05 Fellows’ focus: cutting-edge research by our academics
08 Frustrated systems: how do magnetic moments come to a compromise?
10 Queer kinship: an interview with Professor Jennifer Evans
12 The unity of all things: what is the philosophical fabric that unites the cosmos?
14 Celebrating leaving Fellows and their legacy
17 New Fellows’ spotlight
19 Launching a new subject at Mansfield: Computer Science
20 How royals broke rules in the 18th century: uncovering an early PR campaign
22 Synchronising time: examining the disconnect between financial and carbon accounting methods
24 For Mansfield. Forever. Place
25 ‘The best room in College’: the BBC’s Justin Rowlatt returns to his old haunt
26 Reimagining Mansfield: an update on our capital development plans
28 Dormant seed: a conversation with our gardener
Produced by the Development team
Editor: Eleanor Hutson, Alumni Relations Officer
30 For Mansfield. Forever. Culture
31 The Mansfield-Ruddock Art Prize 2024
32 Mansfield and sanctuary: leading the way
34 Student stories: my Mansfield experience
36 What’s next?: the hopes and plans of our newest alumni
39
Creating a career: Mansfielders in the creative industries tell their stories
45 From Mansfield to Westminster: eight alumni stand for Parliament
48 Reaching further than you’ve travelled: former VSPs remember their time at Mansfield
50 JCR through the decades 55 Mansfield Lives: sharing memories 59 A year of alumni engagement 62 Mansfield on the shelves: recent publications 64 For Mansfield. Forever. A timeline of recent milestones
68 A marriage at Mansfield
70 To ‘walk in the light of creative altruism’: honouring Mansfield’s lead benefactor
supporters
Upcoming events in 2025
Copy Editor: Philip Harriss Design: Aligned Design Co Print: Lavenham Press Cover Photo: Derek McCormack
Photography: Images are credited to the generosity of our colleagues, academics, alumni and students, for which we give our gratitude and thanks. We would also like to give special thanks to photographers John Cairns, Fisher Studios, Keiko Ikeuchi, Ander McIntyre, Kent Meister, Nicholas Posner, Paul Tait, and Ian Wallman for their expertise.
The paper used for this publication is FSC®-certified and carbon balanced, and the bag used is compostable.
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Message from the Principal
‘... For each memory
is a treasured thread in the intricate brocade of your time here with topsy-turvy Gormley and Mrs Roosevelt. For this is a place of refuge housing all our non-conformist values, for Mansfield – for letting us be.’
Flavius Covaci (English, 2022)
As we reflect on the year and the many stories and achievements of the people within our community, I feel enormous pride in Mansfielders past and present.
From our academics today – moving forward global thought and understanding in their fields. To our students – bringing new perspectives and experiences, shaping our community and making it their own. To our alumni who go on to share their talents and expertise with others, sometimes in prominent roles in public life, but also in less visible, yet no less meaningful, ways.
Mansfield is, and always will be, a game-changer, a place of welcome, a place to share and develop ideas, to challenge openly, and to respect others’ perspectives: a place where our community is encouraged to disagree well. We value diversity of thought and civil argument. These are the Mansfield values and we live them every day. Our weekly termtime Public Talks are a firm fixture within Oxford, bringing important and often challenging conversations into College, and sharing new perspectives with the wider community.
You will notice our magazine is made up of three sections: People, Place and Culture. These are the pillars on which the College’s future rests. And they are the focus of our campaign: For Mansfield. Forever.
We have compelling plans for the redevelopment of our College site (see p26) to ensure our community can thrive for the next 140 years and more. And thanks to the transformative philanthropic support of Chris Foster (Maths, 1997), Guy Hands (PPE, 1978) and Julia Hands MBE, our Campaign Board, and many others, we are building a secure future – and providing a more welcoming and supportive home to our students than has ever been possible before.
What matters now is the collective effort of our whole community – all of us doing what we can to show a strong vote of confidence in our College, which in turn encourages future generations to do the same.
