CAMBRIDGE
IN
AMERICA NEWSLETTER
REPRESENTING THE COLLEGIATE UNIVERSITY ISSUE 21 AUTUMN 2011
Americans at Cambridge Engage in the Universityʼs Strategic Initiatives
A key component of Vice-Chancellor Sir Leszek Borysiewicz’s agenda for the University is the launch and forward progress of a number of interdisciplinary University Strategic Initiatives. (For details about each of these Strategic Research Initiatives, go to www.cam.ac.uk/research/about/). As in much of Cambridge’s landmark research over the past century, the make-up of Cambridge’s current research cadre is notably global and cosmopolitan, including a number of Americans in Cambridge who are playing key roles in these University Strategic Initiatives. Here are seven of them:
Andrea Brand (Neuroscience/Stem Cells), Herchel Smith* Professor of Molecular Biology at the Wellcome Trust / Cancer UK Gurdon Institute and the Department of Physiology, Development and Neuroscience. Prof. Brand grew up in the US (her father was an economist at the United Nations) and was inspired to become a molecular biologist by American-at-Cambridge researcher Rosalind Franklin (in 2006 Prof. Brand won the UK Royal Society’s Rosalind Franklin award for excellence in science, engineering, or technology). She went from New York City’s UN International School directly to Oxford (Brasenose College) as an undergraduate, and then to Cambridge, in the Medical Research Council’s Laboratory of Molecular Biology, earning her PhD at King’s. Dr. Brand did postdoctoral research at Harvard, moving from biochemistry to neurobiology in Harvard Medical School’s Genetics Department. She then returned to Cambridge where she established her research lab, and was named a Fellow of the Royal Society in 2010; Prof. Brand is also a Fellow of Jesus College. Her research team conducts pioneering work on the tiny brains of Drosophila fruit flies, seeking to learn how genes are regulated throughout life and how to manipulate cells to divide, regenerate, and self-renew, producing – or killing, as the case may be – the right neural stem cell at the right place at the right time. At Harvard she began developing an ingenious tool-kit – “a flygeneticist’s Swiss Army knife,” one scientist has called it – which is still at the heart of her work. As noted in a 2008 Lancet profile, her research “has the potential to help develop therapies for neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson’s.” (*Herchel Smith, organic chemist and philanthropist, Emmanuel alumnus, longtime resident of the Philadelphia area, and one of Cambridge’s most generous benefactors, endowed Prof. Brand’s chair).
INSIDE
Americans at Cambridge Engage in Strategic Initiatives ..................1
College News……………………………..............................................4
On-Line Videos Showcase Alumni Events Across the US…….......18
Professor Andrea Brand
Treasures from the Fitzwilliam Museum Visiting the US..…............20
New Pitt Professor at Cambridge: Columbiaʼs Alan Brinkley.........20 Cambridge in America Newsletter
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Professor Douglas Crawford-Brown
Douglas Crawford-Brown (Energy) is Professor Emeritus and Executive Director of the Cambridge Centre for Climate Change Mitigation Research (4CMR), in the Department of Land Economy, which is “dedicated to finding paths forward to reduce the risks of climate change and improve sustainability while allowing for a vibrant global economy.” He also runs the Cambridge Summer Programme in International Energy Policy and Environmental Assessment. Prof. Crawford-Brown came to Cambridge after twenty-five years at the University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill, where he had designed and directed the undergraduate degree programs in Environmental Science, Environmental Studies, and Environmental Health Sciences, each of which is now a separate degree program and which integrate courses and details from twenty-two different departments and schools across the UNC campus. Prof. Crawford-Brown earned his BS, MS, and PhD at Georgia Tech. His current research and application interests are in sustainability of the built environment, climate policy and mathematical modeling of human health risks. A particular interest is water policy, where he has been examining the effectiveness of using low-energy household water treatment and safe storage systems (HWTS) to reduce microbes in drinking water. He continues to work in close collaboration with colleagues at UNC and Georgia Tech, modeling predicted human health impacts in comparison to field epidemiological data across three continents. He reports, “We found that a simple sand filtration HWTS in the Dominican Republic halved the incidence of diarrheal disease, a major cause of death among poor communities worldwide.”
Douglas Fearon (Cancer) is an American medical immunologist, who has been Sheila Joan Smith Professor of Immunology at the University of Cambridge since 2003 and is a fellow of Trinity College. An English literature major and football quarterback at Williams College, Doug earned his MD at Johns Hopkins where 2
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Professor Douglas Fearon
he also did his internship and residency. He served as a major in the US Army Medical Corps and spent a year in Vietnam where he was awarded a Bronze Star for meritorious service. He then developed dual roles as scientist and physician at Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women’s Hospital, balancing work in the laboratory and the clinic. In 1987 he returned to Johns Hopkins to head the Division of Molecular and Clinical Immunology and began to explore the connections between innate immunity (which “dates back to invertebrate ancestors,” says a May 2005 Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences profile) and adaptive immunity (which “remembers past infections and is the basis of vaccines…a much younger process on the evolutionary timeline,” says the 2005 PNAS profile). In 1993, at the invitation of Sir Keith Peters, then Regius Professor of Physic at Cambridge, Dr. Fearon moved his laboratory there, where he “would be able to work at a research institution dedicated to fundamental problems in biology, where autonomy was valued and small interactive research groups were the norm – and where he could finally give himself wholly to his research.” (PNAS profile, May 2005). This move “provided an unprecedented level of freedom for Fearon, allowing him now to take a step back, free from clinical and administrative responsibilities, and devise a new line of research.” (PNAS profile, May 2005). He began to study memory lymphocytes, which, like stem cells, seemed to be able to selfrenew, and might lead to understanding immunological memory. His laboratory continues to look for factors necessary for selfrenewal and, ultimately, ways to permit immunological tumor control and suppression.
Michael Ramage (Energy) is a University Lecturer in the Department of Architecture at Cambridge and a Fellow of Sidney Sussex College. He collaborates in a building practice that includes the structural design, analysis, and construction of tilevaulted domes. Recent projects are the Pines Calyx in Dover, England, and at Mapungubwe National Park in South Africa. He recently held a fellowship in the engineering firm of Conzett Bronzini Gartmann AG, Chur, Switzerland. Ramage has led workshops on timbrel vault building techniques at MIT and the University of Manitoba. While at MIT, he was a research assistant with ArchNet.org and the Aga Khan Trust for Culture, cataloguing important Islamic buildings in Anatolia. In addition to an MArch from MIT, Ramage has a BA in Geology from Carleton College. He held a Fulbright fellowship to Turkey in 1995-96, and was recently the recipient of MIT’s Marvin E. Goody Award and a Boston Society of Architects research grant. Recent activities include a designing a modular, solar-powered home, in collaboration with Cambridge’s Department of Engineering, and reviving ancient, energy-efficient construction techniques such as tile vaulting. Michael’s father, Professor Andrew Ramage, alumnus of Clare, has taught art history and archaeology at Cornell for more than thirty years and conducted excavations at Sardis.
Barbara Sahakian (Neuroscience) is Professor of Clinical Neuropsychology at the University of Cambridge Department of Psychiatry and the Medical Research Council / Wellcome Trust Behavioural and Clinical Neuroscience Institute, and a Professorial Fellow of Clare Hall. She is also a clinical psychologist. Professor Sahakian has an international reputation in the fields of cognitive psychopharmacology, neuroethics, neuropsychology, neuropsychiatry and neuroimaging. She is coinventor of the CANTAB computerized neuropsychological tests, which are in use world-wide. She is probably best known for her research work on cognition and depression, cognitive enhancement using pharmacological treatments, neuroethics and early detection of Alzheimer’s disease. Professor Sahakian was one of the first researchers to suggest that attentional dysfunction in Alzheimer’s disease could be ameliorated using pharmacotherapy such as cholinesterase inhibitors. In addition, she was early to highlight the cognitive changes in unipolar and bipolar depression, as well as their significance for functional outcome. Her current program of research, funded by the Wellcome Trust and Medical Research Council, investigates the neurochemical modulation of impulsive and compulsive behavior in neuropsychiatric disorders such as unipolar and bipolar depression and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Prof. Sahakian studied at Mount Holyoke College and earned a PhD at Darwin College, Cambridge. She then conducted research at the University of Bergen, Norway and returned to the USA to take up a Postdoctoral Fellowship at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and then an Assistant Professorship in the Department of Neurology at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center. She came back to Cambridge, UK to take up a research scientist post with the Medical Research Council Dunn Nutrition Unit. After further research and clinical work elsewhere in England she was named a Lecturer in Cambridge University’s Department of Experimental Psychology and then a Lecturer (1994) and subsequently Reader (1999) and Professor (2002) in the School of Clinical Medicine’s Department of Psychiatry.
