we held a service in the Chapel to remember departed loved ones; and the choir, along with a lone trumpeter, gamely helped mark Armistice Day at 11am, where we remembered all those suffering from the consequences of war today.

It has been a year of building wider partnerships and collaborating with others. We were pleased to host the European members of the Lutheran World Federation pre-conference as they worshipped, dined, prayed and deliberated together to formulate their statements to take to the World Conference. We’ve also been happy to welcome back a termly Catholic Mass and Christian Union Bible Study.

Compline, mindfulness, and discussion groups have been offered to students this year, aiming to give respite from hectic lives and provide a reflective space for considering

life’s broader questions (often with free food and drink!). It has been a delight to join forces with Corpus Christi Choir singing joint services together through the year, and sharing in a service of evensong at New College Chapel in place of the usual choir. The regular Wednesday service continues to be animated by an abundance of students keen to sing, with themes for this year being ‘Lessons in nonconformity’, and ‘The Gospel according to Disney’ where guest preachers were compelled to sing part of their sermon!

The summer high point for both Chaplain and Choir was our tour to Florence, singing in Santa Maria Novella and Santa Croce, performing at their high Sunday services and enjoying the seemingly endless art museums and ice cream. Closer to home we celebrated the return of a full Mansfield Easter egg hunt, with 200 chocolate eggs hidden around College at 4am by a bleary-eyed Chaplain. The eggs didn’t last long.

It is glorious to be part of this diverse, joyful, and inclusive community

Opportunities to join with the joyful celebrations of other religious traditions have abounded. We welcomed visitors to celebrate Nowruz, with music, storytelling and poetry; and we sat down with the Dialogue Society during Ramadan for an Iftar where Jewish, Muslim and Christian voices offered art, music, and reflection with local dignitaries of the city. Hanukkah was marked with latke and games and decorations down in the Crypt, and we held our candlelit nine lessons and carols service to celebrate Oxmas. The Choir also pulled out all the stops in the very local feast of Mansfieldmas, alongside many other acts. Another highlight was Diwali where, at dinner, the Chapel was filled with lanterns, lights and rangoli; the candle budget has been extraordinary this year!

Such is the round-up of 2022/23. Alongside welcoming new students we also bade farewell to our Music Director, Tom Hammond-Davies, as he accepted a new post in Wadham. We are already working to foster a relationship with the Wadham Choir alongside Corpus. Taking up the reins at Mansfield is James Brown; we wish him a successful and happy time with us.

Much of our success this year could not have been achieved so smoothly without the tireless work of Hasnain Sumar (Theology & Religion, 2021), the JCR Faiths Rep, who has done so much to encourage engagement and new ventures.

Chaplaincy at Mansfield is extraordinarily varied. It is glorious to be part of this diverse, joyful, and inclusive community. More than any celebration, it’s a pleasure to work among such people; they are the true jewels of this College. The variety and richness of the work this year points to the enthusiasm of our students and staff. It’s wonderful to feel the spirit of nonconformity, with all its possibilities for life together, still breezing through this place as we work to create one harmonious community that celebrates each other in our differences. That there are so many luminary examples at Mansfield is a great testament to the spirit of this College.

Below: Celebrating Hanukkah and Diwali

Shelter from the storm

In May 2023, Oxford was awarded University of Sanctuary status in recognition of its commitment to being a haven for people forcibly displaced from their homeland. This distinction acknowledges the success of work carried out by two trailblazing colleges: Somerville and Mansfield.

EMBS students visiting the College

Shukria Rezaei Communications Officer

Given the appalling conflicts currently scarring our world, the need for a place of sanctuary has rarely been more apparent. UK universities are well-placed to offer refuge to students and academics from countries in turmoil – and our College was swift to recognise this. Together with Somerville, Mansfield was granted College of Sanctuary status back in 2021, paving the way for the University to follow.

On hearing of the University’s award, Mansfield’s Principal, Helen Mountfield KC, commented: ‘I am pleased and proud that the pioneering work done by so many at Somerville and Mansfield, as the first University Colleges of Sanctuary, to create a welcoming, supportive environment to learn with and from people seeking sanctuary from conflict or oppression, has now been adopted by the University of Oxford as a whole.’

So, what does being a College of Sanctuary mean? First, we have our sanctuary scholars. These past three years, Mansfield has been the intellectual home of several such scholars: from Venezuela, Somalia, and Ukraine thanks to the support of the Council of Lutheran Churches and many Mansfield alumni. As a former Sanctuary Scholar myself at the University of London, I can attest to the lifesaving nature of these scholarships – both for those coming from abroad and refugees living in the UK. As a Hazara refugee from Afghanistan, with a limited visa when I first arrived, I would never have received a higher education without one.

Sanctuary is about creating friendships and networks for mutual support

Beyond the scholarships, though, sanctuary is about creating friendships and networks for mutual support. Here, the intimate character of a college can be a real advantage. At Mansfield, we have been building special ties with refugee communities within the city of Oxford through our partner charity, Asylum Welcome, and the unique Sanctuary Arts programme, funded by the AB Charitable Trust (the Bonavero Family Charitable Foundation).

Our Writer in Residence, Kate Clanchy, has made Mansfield accessible to many who would otherwise walk past the guarded gates of an Oxford college. Kate works in the Ethnic Minority Business Service (EMBS) Community College in Cowley, which provides education and training to young people (aged 16-18) and adults. The city’s many refugees from Sudan, Afghanistan, Ukraine, Eritrea, and East Timor come to EMBS to learn English. Kate creates anthologies of student work and regularly brings her students into Mansfield to share their poems. Their poetry anthologies are displayed proudly in our Library, and together with the EMBS students, we have celebrated International Poetry Day, Yalda Night (Persian Winter

Solstice), Nowruz (New Year), Ramadan and Mansfieldmas. Bringing students to a talk by new honorary Fellow, Lemn Sissay, was a special pleasure.

The College buildings and the warm welcome never fail to impress the visitors. As Sean, an EMBS tutor put it: ‘You can see when they were reading their poems in that beautiful Mansfield Library they just felt like the most important person in the world. All the phones going and the Instagrams - the messages were going back home “this is where I’ve got to. I’ve arrived”.’

But the exchange is mutual. Mansfield students volunteer at EMBS and EMBS students work in Mansfield. Students and tutors alike were delighted when Andrii, a refugee from eastern Ukraine, read his poem ‘I believe in my bicycle in all the weathers of my life’ in the Chapel: truly a creed for so many at Oxford.

In November 2023, Mansfield facilitated a panel discussion on ‘creating a community’. I was proud to share my experiences as a Sanctuary Scholar with Kate Clanchy, current Sanctuary Scholar Erick Moreno Superlano, and former Head of the Refugee Studies Centre, Professor Alex Betts.

The panel shared important insights on how Mansfield can draw from its experience to encourage more colleges and departments to become spaces of sanctuary. There are plans for our College to work alongside the first Oxford University Sanctuary Community Coordinator, Natasha Treunen, to mobilise the various sanctuary initiatives within the University and the city. It is hoped this will produce a greater impact and reach without losing the special warmth and intimacy that is Mansfield. To finish, we reprint a poem by one of Kate’s EMBS students from Ukraine.

What do I really believe?

I believe in my own smile, the easy opening of people’s souls and friendliness without borders.

I believe in my legs which have replaced my car and carry my life around the world.

I believe in my children’s success as the leaving gift of my knowledge and skills.

I believe in the present, currently serving me for both future and past. I believe in peace.

People are not wild beasts. I believe in kindness, which always returns with the help of the sky, where we send this message.

Mariia Shevchenko

Widening the environmental debate

In June 2023, Eleanor Luxton (Geography, 2021) sat down with alumnus Martin Stott (Geography, 1973), who funded the NERC-Stott Scholarship in Environmental Geography. They were joined by first-year DPhil student Courtney Stuart (Environmental Research, 2022) to discuss Courtney’s work, the role that Mansfield plays in creating future changemakers, and how the discipline has developed over the years.

Eleanor: Courtney, how have your research interests changed over time, from undergraduate studies to master’s and now DPhil?

