Magdalene Matters: Issue 31

autumn 2009

MAGDALENE

MATTERS

ISSUE 31

MAGDALENEMATTERS is published twice yearly by The Alumni & Development Office Magdalene College Cambridge CB3 0AG Text © The Master and Fellows of Magdalene College 2009

MAGDALENEMATTERS is also available in pdf form via the A&DO website: www.magdalenecambridge.com

Printed on FCSC certified paper by Labute Group Ltd, Milton, Cambridge

MAGDALENE

COVER: Saint Mary Magdalene attributed to Pietro Perugino (1498) Panel, 47 x 34 cm. Florence, Palazzo Pitti, Galleria Palatina

MATTERS CONTENTS autumn 2009 a wacky business model 4 grace and an occasional favour 5 henry dunster 6 development news 7 from berlin to istanbul 8 breaking new ground 9 edward cripps (1951-2009) 10 fellows’ news 11 members’ news 12 the master and the murderer 13 diary 14 member services 15 images: the founding charter 16

MAGDALENEMATTERS comment

4

“a wacky business model?”

or measuring worth in higher education

In a recent podcast to its members, Dartmouth College in the United States set out and defended what one alumnus had described as its“wacky business model”. Crudely put, his accusation was:‘Dartmouth creates a worldclassproduct,discountsthepricefifty-fourpercent,givesanadditionaldiscountforcertainbuyers...thenbegsformoney.’

Critics of the institution’s finances have also questioned its efficiency. Is what Dartmouth does – educating students in small classes led by leading authorities in their subjects – efficient in the modern business sense? Would it not be more efficient to teach students by other means: in large lecture classes, for example, given by teaching assistants and supported by IT resources available “24/7” through podcasts, downloads and information-rich webpages? Throughput would be greater and, just as importantly, leading academics would be free to pursue their research unhindered by time-consuming teaching commitments

The same points could, of course, be made in the case of all the major research universities, not least collegiate ones. We offer an expensive product for what is objectively a very low fee (we are decidedly “loss-making”institutions) and some of our most distinguished minds find themselves engaged in teaching the feshest of freshers. Much of the upcoming political debate, whilst acknowledging that the current university fee is insufficient for the purpose, will note that the public purse is unable to make good any shortfalls and will question the impact any increased fee will have on the access agenda. Rightly, it will highlight the difficulty that all universities will face if fees are raised to the point where they discourage application from those from poorer financial backgrounds. But none of this will “alter the math” and the issue will remain: how do you make a world class product widely available, without significant public subsidy, at a fee everyone can afford?

(For the record, it is worth putting figures to those Dartmouth costs: Annual Cost of Education per student: $99,630; student and/or family contribution: $45,483 (the “student” contribution in the UK is $4,500); 48% of Dartmouth students receive hardship-assessed financial support to offset their personal contribution.

Another figure – routine for the Ivy League but as yet unimaginable in the UK – is that charitable gifts underwrite the shortfall - some 37% of the cost of a year at Dartmouth).

So does this mean that the great universities (Cambridge was ranked 2nd only to Harvard this year in theTimesHigherEducation-QSWorldUniversityRankings)mustengageinafundamentalrethinkoftheirbusiness plan, shifting the emphasis from value to price and from excellence to efficiency by lowering costs and increasing“student throughput”as the Dartmouth podcast – tongue in cheek – suggests? Well, no. ‘Inefficiency is partly what makes a school like Dartmouth so good’the“promo”asserts, going on to note that such inefficiencies includeadeterminationtoprovide‘anambitiouslearningenvironmenttoeducatethemostpromisingstudentstoprepare them for a lifetime of learning and responsible leadership’; insistence on low student:teacher ratios as well as close research/teaching synergies and a recognition that the worth of what universities and colleges provide “‘is measured in something more valuable than dollars’.

The podcast ends with a quotation well-known to Dartmouth alumni. Its author is one of Dartmouth’s most famous sons, 19th-century political figure Daniel Webster, who said in a courtroom when defending his alma mater against a writ,“It is, Sir, as I have said, a small college. And yet there are those who love it!”’

Hopefully, much the same can be said of Magdalene and, by the way, like all of the best colleges and universities, we won’t be changing the fundamentals of our business model - or our educational priorities any time soon.

TheDartmouthpodcastcanbeaccessedat:http://karlynmorissette.karlyn.me/2009/06/dartmouths-wacky-business-model/

Cambridge was ranked second only to Harvard in the THE-QS World University Rankings but is our business model more medieval than modern?

grace and an occasional favour A view from the President

Nicholas Boyle, Schrӧder Professor of German and the College’s President reveals the secrets of an ancient office with an important contemporary purpose

At dinners in Hall I am often asked: But what does the President actually do? The obvious answer – since I have just done it – is:‘Well, the President says the grace’. That might not seem a heavy responsibility but, perhaps oddly, it is the key to understanding the President’s office. The President presides at dinner, and therefore says the grace, because the Master, when he comes into the Hall, is technically the guest of the Fellows and the Scholars at their common table – until modern times the Master was separately catered for in the Lodge. The relationship between Master and President is rather like that between Bishop and Dean, with the Fellows in the role of the cathedral canons. It is essential to the President’s role that he or she is one of the Fellows, and under the new statutes is elected by them, while the Master – who is not a Fellow at all – has nearly always come to the College from outside. In the past there were not infrequent conflicts between the Master and the Fellows, and the President functioned either as the Fellows’ shop-steward, representing them to the Master, or the Master’s trusty, keeping the Fellows in order. In the seventeenth century there was a bitter (and confusing) struggle between (Henry) Smyth, the Master, and (John) Smith, the President, in the course of which the President was accused of falsifying the statutes and embezzling College funds. In the twentieth century, as the role of the Master has come to resemble more that of the head of an academic department, the role of the President has also changed. If the Master is the Father (or, presumably, Mother) of the College, concerned for all its members, Fellows, students, and staff alike, the President is the Father (etc.) specifically of the Fellows. That is why the President is rather a shadowy figure for most students, emerging briefly into the light only when the Master, for whom he acts as deputy, is away. But the Fellows, those who are here because they are permanently committed to the teaching and development of their subjects, are the academic core of the College, and the President’s job is to keep them happy. The President even makes a promise on his installation to maintain the unity of the Fellowship, and it is true that Magdalene has suffered much less than most colleges from faction and division.