Professor Barbara Sahakian
Oren Scherman (Energy) graduated from Cornell with a BA in Chemistry in 1999. He then went on to complete a PhD in the area of ring-opening metathesis polymerization and tailor-made, functional polymer architectures under the supervision of Professor Robert H. Grubbs at Caltech. After finishing his PhD in 2004, Oren moved to the Netherlands to work on supramolecular polymers at the Eindhoven University of Technology with Professors E.W. (Bert) Meijer and Rint P. Sijbesma. In October 2006, Oren moved to Cambridge to take up his current position as a University Lecturer and Next Generation Fellow in the Melville Laboratory for Polymer Synthesis at the Department of Chemistry. His research group is interested in developing dynamic functional materials through aqueous self assembly. Dave Tuveson (Cancer) earned his MD and PhD from Johns Hopkins and completed a medical residency at Brigham and Women's Hospital and a medical oncology fellowship at DanaFarber/Partners Cancer Care. From 2002 to 2006, he was Assistant Professor of Medicine at University of Pennsylvania. In 2006, he moved his laboratory to the Cambridge Institute for Medical Research to develop a large therapeutics and genetics program in pancreatic cancer. He is a member of Prof. Doug Fearon’s research group. Cambridge in America Newsletter
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CHRISTʼS COLLEGE
College News
CHURCHILL COLLEGE
www.christs.cam.ac.uk
www.chu.cam.ac.uk
We were delighted to see so many old Christ’s members returning to College this summer! The season kicked off back in May with our wonderful visit to Wadham College in Oxford. We received a warm welcome from our twin College for a joint alumni event and were very pleased to be joined by Christ’s alumnus Colin Dexter OBE (m.1950). Colin regaled us with some very entertaining stories about his days at Christ’s and we enjoyed a fabulous lunch in Wadham’s beautiful Hall. We are planning to return the favor by welcoming Wadham’s alumni to join us for a lunch at Christ’s for alumni of both Colleges next year. This year’s June reunion was an opportunity for alumni who matriculated from 1970-1974 to revisit Christʼs alumni Colin Dexter OBE College in the sun and (m.1950) and Leslie Quie (m.1952) at enjoy a buffet lunch with Wadham College, Oxford in May their guests. July was happily a busy month, featuring our traditional Family Day in the sun (and a little rain that luckily didn’t dampen the spirits!), the Association Dinner and the JH Plumb Centenary Symposium and Dinner. Amongst others, we were delighted to be joined from the USA by Honorary Christ’s Fellows Professor Sir David Cannadine and his wife Professor Linda Colley. A link to recordings of all the lectures can be found here: http://bit.ly/ plumblecturesonline. Thanks to generous support from the Glenfield Trust and from alumni, we now have a new JH Plumb Fellow, Dr. Stephen Thompson, whose teaching and research interests span the political, economic, social and intellectual history of Britain during the “long” eighteenth century (c. 1660-1832). We welcomed back around 300 alumni to a variety of different events this September, including a ten-year anniversary dinner for alumni who matriculated in 2001, a Medical Alumni Association meeting, and two Reunion Dinners for alumni who matriculated in the late 1970s. Alumni can keep up to date with all the forthcoming events by checking the “forthcoming events” page of our website: www.christs.cam.ac.uk/alumni/events/ forthcoming_alumni_events/ Looking ahead, the College Choir is planning to visit the west coast of America next summer. If any of our alumni based in the US would like further details on their trip, please do get in touch with the Alumni Officer, Rosie Applin: e-mail, alumni@christs.cam.ac.uk; Twitter: http://twitter.com/christs_ college; Facebook: www.facebook.com/christscollegecambridge; Linked In: search for “Christ’s College Alumni” on Linked In Groups. 4
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The College is saddened to report the death of Sir William Hawthorne, the College’s second Master, at the grand old age of 98. Sir William, known to many Churchillians, was Master between 1968 and 1983. An event to commemorate his life will take place early in 2012. Advance notice: The Churchill Archives Centre is honored to be staging the exhibition “Churchill: The Power of Words” at the Morgan Library & Museum in New York from June to September 2012. The display will feature original documents alongside artifacts and recordings. Further details to follow. Launched at the Royal Horticultural Society’s (RHS) Chelsea Flower Show in May, the Churchill Rose is a particularly beautiful emblem to commemorate fifty years since the founding of this College by Sir Winston Churchill. The rose will not only adorn the gardens at Churchill College. Two plants were given as a gift from the College to the University of Cambridge and planted in the Botanic Garden. Lady Soames also planted the Churchill Rose at Chartwell, the The Churchill Rose, launched in 2011 National Trust property formerly the home of Sir Winston Churchill. Finally, on 11 July under the watchful eye of Lady Soames, the Prime Minster planted the Churchill Rose in the garden at No. 10 Downing Street. This rose is a gift from the College and a tribute to Sir Winston’s time as Prime Minister. Alumnus and SCR Associate Neville Greaves is to be presented with the George W. Morey Award by the American Ceramics Society, for his "lifetime contributions to the glass science literature, notably to furthering understanding of the glassy state and to the study and characterization of ionic glasses.” Professor Greaves (G71) is a Distinguished Research Fellow of the Department of Materials Science and Metallurgy in the University of Cambridge, and a Distinguished Research Professor at Aberystwyth University, where he leads the Materials Physics Group. The George W. Morey Award is named after a pioneer in the scientific study of glass, who systematically studied the composition and properties of a wide range of glasses. We are pleased to announce the new and improved Churchill Review which will be dispatched in early December this year. Our new Editor is Professor Alison Finch. If you have moved recently, please contact alumni@chu.cam.ac.uk to update your contact details. This issue will also be available to download from www.churchillians.net. If you have an idea for an article in a future issue, please contact the Editor at Review.Editor @chu.cam.ac.uk.
CLARE COLLEGE www.clarealumni.com
This October, the College welcomed two new Mellon Fellows to Cambridge from Yale. Dylan Morris (from Cambridge, MA) is reading for an MPhil in Political Thought and International History, supervised by Professor John Robertson; while Raymond Carlson (from Edina, MN) is reading for an MPhil in European Literature, supervised by Dr. Ian James. They are joined at Clare by a Junior Year Abroad student from Columbia, Peter Conroy, who is reading Part II English.
Mellon Fellows from Clare studying at Yale, from left to right: Rachel Schon, Tessie Prakas, Lidia Kuhivchak, Amy Mount, Angus Ledingham, Mark Biggins
Guests from the States continue to be welcomed by the College. The US Ambassador to the Court of St James’s, the Hon. Louis B. Susman, visited Clare on 29 April and spoke to students. In August this year, the Master, Professor Tony Badger, led a group of American education professionals in a detailed study of the Civil Rights movement of the 1950s and 60s, in association with the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History. A number of visits to America were made by Clare Alumni and members of the College. The Clare College Choir went on a three-week tour of the USA in September last year and engagements included concerts and services in seven states. In February, Dr. Tessa Roynon (1992) attended the 80th birthday party of Nobel and Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist Toni Morrison. Tessa was invited to the celebration, held at the Library of Congress, because she had contributed a chapter entitled “Aeschylus, Euripides and Toni Morrison” to the festschrift which was presented to the author on the day. Professor Badger will be visiting the States for academic research while on Sabbatical during Lent Term in 2012. In addition to the College’s academic links with the USA, a number of Clare alumni are building successful careers in America. Clare alumna Matilda Hofman (1998) works as a conductor in Berkeley and San Francisco, as well as in Europe, and lives in Davis, California. Another musical member of Clare’s alumni community, Simon Jacobs (2006), has been appointed as the first Fellow in Sacred Music at Christ Church Cathedral in Indianapolis. Clare Musicians also played a significant role in April’s Royal Wedding. Composer, Clare alumnus and former Director of Music John Rutter (1964) was commissioned to write a new
anthem, This is the day which the Lord hath made, for the wedding. The piece was performed at Westminster Abbey during the service. In addition, Former organ scholar James McVinnie (2003) played as guests came in to take their seats in Westminster Abbey. Johnny Langridge (2005) and Jerome Finnis (1996) sang with the Choir of the Chapel Royal which, alongside the Choir of Westminster Abbey, provided the musical bedrock of the service. If your travel plans in the upcoming year include a trip to Cambridge, we very much hope that you will take the opportunity to come back to Clare.
CLARE HALL
www.clarehall.cam.ac.uk Once again, time seems to have flown by and we find ourselves in Michaelmas term with a multitude of events ahead of us. First, a small update of the months just gone. The end of the academic year was marked with the Clare Hall June Event, this time themed on “Impressionism.” The College’s West Court grounds were transformed into what could have been mistaken for a neighborhood in Paris (perhaps not quite!) and the evening was filled with live music, plenty of food and drink and lots of laughter. It was a good year and this needed to be celebrated. Following the departure of several students and Visiting Fellows, we welcomed back our so-called summer swallows – that is, those who return to the College year after year to spend the months between July and September at Clare Hall. We were pleased to welcome back from the US Duke and Patty Ryan, Ann Goldstein, and Yale and Kitty Ferguson. Our annual Alumni Weekend took place on 24-25 September on the theme of “chemistry” to celebrate 2011 as the International Year of Chemistry. Highlights included Clare Hall Fellow Professor Hasok Chang’s talk on “Chemistry and the Limits of Human Knowledge,” a tour of the Botanic Garden with Professor John Parker, a tour of the Fitzwilliam Museum with Dr. Robert Anderson, and a concert featuring Trio Siddhartha who performed works by César Franck and Maurice Ravel. We were thrilled to have with us US Life Members Professor Brien Key and Dr. Robert Duvall who travelled to Cambridge especially for these events. Our calendar has already filled up with a range of stimulating events including the Tanner Lecture on 8 November at which Professor Ernst Fehr of the University of Zürich will be speaking on “The Psychology and Economics of Authority.” On 17 November, Clare Hall Fellow Professor Barbara Sahakian will be speaking at a Cambridge in America alumni reception in Washington, DC. In December, Life Members will have the opportunity to meet David Willetts, Minister of State for Universities and Science, at a reception in the Houses of Parliament, and in January our second annual Oxford reunion dinner will take place. As always, if you would like to attend any of these events, please send us an e-mail to alumni@clarehall.cam.ac.uk. This year we were pleased to welcome six new Visiting Fellows and eleven students from America. Needless to say that our American students and Visiting Fellows remain an important facet in the life of Clare Hall and our relationship with Life Members in the United States is one which we regard as indispensable and precious.
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CORPUS CHRISTI COLLEGE www.corpus.cam.ac.uk
From Liz Winter, Development and Communications Director: In the last edition of this newsletter we flagged the 50th Anniversary party for Leckhampton, the postgraduate campus of Corpus, and called on Old Members who had studied there, including those now living in the US, to join us. On the day, July 3, we welcomed American alumni from places as far apart as California, Texas and New York, all of whom had travelled to Cambridge to remind themselves of their graduate student days in Cambridge and celebrate the reaching of middle-age of a much-loved campus. The party was a great success; in between the lunch, the jazz band, face painting and cake competition, the plans for the new accommodation building were admired and investigated by guests and by the end of the day we had received a generous offer to pay for the roof terrace on the new building from one Old Member and his wife, and several other commitments to support the scheme financially. Since then, many Old Members have signed up to become Founder Members of the new building. For a minimum donation of £250 their names are inscribed in a Book of Benefactors. If you would like to sign up and become a Founder Member please contact the Development Office. Stateside, the US Pelicans held a successful social event in September in the Campbell Apartment at Grand Central Station in New York; many thanks to Adam Quinton, Robert Howells and Alan Foster for organizing that. Professor Ivan BodisWollner has kindly offered his home in Brooklyn Heights for a Corpus evening (details to be announced), and both Francesca Watson and Liz Winter will be visiting the US this Fall and would love to meet up with as many alumni as possible. We will post dates and venues on the College website as well as via our email newsletters, Facebook and Twitter. If you would like to organize a gathering or can offer your home as a venue, do please get in touch with the Development Office who will happily act as the central hub for invitations and responses. The Michaelmas term sees the arrival in Corpus of Visiting Fellow Professor Daniel Foster from Duke University. Professor Foster’s area of interest is theater studies. While at Corpus this term he will be working on a project entitled “The Minstrels’ Progress – minstrelling from the stage and page in Europe and the Americas from 1750 to 1850.” We also look forward to the arrival of Dr. Thomas Land, the Donnelley Research Fellow from the University of Chicago, on a three-year fellowship. Dr. Land is a philosopher with research interests in Kant and German idealism. And finally, we’d like to make up some Corpus tables at the CAm May Ball next June, at Alice Tully Hall, Lincoln Center, New York City, on Thursday June 21. So save the date and look out for further information about buying tickets. I hope to see many of you there.