Courtney: I started in Marine Vertebrate Biology – I’ve always loved fish research! Later, I took a Geographic Information Science (GIS) course, which made me fall in love with the geography side of things.

My work with Dr Lisa Wedding and the Oxford Seascape Ecology Lab focuses on ecological connectivity and landsea nutrient cycling around the islands of Te Ao Mā’ohi (the land of the Mā’ohi peoples, now referred to as French Polynesia), using a combination of landscape ecology theory, stable isotope analysis, and GIS-based approaches. The islands have healthy coral reefs at the moment, but I’m interested in how growing tourist numbers and seabird waste (guano) impact nutrient pathways across land and sea. There’s a real push-and-pull between protecting these environments and supporting sustainable ecotourism.

Eleanor: What inspired you to support DPhil students at the School of Geography and the Environment, Martin?

Martin: The very first project I supported was at the London School of Economics, with my daughter, about the impact of feminism on environmental issues. This looked

at women’s experiences of using public transport in India. I thought that we could do more to address climate change, and we unlocked funding from the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) with the help of Mansfield’s Development Office.

Eleanor: What role do you think Mansfield should, or will, play in producing climate scientists, activists and policymakers of the future?

Mansfield has a good radical tradition and I think that’s well worth building on

Martin: Mansfield has a good radical tradition and I think that’s well worth building on. I consider myself to be an activist even now. It’s a mistake to assume that academia is the be-all-and-end-all. Mansfield has produced some amazing people, from the BBC’s Chief Environment Correspondent Justin Rowlatt to the late Philip Bassett of New Labour.

Eleanor: I know you’re passionate about diversity in the scientific community, Courtney, and wondered if you could speak about this?

Left to right: Martin Stott, Courtney Stuart and Eleanor Luxton

Courtney: Academia can be a silo sometimes, especially if you’re from an underrepresented background. I’ve mentored master’s and undergraduate students and, being from a single-income family who benefited from mentorship, I really want to repay the favour.

Eleanor: What do you think are some of the key changes that Oxford colleges need to make if they’re to reach the University’s goal of net zero by 2035?

Martin: We need to widen debates about the investments colleges have. To what extent are pension funds divested from fossil fuel corporations? Mansfield is mid-table on this year’s Climate League of Oxford and Cambridge sustainability rankings, so there’s definitely improvements to be made in regards to making carbonneutral strategies more transparent.

Courtney: I think each of the colleges should have sustainable development goals, but it’s important for the colleges to work together too. There should be opportunities for students and the local community to get involved in discussions.

There’s a real pushand-pull between protecting these environments and supporting sustainable ecotourism

In autumn 2023, Eleanor caught up with Courtney for an update about her research. During September and October 2023, Courtney strategically sampled brown (Turbinaria) and green (Halimeda) macroalgae in Te Ao Mā’ohi’s heterogenous, nearshore seascapes. Courtney collected over 130 macroalgal samples, in preparation for nutrient and stable isotope analyses. She complemented this with snorkel-based transect surveys of benthic cover and fish assemblages to enable subsequent evaluation of hypothesised relationships between land-sea nutrient sources and flows, macroalgal distributions, and spatial patterns of reef fish biomass and biodiversity. Using this data, Courtney hopes to map and model spatial patterns of productivity and vulnerability to support adaptive management planning and island ecosystem resilience.

Turbinaria ornata sampling

Courtney carrying out fieldwork

Forging positive change in Stephen Lawrence’s memory

The Freshfields Stephen Lawrence (FSL) Scholarship Scheme aims to address the underrepresentation of Black men from less socially mobile backgrounds in commercial law firms and other City of London careers. It was established by global law business Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer with support from Doreen Lawrence, Baroness Lawrence of Clarendon OBE. Since 2013, Mansfield has welcomed three FSL Scholars: Joel Semakula (Jurisprudence, 2014), Ajay Mehta-Graham (Jurisprudence, 2021), and Stephen Appiah Kubi (Jurisprudence, 2022). Here, Shukria Rezaei (Communications Officer) talks to them about their journey to Mansfield and beyond.

Has the scholarship changed your outlook on your legal career and the possibilities it holds for driving positive change?

Joel Semakula: Life as a Black man in Law can be lonely, but the FSL Scheme gave me a community of fellow Black men with whom I could share this experience. Everybody in the programme was committed to bettering themselves and those around them. That inspired me then and continues to inspire me today.

Ajay Mehta-Graham: The Scholarship has reshaped my legal career outlook. It has revealed the potential of Commercial Law as a vehicle for positive change. Beyond transactions, I’ve discovered opportunities to contribute to society through pro bono work and other initiatives.

Stephen Appiah Kubi: I discovered that the lawyers at Freshfields drive positive change in the community because they recognise, as lawyers, they hold a special set of skills and have a responsibility to use them. This opened my eyes to why the legal profession should drive change.

Describe a defining moment in your life that inspired your pursuit of law and social justice.

Joel: When I was 12, I gave evidence to a parliamentary select committee arguing the case for a Children’s Rights Commissioner. At the time, this made me part of the

Joel Semakula

youngest group to appear before MPs. That experience introduced me to advocacy and what it meant to fight for social justice. It ignited in me the desire to pursue a career as an advocate.

Ajay: A defining moment stems from personal experiences tied to the Windrush deportations and the ramifications of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999. Witnessing a close relative facing deportation despite years of lawabiding citizenship in the UK was a poignant revelation. This experience ignited a deep-seated belief in the necessity to be critical of the law, to bring about meaningful social change and justice that benefits everyone.

Stephen: Following my Extended Project Qualification on the extent to which religion was responsible for slavery, I gained an interest in the relationship between morality and the law. This sparked my fascination with the philosophy of law more generally.

How have your fellow scholars and the Mansfield community contributed to your development?

Joel: I had a really pleasant time at Mansfield as a Senior Status student. I made lifelong friends, had some great tutors and appreciated the College’s social purpose, especially the commitment to supporting state school students. The programme allowed me to develop my legal and commercial skills alongside other Black men with dreams as big as mine, and gave me access to mentors at the highest levels of the law.

Ajay: The Scholarship not only provided financial support but also immersed me in a community of like-minded individuals at Mansfield. Being surrounded by fellow scholars has been transformative, creating a dynamic environment where we push each other to excel.

Stephen: My fellow scholars at Mansfield have contributed to my development by helping me navigate Oxford and careers. My college dad, Ajay, has been especially supportive. In addition, the Mansfield community creates an encouraging atmosphere that allows me to learn from the diverse group of people here.

What are your hopes for your career, and how do you plan to use your education to drive positive change in society?

Joel: I am four years into my life as a barrister specialising in planning, property and environmental law. I support several measures that work to improve the diversity of those entering the profession including the Griffin Access Programme at Gray’s Inn, where I am the programme director. I also mentor students going through the process. I have aspirations of becoming a silk and hope my presence within the profession will inspire others from backgrounds like mine.

Ajay: Completing my training in Commercial Law is a priority, but beyond corporate transactions, my passion lies in leveraging the skills gained to address broader social issues. One of my key aspirations is to collaborate with charities and law firms on initiatives aimed at increasing access to the legal profession.

Stephen: I plan to enter the field of Commercial Law, specifically to work in emerging markets where I can make a positive contribution to the infrastructure and economies across the African and Latin American continents. I also aspire to work on improving access to education in Africa.

Stephen Appiah Kubi

Ajay Mehta-Graham

For Mansfield

Flavius Covaci (English, 2022)

For its chiming black gates welcomed us all in when the night became too dark. For those warm rooms held us tight when we felt like falling apart, for its porters are full of smiles, for the love we share towards our College cats

could overflow the Nile. Because constellations above our Quad have left every one of us beguiled, and don’t we all remember that summer day when drowsing on the grass unfroze our inner child? For the family we found

along the way: the divine friends that glowed dazzlingly with the ephemeral power of play. Recall those ridiculous conversations over Sunday’s carvery, the eyebags that came with late nights and early lectures,

the undying awe inspired by our Chapel’s architecture. Picture once more the Library whose swirly ceiling transported you out of the essay crisis and into a red oasis of serenity. For each memory is a treasured thread in the intricate brocade of your time here with topsy-turvy Gormley and Mrs Roosevelt. For this is a place of refuge housing all our non-conformist values, for Mansfield – for letting us be.