So what does the President actually do? A recent fairly typical day for me in September, when University and College are gearing up for the new academic year, ran something like this. 7.30am: emails on matters small and large from the department (grants to students, impending courses, promotion committees, a research network I am starting up) and from the College (special permissions for use of a guest room or for a dinner outside the usual framework, a personal problem to be resolved, responses coming in to my request for items for my termly newsletter to the Fellows).

9am till 12pm: finalizing the typescript of a book I am publishing in March on the next global crisis (one of the advantages of working on German philosophers is that they were interested in everything, including politics, economics, and world governance, so I always have an excuse to write about current affairs if I want to). 12pm: into college to pick up letters and consult with the secretary I share with the Master about the distribution of Fellows’ rooms in the coming year. It takes about three months to sort out who goes where, and there are two basic problems: we don’t have enough quality rooms to house our Fellows (and so to give our students the right surroundings to be taught in); and we can’t afford to keep rooms empty for the sheer luxury of flexibility. In particular we lack accommodation for research fellows with partners (and for married graduates generally). At lunch, the best moment of the day for meeting people and doing, or broaching, business, there is much - fully deserved – mutual congratulation on the dramatic improvement in our exam results. I have a quick chat with one or two colleagues and the Master about a memorial service and about a forthcoming Fellowship Committeemeeting at which we have to plan our response to the introduction of a new Tripos in Linguistics. After lunch is a good time for meetings one to one. A couple of weeks ago it was talking to the Bursar about the insolvency of our main contractor in the middle of a £2.5 m. building project. In a couple of weeks’ time it will be supervising graduates or undergraduates. Today I have a session with a new Fellow, answering questions and explaining our customs. At 3pm, I go on to the University Library to deal with some footnotes to an article on Goethe for an American journal. Then it’s back home to more emails. And then, since there are college guests to entertain, I go into dinner in Hall, and say the grace.

MAGDALENEMATTERS viewpoint

5

MAGDALENEMATTERS feature

6 Dunster memorials

No portrait of Dunster exists, nor are the arms attributed to him in the College Hall remotely authentic, However, design of the the Harvard arms is often attributed to Dunster and these adorn the College’s Dunster Staircase in the Lutyens Building.

In institutional reciprocity, tracery stones from Magdalene adorn the refectory of Dunster House at Harvard.

Henry Dunster

or Magdalene in America seventeenth century style 2009 marks the 400th anniversary of the birth and 350th anniversary of the death of Henry Dunster. Dunster was born in Bury, Lancashire, the fifth child of a yeoman farmer. He entered Magdalene aged 17, graduated in 1630, and remained in residence to take his MA in 1634. After ordination, he returned to Bury as a teacher and curate. Throughout this time, Dunster harboured increasing doubts concerning the direction the Church of England was taking and these led him to gravitate towards Puritanism. Like others of similar persuasion, he emigrated to New England in 1640.

Although a relative unknown on his arrival in Boston, Dunster was immediately appointed (August 24 1640) to Harvard College. Much has been made of the precocious nature of this appointment as well as of Dunster’s choice of President (rather than Master (the title of his predecessor, Nathaniel Eaton)) as his preferred title. The [Magdalene] College History argues persuasively that Dunster firmly expected that a master would, in time, be appointed over him and so chose President (a title and a role he knew well from his Magdalene days) to represent his proper station (see page 6). But no master was appointed and the head of Harvard has remained its President ever since. With Cambridge (and Magdalene in particular) as models, he set about reforming an institution that lacked both leadership and direction. The college laws were first codified in 1646 and a charter was obtained in 1650. He successfully instituted a 4 years degree course: a residential BA (or AB) along broadly Cambridge lines and encouraged the gift of books for a library badly in need of

them; recognising that alongside good teachers, a good library lay at the core of any successful academic institution. Finally, with the assistance of Thomas Shepard, the eminent Puritan and theologian, Dunster successfully petitioned the New England Confederation for financial support for the college. The resulting “levy” of the citizenry yielded gifts of £250. Edward JohnsoninhisWonderWorkingProvidence(1654)observedthat‘the learnedreverend,andjudiciousMr.HenryDunster‘was]fittedfromthe Lord for the work.’

In 1641 Dunster married Elizabeth, the widow of Jesse Glover. The marriage brought Dunster a measure of financial security and, just as importantly, Glover’s printing press. Operated for years in Dunster’s house, it was the first in the Colonies and was later acquired by Harvard.

Though a member of the Cambridge church, Dunster refused to have an infant son baptized. Public hostility to his anti-paedobaptist views led to demands for his resignation from Harvard. On Oct. 24 1654, he did, indeed, resign, later becoming a minister at Scituate in Plymouth Colony where he died in 1659. He left land and other valuable assets to Harvard, thus contributing to another key tradition: that of benefaction.

In Dunster the College has a remarkable alumnus: a man of New World firsts: the effective founder of the first university, the first president, first printer and publisher and the first “CEO” of a Corporation.

A fuller (and more considered) account of Dunster and Harvard’s early years written by Ronald Hyam appears in the forthcoming College Magazine.

Goings and Comings

The College’s Annual Fund helps the College to complete important projects sooner and releases capital for other vital uses.

The Annual Fund

Three years ago, the College launched its Annual Fund with a view to attracting donations from those members and friends who prefer to see their gifts put to immediate use rather than added to the General Endowment. It has already proved a popular destination and donations to it have held up remarkably well even in testing times.