DARWIN COLLEGE www.dar.cam.ac.uk
Willy Brown, the Master of Darwin College, will be retiring in September 2012. With this in mind the Fellows of the College are in the midst of discussing who can follow in his illustrious footsteps. We will keep you up to date with the process but Darwin should have its 6th Master in place 6
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by the start of the 2012 academic year. As is right and proper a retiring Master must have his portrait painted for posterity. The artist, Geoffrey Hayzer RP, put Willy at his ease and the result is, I am sure you will agree, a beautifully realized painting. The process of acquiring a Master’s portrait (pictured) will be covered in more detail in The Darwinian. As we write, our new students are just beginning to arrive to start their postgraduate academic career at Darwin. As all Darwinians know, this is a very cosmopolitan College and this year we are delighted to see 30 new American students joining us. This is in addition to the 23 continuing with their studies. The contingent from the USA now numbers nearly 10% of the total student body here – a fantastic number! The DCSA have laid on many welcoming events for the new intake, including punting lessons, which should be a fun (we hope not wet) introduction to Cambridge life! The Boat Club moves from strength to strength, having amongst other things purchased a new rowing machine for the Darwin Fitness Room thanks to a generous recent donation of $3,000 from an American alumnus. This is going to be put to good use almost immediately by the students, as DCBC are planning a 24-hour indoor rowing marathon to generate further fundraising for new equipment. Kayla Iacovino, an Arizonian second-year PhD student at Darwin, featured recently in a Discovery News article, having produced some stunning photographs of ice caves in Antarctica. If you'd like to see Kayla’s photos they are on the Discovery News website at http://news.discovery.com; search for “Iacovino.” As most Darwinians know, 2014 is the 50th Anniversary of the founding of the College. We are planning many festivities in that year which we will be encouraging you to come to. Additionally, to commemorate this auspicious occasion in a tangible way, we are planning to produce a 50th Anniversary book, to be published by Third Millennium Publishing, which has already produced some beautiful books for Colleges and the 800th Anniversary book for the University. We will be contacting you later on this year to seek contributions, anecdotes, and photographs suitable for inclusion in the book. The publisher will be printing a strictly limited number of books and you will be given first chance to get hold of this “piece of history”. As ever, please do keep in touch; it is always our pleasure to speak to you and read your emails and letters. Our email contact is alumni.office@dar.cam.ac.uk.
If youʼre returning to Cambridge for a visit, be sure to let your College alumni/development office know in advance, and stop in to say hello.
DOWNING COLLEGE www.dow.cam.ac.uk
Downing Women’s First VIII went Head of the River after bumping Pembroke on the first day of this year's May Bumps, and retained their headship by rowing over on the remaining four days. The Downing men also performed very well, going up three places to second position. The Men’s Second VIII went up three places to Head of the Second Division. All in all, an excellent year for Downing College Boat Club. Congratulations to everyone involved!
the United States who have just graduated. We hope you will continue to have a close relationship with the College as an alumnus, and we are always delighted to welcome Downing alumni back to College when you are visiting from overseas. The Downing Choir plans to visit California in July 2012. The most likely stops on the tour will be the San Francisco and Los Angeles areas. Alumni who could offer advice or help with venues, accommodation, or otherwise to make this visit a success, please contact Gabrielle Bennett, Development Director at gb247@cam.ac.uk or (+44) 1223 746510. This will be the first trip by the Downing choir to California.
EMMANUEL COLLEGE www.emma.cam.ac.uk
The critical moment when the Downing women bumped and then went Head of River
The American Psychological Association selected Downing’s Master Professor Barry Everitt and Downing Fellow Professor Trevor Robbins to be joint recipients of its Distinguished Scientific Contribution Award this year. The award recognizes their important work in experimental psychology and neuroscience. The Association noted that the Master’s “energy and enthusiasm for research, creativity, and outstanding productivity have advanced our knowledge of brain function and inspired several generations of behavioral neuroscientists.” It congratulated Professor Robbins for his “pioneering accomplishments” and his “vigor and dedication to research, exemplary leadership, scholarship, and stellar productivity.” The two professors received the award at the 2011 APA Convention in Washington DC in August. The end of the academic and financial year for the College is a natural time to report the progress of the Catalysis Campaign, launched in 2009 to boost Downing's endowment by £20 million by 2015. In a sluggish economy, global geo-political volatility, and a difficult national debate on tuition fees, Downing has just completed one of its best years in fundraising terms. The College has raised just over £7.1 million in the Catalysis Campaign. Despite this most challenging of times, 36% of the goal has been achieved due to the generosity and dedication of Downing's alumni. Downing is a center for great intellectual rigor and achievement in a wide range of disciplines, and its students have obtained some excellent results in the past academic year: Ten out of sixteen third-year Medics obtained firsts. Three students obtained starred firsts (in Part I Archaeology and Anthropology, Part IIB Chemical Engineering, and Part IIA Engineering). Nine students were awarded special prizes for appearing in the top 5% of their University class list in their respective subjects, from Engineering, Law, Medical and Veterinary Sciences, to MML and Natural Sciences. We congratulate everyone who has been successful in their examinations, and particularly welcome all our new alumni in
The Master, Lady Wilson and Development Director were delighted to meet many Members and guests for Sunday lunch in New York in May. There was an excellent turnout from all vintages. The Emmanuel Society is planning meetings in Boston, New York, Washington, Chicago, San Francisco and Los Angeles. If you would like to attend, or can help, please contact the Emmanuel Society Office (emmanuel-society@emma.cam.ac.uk). To receive early notice of these meetings, please ensure the Office has your e-mail address; this will also enable you to receive the College’s email newsletter, which is also available at www.emma.cam.ac.uk/ collegelife/newsletter. See also the Emmanuel in America group on Facebook, and follow us on http://twitter.com/ EmmaCambridge. The College’s connections with Harvard were celebrated in the UK in June with the annual Harvard Dinner in College. Amongst those present were former scholars from Emmanuel to Harvard and vice-versa, and some of the scholars who were going to Harvard in September. Ambassador Richard Murphy (Emmanuel, 1951) gave the after-dinner speech. He also spoke to the Harvard Club of the UK in London, to which Members of Emmanuel were kindly invited. We are looking forward to welcoming more scholars from Harvard, Williams College and elsewhere in the US to Emmanuel this academic year, and three of our recent graduates are embarking on Herchel Smith Scholarships at Harvard. By the time me you read this Newsletter, you should have received your copy of the Emmanuel Review. It shows the very welcome and generous support of Members and friends in the USA to the New World Fund, and how these donations are being used. The Fund has made a substantial contribution to the costs of refurbishing and extending the Library, and is acknowledged in glass on the ground floor. The work is now complete and the Junior Members are enjoying the new facilities. The plaque to John Harvard has been moved into the building. We are always pleased to show it to you so do get in touch when you plan to visit. The Emmanuel Society will be holding a garden party on Saturday 14 July 2012 to mark Lord Wilson’s retirement as Master so do come to it if you can visit the UK then. In any case, please let us know when you are next in the Cambridge area as it would be good to see you in College; a little warning to the Development Office (+44)1223-330476; fax (+44) 1223762793; e-mail development-office@emma.cam.ac.uk) is always helpful.
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FITZWILLIAM COLLEGE
GIRTON COLLEGE
www.fitz.cam.ac.uk
www.girton.cam.ac.uk
Fitzwilliam’s historians seem to be flavor of the month! In July, Steve Hindle (History 1983, PhD 1993) was appointed the W.M. Keck Foundation Director of Research at the Huntington Library, San Marino, California. He specializes in the micro-history of rural communities in England from 1500 to 1750 and was previously professor of History at Warwick University. His PhD supervisor at Fitzwilliam was Professor Keith Wrightson (History 1967) who is now at Yale as Randolph W. Townsend Jr. Professor of History. Charles D. Stanton (MPhil History 2004 and PhD Medieval History 2008) is now based in Anacortes, WA, and has published Norman Naval Operations in the Mediterranean (Boydell Press). Dr. Rosemary Horrox, Fellow and medieval historian, entertained alumni at the College reunion with her lecture “A Cuckoo in the Nest? Medieval Cambridge and its University.” Reprobates: The Cavaliers of the English Civil War (W.W. Norton) by John Stubbs (MPhil Medieval and Renaissance Literature 2001 and PhD English 2006) was shortlisted for the BBC Samuel Johnson Prize for non-fiction and was featured on a BBC “Culture Show” TV program. Dr. Iain Reid, our first Development Director, read History in 1978 after serving a decade in the Grenadier Guards. After a career in advertising and as Lecturer at LSE, he returned in 2007 to launch the College's 150th Anniversary Campaign. Iain retired at the end of September, and has been succeeded by … another historian! Dr. Helen Bettinson (pictured) was the College’s first female JMA President (1984-5) and the first Fitzwilliam New Development Director Dr. Helen Bettinson (History 1982). bride to have been married in the Chapel. She was previously a producer of historical documentaries for the BBC and The History Channel. In July the College received a $1.6m gift to support students of limited means and to fund teaching in Economics. The gift, recommended by Peter Selman (Economics 1991), co-head of Global Equity Derivatives Trading at Goldman Sachs in New York, was from the donor-advised fund Goldman Sachs Gives. Welcoming the gift, Professor Robert Lethbridge, Master, said: “Such generosity will make a real difference. This is philanthropy at its best.” Fitzwilliam alumni might like to know that the Master will be in New York in early November, hosting an occasion, attended by the Vice-Chancellor, for major College donors. As Provost of the Gates Cambridge Trust he visits Seattle in December, where Cambridge in America is organizing a reunion, including (of course) former students of Fitzwilliam. The 2012 US interviews for the Gates Scholarships will be held in San Francisco in February, providing another opportunity for the Master to see members of the College.