So, I hope reading your College magazine evokes warm memories; but I hope it also inspires excitement and pride in the College’s present.
The importance of the continued existence of Mansfield is never more evident than during troubling times for the world. I am proud that our gaining College of Sanctuary status four years ago paved the way for the University of Oxford to become a University of Sanctuary (more on p32).
To me, what is truly inspiring about Mansfield is that we have an individual character and narrative as a college, which doesn’t pit excellence against widening of participation, or academic freedom against social inclusion, but sees all these as facets of a values-based community in which everyone is appreciated, recognised and encouraged to thrive. An institution that stands for these values is always important, and particularly so right now.
For Mansfield. Forever.
Helen Mountfield KC
Game changers welcome.
There are spectacular people at the heart of Mansfield. People who nurture potential, who push the limits of knowledge, and who blaze a trail for others to follow.
People at Mansfield change the game.
Our world-class teaching and research are made possible by these extraordinary people. Across disciplines, they strive to create lifechanging opportunities for the next generation and extend the boundaries of their own understanding.
Without them, Mansfield would just be a building.
As a supporter, you can help us secure the core posts across the College that enable us to take on and create a lasting community of outstanding teachers and researchers – game changers, every one.
Fellows’ focus
Mansfield’s academics operate at the forefront of research across the disciplines. Here are just some of their cutting-edge projects currently in progress.
The People of 1381
Dr Helen Lacey Associate Professor in Late Medieval History; Tutor for Visiting Students; incoming Senior Tutor
My recent project, ‘The People of 1381’ aims to produce the most comprehensive interpretation of the English Peasants’ Revolt to date. The revolt was one of the largest popular uprisings in medieval Europe and rocked the country in the summer of 1381. Our project team, funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC), comprises: Professor Anne Curry (University of Southampton), Professor Andrew Prescott (University of Glasgow), and Professor Adrian Bell (University of Reading). Our two researchers, Dr Herbert Eiden (Reading) and Dr Helen Killick (Oxford), have produced a database of all the records relating to the revolt, providing the first overview of events, places and people involved. Judicial and manorial documents have been combined with records of central and local government, poll tax records and soldier records, to reconstruct collective biographies of the people involved in the rising.
The project is a unique ‘history from below’, using an unparalleled set of medieval records to investigate the participation of social groups whose role has been little studied, such as household servants, soldiers and women. It uses Geographic Information Systems to map the development and structure of the revolt, identifying differing levels of community protest and examining how these fitted together.
The book of our project is underway and we hope to publish with Oxford University Press in 2025. In the meantime, you’ll find lots more information on our website: www.1381.online.
de
Recueil des Croniques et Anchiennes Istories de la Grant Bretaigne, à present nommé Engleterre, showing, right, rebels entering London in 1381; left, the slaying of Sir Robert Salle by rebels at Norwich; and centre background, the killing of Wat Tyler before the King at Smithfield. The carrying of banners with St George’s cross was a distinctive action of the 1381 rebels from Bridgwater to Derbyshire. This manuscript was made at Bruges between 1471 and 1490.
Miniature from Jean
Wavrin,
How can we sustainably remove carbon from the atmosphere?
Keeping global warming to internationally agreed limits – stopping the average global temperature increasing by more than 1.5-2°C above pre-industrial levels – is a Herculean task. We are so close to exceeding these temperatures, and so far off the pace in reducing greenhouse gas emissions, that many now believe actively removing large amounts of carbon from the atmosphere is also essential to mitigate climate change sufficiently. But how can we do this, and will we be able to ensure these carbon removal methods are themselves sustainable?
I address these questions as a researcher at CO2RE, ‘the greenhouse gas removal hub’ (co2re.org). Working with a range of demonstrator projects across Great Britain, we are exploring how much carbon could be removed by different methods, and which other impacts need to be considered. Potential techniques include drawdown of carbon into habitats through, for example, woodland creation or peatland restoration, to more novel approaches such as ‘Enhanced Rock Weathering’: crushing certain rock-types into dust and applying it on land, so that the particles react with and remove atmospheric carbon dioxide.