Over the last three years, donations to the Annual Fund have allowed the College to undertake important work in First Court (which has in turn allowed us to comply with DDA regulations) and has helped pay for the complete refurbishment of the Hall. The latter began in 2008 when the armorial was restored, and continued in 2009 with the repair and

repainting of the walls, ceiling and panelling. Hall now looks more splendid than ever; an important fact in itself, but also one which makes it a much more attractive venue for commerial lettings (particularly wedding receptions in the summer).

All of this makes for a neat illustration of the value of the Annual Fund: an important project is completed earlier than might otherwise be the case, increased revenue results and monies which the College would have to have expended in any event are released to meet other essential needs.

This year we hope to improve our Ramsay Hall facility for all users by installing more attractive and more practical dining tables and chairs.

It is with heartfel thanks that we say goodbye to Kate Siddiqui who completed her year with us at the end of September. Kate has become well known to members - both in person and through her “virtual” presence in emails and events communications over the year, and has been a very popular and effective member of the team. Her swansong - the Open Garden Event organised as part of the College’s contribution to the 8ooth Anniversary year - was a triumph of organisation and keen attention to detail; hallmarks of Kate’s work throughout her time with us.

Like all those who make a success of their roles, Kate has been replaced not by one, but by two incoming recruits. In August, Sam Haskell (a graduate in English from Downing) joined us as our Database Manager, a new post; whilst in October, Eloïse Hayes joined us as Alumni Relations Officer. Eloïse is also a graduate in English but from Newnham College. Both are testament to the affirmative action policy robustly in place at Magdalene (choosing the wrong college as an undergraduate should be no bar to future progress) and both are very welcome.

Alongside these additional human resources, the College has also decided to improve the software package used to drive the Alumni & Development Office database and this too should bring benefits to members in the form of more accurate record keeping and better communications.

Look out soon for a redesigned and more navigable website courtesy of the talented Mr Haskell.

reunion events a new schedule

In response to suggestions from members, the College has revisited the Reunion Lunch and Dinner arrangements and devised a new schedule which we hope will solve one or two small problems identified in the old scheme.

Three significant changes have been instituted. Firstly, the widely expressed preference for Friday evenings has been recognised in the case of all three Dinners. Secondly, the first Reunion Dinner of the year has been brought forward from June to March. And thirdly, the cycle has been revised with an element of “gearing” introduced to ensure that the same three (or occasionally four) year groups do not always come together. In this way members should find that, over a three reunion cycle (about 10-12 years), they will be progressively the junior, middle and senior years. Full details of the revised schedule are available on the website though we will be happy to mail a copy to any member who would like one. Our thanks go in particular to Michael Keall (“Mr Fix-it”) for his hard work in devising the new schedule and all without the aid of complex algorithms.

New Brooms Sam Haskell and Eloïse Hayes our two new recruits. They will bring additional technical facility as well as youthful energy to our alumni and development programmes.

MAGDALENEMATTERS development

7

MAGDALENEMATTERS college

8

from berlin to istanbul raising money for africa

Four undergraduates - Tom Wilson, Josh Wedlake, Thomas Bramall and Duncan Brisk - embarked this September on a 2,300 mile adventure, cycling from Berlin to Istanbul to raise money for school girls in Africa.

The “boys on bikes” were on the road for a month hoping to raise more than £500 on behalf of the Cambridge-based charity Camfed, which is this year’s University of Cambridge Charity of the Year. They were also planning to raise £500 for the Teenage Cancer Trust.

The intrepid four crossed seven countries, scaled two massive mountain ranges and visited four capital cities on their odyssey across Europe. Cycling up to 100 miles a day with their tents on their backs through Germany, Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey, they finally arrived in Istanbul just prior to the start of Term in October.

Philosophy student Thomas Bramall, who is about to start his final year, said that he and his teammates - all keen rowers - had trained hard for the trip and were under no illusions about the magnitude of the challenge. They became keen to support Camfed’s

work with girls in Africa when they discovered that the charity had been chosen for support by this year’s College RAG Committee.

Thomas commented: ‘All of us have been lucky enoughtohaveagoodeducationandtohavebeenbroughtupina societywhichmoreorlessrespectsequality.Weallhavetravelled elsewherearoundtheworldtolessprivilegedareas,whichnaturally leadstoourbeingabletoseetheadvantagesofpromotingeducation.’

By raising funds for Camfed, Thomas and his friends will help to create a cycle of change by offering girls in rural Africa the opportunity to fulfil their potential and transform their communities for generations to come.

Camfed is launching a new programme to educate girls in rural Malawi – where less than one in five girls goes to secondary school. As part of the University’s 800th Anniversary celebrations, Camfed hopes to transform the future of 800 girls in some of the poorest parts of Malawi by giving them the chance to go to secondary school. For more information on Camfed visit: http://uk.camfed.org/get-involved/

CAMFED is the chosen Charity of the 800th Anniversary year.

Four Magdalene undergraduates have taken its mission to heart

MAGDALENEMATTERS feature

9

Chesterton Road Phase II:The Master and MrsRobinson break ground at the commencement of building

Breaking New Ground a summer of progress

Casual visitors to Cambridge often refer to the experience of leaving Magdalene Street and arriving in First Court as being rather like chancing upon an oasis of calm in a desert of chaos. It is true that stepping inside Magdalene often induces feelings of serenity which belie the rather furious paddling often going on just underneath the surface. Those who live and work here know that Magdalene is far from a hive of inactivity and that a great deal of hard (and sometimes noisy) work is in hand.

In truth there are at least two kinds of work going on in Magdalene at present and both have brought their rewards:

Firstly, there is the obvious business of constructing Chesterton Road Phase II which began in June and is scheduled to be completed in August 2010. This important scheme (which will add a further 16 en suite rooms to the College’s stock of accommodation) represents an important stage in the fulfilment of the College’s ambition to house all of its junior members (undergraduate and graduate alike) for the whole of their time here. The scheme has been financed from donations (including monies held over from the Cripps Foundation’s original gift for the whole project) and from the sale of some of the College’s (non-historic) agriculutural land holdings. The ground-breaking ceremony took place in early June and was performed (with considerable panache) by the Master and Mrs Robinson. It was attended by, amongst others, Edward Cripps on what was to prove, sadly, his last visit to the College. During a lunch in the Master’s Lodge which

followed the short ceremony, he expressed his delight that the College had taken the courageous decision to complete the scheme in difficult times. Cripps Court will forever stand as a testimony to Edward and his brother Robert’s generosity, vision and affection for Magdalene.