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In September the Mistress, Professor Susan J. Smith, visited the East Coast of the US, taking in both New York and Washington DC. In New York, she was pleased to meet a number of alumni individually, in addition to a drinks reception at the Whiskey Blue Bar on Lexington Avenue. In Washington, she held a drinks party for Girtonians in the Quill Bar of the Jefferson Hotel, before heading back to the UK just in time for the start of the Michaelmas Term. Following the phenomenal success in the US of the Huffington Post, former Girton student Arianna Huffington launched the UK version of her blog in July. HuffPost UK is now fully up-and-running, and covers a wide variety of topical UK affairs. Another Girtonian who has been in the news recently is author Sylvia Ann Hewlett, who rang the Closing Bell at the New York Stock Exchange on September 20, in celebration of her new book (with co-author Ripa Rashid) Winning the War for Talent in Emerging Markets: Why Women Are the Solution (Harvard Business Review Press). Sylvia is founding director of the Center for Work-Life Policy. As is frequently the case, many Girtonians who are based in the US have supported the College generously this year. All donations make a difference to Girton, and we are tremendously grateful for this support. If you might be interested in helping the College by hosting an event in the US, please do get in touch with the Development Office. Finally, do remember that if you happen to visit the UK, please feel free to call into Girton if that suits your schedule. You are always very welcome to wander round the grounds, and if you let the Development Office know in advance we can usually provide tea/coffee, or even lunch!
GONVILLE & CAIUS COLLEGE www.cai.cam.ac.uk
This summer Caius lost one of its best loved characters when Iain Macpherson passed away in July. Iain was elected to the Fellowship in 1958 following his appointment as a University Lecturer in Economics. He held the posts of Tutor, Director of Studies, Senior Tutor and ultimately President of the College, before being made a Life Fellow in 1992. He was a familiar figure lunching in College most days until a few weeks before his death, and for many generations of our alumni, meeting Iain was the highpoint of a return visit to the College. Caians may wish to know that a Memorial Service for Iain’s life has been provisionally booked for Saturday January 21st in the University Church of Great St. Mary’s. The College has recently decided, and been granted permission by the City planning authorities, to erect a memorial to “Our Greatest Benefactors,” within the entrance to the Great Gate. This monu- Iain Macpherson
ment will record the names of the twenty-five donors, each of whose benefactions to the College is calculated to be in excess of £1 million (US$ 1.5m), in today’s terms. This memorial has been designed by Lida Kindersley of the renowned Cardozo Kindersley Workshop, and will be executed in gilded and white letters cut into green Elterwater slate blocks and applied to the wall. This “Benefactors Wall” will begin with the names of Edmund Gonville, William Bateman and John Caius, and include individuals from every century of the College’s history. The only two living members of this most revered group, Sir Douglas Myers 1958 and Rita Cavonius 2009, both made their qualifying gifts through the offices of the Caius Foundation, our 501(c)(3) charitable foundation in the United States. There is, of course, room on this “Benefactors Wall” for those making exceptional donations to Caius in the coming years. In November, Sir Christopher Hum will make his final visit to see Caians in the United States, before he steps down as Master at the end of September 2012. He will be accompanied by the Director of Development, Dr. Anne Lyon, and the Deputy Director of Development, James Howell, and he hopes to get the chance to say farewell and thank you to as many Caians as possible. There will be a Cocktail Reception in the Harvard Club, New York City, on Friday 4th November at 6:00 p.m., generously hosted by the Honorable Dr. John Lehman (1965) and Professor Peter Walker (1960), for all Caians and friends of the College. Any Caians who are resident in the US or visiting at the time are most welcome to come along. After the reception there will a Dinner for Patrons of the Caius Foundation, hosted by James Hill (2009). We are always delighted to welcome our US alumni back to their College and hope to see many of you here during the coming year. For further information, please contact the Development Office, at (+44) 1223 339676 or development@ cai.cam.ac.uk .
HOMERTON COLLEGE www.homerton.cam.ac.uk
Peter Warner, Senior Tutor, writes: This October sees our first academic year as a fully chartered College. Apart from the Indian summer we are now enjoying, nothing seems to have changed very much. Our alumni gathered as usual in some force last weekend, over 250 of them; they saw Homerton at its very best. Garden tours were popular, but a lecture on archive films and a brilliant concert by the students pulled a crowd. The volume of chatter over two formal dinners and a Saturday luncheon was awesome! Last Easter we launched the Charter Campaign and conducted a low-key telethon; the first of its kind for us. Our students, carefully trained, contacted and conversed with many older members and talked about the College today and yesterday, about sport and drama, about modern tripos subjects compared to Education and what it is like to be a student nowadays. To date we have raised £93,944 towards the Charter Campaign in gifts and pledges over the next four years. We are happy with this and would like to thank those of you who contributed. TransAtlantic telephone numbers were excluded from our first experimental telethon, but next year they will be added and we will ask our numerous and distinguished USA alumni to contribute towards the John Hammond Memorial Fund, already well established here following his sad early death in 2010. Our Principal, Dr. Kate Pretty, made a brief visit to the States this year,
to East and West Coasts, where she met small groups of Homertonians. We would like to do more for our USA alumni, so any ideas would be welcome. In August Homerton students made the news by a spectacular contest on television against Balliol College Oxford on BBC “University Challenge.” Homerton led in the first eight minutes, 50 points to 40, but lost by a narrow margin of just 5 points, 200 to 205. Had a correct answer been allowed by Homerton’s Thomas Grinyer, an undergraduate chemical engineer, we would have won. Everything hinged on the identification of the flag of the “thirteen colonies,” the flag of the “Grand Union” which first few over Williamsburg in May 1776. The question-master, Jeremy Paxman, declared it to be the “flag of the East India Company,” which is also correct. This cost Homerton ten points; next day national newspapers took up the cry of “foul,” including “Grand Union” the Telegraph and the Express. Homerton may flag be seen again in the eagerly awaited final contest for best runners-up. What was remarkable was seeing Homerton, the youngest College in Cambridge, challenging one of the oldest, distinguished Oxford colleges. If we had won East India Company flag you would not have heard the last of it!
HUGHES HALL
www.hughes.cam.ac.uk/development This spring and summer have been busy at Hughes. The President's annual visit to the USA included Texas for the first time. She received a warm welcome from members of the College in Dallas, Austin and Houston, spanning Cambridge generations from the mid-1970s right up to last year. The friendly Texas hospitality was matched by the agreeable warmth of the early April sunshine. Back in New York, at the Cambridge in America Day event, she was delighted to see so many Hughesians swelling the audience and afterwards, over drinks, to meet recent graduates and renew contact with old friends. In more recent news, the Alumni Weekend held over 23-25 September had a fantastic turnout and we were delighted to see so many of our alumni back at Hughes. Dr. Anthony Freeling gave a fascinating lecture examining how Darwin’s Theory of Natural Selection leads to an optimized method of marketing. His book titled Agile Marketing: How to Innovate Faster, Cheaper and with Lower Risk was published earlier this year. Following the success of the last telephone campaign, we hope to run a second campaign this winter which will help strengthen our alumni relations and seek support for a range of college projects. We look forward to being in touch with a number of our American Hughesians during the campaign. We greatly value and appreciate alumni feedback and support and are extremely grateful for the donations and pledges that we have already received. We are exceptionally proud that we are able to mark the culmination of the 125th Anniversary with the publication of a book by Professor Ged Martin. Capturing the extraordinary journey that this College has embarked upon, the illustrated history traces the evolution of Hughes Hall from the Cambridge Training College for Women Teachers to the flourishing and successful academic community that it is today. Lavishly illustrated, this text reveals the remarkable history of Hughes Hall. We do hope that Hughesians all over the world will wish to Cambridge in America Newsletter
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own a copy as a reminder of their own personal connection with the college. For further information, or to order your copy, please visit http://tmiltd.typepad.com/hughes_hall/ or our College website. With many improvements going on at Hughes, we eagerly anticipate the completion of our new website early in Michaelmas term. This re-design should make it easier to keep up-to-date with the College and our up-coming events. We are always pleased to hear from our alumni, for any enquiries or to update your details please contact the Alumni Relations Office: alumni@hughes.cam.ac.uk. We can also be found on Facebook; for all the latest Hughes updates visit www.facebook. com/HughesHallCambridge.
JESUS COLLEGE www.jesus.cam.ac.uk
www.kings.cam.ac.uk
It has been a busy few months at King’s. During the Easter Term we were joined by two Visiting Fellows from the United States – James Weinstein, Amelia D. Lewis Professor of Constitutional Law at Arizona State University, and Froma Zeitlin, Emerita Ewing Professor of Greek Language & Literature and Professor of Comparative Literature at Princeton University. It was a pleasure to have them as members of the College for the term. In June, the 2008 matriculation year group were welcomed as new graduates and in July a new crop of graduate students received degrees, including three Gates Scholars from the U.S. Also in July, the Fulbright Commission awarded two King’s alumnae awards for further study in the United States. In October we welcomed 115 freshers to the College. For the Michaelmas term we expect to have 285 graduate students, including 81 graduate freshers, along with 385 undergraduates. The Choir enjoyed a whirlwind tour to the Far East this summer, and will travel to Paris to perform at the Musée d’Orsay in October. The Choir will appear in December in Amsterdam and at Royal Albert Hall; the travel schedule is available on the King’s website at www.kings.cam.ac.uk/choir/. We have many American visitors at the Easter at King’s Festival – this year to be held between 3 and 9 April 2012. Do let us know if you are planning to attend, and particularly if you need an NRM or Friends card prior to your visit. Plans continue to develop for the Choir’s U.S. Tour in early April 2013, which includes stops in Boston, New York, Philadelphia, and Washington. If you are interested in helping to plan events around this visit, we would be delighted to hear from you. We are sorry to announce two delays – the new website for Members and Friends has partially launched, with a full implementation expected in early 2012. Publication of the new edition of the King’s College Register has been pushed back to 2012. In other College news, Professor Ross Harrison was reelected to a two-year term as Provost through July 31, 2013. As always, if you have any questions, comments or are visiting the College, please do contact the Development Office. We are located in Gibbs’ E2 (Cambridge CB2 1ST), online at www.kings.cam.ac.uk, on email at members@kings.cam.ac.uk, or by phone at +44 (0)1223 331313.