My research focuses on how we might scale-up removals, and whether they will support or frustrate other environmental objectives. Habitat carbon storage can provide additional benefits to biodiversity and support ecosystem services, but the carbon may be returned to the atmosphere if the environment is degraded in the future: a particular concern under climate change. Geological forms of carbon storage should prove more durable (although the evidence base is still being established), but come with potential pollution risks and high energy demand. Anticipating wider co-benefits and risks will be key to sustainably achieving ‘net-zero’ emissions.
Translating the past
Professor Alison Salvesen Tutorial Fellow in Asian & Middle Eastern Studies; Professor of Early Judaism & Christianity
What is ‘Scripture’? Who defines it? Who claims it has authority, and for whom? Can a translation be ‘inspired’? Or does its authority depend on the scholarship or traditions behind it? And is that authority intrinsic or gradually acquired? All these are questions pondered by scholars as well as people of faith.
The Hebrew Bible – the Christian Old Testament – is a collection of works written over several centuries, edited and glossed, in a language that is very different in structure to IndoEuropean languages like English or Latin. Poetry is universally hard to translate effectively, and the Hebrew Bible’s many poetic passages are no exception. Even the stories of the Old Testament have tricky details, unusual words, and cultural views that differ considerably from those of subsequent generations to the present day. So, it is unsurprising that over the centuries, interpretations of the Old Testament have been shaped by all kinds of factors, both political and religious. In the case of translations, literal renderings may appear more ‘authentic’ in their foreignness – but are ‘freer’ translations less faithful to religious ‘truth’?
These problems have existed since at least the very first translation of the ‘Torah’ (the first five books of the Bible: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy). This was made by and for the large community of Jews living in the Greek city of Alexandria in Egypt in the third century BC. Some laws in the Hebrew book of Exodus even seem to have been adjusted in Greek translation to better match those of the surrounding culture.
In the same period, back in Judea/Palestine, the Hebrew Scriptures were inspiring not translations but instead a kind of ‘fan fiction’ that developed their themes and characters, particularly from the book of Genesis. We only know of some of these works because of the discovery, in the late 1940s by Bedouin shepherds, of the ancient scrolls preserved in the caves of the Dead Sea. These works celebrate the antediluvian figure Enoch, divide history into 40-year ‘jubilee’ periods, present alternative accounts of the domestic lives of the patriarchs including Abraham, and give ideal dimensions for the Temple. Did these works intend to replace what we think of as ‘biblical’ scripture? Or were they a kind of homage to them, to be read alongside them as entertainment and instruction?
Dr John Lynch Lecturer in Geography
Many of these early Jewish religious writings were adopted by Christians and accorded a secondary status to their own scriptures, being termed variously ‘apocrypha’ or ‘deuterocanon’. They were regarded as instructive or even fun to read, but not to be used for determining doctrine. In contrast, Ethiopian Christians never really had a fixed list of authoritative biblical books, but a much wider appreciation of works to be read in churches. In Judaism during the medieval period, certain originally Jewish ‘apocryphal’ works were sometimes re-appropriated to be read as nonsacred literature. They were translated from Latin and German versions, back into Hebrew and also into Yiddish. In recent years there has been a resurgence of interest in these ‘parascriptural’ works for their narrative techniques and what they reveal of the religious attitudes of generations past.
Engineering defects in diamond
Professor Jason Smith Professorial Fellow in Materials Science
Materials is a very interdisciplinary subject bringing together physics, chemistry, engineering, and sometimes biology. I trained as a physicist (Wadham College, 1989-96) and my research today still has a strong physics element, with a focus on quantum information technologies and optical sensing. A key topic in my research is the atomic scale engineering of defects in diamond, using laser processing – a technique that my group has developed and which offers a rich combination of new science and exciting applications. In a recent paper we showed that we can watch individual atoms moving inside the diamond lattice, which provides new insight into the structure and interactions of defects. It’s a bit like performing chemistry on single molecules inside a crystal, and if we can control the reactions, we can synthesise defects on-demand and engineer devices that use them. The main application we’re pursuing for this research is to develop quantum memories for computing and communications systems. We work within the Government-funded National Quantum Technology Partnership, which is tasked with supporting UK economic development in the field. From December 2024, I’ll be an Assistant Director of a new Hub on Integrated Quantum Networks, which seeks to develop a quantum internet in the UK.