Less visible, though no less gratifying, is the steady application to their own work of our junior members who, this year as last, distinguished themselves in the Tripos. League Tables are notoriously fickle (and under-performing institutions are quick to point out their fallibility as well as their failure to measure a College’s “all-round” worth) but since Magdalene has reached unprecedentedly high rankings in each and every one of them this year, let us for the time being celebrate these unfailingly accurate instruments of institutional calibration. With over 87% of the final year cohort achieving a 2.1 or better (28% achieved Firsts) the College was placed 5th in the official Baxter Tables (and top overall in the Arts and Humanities), its highest ranking in modern times.

Performances such as these are the product of a great deal of hard work, careful stewardship and the provision of first-class facilities for our talented young men and women. The College remains unremitting in its pursuit of excellence in all of these regards. And, speaking of youth, congratulations are due to all of our Freshers who matriculated on 5th October. Amongst them is 15 year-old Mathematics student Niall Thompson, whose precocious gifts have earned him a place in College and several column inches in the national press.

MAGDALENEMATTERS obituary

10

Edward in two favouite locations: the 6th tee of the Eyemouth Golf Course and at the 19th hole, enjoying a drink with Denis Murphy after yet another “grudge” match

Edward Cripps (1951-2009) Honorary Fellow, benefactor and friend

In August, the College was deeply saddened to learn of the sudden death, aged 57, of Edward Cripps, Honorary Fellow. Magdalene has had no better friend and very few indeed whose friendship has done more to improve our way of life and promote our statutory objectives, ‘education, religion, learning and research’.

The citation for his Honorary Fellowship reads in part: inthelonghistoryoftheCollegefromthefifteenthcenturyuntilnow,

there has been no benefactor more deserving of our highest

honourthanEdwardCripps.HeandhisbrotherRobertbestowed ontheCollegethemostsignificantbenefactionithaseverreceived, andhavemadepossiblethebuildingofoursplendidnewSixthCourt acrossthewayinChestertonRoad,aworthysuccessor,webelieve, tothehistoricsequenceofCollegebuildingsbegunbythemonksof Crowland.Thenew(Cripps)Courtwillhaveamajorimpactonthe amenitiesandwell-beingofourjuniormembers,andontheCollege’s earningcapacity.Collegesareasclosetobeingimmortalasanything inthisworldcanbe,andthegoodeffectsofsuchgenerositywillstill befeltwithintheCollegegenerationsfromnow,whenallofusare dust.”

The President’s words take on a greater poignancy from the untimely death of this splendid man who – always avoiding the limelight – gave without counting the cost.

Despite the burdens of running a major worldwide business enterprise, he never lost his sense of fun and always found time for Magdalene, the College he clearly loved (although, and this is remarkable, a member

of St John’s). He was completely without self-importance, notwithstanding the princely scale of his benefactions to Magdalene and to Cambridge. His pleasures were simple: a glass (or two) of whisky (or “Scottish Wine” as he usually referred to it), a walk along the beach at Southwold; solving crossword puzzles with Margaret; friendly Ashes rivalries with Robert; fish and chips in a pub after thrashing the Bursar at golf. The motto in Cripps court, Non omnis moriar, is tragically premature.

The Master (who also represented the ViceChancellor), the President and many Fellows attended a Service of Thanksgiving at Southwold in September on a blustery but brilliantly bright day. The celebration of Edward’s life was also attended by Fellows, former Bursars and Masters of three other Cambridge colleges, by representatives of the University and by others privileged to have worked with Edward over many years. An opportunity for all of us to remember Edward in our own individual ways, the service was also an opportunity to reflect collectively on the profound contribution made by the family’s Foundation to the well-being of the collegiate University. Cripps is a name which is enshrined in Cambridge University’s history and Edward’s is a name which will long remain in Magdalene’s collective memory.

We have lost a dear friend. All at Magdalene extend our heartfelt condolence to Margaret, to Robert and to their families.

A Man on a Mission Philip Hobday After another of Bishop Simon’s valiant, and warmly appreciated, interregnums in the Easter Term, we welcome our new Chaplain, Philip Hobday. Philip comes to us from a curacy in Kent, after studying both in Oxford and in Cambridge, where he trained for the ministry at Ridley Hall, but the spirit of Magdalene long ago set its mark on him, for he was brought up in Coventry, where Simon confirmed him.

In his spare time, as he puts it, he likes reading, films, food and drink, and walking, which is a lot to give up – he will be taking paternity leave in February. Having just passed his driving test he advises any colleagues driving in Cambridge to turn off briskly if they see a red Nissan Micra approaching. His wife, Hannah, is also in orders and is about to take up a position at St George’s, Chesterton. We wish them both every success in their ministry and look forward to seeing the Hobday family around the College for many years to come.

Fellows’ News awards, distinctions & achievements This term we welcome not only a new Chaplain, but a mighty phalanx of new Research and Visiting Fellows.

Charles Vial (Lyon, Paris and Trinity), is Nevile Fellow in Pure Mathematics, with a special interest in relations between algebraic geometry and algebraic topology. He is also a qualified wine-taster. Luca Incurvati (Rome and St John’s) may sound like a topologist but is in fact the Lumley Fellow, working on the philosophy of mathematics,especiallythefoundations of set theory. As an expert on Italian cuisine we hope to “team” him with Charles and set them both to work in the kitchens.

We are fortunate this year to have as a British Academy PostDoctoral Fellow, one of our own alumni, Gareth Atkins. Gareth has recently completed a PhD on 19thcentury evangelicalism.