Sporting highlights

Toby Folkes (Materials Science, 2021) Sports & Societies Rep

Football

Sport is thriving at Mansfield, with our students getting involved in many different sporting endeavours. In addition to the activities outlined below, our College is home to several other teams, with rugby, cricket, hockey and tennis all represented. On a more casual level, table tennis and pool also have their devotees, following the purchase of new equipment. Special thanks to Antonio Bonchristiano (PPE, 1984) for his generous support of sport at Mansfield.

Mansfield continues to couple with Merton to form both men’s and women’s football teams (as is the case in many sports). The two teams entered both the league and Cuppers. Unfortunately the women were held back in the league by several injuries, yet still managed to maintain an incredible team spirit. The men finished fourth in the league and reached the quarter-finals of Cuppers, losing to St Hugh’s, who went on to finish second.

Netball

Mansfield Netball Club continued to welcome all players into the team, which entered the mixed college league. Although its performance in the league and Cuppers was limited by numbers of players, the club maintained a great community spirit.

Squash

For the second year running, the MansfieldMerton squash team won both the college league and Cuppers. Termly taster sessions were also held, allowing beginners to try out squash for the first time.

Mansfield Sports Day

One of the sporting highlights of the year was our 2023 sports day, which was held at Merton Sports Ground in June. The day featured a Mansfield versus Merton football match, but also gave many people the chance to try out netball and tennis, while enjoying a barbecue and a charity bake sale.

Badminton

The Mansfield-Merton Badminton Club increased in numbers significantly during the 2022/23 season, with the hall regularly full of players covering all levels of experience at the weekly sessions. The team performed very well in the league, finishing second in division one, but was unfortunately knocked out in the first round of Cuppers.

Mansfield College Boat Club

Imogen Boxall (Human Sciences, 2022)

MCBC is building on a successful 2022/23 season and is excited about the forthcoming year of bumps campaigns, a new crop of novices, and strong work. One of the highlights of last year was the W1 winning blades in Torpids, resulting in a beautiful new chalking sitting proudly on the walls of Mansfield. Summer VIIIs proved to be another successful week of racing, celebrated at the end by VIIIs dinner (to which we warmly welcome alumni every year, to relive their MCBC glory days). We move into the 2023/24 season with a brand-new coaching team on both sides. The first Isis Winter League (IWL) race of the season saw our women taking the spot as fastest on the river and our open side as third fastest.

Blowing our own trumpet

The Mansfield community knows what an inspirational, inclusive College we have. Now, two new teams have been created to proclaim our message far and wide, and to fully support our academic and administrative communities.

The communications team…

Jane Waghorn Head of Communications

Mansfield is known for its progressive ethos, and its contribution to positive change in the world. Nevertheless, our achievements are not as widely reported outside Oxford circles as we might like.

To remedy this, the College has developed a strategy to elevate its profile – which led to my appointment as Mansfield’s first Head of Communications in January 2023. Thanks to generous funding from Jan Fischer (VSP, 1989), a dedicated communications team is now in place, including Communications Officer, Shukria Rezaei who was appointed in 2021/22.

The past 12 months have seen the comms team work hard on creating a consistent look to Mansfield’s brand identity. We have also unveiled the College’s new website, again designed and built with thanks to Jan Fischer’s generous support.

Alongside these major projects, the day job continues. Shukria works her magic in social media, with her creative content often being picked up by the University to share on Oxford’s channels.

But the big story of 2023 was our announcement of the appointment of Professor Matt Cook, the first Jonathan Cooper Chair of the History of Sexualities. This achieved enormous attention in June across print, digital and broadcast media.

…and the HR team

More than a year after the establishment of Mansfield’s new HR department, I reflect on how warmly we have been welcomed into College life and been inspired by the passion and vision of our Governing Body. Our first year was one of listening, learning and, we hope, making progress in the following key areas:

Inclusion – embracing difference

Driving engagement – fostering a culture of integrity and transparency

Recruiting, developing and retaining key talent

Creating an employer brand to be proud of

Investing in reward and recognition.

At the same time, we continue to strive to make Mansfield a great place to work and an environment where our students can thrive.

I am supported by the formidable Emma Steane. Together we have had many laughs, cries, and ‘aha’ moments, but have regrouped to ensure that we deliver an HR service of which our colleagues can be proud.

Our focus as we move into the future is to continue analysing all the good things already in place and, together with our colleagues, find areas for improvement to make our work easier, more efficient and compliant.

Daphne Gasana Head of HR

Shukria Rezaei

Jane Waghorn

Emma Steane (left) and Daphne Gasana (right)

Bonavero Institute of Human Rights and UNESCO

Professor Catherine O’Regan and Dr Christos Kypraios report on a successful partnership promoting public understanding on freedom of expression, access to information and media freedom.

According to our mission statement, one of the purposes of the Bonavero Institute of Human Rights (BIHR) is to ‘share knowledge about the law of human rights with the aim of improving the public understanding of human rights’. Since 2020, we have partnered with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in several projects that foster public understanding and capacity building in the areas of freedom of expression, access to information and media freedom. Between May and July 2023 we delivered our second related Massive Open Online Course (MOOC), and in September 2023 we organised two major events: the Bonavero Institute-UNESCO-FCDO Global Conference for the International Day for Universal Access to Information (IDUAI) 2023; and the Bonavero Institute-UNESCO International Judicial Symposium on Freedom of Expression.

Our second MOOC on freedom of expression and the safety of journalists was offered in seven languages (English, Arabic, Chinese, French, Portuguese, Russian, and Spanish). It built on a previous MOOC that we ran in English in 2021 and was again open to judicial actors from all justice systems, as well as to journalists, academics and other professionals across the world. A total of 8585 people from 170 countries participated in the course, making it the stand-alone programme with the largest participation and furthest reach in geographical, generational and professional terms in the six years of the Institute’s operation – and the biggest MOOC that UNESCO has offered in the ten years of its Judges’ Initiative.

On 28 September, in the Sir Joseph Hotung Auditorium at Mansfield we hosted the IDUAI conference in which we partnered with UNESCO and the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO). The conference theme was ‘The Importance of the Online Space for Access to Information’ and it was attended by Justices and senior judges, information commissioners, leading academics and civil society organisations from across the globe, as well as UNESCO and FCDO officials. The conference led to the adoption of the ‘Oxford Statement on Importance of Access to Information and Digital Connectivity’ (https://www.unesco.org/en/articles/ oxford-statement-importance-access-information-anddigital-connectivity and https://www.gov.uk/government/ news/global-conference-marking-the-international-dayfor-universal-access-to-information-iduai-2023).

The following day, we hosted the International Judicial Symposium on Freedom of Expression in the beautiful surroundings of Mansfield’s Old Hall. Participants included 15 Chief Justices, Justices and high-level judges from the five regions of the world as well as from all regional human rights courts and community courts, with a cumulative jurisdiction of more than four billion people. The symposium served as an important platform for the judges to discuss how to promote and strengthen the rule of law and freedom of expression as key elements of democratic societies.

The Bonavero Institute is grateful to our partners at UNESCO for working with us in enhancing global capacity among judicial and other actors in the fields of freedom of expression, access to information and media freedom.

Catherine O’Regan Director of the Bonavero Institute of Human Rights, Professor of Human Rights Law, and Fellow at Mansfield College.

Bonavero-UNESCO Judicial Symposium

Christos Kypraios Programme Coordinator of the Bonavero-UNESCO projects at the BIHR, and SCR member of Mansfield.

Alumni Relations & Engagement

Here at College, we never fail to be impressed by the remarkable things our alumni go on to achieve in the world. We want to ensure you benefit from being part of Mansfield’s amazing community.

Tess McCormick Development Director

It is vital to the Development team to do all we can to support our former students throughout their whole lives. A key part of our work is helping alumni connect back with Mansfield, with students today and with one another.

In August 2023, we welcomed a new Alumni Relations Officer, Ellie Hutson, taking over from her predecessor, Fran Rigby (Geography, 2018), who has moved on to a new opportunity in London.