A second theme of my research is the sensing of chemicals in fluids for applications such as water quality and medical diagnostics, and in particular performing highly sensitive measurements on tiny fluid samples. We’re currently spinning out a company, Mode Labs Limited, to commercialise sensors to monitor water pollution in rivers, and hope to have our first products ready in 2026. Former Mansfield undergraduate, and now Associate Wine Steward, Nick Joinson (MEng Materials Science, 2019) is working with us to build and test prototype next-generation devices alongside the commercialisation activity.
Frustrated systems
In physics, frustration refers to a situation where competing interactions prevent a system’s potential energy from being minimised. As in life, the solution is compromise. Mansfield’s Professorial Fellow in Physics, Professor Stephen Blundell, shares insight into his groundbreaking research.
When hammering out a compromise, each side never gets exactly what it wants, but ideally the pain of giving up something wanted is shared between the parties. This situation is not just the preserve of industrial disputes or international relations but is also found in magnetic materials. Sometimes it’s easy and all the individual atomic magnetic moments that comprise a magnetic material want the same thing. No compromise is needed, and they all point in the same direction (as with metallic iron). Another solution, in fine Mansfield tradition, is the nonconformist scenario, where every magnetic moment refuses to conform to the behaviour of its immediate neighbour, and instead prefers to do the precise opposite. In this case, the magnetic moments align in an up – down – up – down – up – down… arrangement.
But just as in human negotiations, the situation can get more complicated. Think of three magnetic moments, arrows pointing in different directions, arranged on the three corners of a triangle, each one hell-bent on doing the precise opposite of its neighbour. The first one points up, so the second one points down, and the third one is left with no good options. Pointing oppositely to either one of its neighbours, as it wants to, leads it to align with the other neighbour. The only solution is a compromise, with each magnetic moment pointing at 120 degrees to its neighbour. The triangular geometry is said to be ‘frustrated’, the same terminology that would be used to describe a three-way negotiation where no party feels fully satisfied.
Throw quantum mechanics into the mix and you have a further complication: now those magnetic moments need not to be in definite states of pointing up or down or left or right, but can exist in strange superposition states, just like Schrödinger’s cat. This sounds like science fiction, but it’s exactly what is found in various magnetic materials studied by my research group in the Department of Physics. How do we do this?
One of our main experimental techniques involves implanting ‘magnetic spies’ into these magnetic materials, tiny secret agents that can bury themselves into the interstitial spaces between the atoms and report back on what they find. These undercover operatives are muons, radioactive particles that are produced in particle accelerators, and which turn out to be a wonderful means of detecting microscopic magnetic fields inside materials. My group has pioneered techniques in identifying where
An intriguing feature of frustrated systems is that they don’t stay still for long
these particles hide inside the material (a method called density functional theory – a familiar term to physicists). We’re developing a new method to control how these experiments work using pulses of radiofrequency and/ or microwave radiation, which we hope will provide a new method of learning about frustrated magnetic materials.
An intriguing feature of frustrated systems is that they don’t stay still for long. Because any solution is based on compromise, each of the magnetic moments is perpetually straining at the bit, attempting to find an improvement in its local conditions. But each little wobble or nudge of a magnetic moment produces a knock-on effect on its neighbours, as each tries to get more comfortable, or less uncomfortable, as its environment slowly changes. This produces low frequency dynamics in the arrangement of magnetic moments, something we can detect in our experiments, both with muons and also using a noisedetection system that has been developed by one of my colleagues.