RICHARD DENNIS
As the academic year drew to a close there were a number of events to mark the end of Professor Robert Mair’s tenure as Master. The annual dinner for members of the Society of St. Radegund was preceded by a joint concert of the College Choir and the Britten Sinfonia which celebrated the Mairs’ shared love of music and song. It concluded with “Goodnight Sweetheart,” a song with they have heard many times but which had a particular poignancy this time. The annual Donors’ Garden Party on 2 July was also particularly well attended this year and the Master gave a heartfelt speech, reflecting on his ten years as Master of the College. On Sunday 26 June, Lord Renfrew opened the 12th Sculpture in the Close exhibition. It featured the work of Barry Flanagan and other artists associated with St. Martin’s School of Art in the 1960s: Anthony Caro, Phillip King, Bruce McLean, Tim Scott, Wendy Taylor, and William Tucker. The College is known throughout Cambridge, and indeed beyond, for these marvellous exhibitions of contemporary sculpture. The exhibition was open Barry Flanagan, Six foot leaping hare on steel pyramid, in Jesus Close daily until 25 September. We are pleased to announce that we have overhauled the College website. A new virtual tour feature means that you can now visit Jesus without leaving the comfort of your chair; please do take a look: www.jesus.cam.ac.uk/virtual-tour.html. We have also embraced other modes of communication and so you can now follow us at JesusCollegeCam on Twitter and you can also see our new Facebook page: www.facebook.com/pages/JesusCollege-Cambridge/ 126645564094750. Other steps into the twenty-first century are now taking place in Chapel Court. Building work has commenced on the big refurbishment. Before this could happen everyone in Chapel Court had to be moved out and, Development Office included, relocated elsewhere in College. We are now on K staircase in Pump Court – do please come and see us in our new home if you are visiting.
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LUCY CAVENDISH COLLEGE www.lucy-cav.cam.ac.uk
Meet two accomplished Americans at Lucy Cavendish: Jie (Lily) Huang, from Lawrenceville, Georgia, currently studying for an Affiliated BA in Medical & Veterinary Sciences, was awarded a Blue for Ultimate Frisbee this year. As well as playing for the University team (aka “Cambridge Ultimate” and “Strange Blue” – see www.strangeblue.org/) and serving as Women’s Captain, Lily was selected to represent Great Britain in Ultimate Frisbee as she is married and has British citizenship. (Unfortunately Ultimate Frisbee is not an Olympic sport, so she will not be participating at the London Olympics in 2012.) She has a Bachelor of Science degree (Electrical Engineering and Computer Science) from MIT.
Rachel Reetzke, from Franklin, Kentucky, has been a Visiting Student doing the Linguistics Tripos at Lucy Cavendish in the 20102011 academic year. After undergraduate studies at Western Kentucky UniversRachel Reetzke ity and fieldwork in Chen- Lily Huang gdu, China, Rachel won a Rotary Ambassadorial Scholarship for study at Cambridge and now has won a US Student Fulbright Scholarship to enable her to continue her research studies on autistic children in China. She then plans to return to the College to pursue her studies. A Lucy Cavendish Fellow, Dr. Henriette Hendricks, the Head of the Department of Theoretical & Applied Linguistics, University of Cambridge, has helped Rachel with contacts in China as she is Guest Professor at the Beijing Foreign Studies University and has recently had a sabbatical in China.
MAGDALENE COLLEGE
www.magdalenecambridge.com Over 150 Magdalene alumni, spanning 55 matriculation years, and their families came to our first Family Day in July. The Fellows’ Garden looked wonderful in the summer sunshine and the jazz band, puppet show, face painters and the afternoon tea were enjoyed by young and old. The College also held its inaugural Donors’ Day on the Sunday of the University’s annual Alumni Weekend in September. Around 120 members and guests attended a series of lectures held by Fellows discussing topics as diverse as the problem of rising water levels in Venice to the mysteries of Hamlet and the beauty of jet engines. The keynote lecture was held by John Simpson OBE (1963), BBC World Affairs Editor, whose riveting talk about Britain’s continued involvement in a number of wars during the last 20 years ensured a very lively Q & A session! Afternoon tea with a glass of bubbly in the Pepys’ Cloisters completed a wonderful day. Next year’s Donors’ Day will take place on Sunday, 23rd September 2012 and all alumni who make a gift, large or small, during the current financial year will be Donorsʼ Day at Magdalene invited. We are pleased to welcome the following new students from the United States: Steven Frankel from the California Institute of Technology, PhD in Pure Maths & Math Statistics; Abigail Reed from Middlebury College to read for an MPhil in Medieval and Renaissance Literature; Jed Rose from Stanford to take an MBA; Katrina Schoen from MIT for an MPhil in Engineering; and last but by no means least, Andrew Williamson from Yale to read for an MPhil English Studies. We trust they will delight in getting to know Magdalene. By the time you read this our 20th Annual New York Dinner will have taken place, but a Magdalene Dinner in Boston is planned in late March/early April. This event will be hosted by
the Master, Duncan Robinson, and may be his last as Master of the College as he will be stepping down after 10 years as Master at the end of summer 2012. Please look out for Magdalene EMatters at the beginning of Lent term for further details. If you currently don’t receive E-Matters we don’t have your email address – please contact alumni@magd.cam.ac.uk to update your details.
MURRAY EDWARDS COLLEGE www.murrayedwards.cam.ac.uk
As another academic year starts here at Murray Edwards, we can reflect on some of the highlights of last year. Again, we saw the College go up a place in the Tompkins Table, highlighting our steady rise in academic performance. Notable were the extremely impressive results from our first year arts and humanities students, which bodes well for the future. In June, the College received its Supplemental Charter. This document, authorized by HM the Queen, confirms that the name on our Charter and Statutes has been changed to “The President and Fellows of Murray Edwards College, founded as New Hall, in the University of Cambridge.” This marks the conclusion of our consultation on our new name, which honors the College’s history in perpetuity while recognizing the vision of Dame Rosemary Murray and the generosity of the Edwards’ gift.
New Hall Society Family Day at Murray Edwards
It was a busy summer for alumnae, many of whom brought partners and children back to College in July for our annual Family Day. A mix of age-groups, from nine months old upwards, enjoyed a fun-packed day of arts activities, kids’ yoga, treasure hunts, face painting and croquet, topped off with a delicious barbeque and strawberries and cream, enjoyed in the sunshine round the new pond in the Fellows Garden. In September, alumnae returned to College in force for our annual Alumnae Weekend. Garden, art, and architectural tours proved especially popular and the Saturday Dinner celebrated in particular the anniversary of the 1981 matriculation year, many of whom were back sharing a meal and a memory or two in the Dome. On Sunday, we held a very special lunch to celebrate the life of Founding Fellow Robin Hammond, who died at the end of 2010, aged 96. Alumnae and former students joined members of Robin’s family and her close friends to remember all she contributed to those early years of the College. Cambridge in America Newsletter
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September also saw the Senior Tutor, David Jarvis, and Director of Development, Kate Love, travel to Washington DC and Boston for some highly successful alumnae events, very kindly hosted by Sarah Jackson-Han (1988) and Jane Wilson (1973) respectively. Sadly, the President was unable to attend because of illness, but David and Kate were delighted to meet so many dynamic and committed members of the College and to be able to discuss our present state and our vision for the future with them. We plan to be back in 2012.
NEWNHAM COLLEGE www.newn.cam.ac.uk
From Penny Hubbard, Development Director and Registrar of the Roll: “We danced down the corridors with girls from council estates and Malaysian princesses.” This quote, from a contributor to the 140th Anniversary book, spotlights one of Newnham’s greatest strengths: its students come from all backgrounds. We aim to find the brightest and the best, regardless of financial circumstances. The breadth of the Collegiate undergraduate and graduate communities plays an important part in Cambridge’s reputation as one of the top international universities in the world. Sam, an undergraduate from Texas, has come to Newnham to read Social and Political Sciences. When her parents both unexpectedly found themselves back in the job market, and struggled to find the money for her airfare back to England after Christmas, we were able to use student support funds donated by alumnae to help her return. Sam says: "Newnham really does treat its students as members of a community. The College not only provides aid for students who know beforehand that they will require financial assistance to attend, but also helps current students in times of unanticipated need. Because costs are so high, Newnham does require international students to present a financial plan, demonstrating she will be able to complete her degree with the combination of her own resources and aid from the University and College, but this does not mean that Newnham expects its students to simply fend for themselves when unforeseeable circumstances arise. Newnham came through for me immensely; I felt the College very much cared that I was able to stay, and saw me as a valued person.” Sam’s experience was one of unexpected hardship. We also need to address increased concerns from prospective students that they will not be able to afford Cambridge. Our summer Changing Lives newsletter reported on the most radical change in decades to the way higher education is funded in the UK, with tuition costs shifted from government to the individual. From 2012, students will face a potential debt of at least $72,000. While graduates will not have to repay their debt until earning over $35,000, we are hearing from sixth formers and their parents that the idea of taking on such a burden might be the “final-straw” deterrent to those already thinking that Cambridge is “too remote from anything they have experienced so far” and “not for the likes of them.” Newnham has a proud record of giving financial support where needed. Last year we awarded nearly $314,500 in hardship grants, scholarships and studentships as well as over $141,500 in book and travel awards. As public funding cuts bite, we must do everything we can to continue to admit talented 12
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young students of potential regardless of their family’s income. By increasing bursary funds available we can reassure those who might otherwise suffer hardship that financial worries should not prevent them from applying. Dame Patricia has always been passionate about outreach and supporting our students. We are marking the last year of her term as Principal by launching “The Patricia Hodgson Appeal for Access and Admissions” as a specific project within our Changing Lives Campaign. Your contributions enable us to provide help from the Endowment. This can make the difference between a student like Sam coming to Newnham or not. The Appeal is aimed at putting Newnham in a strong position to make that difference to talented young women both from the UK and around the world. Thank you!