Our events in 2022/23 were many and varied. In September 2022, we held a gaudy for 1980-89 alumni jointly with a Mansfield College Alumni Association (MCAA) Dinner, complete with a barnstorming after-dinner speech by the BBC’s (first ever) Climate Correspondent, Justin Rowlatt (PPE, 1984).

In November, students and alumni gathered at College for an evening of impressive legal debate at our Law Moot,

presided over by the Principal and distinguished alumni at the bar: Prashant Popat KC (Jurisprudence, 1987), and the Lord Justice (James) Dingemans (Jurisprudence, 1983). Helpful support came from Joel Semakula (Jurisprudence, 2014) and Tim Storrie KC (English, 1986), and particular thanks go to Mansfield’s Law tutors, Professor Andrew Higgins and Elizabeth Drummond.

March 2023 saw well-attended alumni events at the London Stock Exchange – with thanks to James Pearson (PPE, 1993) for the fantastic venue – and the Oxford University North American Office on Fifth Avenue, New York.

In April, we held a fun 1887 Society Dinner for Mansfield’s Geographers past and present, with a lecture by Professor Susan Parnell from the University of Bristol, followed by dinner with our 1887 Presidents, the Tony Lemon Fellow in Geography, Professor Derek McCormack, and Emeritus

Fellow, Dr Tony Lemon himself.

When summer arrived, we welcomed alumni and their friends and families back to Mansfield for an informal gathering on the Quad with strawberries, cream and tours of College by students, followed soon after by welcoming our newest alumni to the community at our annual Student Leavers’ Celebration.

Look out for exciting new alumni initiatives soon to be announced as part of For Mansfield. Forever. Dates for College events in 2024 are published on the back cover of this magazine.

Thank you for your engagement with Mansfield across the year. We always love hearing your news and welcoming you back to College. We are here to assist in connecting you with former classmates, tutors and Mansfield students today.

Mansfield College Alumni Association updates

Daniel Tarry (Geography, 2011) MCAA President

At the end of the academic year, Mike Walton (English, 1956), then MCAA Secretary, joined the Student Leavers’ Celebration to welcome the latest graduates into the alumni family and present the 2023 John Muddiman Student of the Year awards. Congratulations to Daniel Surrey (History, 2021) and Ji Ma (MLitt Law, 2020) for receiving the JCR and MCR awards respectively.

At our AGM in September 2023, we welcomed back Rebecca Loxton (English, 2011) to the Committee as she was elected Secretary after Mike stepped down from the role. We thank Mike for his hard work and the dedication he has shown in his stint as Secretary over the past few years.

The MCAA Committee works with the College’s Development & Alumni Relations team to keep our 6000-strong global alumni community connected, communicating, and contributing to College life. In this important Campaign year, we are working closely to ensure the alumni voice is heard, and know the College has an exciting programme in the coming year for us all. We are an increasingly younger and more international group and are always keen to welcome new members to ensure we represent a good spread of subjects and matriculation years – either to join the Committee or simply to help reconnect alumni via specific events or communications.

Do contact us at MansfieldCollegeAlumniAssociation @outlook.com to find out more.

Left to right: Student Leavers’ Celebration, Gaudy 2023, Gaudy & MCAA Dinner 2022, Alumni Friends & Family Day

Left to right: London drinks, 1887 Geography Dinner, Law Moot

Where are they now?

Recent news and updates from our worldwide alumni network.

Christodoulos Christodoulou (MSc Clinical Embryology, 2010)

I am an embryologist and lab manager at the world’s largest sperm and egg bank, Cryos International in Cyprus.

Michaela Durrant (Geography, 1997)

After my Geography degree, and a master’s in Demography at LSE, I took up a VSO position in Zambia implementing HIV/AIDS-prevention programmes and evaluating their effectiveness. From there, I drew upon a different aspect of my degree and joined a Zambian NGO where I taught sustainable agricultural practices to subsistence farmers, enhancing resilience to increasingly unpredictable weather patterns. After moving to Australia, I returned to working in health, joining a fledgling breast cancer charity establishing specialist nurses in rural areas. A couple of varied roles later and I am now the Programme Director for a national mental health charity. It’s amazing where Geography can take you!

Ahmed Kerwan (MSc Medical Anthropology, 2017)

Dr Ahmed Kerwan graduated from Mansfield in 2018 before going on to complete his medical training at Guy’s, King’s, and St Thomas’ hospitals in London. He started his career as an academic medical doctor and clinical supervisor at Cambridge University where he published extensively on Covid-19, surgery, and health economics. Ahmed then joined the first NHS-backed venture capital fund as an investor (Clinical Analyst), where he specialised in early-stage healthcare technology. He is currently pursuing a Master of Public Health (MPH)/MBA degree at Harvard on full scholarship.

Donald Norwood (Theology, 1959)

Here I am in Oxford, struggling to write my fourth book, ‘Just Jesus and me?’ raising big questions about excessive individualism among Christians in a world that needs more communal help. Thanks to Mansfield connections, I also have three books published on Karl Barth, Vatican II, and Democracy, as well as chapters in another three OUP books. But alas, none is a bestseller so I must make the most of my pension!

Robert Porrer (French & German, 1963)

After a career in marketing and HR followed by managing careers and student services in polytechnics and universities in England, Scotland and New Zealand, my retirement has brought activity concerned with helping young people (especially the disadvantaged) make the transition from education to employment: as a school governor, Chair of My Cambridge (the local cultural education partnership for Cambridge city), and advisor to a local social enterprise. I am also playing a major part in the £3.5m development of a URC church in central Cambridge.

Daniel Seiderer (MBA, 2007)

After several years with PA Consulting and Accenture, I now work for Infosys Consulting based in Munich. The current generative artificial intelligence (AI) hype around ChatGPT keeps me busy, as helping our clients get the most value out of AI and enabling them to transform into AI First organisations (which put AI at the core of business strategy and operations) is exactly what I’m specialised in. Besides work, I enjoy the outdoors and try to spend as much time running, cycling, and sailing as possible.

Rhian Sherrington (Geography, 1988) FRSA, MSc

I’m founder of the global Women in Sustainability Network (https://womeninsustainability.net), resourcing women to flourish and lead the green transition. I’ve written two books on confidence and career transition, and I coach would-be impact-led professionals through their career transitions. I live close to the sea in Swansea with my husband and teenage son and daughter, plus our Welsh Sheepdog.

Anna Turskaya (Materials Science, 2008)

After reading for Materials Science at Mansfield, I obtained another master’s degree at Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Technology & Policy. I then started working at the World Bank, looking at public sector support for science and innovation for international development. I recently got married to a lovely Frenchman in Paris and we have moved to Doha for two years. If any fellow alumni pass by, please feel free to let me know!

Spotted in the news

Alumni making headlines.

Torsten Bell (PPE, 2002)

Torsten is Chief Executive of the Resolution Foundation, a think-tank focused on improving living standards for those on low incomes. In September 2023, he was named the UK’s tenth most powerful left-wing figure by the New Statesman.

Sir Chris Bryant MP (English, 1980)

Chris, a member of the Shadow Cabinet and Chair of the Committee on Standards and Privileges, has recently published Code of Conduct: Why we need to fix Parliament. He was knighted in 2023.

Rt Hon John Glen MP (History, 1993)

John was appointed Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office in November 2023. He was Mansfield’s JCR President in 1995 and comments that he has always been ‘very well disposed towards my old college’.

Guy Hands (PPE, 1978)

Bancroft Fellow Guy Hands has announced his retirement from private equity firm Terra Firma, which he founded in 2002. We hope to celebrate this landmark with Guy and his wife Julia at Mansfield’s Hands Lecture in May 2024.

Yolande Knell (English, 1994)

Yolande is a BBC Middle East Correspondent and has been reporting on the Palestine-Israel conflict in Gaza.

Munira Mirza (English, 1996)

After working as Director of the Number 10 Policy Unit, Munira founded a not-for-profit company called HENI Talks, which aims to make art more accessible. In December 2023, HENI released NFT: WTF?, a documentary about non-fungible tokens (NFTs) in contemporary art.

Justin Rowlatt (PPE, 1984)

Justin is the BBC’s Climate Editor, and most recently was in Dubai to report on COP 28.