These slow dynamics of frustrated systems have analogues in the world of human negotiations, where hammered-out
compromises can unravel over time, and contested and unresolved issues can lead to dynamics that persist, rather than subside. Characterising and fully understanding the persistent dynamics in magnetic materials is one of the aims of my research.
A single human being is a difficult enough object of study, but it’s the complexity of the interactions between millions of individuals that makes the behaviour of an entire society and the compromises within it such an intractable problem for research at an entirely different level. In just the same way, physicists started their study of the world by solving problems involving relatively few components, such as the motion of the Earth around the Sun, or the splitting of a single atom. But some of the most challenging, and fascinating, problems involve the interactions between not one, two, or three, but huge numbers of atoms. This is just the type of situation we encounter in frustrated magnets, and it’s what makes the problem so difficult but also so exciting.
Stephen’s research is supported by a major European Research Council grant, funded by UK Research and Innovation.
Stephen Blundell at the muon spectrometer at the Paul Scherrer Institute in Villigen, Switzerland
Queer kinship
In February 2024, Professor Jennifer Evans gave the Jonathan Cooper Memorial Lecture at Mansfield (kindly supported by the Sigrid Rausing Trust), focusing on the concept of kinship to embrace stories from the queer past that are often marginalised within mainstream histories. Here she talks to Elliot Johnston (MPhil Politics: Political Theory, 2022) about her research.
Jennifer Evans (left) and Elliot Johnston (right)
Elliot: Congratulations on your wonderful book, The Queer Art of History: Queer Kinship After Fascism. Could you introduce yourself and tell us how you came to write the book?
Jennifer: My name is Jennifer Evans, and I teach European History at Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada. In a way, it was a long time coming to this book. I’d been writing bits and bobs along the way – about intergenerational sex, photography, space, and sexuality – and it dawned on me at the beginning of the pandemic that there was a narrative thread through all these pieces. That thread is kinship: the idea of how we relate to the past through telling the story of certain historical actors. Duke University loved the idea, especially the auto-ethnographic aspect, showing how my own thinking has changed and evolved over time.
Elliot: As you mention, the concept of queer kinship is central to this text. How does it differ from the concepts of identity or community we often associate with queer politics?
Jennifer: That’s the burning question for me. I’m a historian of German queer history and I felt that because today we often perceive ourselves within these neat and tiny little boxes and identity categories, we fail to appreciate the messiness of history as it was actually lived. Often this means we fail to see and appreciate places and spaces in the past where people came together across their difference, for better and for worse. Sometimes it wasn’t workable, but that part of the story of queer activism has not really been told. And so I wanted to think with the concept of kinship as a kind of solidarity, a way of thinking about affinity across differences that can allow us to bring to light stories from the queer past that don’t fit in such neat boxes and tend to be marginalised within mainstream histories.
Elliot: What practical difficulties did you encounter when using queer kinship and historical terms that might differ from how people described their experiences in the past?
Jennifer: Terminological issues are always significant whether we’re using kinship as the way in, or if we’re using queer as the way in. Certain generations see some of these terms as negative, as terrible descriptors. It’s never going to be neat and tidy, and in my case, we’re talking about people using a language and references that are vastly different to the ones we use today. For example, in the early 1970s, many folk would have thought of themselves as ‘transvestites’, which is a term we’d never use today. Historicising these terms is absolutely key.
We often perceive ourselves within these neat and tiny little boxes and identity categories
Being mindful and self-aware of how you’re using terms is really the best way one can navigate these kinds of issues. If you’re doing something conceptually and mindfully, I think you can deploy these concepts, as long as you’re aware of the very different ways in which people have navigated this in the past for themselves.
Elliot: Alongside your historical work, you also engage with contemporary queer politics in terms of the sanitisation of LGBT rights. What kind of intervention does your text make in present-day political debates?