Our Parnell Research Fellow in Irish Studies is Professor Valerie Hall Professor of Palaeoecology at Queen’s University, Belfast, a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries and the first scientist on the Parnell roster. While at Magdalene, she will extend her research on landscape and climate change in Ireland over the last 10,000 years to include comparisons with England. Her Parnell Lecture, onThe Englishman’s Axe andtheIrishWoodlands,willbedelivered on Monday 16 November at 5.15 in the Cripps Auditorium.

We are further honoured to be hosting Professor Nancy Hewitt, the Pitt Professor of American

History and Institutions. At her home institution – Rutgers University – she is Professor of History and Women’s & Gender Studies and specializes in American women’s history, social movements, and the long nineteenth century. Also visiting this term is Dr Ai Lin Chua, Assistant Professor at the National University of Singapore.

A former doctoral student of Tim Harper’s, Ai Lin will be completing a book on modernity in Singapore.

As usual we have two new Bye-Fellows. Virginia Langum studied English at Trinity College Dublin, and is now researching ‘discretion’ in medieval English literature. She has already made her mark, helping to organise the Open Garden Event in September.

Alexander Büll is researching the medically important topic of protein misfolding. He is a keen ornithologist.

Two new Teaching ByeFellows join the High Table this term:

Paul Bruce, who will help to look after Engineering whilst Holger Babinski is on leave, and Theresa Biberauer, who teaches Linguistics and will help us adjust to the establishment of Linguistics as a full Tripos.

It is a special pleasure to note that Guann-Yeu Chin, our cheerful Deputy Development Director, is now a Fellow-Commoner.

We continue to shine in the reflected glory of John Gurdon, who on 2 October received in New York the 2009 Albert Lasker Basic Medical Research Award for his pioneering work with stem cells. John shares the award of $250,000 with Prof Shinya Yamanaka of Kyoto University. The Lasker Awards are often referred to as ‘America’s Nobels’

Last and certainly not least, Eamon Duffy will receive an honorary DLitt from King’s College London on 25 November.

The remains of hundreds of men, women and children have been preserved over the centuries in the peat bogs of Northern Europe.

Valerie Hall facsinated her audience with her account of some Irish examples during the Landscape Festival and returns this year as Parnell Research Fellow.

MAGDALENEMATTERS fellows

11

MAGDALENEMATTERSmembers

12

Tim Kevan raising the bar

In the great tradition of A P Herbert and John Mortimer (barristers practicing or otherwise - blessed with a gifted pen) comes Tim Kevan (1989).

Tim read Economics and then Law at Magdalene before taking up a scholarship at the Middle Temple.

He subsequently practised at the sharp end of the Law in London, finding time during his ten years as a barrister, to write or to co-write no less than ten law books. In all that time, he built up not just a fund of knowledge and a fund of stories, but also an appreciation of the more absurd side of legal practice, all of which has stood him in good stead when writing for a more general audience.

Tim may be familiar to readers of The Times as the author of theBabyBaristablog(http://babybarista. blogspot.com/) whilst those with a taste for more regional fare may know him through his monthly column for Devon Life. He also makes regular appearances on TV and radio and is the co-author (with Dr Michelle Tempest (1995)) ofWhy Lawyers Should Surf .

Most recently Tim has published - to huge critical acclaim - his first novel BabyBarista and the Art of War (Bloomsbury, 2009). BabyBarista is described as ‘Part Rumpole, part Flashman, crafty and naive by turns both in and out of court, BabyBarista opens a windowontothefascinatingandsecretive(and frequentlyabsurd)waysofthelegalprofession throughhissecretblog.Puncturingpomposity andexposinginjusticewithsubversivewit,this diaryofanobodyisanhilarioustouraround the modern bar.’

Jacob Soll the information master

Other Members’ News achievements

Fulfillingtherequirementsof‘productive scholarshipandoutstandingimaginativeability in the arts’, Rutgers-Camden Associate Professor Jacob Soll (1995) has been awarded a prestigious Guggenheim Fellowship for his book TheEnlightenmentLibraryandtheQuestfor Universal Knowledge. Competition was fierce: his was one of 180 fellowships awarded amongst a group of 300 candidates in this the competition’s 85th year.‘I thought to myself:There is no way — I’ll never win this thing’, he said.

‘The book is about seeing libraries as the centralmotoroftheEnlightenment,which wasagreatmovementinEuropetowards religiousfreedom,tolerance,atheism[andthe] generalideaoftoleranceandrationalism.

Theselibrarieswereresearchinstituteswhere peopleofalldifferentreligionsandpolitical ideologiescouldexchangeideasbutwere overlookedortakenforgrantedwithinthe historicaltimelineoftheEnlightenment’.

Jacob first had the idea to write this book while writing his second book, The Information Master: JeanBaptisteColbert’sSecretStateIntelligence System, which was published in May this year. In his second book, he shows how the legacy of Colbert’s encyclopedic tradition lies at the very centre of the rise of the modern state and was a precursor to industrial intelligence and Internet search engines. Jacob’s first book Publishing‘The Prince:’History, Reading, and the BirthofPoliticalCriticism(2005)received the American Philosophical Society’s Jacques Barzun Prize.

Jacob came to Magdalene to study for his PhD after earning his Diplômed’ÉtudesApprofondiesfromthe École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales in Paris. He has been an Associate Professor at Rutgers-Camden for the past nine years and teaches both undergraduate and graduate courses on early modern Europe.

John McPhee (1952) Pulitzer Prize winning journalist has been awarded an Honorary Degree from Yale.

Others similarly honoured at the ceremony in May were alumna Hillary Rodham Clinton and our own ViceChancellor and former Yale Provost, Alison Richards.

Dr John Harvey (1961) has been awarded the DLitt degree from the University.

Ian Osborne (1963) has recently retired after 22 years as Headmaster of elhaven Hill School.