Joseph Seddon (PPE, 2015)

Joe is founder of Zero Gravity, a technology company that helps students from low-opportunity backgrounds. He was Tech Entrepreneur of the Year 2023 and won the SE100 Leadership Award.

Dhruti Shah (English, 2000)

Dhruti is an award-winning journalist, producer and storyteller. In 2023, she launched a podcast entitled Have You Thought About That… about how to pursue a passion. It has been shortlisted in the International Women’s Podcast Awards 2023.

Mustafa Suleyman (Philosophy & Theology, 2002)

Mustafa is co-founder of Inflection AI. In 2023, he was named by The Times as one of the 100 most influential people in artificial intelligence (AI). His book, The Coming Wave: AI, Power and the Twenty-First Century’s Greatest Dilemma, was a Sunday Times book of the year.

Spotted a Mansfield alum in the news or been featured yourself? We’d love to hear from you! Contact us on: development@mansfield.ox.ac.uk

Joseph Seddon

Our supporters

We give our sincere thanks to the 607 people who have made donations to Mansfield in the last financial year (1 August 2022 to 31 July 2023), including those who have chosen to remain anonymous. We are so grateful to you for your generous support. We would like to give particular thanks and recognition to the members of the Sarah Glover Society, the 56 alumni and friends who have chosen to leave a gift in their will to Mansfield.

We also thank members of:

The Bancroft Fellowship

Mr Antonio Bonchristiano (PPE, 1984)

The late Revd Dr Charles Brock (Theology, 1967)

Mr Jan Fischer (VSP, 1989)

Mr Chris Foster (Mathematics, 1997)

Mr Guy Hands (PPE, 1978) and Mrs Julia Hands MBE

The late Sir Joseph Hotung

Mr William Jackson (Geography, 1983)

Mr Harry Leventis

Mr Alastair McBain (Oriental Studies, 1974)

Dr Lisbet Rausing and Professor Peter Baldwin

Sir Paul Ruddock (Jurisprudence, 1977)

The Mansfield Court

Mr Anthony Dewell (Mathematics, 2002)

Mr Matthew Keats (Geography, 1989)

Mr and Mrs JA Pye’s Charitable Settlement Schmidt Futures

Mr Bob Skelly (English, 1965)

Mr Timothy Throsby (Jurisprudence, 2009)

Mr John Willis (Geography, 1980)

The Wolfson Foundation

Guardians

A B Charitable Trust (The Bonavero Family Charitable Foundation)

Mr John Caird

Mr Roger Finbow (Jurisprudence, 1971)

Mr Giles Harrison (Geography, 1986)

Mrs Kathleen Russ (History, 1986)

Mr Stephen Sayers (History, 1972)

The Fairbairn Society Professor Robert Adams (Theology, 1959)

Mr David Bailey KC (Jurisprudence, 1984)

Mr Richard Baker (Maths, 1980)

Mr Sean Beck (Geography, 2001)

Professor Jocelyn Bell Burnell FRS

Mr Nick Chism (Theology, 1987) and Mrs Deborah Chism (Jurisprudence, 1987)

The Council of Lutheran Churches

Mr David Elsbury OBE

Mr Toby Gosnall (Engineering, 1989)

Mrs Sarah Harkness (PPE, 1980) and Mr Peter Harkness

Mr Steve Harris (Jurisprudence, 1982)

Mr Rhys Hedges and the late Mrs Jillian Hedges

Mr Yang-Wahn Hew (History, 1997)

Mr James Hopkins (History, 1978)

Mr Ian Howard (Jurisprudence, 1974)

Mr Robin Ketteridge (Geography, 1984)

Mr Jason Klein (VSP, 1988)

Mr Donald Macdonald (English, 1984)

Mr Steven Paull (Jurisprudence, 1974)

Mr James Pearson (PPE, 1993)

Mr Philip Rattle (English, 1984)

Mr Noel Reilly (Jurisprudence, 1978)

Mr Juan Sabater (VSP, 1984)

Mr Martyn Scrivens (Jurisprudence, 1975)

Mr Jonathan Steinberg (VSP, 1988)

Mr Matthew Tipper (Geography, 1983)

Mr Michael Walls (PPE, 1988)

Mr Carl Vine (PPE, 1994)