Jennifer: One of the issues I’m interested in is the institutionalisation and memorialisation of a particular version of queer history that is leveraged by politicians to determine who belongs and who doesn’t. So as an example, while there’s been an effort very recently to include trans experiences in the memory politics of Germany, the kinds of stories that are referred to are also often quite sanitised. We struggle with the stories of sex workers. We struggle with the stories of people who don’t pass. That’s where we need to ask ourselves, how far have we really come if the image we have to refer to is often one that looks like heteronormative white formations. And so it really is an intervention – not to resolve the matter, because, thank God, I’m a historian and not a politician, but to get us to pay more attention to those people in the past whose stories are sacrificed in affirming the queer politics of today. Remembering those folk, I think that’s a radical intervention, recognising that there’s a ton of different people whose lives just don’t seem to fit the formations that we have settled upon today.
The unity of all things
What is the fabric that unites the cosmos – from matter to life, to consciousness and ideas? Or is there no such unifying reality: is the universe an infinite nothingness devoid of real structure? Dr Jessica Frazier, Stipendiary Lecturer in Theology, engages with debates like these in both Western and Indian philosophy, looking for philosophical ideas of use on a global scale.
Some years ago, a philosophy professor challenged me to name a philosophical insight Asia had produced, that could not be found in the West. Everyone leant forward to listen. At stake was whether Western thought was at least as good as the sum of all other cultures –sufficient by itself for all humanity’s needs. At a more practical level, it affected whether future students would expect their teachers to read up on Indian, Chinese, African, and other philosophies. So, with everyone waiting, could I name any ideas outside Western thought that might help philosophy make progress toward a better understanding of our lives?
‘Well…’ I began, ‘there are novel Buddhist accounts of emergent mind, and a distinctive yogic view of desire. There are ethical theories that challenge Jeremy Bentham’s emphasis on pleasure and pain with a richer taxonomy of the emotions that motivate us. Or there is Mimamsa’s exposé of the hidden inconsistencies embedded in common concepts like “objects” or “knowledge”. Then there’s Bhartrhari’s ontology of language which seems to expand on Wittgenstein… but a millennium earlier. And in metaphysics there is one of my favourites – the Samkhya theory of endurant identity, with its bold conception of reality’s ultimate foundation… Choose one, and I can explain.’
By the end of the seminar, not everyone was convinced but I had some converts to the cause of global philosophy, and even hardened sceptics could see that India was as deeply engaged with philosophy’s pressing problems as the West. Later, when I was co-teaching Oxford’s first undergraduate Indian philosophy course, that philosopher’s question had become a helpful guideline. What can different cultures gain from learning each other’s way of thinking?
Students are increasingly voting with their feet – signing up for courses on Indian, Chinese and other traditions of thought. There seems to be a revolution in the works, as the world’s population feels ever more empowered to draw on a global heritage for inspiration.
What can different cultures gain from learning each other’s way of thinking?
In 1883 Max Müller, a Professor of Sanskrit in Oxford, wrote a piece called India: What Can it Teach Us? declaring: If I were asked under what sky the human mind has most fully developed some of its choicest gifts, has most deeply pondered on the greatest problems of life, and has found solutions of some of them which well deserve the attention even of those who have studied Plato and Kant – I should point to India.
His words echoed thinkers like Schopenhauer and Emerson who had also tried to alert their contemporaries to Indian insights, but were largely ignored by the Western establishment. Yet in the last 20 years there’s been a new surge of interest and it is becoming possible to devote oneself not only to Indian history, but also directly to the ideas it contains.
In my work I have written about self, divinity, and ethics, but recently I’ve been most interested in arguments suggesting that at the ultimate level all reality is essentially one. Monism was long a kind of secret doctrine in European thought, and it is still viewed with suspicion by mainstream philosophy and religion. Yet it was found to different degrees in key thinkers, from Plotinus to Spinoza to Alfred North Whitehead, and in India it was arguably the most common point of view. Arguments from induction, Bradley’s regress, the Principle of Sufficient Reason, causal entanglement, and the unity of perception were brought to bear, in the face of Buddhist critiques advocating metaphysical nihilism.