Julian Amey (1968) has been appointed CEO of the Imperial Society of Teachers of Dance and was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce.

Nigel Chapman (1974) was awarded the CMG in the 2008 Birthday Honours List.

Peter Voith (1983) has been appointed Justice of the Supreme Court of British Columbia.

Roohi Singh (1998) together with his wife Rachel Tait (Jesus College) are working with VSO as Medical Officers at Trinity Hospital, Muona in the Nanje District of Malawi where they are serving a population of 150,000 in a 200 bed facility.

Dr Anthony Marchie (2001) has been appointed a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons, Canada.

Diana O’Carroll (2002) Tom Birch (2004) and Duncan Howitt-Marshall (2007) are archeologists and part of a media-savvy group of physicians and researchers from the University who use radio, live lectures, and the Internet to strip science down to its bare essentials, and promote it to the general public.

Their award-winning BBC weekly radio programme,The Naked Scientists, reaches a potential audience of six million listeners across the east of England, and also has an international following on the web. You can find themat:http://www.thenakedscientists. com/HTML/podcasts/archaeology/

the master and the murderer

A C Benson takes up a “cause celebre” Whilst conducting research into the history of capital punishment in Canada, Professor Ged Martin (1964) has discovered the following passage in – of all places - The Wellington [New Zealand] Evening Post. In it, A C Benson expresses rather “modern” views on the subject of hanging, a punishment which would not become a matter of widespread public debate until fifty years later and which would not be abolished in Great Britain until 1969. Though it does not reveal Benson to be an abolitionist, it does suggest that his reforming instincts were not confined to Cambridge education and that his humanitarian sympathies extended to those very distant from his own social world. The case of Hawley Harvey Crippen was, of course, a notorious one which generated enormous public interest by virtue both of Crippen’s crime (the murder of his wife) and the manner of his arrest (chased down in a transatlantic race aided by, and daily reported through, Marconi’s new system of wireless telegraphy.

From THE WELLINGTON EVENING POST Mr A C Benson, son of the late Archbishop Benson and Fellow of Magdalene College, Cambridge makes a protestagainst‘anactofsuchgrimandrepulsivebrutalityasan execution by hanging is bound to be’.

Now that the dreadful and tragic case of Dr Crippen is finally closed,acasewhich,itishorribletoreflect,hasgiventothousands ofpeoplethekeenestexcitement,and,Iventuretoadd,enjoyment, mayIsayafewwordstodeprecatethehideousdramawhichhas beenenactedsincetheunhappyman’scondemnation?Nooneinthe worldwhohasanytouchofcompassionandhumanitycanhave regardedwithoutasenseofhorrorthedreadfulprolongationofthe frightfulbusiness,orreflectedunmovedupontheghastlyalternations of hope and despair, and the hideous anticipation of the last shockingmoment,withallitspublicity,it’ssickeningmechanical A Reforming Voice Researches by Ged Martin have revealed a hitherto unknown letter to The Times written by AC Benson in which he calls for end to execution by hanging.

A C Benson and Hawley Harvey Crippen

details.Icannothelpthinkingthatatalleventsacondemnedman shouldbeabletochooseboththetime,withinafixedlimit,and themannerofhisdeathandthattheresourcesofmedicalscience shouldbeemployedtomakethatdeathisswift,quiet,andas painlessaspossible.Ifaprisonerinthesolitudeofhiscellmight beallowedtoswallowapotion,orbedonetodeathbyananaesthetic,deathwouldatleasthavesometouchofprivacyanddecorum aboutit.Buttheawfulceremonyandthedisgustingapparatusof violentdeathseemedtomeutterlybarbarousandmediaeval.I wishIcouldfeelthatthecompassionandgenerosityanddignity ofalljustandkindEnglishheartswouldfindsuchexpressionas wouldmakeitpossibleforathingsoinhuman,sodisgraceful,and soghastlytoberelegatedonceandforalltotheclassofhorrors withwhichsocietyhasbravelyandwholesomelydispensed.

Benson’s remarks are perhaps the more poignant given Crippen’s particular infamy and the fact that recent research has questioned whether Crippen was guilty at all. A group of American investigators have claimed that DNA tests conducted on a sample of tissue recovered from Crippen’s basement and preserved in the Metropolitan Police Museum establish the gender of the sample to be male, thus casting doubt on the validity of the expert forensic testimony given at the original trial.

Dr (later Sir) Bernard Spilsbury had used the same evidence to devastating effect and had greatly enhanced the reputation of forensic science in the process.

Crippen was convicted and hung in Pentonville Prison on 23 November 1910. The once ‘most famous house in London’ (as some newspapers called 39 Hilldrop Crescent, the scene of the crime) was destroyed, together with the surrounding houses, by German air raids in World War Two.

Perhaps, more parochially, we should add the name of A C Benson to the distinguished list of Magdalene reformers and human rights champions.

MAGDALENEMATTERS feature

13

MAGDALENEMATTERS diary

14

Varsity Match a college event in support of university rugby

Magdalene members will be able to enjoy special privileges at the Nomura Varsity Match in December

In common with a number of other colleges, Magdalene has joined forces with Cambridge University Rugby Club and the Rugby Football Union, to offer an attractively-priced hospitality package to members.

For just £40, members can purchase, from the College, an allinclusive package (lunch with a glass of wine, match ticket and post-match tea) which will enable them not only to enjoy a fine game of rugby but also meet with many College friends and former College and University rugby players.

This year’s Varsity Match will take place at Twickenham on 10 December. Kick off is at 2pm. The series, which began in 1872 has been interrupted only by the two World Wars. December’s match will be the 127th contest between the two universities. Currently Oxford have 53 wins whilst Cambridge have 59; 14 games have ended in a draw.

If you (and a friend) would like to join us for this exciting event please visitthewebsiteatwww.magdalenecambridge.com/varsityrugby.htmlorcontactthe Alumni & Development Office by any of the usual means.