Alumni donors

1951

Revd Anthony Tucker

1959

Revd John Muir

Mr Victor O’Connell

Revd Dr Harold Tonks

1960

Revd Peter Moth

Revd Robert Scribbins

1961

Revd Robert Blows

Mr George Carcagno

Revd Anthony Coates

Professor John Creaser

Mr Richard Hill

1962

Mr Michael Burman

Mr Antony Payn

Revd Donald Rudalevige

1963

Revd George Agar

Mr Andrew Daykin

Dr Kenneth Parker

Mr Robert Porrer

The late Mr David Reston

Mr Robert Smith

Mr John Thorndyke

1964

Mr Roy Foster

Revd Stephen Haine

The late Mr Anthony Lunch

1965

Revd Dr Thomas Best

Revd Dr Noel Davies

Professor Jeffery Hearn

Dr Fisher Humphreys

Mr Keith Lock

Revd Julian Macro

The late Mr David Parry

1966

Mr John Cooper

Dr John Dorrell

Mr Peter Froebel

Mr Christopher Hayman

Mr Ralph Holmes

His Honour Paul Worsley

KC

1967

Mr Sidney Blankenship

Mr Gregory Bowden

Mr Paul Jay

Mr Peter Johnson

Mr Malcolm Levi

Revd Dr Roy Long

Professor Frank

Woodward

1968

Mr Geoffrey Bott

Mr Michael Harris

Dr Dabney Townsend Jr

1969

Mrs Kathryn Compston

1970

Dr Philip Aylett

Mr John Bell

Revd David Ivorson

Mr Roger Jackson

Revd Dr Arnold Klukas

Revd John Landon

Dr Robert Lively

Mr Charles Long

Mr Jonathan Rooper

Mr Stephen Sheedy

Mr Peter Wastnedge

Dr Jonathan Wild

1971

Dr Douglas Connor

Mr John Higgs

Mr Stewart Rutter

Dr Doug Stange

1972

Professor Eric Lund

Mr Craig Nelson

Professor Homer Rogers

Mr Stephen Sayers

1973

Mr Jonathan Arkush OBE

Mr Richard O’Sullivan

Mr Martin Stott

1974

Mr William Annandale

Mr Andrew Eastgate

Mr Ian Howard

Mr Alastair McBain

Mr Stephen Maguire

Mr Ian Neville

Mr Steven Paull

1975

Mr David Bailey

Mr Ian Davison

Mr Chris Frewer

Mr Simon Gregory

Mr Charles Linaker

Mr Simon Morrow

Mr Martyn Scrivens

The late Mr Gordon Woods

1976

Mr Crispin Barker

Mr Sean Crane

Mr Philip Dean

Mr Kent Kildahl

Mr Hugh Purkiss

Mr Robert Wakely

1977

Mr Chris Jenkins

Mr Jonathan Wells

1978

Mr Timothy Booth

Revd Richard Church

Mr Antony Cook

Mr Simon Dolan

Mr Guy Hands and Mrs

Julia Hands MBE

Mr Philip Jemielita

The Honorable George

Krol

Mr Colin Sedgewick

Mr Steven Thomas

Mr Lindsay Thompson

Mr John Williams

Revd Richard Wolff

1979

Mr Bashir Ahmed

Mr Mark Beardwood

Mr Andrew Cannons

Mr Martin Christensen

Mr Martin Clemmey

Mrs Patricia Dean

Professor Glenn Holland

Mr Michael Ingledow

Mr Gavin Prosser

Mr Martin Riley

Mr Peter Vickers

1980

Mr Gregg Ainsworth

Mr Richard Baker

Mrs Sarah Harkness and

Mr Peter Harkness

Mr Mark Jones

Mr Henry Kopel

Mr Paul Midwinter

Mr Paul Palmarozza

Mr Michael Russell

Mr Ric Sims

Mr Timothy Waters

1981

Mr Nigel Clarke

Mrs Melanie Clemmey

Miss Jane Coughlin

Mrs Melinda Cripps

Mr Geraint Rees

Mr Paul Vine

1982

Mr Adrian Flook

Mr Rolf Howarth

Mr Richard Klein

Revd Iain McLaren

Mr Sean Moriarty

Mr David Testa

Mr John Weston

1983

Mr Yogesh Bhagat

Mrs Lisa De Silva

The Rt Hon Lord Justice

Dingemans

Ms Gill Duddy

Mr Saul Jones

Mr Daniel Pollick

Kate Thomas

Mr Matthew Tipper

1984

Mr Brian Ashe

Mr David Bailey KC

Mr Antonio

Bonchristiano

Mr Andrew Davies

Revd Peter Elliot

Mr Timothy Harris

Mr Andrew Hurst

Mr Robin Ketteridge

Ms Elyse Kunz

Revd William MacKinnon

Mr Robert Mison

Mr Juan Sabater

Ms Fiona Southern

1985

Revd John Bremner

Mr Michael Holyoake

Mr Douglas Jeffery

Mr Trevor Jones

Mr Stephen Pollard

Mrs Jane Roberts

Ms Jaee Samant CBE

Mrs Veronica Williams

1986

Mr Giles Atkinson

Dr Charles Carter

Ms Alexandra Clark

Mr Jon Fish

Ms Diana Glassman

Ms Sally Mason

Mr Daniel Nestel

Dr Matthew Scott

Mr Timothy Storrie KC

Mr Andrew Willman

1987

Ms Alison Aylen

Mrs Deborah Chism

Mr Nick Chism

Mr Richard Darby

Dr David Kieff

Mr Brian Millar

Mr Richard Morrison

Revd Sandra Pickard

1988

Ms Lisa Baglin

Mr Timothy Burroughs

Dr James DeCarli

Mr Simon Jones

Mr Jason Klein

Ms Catherine McClen

Mr Jonathan Steinberg

Dr Richard Underhill

Mr Michael Walls

Mr Stewart Wilkinson

1989

Mr Neil Elton

Mr Jan Fischer

Mr Toby Gosnall

Mr Matthew Keats

Mr Andrew Moulton

Dr Toby Purser

Miss Frances Reynolds

1990

Mr Angelo Basu

Mrs Nicola Cathery

Ms Joanna Jameson

Mr Joseph Nuttall

Revd Professor Simon

Oliver

Mr Duncan Ruckledge

1991

Dr Paul Deslandes

Mrs Kathryn Flanders

Dr Edward Goodwin

Mrs Shevaun Haviland

Mr Thomas Joyce

Ms Gill Kirk

Mr Thomas Lacy

Mr Daneree Lambeth

Mr Keith Powell

Obituaries

We have a new page on our website where obituaries are published in full: https://www.mansfield.ox.ac.uk/news/obituaries. Below are summaries.

Peter Betts, CB, CBE

HISTORY, 1978 1959-2023

I met Pete on our first day at Mansfield in October 1978. We would become friends for 45 years until he died aged 64 in October 2023.

Pete was a warm, funny man with a taste for relentless self-mockery. A highlight of his time at Mansfield was organising two cabarets of music, comedy and dance.

After Oxford, Pete joined the civil service fast stream, eventually specialising in climate change. For six years he was lead negotiator for both the UK and the EU. Pete’s crowning achievement came at COP 21 in Paris in 2015, which resulted in the Paris Agreement. As former Conservative Environment Secretary, Lord Deben, said at his funeral, Paris would not have happened without Pete and a handful of others.

Pete was diagnosed with a brain tumour in March 2022. He met his diagnosis with typical humour and honesty and turned it into an opportunity to spend time with his wife Fiona, deepen his many friendships and write a book. He is survived by Fiona, his parents and his sister Susan.

Jules

Birch (English, 1978)

Robert Ward Jackson

GEOGRAPHY, 1974 1956-2023

Robert Ward Jackson, a graduate of Mansfield in Geography, died on 17 April 2023. After College, Robert trained as an accountant and pursued a career in corporate finance. In July 1978, he married Caroline, and together raised their children, Annabel and Matthew. They later welcomed four granddaughters. Robert maintained connections with his Mansfield contemporaries, many of whom attended the Service of Thanksgiving held to honour his memory. He will be fondly remembered and deeply missed by family, friends, and colleagues.

Caroline Jackson

Mason Lowance

ENGLISH, 1961 1938-2022

Mason Lowance, who died at Atlanta, Georgia, on 15 August 2022 after a distinguished career as an American academic, was one of Mansfield’s most devoted sons.

Having majored in English & Religion at Princeton in 1960, he did a second BA in English Language & Literature at Mansfield, before completing a doctorate at Emory University in 1967. He then spent some 50 years teaching American literature for the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. His prolific career, initially focusing on Puritanism, later on slavery and abolitionism, included 13 books.

Mansfield was always dear to him: his almost annual visits were times of celebration. He became a generous supporter of the College, endowing annual prizes in English named after the 1960s tutors he remembered.

Mason is survived by his wife, Susan, their two daughters and two grandsons.

John Creaser, Emeritus Fellow in English

Susan and Mason Lowance

Robert Arthur Burns

LECTURER IN HISTORY, 1988-92 1963-2023

Arthur was a dedicated and conscientious tutor, who taught Modern British History at Mansfield between 1988 and 1992. He had been an undergraduate and graduate student at Balliol, but quickly became attached to Mansfield and enthusiastic about its educational ethos.

Arthur moved to King’s College London in 1992, eventually serving as Head of Department. He was also on the governing council of the Royal Historical Society, chaired the Higher Education Committee of the Historical Association, and was President of the Church of England Record Society.

Arthur was quietly ambitious, fiercely hardworking, and intellectually both remarkably quick and thoughtful. He might protest, but he was an inspiring person: a model of kindness and intellect combined. He was much loved and will be much missed.

Arthur was devoted to his family. Our thoughts are with them, especially with Sarah Stockwell and their three children.

David Leopold, Associate Professor of Political Theory, and John Milton Fellow

MST MODERN BRITISH & EUROPEAN HISTORY, 2011

Tom matriculated in 2008 at St Hilda’s. He was as much the life and soul of library study breaks there as college bops, which he often attended wearing a crocodile onesie. He graduated with a first in History and made many friends to whom he remained close.

He then completed an Mst at Mansfield, a year which he much enjoyed.

Tom died in a road traffic accident on 11 September 2022, aged 32.

Jessica Ferguson

Charles Brock

COLLEGE CHAPLAIN, 1965-98 1935-2023

The loss of the Reverend Charles Brock, on 1 November 2023 was felt keenly at Mansfield.

For so many at College, it is hard to remember a time when Charles was not part of our community: arriving to study for his MLitt Theology in 1967. Even then, I imagine his unending enthusiasm, vivacious personality and intellectual curiosity marked him out as extraordinary.

It is with great affection that we remember his many roles at Mansfield: postgraduate student; Chaplain; Theological Fellow; Director of Ministerial Education; member of the College Finance Committee; SCR Steward; Bancroft Fellow; and doubtless others unrecorded.

Charles and his late wife Carolyn, who for many years was Director of the Mansfield Choir, were a central part of the College community. As Professor Michael Freeden recalls (in Mansfield: Portrait of an Oxford College):

‘Charles Brock [was] a colourful and liberal Chaplain, who epitomised the atmosphere of change in his spiritual generosity and mischievous sense of humour.’

Mansfield will miss Charles greatly and we extend our deepest sympathy to his widow Mary, and all his family. Helen Mountfield KC, Principal

Tom Leece

1990-2022

Daniel Premaseelan Niles

THEOLOGY, 1960 1937-2023

Dr D Preman Niles died on 3 August 2023 in Beckenham. Preman was born on 5 April 1937 in Jaffna, Sri Lanka. Like his father (and his daughter), he dedicated his life to service as a theologian, scholar and teacher. For 59 years, Preman was a loving husband to Sherina, who predeceased him. He was also a wonderful father to Damayanthi, Radhika and Dharman.