PEMBROKE COLLEGE www.pem.cam.ac.uk
In December, the Master and the Development Director will be visiting New York. We are planning an alumni cocktail party on Tuesday 6 December to coincide with the visit. More details will be sent to you in the coming weeks, but you can register your interest in advance by emailing Angela Anderson at dev@pem.cam.ac.uk, or by calling (011 44)1223 339079. Several American graduate students have featured in University news over the summer months. Ben Wescoe (2010, MPhil Art & Architecture), a member of the Blues golf team, won the Boyd Quaich Memorial Golf Tournament in July, playing across the Old and New Courses of St. Andrews. Ben carded a five-under par 281 (73, 70, 67, 71) to win by one shot, a record for the event. Basie Bales Gitlin (2010, MPhil Early Modern History) was awarded the 2010-2011 Rose BookCollecting Prize by the University Library for his collection of 116 travelling booksellers' samples, dating from the 19th and 20th centuries. Finally, Tanya Goldhaber (2010, PhD Engineering Design) has been working closely with BT, one of Pembroke’s corporate partners, to produce a report examining how and why some people feel overwhelmed by modern communications technologies: (www.eng.cam.ac.uk/news/ stories/2011/ technology_use/). Speaking of which, thank you to everyone who took the time to complete our online communications questionnaire… After a Long Vacation spent dining under canvas, Pembroke moved back into Hall (just) in time for the start of Michaelmas Term, leaving the Old Court lawn to the tender mercies of the gardeners. Seven new US graduate students are currently settling into life at Pembroke, although two of them have already spent some time here, either on the Pembroke-King’s Program or on a study year abroad. We are also delighted to welcome the new Wellcome Trust Principal Fellow in the Department of Physiology, Development and Neuroscience, Professor Randall Johnson, to our Fellowship. Professor Johnson has spent the last twenty years at the University of California at San Diego, researching the biological aspects of hypoxia and organ sensing. We are very pleased that such a notable leader in his field has joined Pembroke. At the time of writing Pembroke College Boat Club are training hard for the 47th Head of the Charles Regatta, which takes place in Boston on 22nd and 23rd October. Pembroke has entered two crews, a Men’s 8+ and a Women’s 4+, consisting of
a combination of selected alumni, graduates and undergraduates. If either of these crews finishes within the top half of their respective categories, PCBC is guaranteed entry into next year's regatta. To check how PCBC performed, please visit their website: http://pembrokecollegeboatclub.com.
PETERHOUSE
www.pet.cam.ac.uk There were two very enjoyable Petrean events in the USA over the summer. The first was in early July when a number of Petreans met up at MOMA, New York, for a reception kindly hosted by Michael Allen (m. 1959) and organized by Christopher Hudson (m. 1966). Saskia Murk Jansen had brought with her the plans for the new building on Gisbourne Court and spoke about the successes of the Campaign so far and the College’s plans for the future. You can expect to receive a mailing about this in the next couple of months! Then in early August, Dr. Jeremy Isenberg (m. 1962) hosted a garden party for Petreans organized by Emma Marchant (m. 1997) at his home in Atherton, near San Francisco. A number of local Petreans were joined by Roddy Houston (m. 1986), a member of the Peterhouse Society Committee, who was visiting San Francisco from London at that time. Saskia expects to be in North America regularly, so if you would like an excuse to hold a Petrean gathering please let her know – she will be happy to help! In addition to College publications and mailings, please check the College website for the latest news about Peterhouse and events of interest to Petreans in the United States. If your travels bring you to Cambridge please do stop in the Development Office to say hello.
QUEENSʼ COLLEGE www.queens.cam.ac.uk
From Dr. Diana Henderson, Fellow and Director of Development: The summer has absolutely flown by and as I write the College is gathering itself in preparation for the arrival of the new students and Fellows and the return of many familiar faces. The Queens’ 575 Campaign, Forging the Future, has got off to an excellent start. We close the year having received £1.9 million in donated income, a significant result given the current financial climate, and we are deeply grateful to those who have made gifts and bequeathed legacies to the College. Our phase-one telephone fundraising, the first telephone fundraising for a number of years, was very well received and our student callers did a fabulous job contacting you and holding wonderful conversations. I hope that those of you who were called enjoyed it as much as they did. Thank you to all of you who agreed to commit to a donation. In the meantime the Round Refurbishment Project has not been far from our minds and the preliminary work has begun. It is going to be disruptive and the entrance to the College on Silver Street will not look very pretty for a few months but once we are through the pain of the main building work it really be worth it, and in late 2012 our College will have an entrance court to be proud of. Cambridge is now a very popular tourist venue and we have had a record 24,000 visitors to College from the general public this year. We look forward to a high demand in the London Olympic
year in 2012 All proceeds from visitor entry and the College Shop go towards student bursaries. The College on-line Shop has proved very successful. Find it on the ALUMNI pages of the College web site; Christmas cards and 2012 calendars are already on sale. You should by now have received your 2011-2012 Events & Services Guide and I hope that you have been able to put some event dates in your diary for this and next year. We look forward to welcoming you all to Queens’. Even if you cannot hop across the Atlantic we are always here and we are delighted to do anything we can to help. I hope that you will keep in touch. Many kind regards.
ROBINSON COLLEGE www.robinson.cam.ac.uk
From Helen Cornish, Director of Development: As I write this, the RCSA Committee has just returned early to College to prepare for the hubbub of Freshers’ Week, which will hit us with full force on Saturday 1 October when the sound of trolleys trundling up and down Long Court and across Front Court will be heard throughout the College and a new crowd of faces will arrive to make their mark on Robinson, as you did in your day. This time of year is hectic, but also full of opportunities to meet Robinsonians from across the College’s history. Last weekend (24-25 September) was our annual Reunion and members who matriculated in 1981, 1986, 1991, 1996 and 2001 returned to rekindle old memories and to make new ones. It was a milestone for the Warden, Professor Yates, as it is ten years since he took office and he therefore dined with former Robinson students whom he had taught as undergraduates, as well as those whose student careers amongst the red bricks had been under the leadership of Professor Lord Lewis. Don’t forget that if you find yourself in Cambridge in termtime, alumni are welcome at High Table. If you have taken your MA, then your meal will be free of charge for up to three Halls annually, with just drinks to be purchased. To book, contact Christine James in the Catering Office. You may also book guest rooms, subject to availability. The next dinner, other than Formal Hall, is the Pegasus Dinner on 24 March 2012; earlier, still in 2011, there will be the chance to celebrate the beginning of the festive season at our Christmas Concert on 3rd December with mince pies and mulled wine beforehand. All events may be booked at www.robinson. cam.ac.uk/alumni2/viewnews.php. Despite the ever-worsening economic climate, Robinsonians and their families rallied during this summer’s telephone campaign and gave £130,000. Financially, 2010-2011 was a difficult year for many and so it is with even more emphasis than usual that everyone in College extends their thanks to those who supported the College’s work with gifts. Thank you! Your support has allowed the College to offer grants to students encountering hardship; it has enabled essential repairs to the buildings to ensure that they are a suitable environment for teaching, learning, research and living; and it has ensured that we continue to offer teaching in the full range of subjects at Cambridge. As these examples show, gifts of all sizes used together make a very real impact upon the life of Robinson students, whose experience of Robinson and Cambridge life and education would be very different without them. Cambridge in America Newsletter
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ST. CATHARINEʼS COLLEGE www.caths.cam.ac.uk
From Deborah Loveluck (2007), Fellow and Development Director: Dr. Paul Hartle (1971; Senior Tutor) and I just returned from a visit to our Members resident in the US. We were struck by your warm welcome and enormously enjoyed your company in Boston, New York and San Francisco. David Cooper (1957) and his wife Adelaide generously opened their home to our Bostonians and Laurisa Schutt (1992) and Porter Schutt were generous hosts at the Harvard Club in New York. Thank you very much indeed! The St. Catharine’s Campaign is marching on successfully: we have raised £14m since 2009. One of the key projects is the new building on Island Site and I am delighted to report that the building work is progressing to plan. Since the circulation of the Catharine Wheel the builders have moved in to start working on the College Centre: King’s Lane and the back entrance off King’s Lane are now closed off; the hoarding has gone up in Chapel Court; the bar has been dismantled and the Librarian has moved into his temporary office at the front of the New Library. Many of our US Members are generously supporting this important development for which everyone at St. Catharine’s is most grateful. As we prepare for the new academic year, we would like to remind you of last year’s achievements at the College. With 12 more Firsts gained this year, more than one in four Catz undergraduates have achieved a top grade in 2011. Outstanding performances this year were in English, with the best results for at least forty years (10 Firsts, one starred), Geography (nine Firsts, three starred), Economics (nine Firsts) and Natural Sciences (41 Firsts). We are proud to note several exceptional individual performances at the University level: by Rujian Chen and Felix Sampson topping the University Engineering rankings in the 2nd and 3rd year respectively, by Fay Rogers toping Part II Genetics, Olga Tkachenko topping Part II Biochemistry and Taavi Pungas topping Year 2 Physics. Our Fellows have been equally hard at work and several achievements deserve particular mention: Prof Robert Gordon (Hebrew) has been elected to the Fellowship of the British Academy; Dr. Lucy Delap (History) was awarded one of the University’s Pilkington Prizes for excellence in teaching; and Dr. Peter Wothers (Chemistry) was awarded the Royal Society of Chemistry President’s Award for his outstanding contrib-ution to public out-reach. On the sporting front, Catz Hockey has had an excellent year winning all three Cuppers (women’s, men’s and mixed) and the Men’s 1st and 2nd VIII won Blades in the May Bumps. If you are passing through Cambridge, please call into the Alumni & Development Office: we are located in A1 next to the Porters’ Lodge. In the meantime, if you 14
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need anything, please feel free to contact the Alumni & Development Office by telephone at (+44) 1223 338337 or email development.director@ caths.cam.ac.uk and we will be happy to help you.
ST. EDMUNDʼS COLLEGE www.st-edmunds.cam.ac.uk
From Paul Luzio, Master: The College has been as full over the summer as during term time with many visitors using our facilities for conferences, courses and other activities. The USA has been very well represented amongst groups and individuals staying in the College. It is always an especial pleasure to welcome return visitors, in particular those who were once students or Fellows, several of whom manage to get back to the College at some point during most summers. The more vibrant summer community this year is a tribute to our new Bursar and Manciple who are doing much to attract conference business and make the College such a great place to be. With our new academical year just starting we are becoming accustomed to some familiar faces in new roles as well as many new faces. Dr. Judith Bunbury, who was our undergraduate Admissions Tutor, has stepped up to be Senior Tutor, and Father Michael Robson, who was previously Dean, has taken over the undergraduate admissions portfolio. Our newly appointed Dean is Father John Patrick Kenrick OP who holds a Cambridge PhD and has joined us from our next-door neighbors at Blackfriars. Dr. Helen Mason, having stepped down as Senior Tutor, is becoming more actively involved in her research at the Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics. Within the College she has offered to help more with alumni relations and I know that she will want to contact groups of our alumni whenever she visits other countries, not least the USA. Don’t be too surprised if you hear from her soon. At the time of writing we are eagerly awaiting our new influx of students from all corners of the globe. We know that the College will be as full as it was last year. No doubt our new students will be as involved in wider University activities as their predecessors. Already I have bumped into two new American students who arrived before term started to take part in training and trials for the University Boat Club squad, suggesting that the College’s representation in the Boat Race in recent years may well be maintained. On behalf of the College, I remain extremely grateful to all of you who make regular financial contributions. These really do help to make a difference for many of our students. Please do continue to look at the College website and Facebook page from time to time for the latest updates of what is going on in the College and news of alumni activities and events.