Events Diary 2009/10

Further details from: www.magdalenecambridge.com

Wednesday 21 October: Breakfast Visit to the House of Lords*: 8.30am Kindly sponsored by Lord Patten.

Includes a full English breakfast in the Cholmondeley Room, and an opportunity to view the Palace of Westminster.

Contact: chrisbabbsuk@waitrose.com Monday 26 October: Britten Sinfonia*: Christopher Hogwood directs Purcell, Handel, Haydn, Mendelssohn & Martinu: Queen Elizabeth Hall, London.

Drinks reception (6.30pm) and concert (7.30pm) . Tickets from QEH (see above).

Reception invitation download: http://snipr.com/bsinfonia Wednesday 4 November: Visit to the Royal Collection*: Queen’s Gallery, London. Tickets strictly limited.

Contact: chrisbabbsuk@waitrose.com Friday 6 November: New York Dinner*: Union Club, 101 E69th, New York.

6.15 for 7pm; business attire. Cost $115, $60 (concession).

Contact: Mam@magd.cam.ac.uk Sunday 8 November: Boston Lyric Opera and Reception*: (in conjunction with CAm) Wang Theater, Shubert Theatre, Boston. 1pm and 3pm performance.

Contact: Hannah@cantab.org Tuesday 10 November: Philadelphia Event*: (in conjunction with CAm) details tbc. Contact: Hannah@cantab.org Wednesday 11 November: Los Angeles Dinner*: restaurant dinner detailstbc.Contact:Mam@magd.cam.ac.uk Friday 13 November: San Francisco Dinner*: restaurant dinner details tbc.

Contact: aschultz@facebook.com Sunday 15 November: Vancouver Dinner*: restaurant dinner details tbc.

Contact: alumni@magd.cam.ac.uk

Magdalen, Oxford

Detail: La Tribuna degli Uffizi; J Zoffany

Thursday 19 November: Magdalene in the City: details tbc.

Contact: alumni@magd.cam.ac.uk Saturday 5 December: New York 800th Anniversary Gala*: CAm Event; Gotham Hall, New York 6pm.

Contact: gala@cantab.org Thursday 10 December: San Francisco 800th Anniversary Reception*: CAm Event; St Francis Yacht Club, SF 6pm Contact: sf@cantab.org

Places for many of these events can be reserved online vis webALUMNUS

Friday 18 May : Britten Sinfonia*:ImogenCooperdirectsBeethoven: Queen Elizabeth Hall, London. Drinks reception (6.30pm) and concert (7.30pm).

Tickets from QEH (see above). Reception invitation download: http://snipr.com/bsinfonia Thursday 1 July : Association Summer Lunch*: College Hall. Details tbc Contact: chrisbabbsuk@waitrose.com COLLEGE REUNIONS (2010)

Thursday 10 December: Varsity Rugby Match and College Lunch*: TwickenhamStadium.Lunch,matchandtea £40 per person. (A guest welcome) Contact: alumni@magd.cam.ac.uk

Friday 19 March: Dinner (1970-1972) Saturday 1 May: Lunch* (1952-1956) Friday 17 September: Dinner (1973-1975) Friday 24 September: Dinner (1976-1978)

2010

Non-resident Member Nights:

Monday 8 February: Britten Sinfonia*: Britten in America: Queen Elizabeth Hall, London. Drinks reception (6.30pm) and concert (7.30pm) . Tickets from QEH . Reception invitation download: http://snipr.com/bsinfonia

Saturday 7 November; Friday 27 November; Friday 29 January; Friday 19 February; Friday 12 March Friday 30 April; Saturday 22 May and Friday 11 June. Drinks from 7pm in the Peckard Room. Contact: alumni@magd.cam.ac.uk * indicates that guests are welcome

Magdalene members find themselves called to many tasks and employed in many professions. But few can have found a happier home (spiritually or geographically) than Ross Peters (1963), Director of Arran Distillers - producer of some of Scotland’s finest whiskies.

Ross is rightly proud of his award winning 10 year old single malt, and being of a generous (and collegial) disposition, he has agreed a special arrangement whereby members of the College can buy this fine whisky (and any other Arran Distillery product) direct from the distillery at a huge 10% discount, provided they place their orders via the company’s website (www.arranwhisky.com).

Ross has further agreed that a contibution of 5% of any sales will be made to the Magdalene Campaign: a “win win” offer for members and for the College alike. (Was there ever a better excuse for a wee dram?)

Anyone wishing to place an order should visit the website and, having filled their basket, should enter the promotional code “Magdalene” (capital M, no inverted commas) in the space provided. The site’s software will then automatically calculate and deduct the discount. We are immensely grateful to Ross and suspect that there is the odd member out there who might be similarly gratified.

MAGDALENEMATTERS offers

Whisky Galore an exclusive offer

The Arran Malt Ross Peters, Director of Arran Whisky Distillers, has kindly made an offer to members that they can scarcely refuse

WINE OFFERS SACRED HILL RANGE Semillon-Chardonnay 2007 de Bortoli: This award-winner is a refreshing and fruity dry white wine from South Australia.

It is great for quaffing with friends.

Offer price £4.52.

Shiraz Cabernet 2007, de Bortoli: Fruity red with soft tannins. Supple in the mouth, it works perfectly with Sunday Roasts – a great all-rounder. Offer price £4.52.

WHITE

Château de la Roulerie, Chenin Sec, 2007, Anjou, Loire Valley: A delightfully versatile white from the sunny Loire Valley.

Voted Best Value Loire Chenin 2009.

Sophisticated yer subtle, nice apple fruit.

Great alternative to Chablis.

Offer price £7.35.

Esk Valley, Hawkes Bay, Pinot Gris 2007, New Zealand. A stunning example from 2007’s Winemaker of the Year, Russell Gordon. Wonderfully fragrant nose, peachy, with a hint of spice and Turkish musk. Especially favours seafood or anything smoked. Offer Price £7.94 RED Château Les Eymeries, 2005, Bordeaux: A superb vintage in Bordeaux, and this is a cracking little wine. Ooozing Bordeaux character. Cassis, old leather and spice. Perfect for Sunday lunches and intimate parties. Offer price £5.75.