Damayanthi Niles, Radhika Niles and Dharman Niles

Zahir Jamal

ENGLISH, 1968 1950-2023

Zahir Jamal died suddenly at his Florida home on 29 June 2023. Born in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, Zahir attended school in England. He read English at Mansfield, graduating with a first. He had fond memories of College and enjoyed being part of its close community. While at Mansfield he met Janet (St Hugh’s), and they were married by George Caird in the Chapel in 1973. After a brief stint teaching at Nottingham University, Zahir moved to New York embarking on a 25-year career with the United Nations Development Programme and producing a series of Arab Human Development Reports. He will be remembered as a gifted writer, but above all, as a kind, generous friend. He is survived by his wife, Janet; two daughters, Leila and Hanna; and two granddaughters, Mina Lou and Sula Joan.

In memoriam

Jan Womer PRINCIPAL OF MANSFIELD, 1986-1988 1939-2023

Read the full obituary at: https://obituaries.tridentsociety. com/obituaries/rancho-mirage-ca/ jan-womer-11368445.

Adrian (Jon) Blanchard ENGLISH, 1972 1953-2022

Alan Dyson

Beloved husband of Dr Janet Dyson, Emeritus Fellow in Mathematics.

Marion Heath

Mother of David Heath (English, 1992).

To leave a message in memory of Zahir, please visit www.zahirjamal.com

Janet Jamal

Anthony (Tony) Lunch GEOGRAPHY, 1964 1945-2022

Read the full obituary at: https:// www.mansfield.ox.ac.uk/memoriamanthony-lunch-1945-2022.

Robert Cecile MacAulay THEOLOGY, 1986 1940-2023

Gregory Shaffer DIP THEOLOGY, 1969 1947-2021

Read the full obituary at: https:// www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/ venice/name/gregory-shafferobituary?id=30486982.

Gordon Woods GEOGRAPHY, 1975 1955-2022

Read the full obituary at: https:// www.mansfield.ox.ac.uk/memoriamgordon-woods.

College and University prizes 2022/23

Scholarships

James Allen (History)

Matthew An (Mathematics)

Arianne Banks (Law with Law Studies in Europe)

James Bennett (Materials Science)

Matthew Bowen (Theology & Religion)

Freya Buckley (English Language & Literature)

Liam Connolly (Philosophy, Politics & Economics)

Matthew Coulson (Materials Science)

Oliver Elliot-Williams (Theology & Religion)

Yihang Fang (Geography)

Alex Fisher (Physics)

Lizzy Flaherty (Theology & Religion)

Toby Folkes (Materials Science)

Holly Freed (Engineering Science)

Kate French (Philosophy, Politics & Economics)

Ilina Georgieva (Law with Law Studies in Europe)

Akram Ghauri (Asian & Middle Eastern Studies)

Ittihad Hasib (Mathematics)

Rhiannon Hawkins (Geography)

Andrew Huang (Physics)

Maxwell Huddart (Physics)

Russell Indradjaja (Materials Science)

George Jandu (Physics)

Karol Janiuk (History)

Kian Jepson (Jurisprudence)

Nicholas Joinson (Materials Science)

Ellie Jones (Jurisprudence)

Wiktor Kepa (English Language & Literature)

Larissa Koerber (Law with Law Studies in Europe)

Filip Kulas (Engineering Science)

Norris Lam (Mathematics)

Eleanor Luxton (Geography)

Wiktoria Malota (Engineering Science)

Gellért Miklossy (Asian & Middle Eastern Studies)

Morgan Miller (History)

Finn Prout (Human Sciences)

Nikolai Ramage (Philosophy & Theology)

Mukesh Ramanathan (Mathematics)

Olivia Ransome (English Language & Literature)

Rosanna Roskilly (Materials Science)

Ellen Salter (Physics)

Henry Saunders (Mathematics)

Eireann Staunton (Geography)

Mateusz Szewc (Engineering Science)

Josh Treacy (Theology & Religion)

Jia Wan (Physics)

Toby Whelton (History)

Max Winterbottom (Philosophy, Politics & Economics)

Leo Yue (Physics)

Hanwen Zhang (Engineering Science)

Qingyang Zhang (Physics)

Exhibitions

Zahra Ahmad (Geography)

Lauren Aitken (Mathematics)

Hana Andari (English Language & Literature)

Aleksander Bosek (Mathematics)

Catherine Cruickshank (Human Sciences)

George Dean (Philosophy, Politics & Economics)

Davis Duka (Jurisprudence)

Emma Francis (History)

Grace Hind (Philosophy, Politics & Economics)

Alex Hopkins-McQuillan (English Language & Literature)

Habiba Khan (Geography)

Shastikk Kumaran (Jurisprudence)

Annabelle Leivers (Asian & Middle Eastern Studies)

Julia Males (English Language & Literature)

Esma Maloumi (History)

Anna Monger (Mathematics)

Debbie Ogunsanwo (English Language & Literature)

Katerina Panesova (Mathematics)

Afsah Rasool (Jurisprudence)

Dolly Richardson (Geography)

Hasnain Sumar (Theology & Religion)

Edward Turner (Mathematics & Statistics)

Jiahe Zhu (Mathematics & Statistics)

College prizes

Kwabena Osei-Boateng Engineering Science Prize

Anyu Shan

Mason Lowance Prize in memory of Malcolm Parkes for best performance in English Language & Literature mods

Jo Lewis

Mason Lowance Prize in honour of John Creaser for best performance in English Language & Literature second-year work

Olivia Ransome

Mason Lowance Prize in memory of Stephen Wall for best performance in English Language & Literature finals (shared)

Hana Andari

Anna Studsgarth

Henty Prize for outstanding second-year work in Geography

Habiba Khan

David and Judith Marquand History Prize

Andrew Jackson

Mahony Prize for most commendable second-year performance in History

Faye Oldfield-Woods

Simon Calhaem Scholarship for Law Kian Jepson

Anthony Bradley Prize for most commendable second-year performance in Law

Ajay Mehta-Graham

Worsley Prize for Law

Winnie Wang

John Sykes Prize for best Part I Materials results

Sirui Liu

Adam Monk Scholarship for Mathematics

Kira Patel

Bob Coates Prize for Mathematics

Norris Lam

David and Judith Marquand PPE Prize Max Festenstein

Andrew Olive Prize for Economics (shared)

George Dean

Kate French

Lynda Patterson Scholarship for best prelims distinction performance in Theology & Religion or Philosophy & Theology

Mia Norman

Horton Davies Prize for best second-year work in Theology

Josh Treacy

Grenader Family Visiting Student Prizes

Tianli Liang (Michaelmas 2022)

Dan Levine (Hilary 2023)

Calvin Heit (Trinity 2023)

Grenader Family Visiting Student Prize overall 2022/23

Huiting Xiang

Sarah and Peter Harkness Prize

Max Festenstein

Sarah and Peter Harkness Bursary

Thomas Chamberlain

Gabriel Lazar

Emily Suter

University prizes

Worshipful Company of Ironmongers’ Prize for best presentation on Materials Science Part II project

Nicholas Joinson

Armourers & Brasiers’ Company

Medal & Prize for best Materials Science Part II project

Nicholas Joinson

Department of Materials Annual Prize for the most significant improvement between Part I & Part II

Nicholas Joinson

TATA Steel Prize for best team design project in Materials Science

Rowan Burford

Gibbs Prize for group project presentations in Physics

Leidun Zhang

Commendation for practical work in Part A in Physics

Qingyang Zhang

Law Faculty Prize in Dissertations

Katharina Neumann

Volterra Fietta Prize in International Dispute Settlement

Katharina Neumann

Clifford Chance (Proxime Accessit) for the second-best performance in the MJur

Yitong Zhou

John House Prize for performance in prelims (Proxime Accessit) in Geography

Kiran S/O Kasinathan

Examination results 2022/23

2022

MASTER OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION

Distinction Oliver Davies

Distinction Hunter Salem

Pass Yoshiaki Hori

Pass Nick Pinidiya

Pass Supreet Virk

MASTER OF PHILOSOPHY

International Relations

Pass Clay Graubard

2023

DOCTORATE (DPHIL)