ST. JOHNʼS COLLEGE www.joh.cam.ac.uk
On 27 April we were honored to receive a visit from The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh. With the Royal Standard flying over the College, The Queen visited the newly restored foundations of the original medieval chapel and unveiled a commemorative plaque. In the afternoon, The Queen and Duke of Edinburgh joined over a thousand students, Fellows, members of staff and Johnian representatives for a Garden Party on the College Backs. To complete the day,
The Queen cut a special 500th birthday cake and departed the College to the avid flag-waving of pupils from St. John’s College School. A photo gallery is available on our website. The summer months at St John’s have been extremely busy as we have welcomed record numbers of Johnians to the College. Our two Quincentenary Weeks alone saw over 1,600 Johnians and guests return to the College. Participants enjoyed a busy program including tours of the College and Library, tastings of our Quincentenary Pol Roger champagne and garden parties. The real highlights of the weeks were talks by notable Johnians including Professor Eric Maskin and Sir Derek Jacobi, which saw the Palmerston Room filled to bursting point! July and September have also seen dinners for the LMBCA, Field Clubs, and the Choir. A few events remain before our celebrations draw to a close: the Choir will conclude their Quincentenary Concert series with a performance at the Royal Festival Hall in London on Thursday, 15 December. The concert will feature a massed Cambridge choir, as well as the Philharmonia Orchestra. The Choir has recently released a new CD, On Christmas Night, which includes new recordings of traditional favorites such as Silent Night and O little town of Bethlehem, along with less familiar Christmas works by composers such as John Rutter and John Tavener. The St. John’s College Campaign has gone from strength to strength in 2011. Since the start of the Campaign, we’ve seen an impressive 18 per cent of Johnians across the world supporting our fundraising efforts. We are extremely grateful to all Johnians who participated in our recent telephone campaign which took place between 5 and 19 September. This has helped us to raise £180,182 towards the St. John’s College Campaign which has an overall target of £50 million by the end of 2012. With just under £3 million to go, we are optimistic that we can achieve this major milestone. All Johnians are entitled to collect a free copy of St John’s College, Cambridge: A History, edited by Dr. Peter Linehan, published to mark the Quincentenary. Johnians unable to make the journey may order a copy direct from the publisher, subject to a postage and packing fee. To find out more about what’s going on this year, see our new-look website: www.joh.cam.ac.uk
SELWYN COLLEGE www.sel.cam.ac.uk
Alumni who were in Cambridge in September for the Association Dinner or for the University’s Alumni Weekend had the opportunity to visit an exhibition in the English Faculty Library by Dr. Sarah Meer, Selwyn’s American Alumni Fellow. You may recall that Selwyn approached you in the autumn of 2009 to raise $20,000 to finance the costs of a College fellowship for three years to be called the American Alumni Fellow; that target was reached very quickly and the money raised is supporting Dr. Meer, a University Lecturer in English. Dr. Meer specializes in transatlantic culture connections in the midnineteenth century, with a particular interest in antislavery writing and popular theater. Her exhibition, which was open for Cambridge’s Festival of Ideas, commemorated Alexander Crummell, an African American who studied at Queens’ College in 1849. As mentioned in the last Cambridge in America Newsletter, the Selwyn Choir will be touring the northeastern US in July 2012. All performances are open to all alumni and we would love to see many of you there, so please save the dates below.
Thursday 12 July Boston (venue to be confirmed) Friday 13 July Christ Church, New Haven, CT Saturday 14 July Our Lady of Refuge Church, Brooklyn, New York Sunday 15 July St. Thomas Fifth Avenue (am) and Cathedral of St. John the Divine (pm), New York, NY Tuesday 17 July Cathedral of the Incarnation, Garden City, Long Island, NY Thursday 19 July Episcopal Cathedral, Philadelphia, PA St. Paul's on K Street (am) and National Sunday 22 July Cathedral (pm), Washington DC. If alumni in Boston have any ideas about where the Choir could perform or if you would like any more information about the tour dates, please contact Sarah MacDonald by phone, +44 1223 33587, or email, seam100@cam.ac.uk. Finally, you may be interested (and pleased) to hear that plans are in place to refurbish Cripps Court. The work, which will commence two staircases at a time, will completely redevelop the inside of the court, making all rooms en-suite. The Cripps Foundation has generously pledged £7.5M for this refurbishment, for which Selwyn is very grateful. As ever, if you have plans to visit Cambridge or London, please do let us know. We would be delighted to welcome you back to College or drop down to London to say hello.
SIDNEY SUSSEX COLLEGE www.sid.cam.ac.uk
In recent months much has been happening at Sidney and the new academic year promises to be just as busy and fulfilling as the one just finished. In May Bumps Sidney’s women’s first boat won blades, after being tipped for a strong performance which did not disappoint the many Sidney supporters on the river. Their achievement leaves W1 in fourth place in the second division. The College also staged the second Sidney Arts Festival in June with a wide variety of music, ranging from Benjamin Britten’s opera Albert Herring in a sun-drenched Master's Garden to the premier of composer Eric Whitacre’s new piece, “Alleluia.” Eric Whitacre has recently been appointed Composer in Residence at Sidney, a position that will bring him back to Sidney on a regular basis to support and enrich the work of our choir and Osborn Director of Music David Skinner, and to teach conducting as part of the University’s new MMus Choral Conducting course. Sidney is also pleased to report that in the last financial year, due to the generous support of our alumni and friends, we have raised over $1m (£672,000) with almost 400 individuals making a donation. As a result of this support we have been able to award a number of hardship grants to students in financial need, in addition to supporting College Teaching Officer positions in History and English. A number of our Fellows will be visiting the USA in the coming months. The Master, Professor Andrew Wallace-Hadrill, will be giving the keynote speech for the Polis and Ekklesia unit of the Society of Biblical Literature in San Francisco in November. Professor James Mayall (Department of Politics and International Studies) will be visiting New York and Washington towards the beginning of November with the Royal College of Defence Studies (RCDS) where he is their Academic Advisor. Meanwhile, our new Vice-Master, Professor Richard Penty (Engineering), spoke at the IEEE Photonics Conference in Cambridge in America Newsletter
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Arlington, Virginia at the beginning of October. In other news, Sam Kirsop, recent Geography graduate, is currently spending a year at Yale as part of the Fox International Fellowships scheme, which supports exchanges between twelve universities around the world, including Cambridge. Sam writes, “The opportunity has allowed me to spend time researching topics that I was introduced to during my geography degree – in particularly environmental politics and Professor Richard Penty law – and my focus is last year’s oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. It has been fantastic to attend new classes and experience the very high standard of teaching in Yale, as well as getting to know the Connecticut area and beyond.” The Sidney Sussex rugby team have also visited the USA recently. Supported by the Parry Dutton Student Fund and the members of the 1596 Foundation, they toured the East Coast, competing against strong university-level opposition from Columbia, Yale and Harvard, winning two out of four matches. Looking forward to next year, the Sidney Sussex Choir will be visiting the USA in the summer. For further information please see www.sid.cam.ac.uk/life/chapel/choir/
TRINITY COLLEGE
www.trin.cam.ac.uk/alumni Dr. Emma Beddoe, Alumni Relations & Events Co-ordinator, writes: The College is delighted that it again has a strong representation of students from the United States. At the undergraduate level, Yashod Javasinghe (Engineering) is participating in the undergraduate exchange with MIT, while Trinity welcomes Rachel Fernandes (Engineering), an MIT student, in return. Emily Tesh (Classics) has gone to the University of Chicago under the College’s exchange scheme, while the College has been very pleased to welcome Lauren Blake (Economics) and Melinda Markert (English) in return. We are delighted that Andres Goza (Mechanical Engineering) is representing Rice University under the Trinity-Rice exchange, while at the graduate level Eleanor Measham (Architecture) will spend a year at Rice. Isobel Palmer (MML) has been awarded a Travelling Studentship to the University of California, Berkeley. The College is pleased to welcome other undergraduates coming to Trinity from America, including Ahmad Akra (Computer Science), Adriana Cherskoy (Natural Sciences), Courtney Gill (MML), Amit Hazi (Maths), Joseph Paris (Natural Sciences), Sunoo Park (Computer Science), Shelby Switzer (ASNAC) and Katherine Wiles (Natural Sciences). At the graduate level we are delighted to welcome John Arulanantham (Music), Sarah Bakst (Linguistics), Daniel Benjamin (English), Christopher Boyce (Chemical Engineering), Casey Brienza (Sociology), Diana Burk (Physiology & 16
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Neuroscience), Andrew Chen (History of Art & Architecture), Lindsay Chura (Psychiatry), Benjamin Cole (Advanced Computer Science), Jacob Cox (Pathology), Natasha Degen (History of Art), Tristan Deveney (English Studies), Charles Drummond (History), Alexander Gabrovsky (English), Mikkel Gladhaug (Management), Kevin Grove (Divinity), Geoffrey Hill (English), Alisa Koonce (History), Weifeng Lee (Architecture), David Liebers (History & Philosophy of Science & Medicine), Kyle Mitchell (Philosophy), Astasia Myers (Technology Policy), Natasha Pesaran (Historical Studies), Monica Petrescu (Economics), Barret Pfeiffer (Physiology & Neuroscience), Allen Pope (Polar Studies), Tera Pruitt (Archaeology), Susan Raich (History), Arjun Ramamurti (Political Thought & Intellectual History), Brian Richardson (Politics & International Studies), Jacson Salovaara (Economics), David Simon (Law), Jackson Salovaara (Economics), David Simon (Law), William Sonnex (Computer Science), Jonathan Teubner (Divinity), Rebecca Wagner (History) Stan Wang (Surgery), Orian Welling (Engineering), Tara Westover (Engineering) Luke Wylie (Oncology), Michael Young (Philosophy) and Amy Zhang (Advanced Computer Science). Anthony Austin and Laszlo Lovasz will be taking the MASt in Pure Mathematics, while Nathaniel Thomas will be taking it in Applied Mathematics and Jemma Wolcott-Green in Astrophysics. Building on the success of previous trips, we again visited the East Coast. The Master and Mr. Bannard-Smith very much enjoyed their trip to New York and Boston in October. Adrian Weller (1988) and his wife Laura very kindly hosted a reception in their New York apartment. In Boston, the Master and Mr. Bannard-Smith met alumni from Trinity and other Cambridge Colleges at the British Consulate. Looking forward to 2012, we are hoping to have events in Houston in March with the Dean, Dr. Michael Banner; and in San Francisco just after Easter and in Washington DC in late April, both with the Master. Further details will be sent out nearer the time, but if you would be interested in any of our events please email alumni-events@trin.cam.ac.uk or see our website: http://alumni.trin.cam.ac.uk/homepage.