Gemtree, Bloodstone Shiraz Viognier, 2007, McLaren Vale, Australia. An extra-ordinary wine! A heady mix of rich fruits and spices. This classic Rhone blend The College, in association with Cambridge Wine Merchants is pleased to offer the following fine wines at a substantial discount.

ORDERING The featured wines (as well as a range of Magdalene glassware) can be ordered by post, telephone or email from: Cambridge Wine Merchants Ltd, 2 King’s Parade Cambridge, CB2 1SJ tel: 01223 309309 magdalene@cambridgewine.com Postage and packing is £8 per 12 bottles for wine and whisky and the minimum order is 12 bottles, which may comprise any mixture of whiskies and wines. Delivery to the UK only.

of Shiraz and Viognier from Mike Brown is a revelation. Made according to Biodynamic principles, without the use of chemicals and with the utmost respect for the environment. Warming to the senses, and uplifting to the spirit. Offer price £9.75 Anaperenna, 2006, by Ben Glaetzer, Barossa Valley, Australia. Named after the Goddess of the New Year. Huge flavours, yet completely seamless. This truly awesome Shiraz Cabernet has an intriguing nose of chocolate, crushed herbs, cedar and blackberry. Mighty! Offer price £27.44 PORT Smith Woodhouse LBV Wood Matured.

A super Late Bottled Vintage from the Symington Family. Rich and mouth coating to begin with, The spirit and firm tannins bringing up the rear in style. Stilton anyone?

Offer Price £10.97 CHAMPAGNE & SPARKLING WINE

Joseph Perrier NV Brut, Chalons–EnChampagne. Classic notes of brioche and hints of zesty lemon lead to a classic, elegant palate. Amazing value from this family run Grande Marque house.

Offer Price £20.55 Wolf Blass, Red Label NV Brut, Australia. A great party fizz or mid-week treat. Impossible to dislike. Chase away the winter blues! Offer Price £6.10 WHISKY Bairn of Islay, Single Islay Malt Whisky. A little something to blow away the cobwebs. Wild and windy, like the island itself, and full of feisty bonfire smoke. Not

MAGDALENEMATTERS images

college images the founding charter

HenrytheEighth,bythegraceofGodofEngland,Scotland,Franceand Ireland King, Defender of the Faith, and Supreme Head on Earth of the Church of England and that of Ireland, to all those whom the present letters have reached, greeting. May you know that for the advancement of knowledge, the arts, learning and virtue, the increase of good studies and morals, and for the particular sake of and at the most humble suit of our most beloved and faithful councillor Thomas Audley, Knight of our most noble Order of the Garter, LordofWalden,and our Chancellor of England; by our specialgrace, fromourcertainknowledgeandbyourownmeremotion,accordingtothe wordingofthepresentletterwefound,bringintoexistence,setup,create andestablishaCollegetothegloryandhonourofSaintMaryMagdalene, toexistinperpetuity,intheestate,land,orneighbourhoodandprecinctof thatplacelatelycalledBuckinghamCollege,situatedandexistinginthe nurturingacademy,oruniversity,ofCambridge:namely[onecomposed]of oneMasterandeightFellowswhoaretobenominatedbytheaforementioned LordChancellor,hisheirsandassigns,tocelebratedivineofficeeveryday, andtocarryoutandfulfilalltheotherspecificdutiesaccordingtothe ordinances,dispositions,stipulationsandstatutes,whichwillhavebeen ordained,arrangedandprovidedforinthatregardbyoursaidChancellor, hisheirs,executorsorassigns.IndeedthisCollegeshallinperpetuitybe named,calledanddesignatedtheCollegeofSaintMaryMagdalene,aswe wishthisCollegetobesonamed,calledanddesignatedinperpetuity...

WewishandgrantthatthesaidMasterandFellows,andtheir successorsintheaforesaidname,assignedbyusaccordingtothewordingof thepresentletters,areandwillinperpetuitybecompetentpersonsand capableinlawofacquiring,receivingandacceptinglands,tenements, revenues,reversions,services,advowsons,rectories,tithes,liberties,franchises, privileges,immunities,andotheremoluments,possessionsandhereditaments bothspiritualandtemporal;andthattheycanpleadandbeimpleadedinthe saidname,andtopursueallmannerofcauses,complaints,actionsreal, personalandmixed,ofwhateverkindandnaturetheyare,andclaim libertiesandfranchises,andanswerandbeanswered,anddefendthemselves undertheaforesaidnameinthesamecauses,complaintsandactions;and

16

whateverelseshouldbeundertakenforthebenefitandrightsofthesaid

College,toundertakethesebeforeecclesiasticalandsecular

judges,andbeforeourselvesasmuchasbeforeanyjudgesand

justices in any courts and tribunals of our heirs and

successors, Kingsof England, andinanyother court;and

let the said Master and Fellows have a common seal to

use and furnish for their business and affairs . . .

We have also granted to the said Master and Fellows that

theymayhavetheabilityandpowerfromtimetotimetomake andgrantrules,ordinancesandstatutesforthegoodmanagementof thesaidCollege,andofthesaidMasterandFellowsandanyoneelse residingandstudyinginthesaidCollege,accordingtotheirsounddiscretion, justasitseemsbesttothemtoaccomplish.Andthiswithoutrenderingor payingafineorfeegreatorsmalltousinourChanceryorintheHanaper ofourChanceryinreturnfortheforegoingpremisesoranyofthem,or for the having of our letters patent, their being created or deliberated, returned or dissolved . . .

In witness of this matter we have instructed these Letters Patent to be drawn up.

Witnessed by me myself at Westminster on the 3rd day of April, in the 33rd year of our reign and in the year of our Lord 1542.

Extracts from the CharterofFoundation of Henry VIII Thomas Audley Lord Chancellor