Engineering Science

Wesley Data

Oliwier Melon

English

Victoria Roskams

Industrially Focused

Mathematical Modelling

John Fitzgerald

Alexandru Puiu

Yu Tian

Arkady Wey

Materials

Christopher Doerrer

Yatir Linden

Sabrina Wang

Mathematics

Karel Devriendt

Nadav Gropper

Blas Kolic

Joe Scull

Oriental Studies

Manon Schutz

Physics

Juan Rafael Alvarez

Velasquez

Piotr Bargiela

George Gill

Zhiying Li

John Wilkinson

Plant Sciences

Changsong Ri

Politics

Leonardo Carella

Psychiatry

Daria Jensen

Statistics

Robert Hu

Theology

Yashua Bhatti

Blake Trimble

MASTER OF SCIENCE BY RESEARCH

Engineering

Sophie Lekas

Wenye Ouyang

Materials

Leon Tannesia

BACHELOR OF CIVIL LAW

Distinction Han Yang Goh

Distinction Luca Montag

Merit Ananya Jain

Merit Aparajito Sen

MAGISTER JURIS

Distinction Yitong Zhou

MASTER OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION

Executive Master of Business Administration

Pass Mariana Guber

MASTER OF ENGINEERING

Engineering

Class I Filip Kulas

Class IIi James Bingham

Class IIi Mateusz Szewc

Class IIi Di Wan

Materials

Class IIi Russell

Indradjaja

Class IIi Nathan Walemba

Graduands walking outside the Chapel

MASTER OF MATHEMATICS

Mathematics

Pass Flora Walker

Mathematics & Statistics

Distinction Edward Turner

Distinction Jiahe Zhu

MASTER OF PHILOSOPHY

Economics

Distinction Cenyu Zhang

Merit Jay Faris

English Studies

Pass Abigail Stevens

History

Pass Adyan Sharda

Modern Middle Eastern Studies

Merit Insiya Raja

MASTER OF PHYSICS

Class I Alexander Fisher

Class I Andrew Huang

Class I Jia Wan

Class IIi Ellen Salter

MASTER OF PUBLIC POLICY

Merit James Morrison

Merit Michael Ng

Pass Samia Mehraj

Pass Shiloh

Sumanthiran

Pass Hui Xiao

MASTER OF SCIENCE

Biodiversity, Conservation & Management

Pass Ebenezer

Dariye

Pass Josephine

Ewoma

Evidence-Based Social Intervention & Policy Evaluation

Merit Kimberley Kudwoli

Mathematical & Computational Finance

Distinction Zijiu Lyu

Merit Viktor Boutros

Pass Jingjun Chen

Pass Gengyu Wang

Mathematical Modelling & Scientific Computing

Merit Zella Baig

Merit Chloe Bernard

Mathematics & Foundations of Computer Science

Merit Katherine Molinet

Merit Samuel Novák

Medical Anthropology

Distinction Gaia Campanelli

Merit Bwalya Mulenga

Merit Zachary Scott

Nature, Society & Environmental Governance

Distinction Kiera Alventosa

Refugee & Forced Migration Studies

Merit Md Tarik

Morshed

Social Science of the Internet

Distinction Albi Nani

Merit Katherine Crowley

Merit Julian Hazell

Merit Rebecca Stringer

Statistical Science

Distinction Megan Andrews

Merit Tiancheng Liu

Merit Jessica Rapson

DPhil Graduands outside the Sheldonian

Sustainability, Enterprise & the Environment

Pass Obaid Ashraf

Shah

MASTER OF STUDIES

English

Distinction Eira Murphy

Merit Olivia Wrafter

Pass Caitlin Grills

Global & Imperial History

Distinction Jeremy Salkeld

History

Distinction Maritsa Tsioupra

Lewis

Merit Natalya

Robinson

Merit Meriel Smithson

Pass Eliott Thompson

POSTGRADUATE CERTIFICATE IN EDUCATION

Pass Muriel Berthalon

Pass Paddy Fung

BACHELOR OF ARTS

English

Class I Hana Andari

Class I Anna Studsgarth

Class IIi Abbie Bradley

Class IIi Chantale Davies

Class IIi Molly Drayton

Class IIi Alexander

Hopkins

McQuillan

Class IIi Wiktor Kepa

Class IIi Isabelle Kershaw

Halliwell

Class IIi Kian Kingsley

Geography

Class I Yihang Fang

Class IIi

Class IIi

Melissa

Greenough

Emma Ramsay

Class IIi Euan Vosper

History

Class I Joseph Emmens

Class I Emma Francis

Class I

Mamie Michael

Class I Tobias Whelton

Class IIi

Jessica

De Marco

Class IIi Karol Janiuk

Class IIi Cormac Malone

Class IIi Catrin Phillips

Human Sciences

Class I Finn Prout

Class IIi Max Harrison

Class IIi Amelia Mills

Jurisprudence

Class IIi

Class IIi

Joshua Chima

Rebecca

Nomafo

Class IIi Mikolaj

Pasternak

Mathematics

Class IIi Daniel Maloney

Class IIii Alice Armes

Class IIii Alexander Young

Mathematics & Statistics

Class IIi

Konstantinos

Adamopoulos

Philosophy, Politics & Economics

Class I

Liam Connolly

Class I Freya

Pierrepoint

Class IIi Isabella Godley

Class IIi

Class IIi

Class IIi

Physics

Class IIi

Rebecca Horne

Ellie Scyner

Max

Winterbottom

Leyton Zhang

Theology & Religion

Class IIi

Class IIi

Class IIi

Matthew Bowen

Lizzy Flaherty

Kirsty Maylin

DIPLOMA IN LEGAL STUDIES

Pass Capucine Cusin

Pass Mirabelle De Lassus

Saint-Geniès

UNCLASSIFIED HONOURS

Engineering Science (Part B)

Class IIi Robert Brucal

Class IIi Eva Hassan

Class IIi Wiktoria Malota

Class IIi Evan Marlow

Class IIii Ahnaf Farabi

Materials Science (Part 1)

Honours Pass Aryan Dixit

Mathematics (Part B)

Class IIi Aleksander Bosek

Class IIi Deepak Ganger

Physics (Part B)

Class I Maxwell Huddart

Class I Ellie O’ Brien

Class I Leo Yue

Class IIi Hatam Barma

Class IIi Archie Smedley

MODERATIONS

Jurisprudence

Pass Lottie Gaylard

Pass Itsoghena Oyedeji

Pass Lowis Sanders

PRELIMINARY EXAMINATIONS

Asian & Middle Eastern Studies

Pass Nadia Zouaoui

English

Pass Tomi Ajinomoh

Pass Molly

Cartwright

Geography Pass Luke Jordan

Wass

History

Distinction Sam Hudspith

Distinction Andrew Jackson

Distinction Emily Jenkins Pass Jamie Boachie

Pass Faye Oldfield

Woods Pass Orli Wilkins

Human Sciences

Distinction Imogen Boxall

Pass Jasmine Yang

Materials Science

Pass Oliver Guilfoyle

Pass Zixuan Yang

Mathematics

Distinction Kira Patel

Pass Kirsten Attfield

Pass Thomas

Chamberlain

Pass Ashmi Deb

Pass Colin Shen

Philosophy, Politics & Economics

Pass Eric Balonwu

Pass Isabel

Luetchford

Physics

Pass Jerry Cao

Pass Shantanu Kale

Pass Nick Ni

Pass Tomas Wade

Pass Angela Wan

Pass Chen Zhang

Theology & Religion

Distinction Hester Edwards

Pass Hannah Simpson

Upcoming events in 2024

April

Thursday 25: Alumni London drinks

May

Thursday 23: Alumni New York drinks

Friday 31: The Hands Lecture 2024

June

Tuesday 11: Student Leavers’ Celebration

Saturday 22: Summer Celebration

Upcoming gaudies

Saturday 28 Sept 2024:

Gaudy for 2000-09 matriculands

2025: Gaudy for 2010-19 matriculands

2025: Gaudy for 1969 and previous matriculands

2026: Gaudy for 1970-79 matriculands

2026: Gaudy for 1980-89 matriculands

Public talks and named lectures

Every Friday at 5.30pm during term time, Mansfield hosts a ‘Public talks’ lecture series. Entry is free and all are welcome.

Many of these talks are available on our YouTube channel, with permission from the speakers. So, if you can’t be with us in person, you can still catch them at a time that suits you, wherever you are in the world.