TRINITY HALL
www.trinhall.cam.ac.uk As the gardens of Latham Lawn and Wychfield take on their autumnal hues, the gates to Front Court opened to welcome the matriculands of 2011. What they will not yet understand is that their matriculation to Trinity Hall is not just about receiving their Cambridge BA or post-graduate degree, but is about joining a new family – a new international family. The USA is our largest international outpost, with New York, Washington DC and San Francisco attracting the largest cohorts of alumni. Some of our alumni newly arriving in these cities for work have found our online community, www.THalumni.net, very useful as it has allowed them to search for Trinity Hall alumni already residing in the area, many of whom have offered invaluable local knowledge to help ease those coming into a new and unknown environment. We are keen to establish some Regional Reps whose remit would include acting as a central point of contact for alumni in cities or a defined area. If you would like to learn more of this role, please do contact Jocelyn Poulton (contact details below). In this the year of the London Olympics, the College will be
hosting an event to celebrate the sporting achievements of the Hall on Saturday 29 June 2012. The 2012 Calendar features archive sporting photos, and the web pages will have monthly features on current sportsmen and women, including Tom James (TH 2002) and Emma Pooley (TH 2001) both hopeful of repeating their 2008 medal-winning performances at the London Olympics; to order your copy of the calendar, visit our website. If you have a sporting story and pictures that you would like to share, please get in touch with Jocelyn Poulton. We congratulate Dr. Simon Moore Billy Fiske (TH 1928), captain of the US who received a 2010 Bobsleigh Team which won gold at St. Moritz in Pilkington Prize for 1928. Born in 1911, he is one of the USAʼs his excellence in youngest-ever gold medalists. teaching. The Master will be visiting New York later this year and will be hosting a Trinity Hall event. Details will be sent and posted on our website. We remain indebted to all the Trinity Hall alumni and friends who continue to support the College through their advice and help, or through a gift to the College. We extend our warmest thanks to you all for your support and interest in Trinity Hall and its future. If you do find yourselves in the UK, we do hope your schedule will give you the time for a return trip to Cambridge and Trinity Hall, where a warm welcome awaits you. Jocelyn Poulton, Development Director; (+44) 1223 332563; development@trinhall.cam.ac.uk; www.trinhall.cam.ac.uk.
WOLFSON COLLEGE www.wolfson.cam.ac.uk
From Karen Stephenson, Fellow & Development Director: As always, our community of Visiting Academics at Wolfson has been strong this year, and we are delighted that 21 of our 143 Visitors in 2010-2011 have been from the USA. The full list of all Wolfson’s visitors can be found online in our newly-designed Wolfson Review (the new name for our annual magazine) at www.wolfson.cam.ac.uk/alumni/ magazine/review-35.pdf We would love to hear your thoughts about the Review, and our other redesigned print and online publications, Ring True – www.wolfson.cam.ac.uk/alumni/ ringtrue/newsletter-14.pdf and
www.WolfsonPlus.com Similarly, if you have any articles or news which you would like us to publish, do please send it to us at communications@wolfson. cam.ac.uk As part of our online community, www.WolfsonNetwork. com, we are hoping to launch our career mentoring scheme in the forthcoming year. If you are interested in helping fellow Wolfson alumni and students with careers advice, do please let us know at alumni@wolfson.cam.ac.uk, or drop us a line in the Alumni & Development office. You will remember that our postcode is CB3 9BB. The Network gives members access to Wolfson’s worldwide community and is open to all Wolfson members. You can sign up at www.WolfsonNetwork.com Our thanks this issue go particularly to our hosts in the US this year. In April, Wolfson Fellow Dr. Giles Yeo and local alumnus Dr. Josef Martens (1988) hosted a dinner in Washington DC, where interesting connections were made – especially by two colleagues working on Capitol Hill who, until the dinner, had not realized that they were both alumni of Wolfson! July took the President and me to Seattle, where Honorary Fellow Mr. William H. Gates Snr. hosted a lovely reception at the spectacular new campus of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and John Hughes (1969) introduced us to the delights of the Rainier Club. In San Francisco, Dr. Nigel Ten Fleming (1980) and Dr. Tessa Ten Tusscher hosted a wonderful gathering at their hill-side home overlooking the San Francisco Bay on a beautiful sunny evening. We are extremely grateful to all our generous hosts for their support, and to Wolfson’s members who support their College in so many different ways. We look forward to hearing from you or seeing you – in the UK or the US – before too long.
Go to “Cambridge in America” on Facebook to see the latest postings of news and events of interest to alumni in the US. Cambridge in America Newsletter
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On-Line Videos Showcase Alumni Events Across the US In the past year there have been numerous opportunities for Cambridge alumni and friends across the country to gather locally and encounter the brilliance of Cambridge, as embodied by accomplished fellow alumni, visiting academics, or student performers. As details become known, advance word about these events is posted on Cambridge in America’s website, www.cantab.org. When time permits and potential interest warrants, announcements are e-mailed to alumni and friends in the local area (that is, to those people for whom we have e-mail addresses). In addition, these events are announced on CAm’s Facebook page.
Tilar Mazzeo, Pembroke College alumna, professor at Colby College, speaking on her new book The Secret of Chanel No. 5: The Intimate History of the Worldʼs Most Famous Perfume, at the Fashion Institute of Technology, December 2010.
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For a number of the events organized by Cambridge in America, videos have recorded the speakers’ presentations, and they now can be enjoyed at your convenience, on-line. A full catalogue of these video offerings (going back to 2005) is available at www.cantab.org/new-videos.html Here are some highlights from the past year’s events, viewable on-line. Enjoy these videos, and watch your mailboxes (electronic and other) for announcements of new Cambridge in America videos and the local events they chronicle, across the country.
Peter Godwin, St. Catharineʼs alumnus, Rhodesia-born journalist, author of two acclaimed memoirs Mukiwa and When a Crocodile Eats the Sun, speaking on his new book The Fear: Robert Mugabe and the Martyrdom of Zimbabwe, March 2011.
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Richard Cohen, Magdalene College alumnus, UK saber champion/Olympian and author of a history of swordfighting, speaking on his new book Chasing the Sun: the Epic Story of the Star That Gives Us Life, February 2011
Ben Outhwaite, Head of the Taylor-Schechter Genizah Research Unit at the Cambridge University Library, alumnus of Christʼs College, speaking about the latest discoveries in a century of Genizah research at Cambridge, May 2011
Lydia Wilson, Trinity Hall alumna, founding coeditor of the Cambridge Literary Review, speaking about launching a brand-new literary magazine, at Cambridge in America Day – New York, April 2011.
Helen Oyeyemi, 2006 graduate of Corpus Christi, author of three acclaimed novels, reading from her new short-story collection Mr. Fox, at Cambridge in America Day – New York, April 2011.
Mike Rands, executive director of the Cambridge Conservation Initiative (CCI), one of the Universityʼs Strategic Initiatives, a collaboration between the University and leading biodiversity conservation organizations in the Cambridge area, at Cambridge in America Day – San Francisco, November 2010.
Stefan Collini, Professor of Intellectual History and English Literature at Cambridge, Professorial Fellow of Clare Hall, critic and commentator on intellectual history, the university, and culture and society, speaking at Cambridge in America Day – New York, April 2011 Cambridge in America Newsletter
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Treasures from the Fitzwilliam Museum on View in Milwaukee, Detroit, and San Francisco
You can savor the beauty of some treasures from the Fitzwiliam Museum this autumn and winter right here in the United States, without traveling to Cambridge. Please check the local museums’ own websites for details about visiting hours and admissions fees.
Above: Eugène Boudin, Sunset over the Sea, pastels on paper (Fitzwilliam Museum No. 2380), in Impressionism: Masterworks on Paper at the Milwaukee Art Museum (12 October 2011 – 8 January 2012). Left: Camille Pissarro, In the Garden at Pontoise: a young woman washing dishes, oil on canvas (Fitzwilliam Museum No. PD.53-1947), in Pissarroʼs People at the Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco (22 October 2011 – 22 January 2012).
Rembrandt, Supper at Emmaus, c.1640-41, pen, brown ink, brown wash, heightened with white, on paper (Fitzwilliam Museum No. 2139), in Rembrandt and the Face of Jesus at the Detroit Institute of Arts (20 November 2011 – 12 February 2012).
New Pitt Professor at Cambridge: Columbiaʼs Alan Brinkley
This year’s Pitt Professor of American Studies, visiting Cambridge for the academic year 2011-2012, is Alan Brinkley, who is Allen Nevins Professor of American History at Columbia University. A 1971 graduate of Princeton, Alan earned his MA (1975) and PhD (1979) at Harvard, where he continued to teach, then joined the
ASIYA KHAKI
Columbia history faculty and served as the university’s provost from 2003 to 2009. He has won awards for teaching excellence at both Harvard and Columbia, and has also taught at MIT and the Graduate School of the City University of New York. He was visiting Harmsworth Professor of American History at Oxford in 1998-1999. He is the author of many books on American political history; the Washington Post praised The Publisher: Henry Luce and His American Century (Knopf, 2010) as “a monumental, magisterial biography, the finest ever written about an American journalist.” Prof. Brinkley has been named a Fellow of St. John’s College. For more about the Pitt Professors, see Cambridge in America Newsletter issue no. 11, October 2006, accessible on-line at www.cantab.org/ newsletter/ The CAm Newsletter is published by Cambridge in America 292 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10017 Telephone: (212) 984-0960, Fax: (212) 984-0970, Email: mail@cantab.org Website: www.cantab.org
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