One image from the Chāndogya Upanisad says: imagine a single banyan seed. Through its hidden impetus it grows into a whole banyan grove. It has many aspects and emergent levels of being – from the stalks to the branches, flowers, and fruit, all of which were encoded in its original state; the verdant grove expresses a unified causality. And although the different stalks may look separate, it has a single mass of interconnected roots under the ground, linking it into one entity. Apply this image to reality itself, and you discover a single interconnected reality unfolding
coherently through space and time. This is one of the world’s oldest metaphysical pictures. Although it received a rousing critique from Buddhist thinkers (who saw an amorphous void where Vedanta saw Oneness), it remains powerful and is rising again in contemporary Western metaphysics. The debate goes on; my work involves bringing these and other debates to modern students anew.
Dr Jessica Frazier
Celebrating leaving Fellows and their legacy
As the 2023/24 academic year came to a close, we bade goodbye to Lucinda Rumsey and Joel Rasmussen.
And breathe… saying farewell to Lucinda Rumsey
Professor Ros Ballaster Vice-Principal; Professorial Fellow in English
… zephirus eek wt his sweete breeth
Inspired hath in euery holt and heeth
The tendre croppes, and the yonge sonne.
Geoffrey Chaucer, Canterbury Tales Prologue (Hengwrt MS) (2003) l. 6
The verb ‘to inspire’ is often used carelessly to connect the skyscape of Oxford city with the learning undertaken in its buildings. For medieval writers and for the poets of the Romantic period it referred to literal ‘breathing’ – the in-and-out of air on which organisms, vegetable or human, rely to grow and thrive. It is a word that students, alumni and colleagues use when they speak to me about Lucinda. The Oxford English Dictionary defines modern uses of the verb in a more figurative sense: ‘To infuse some thought or feeling into (a person, etc), as if by breathing; to animate or actuate by some mental or spiritual influence’. For 34 years Lucinda Rumsey has been inspiring others at Mansfield College and, sadly, in September 2024 she stepped down as Senior Tutor and College Lecturer. She will continue her association with Mansfield as an Emeritus Fellow and the important work of access and outreach for the University as leader of the Opportunity Oxford programme.
Lucinda was appointed Lecturer in Old and Middle English at Mansfield College in 1990. Every student she has taught carries this material and her deep love and understanding of it in their heart and their spirit. So many social workers, teachers, accountants, policy advisers, journalists, travel with the words of advice of Ancrene Wisse, the stormy experiences of ‘The Wanderer’ and ‘The Seafarer’, the ambition to subdue monsters of Beowulf: such treasures to dip into when their own lives get tough.
Lucinda has held nearly every major role at Mansfield: Tutor for Women and Harassment Officer (1991-2002), Tutor for Graduates (1995-97) and Tutor for Admissions (2003-21). In 2003 she was awarded a Supernumerary Fellowship in recognition of her outstanding work. In 2021/22 she served as Senior Proctor for the University.
As Tutor for Admissions she worked tirelessly to attract the strongest candidates from Further Education colleges and state schools who had not previously considered Oxbridge,
and we were immensely proud when she was awarded an MBE in 2019 ‘for services to Widening Participation in Higher Education’. Her most viral moment was a 2009 soundbite on the University’s website dedicated to demystifying the questions asked at Oxford interviews. Lucinda’s question ‘Why might it be useful for an English student to read the Twilight series?’ (immaculately reasoned in her explanation as to what it might reveal) has remained a satisfying irritant to the Daily Mail to this day.
Lucinda has been Senior Tutor here since October 2008. Vital to her success in this role has been her empathy and affinity with every corner of the College: the work of academic tutors, the ambitions and stresses of student life, the integrity and responsibility that sits with our administrative and support staff. If, like me, you have hosted a party with Lucinda you will know that she arrives early, sorts out the venue (in my case alphabetises the spice rack), ensures everything runs well and to time, and clears up after her. This is just how she approaches every responsibility – she makes sure all the parts function, that the work works, and she always leaves things better, brighter, more focused. It is a measure of any person’s achievement that they leave a role ready for someone else to step into it as Lucinda has done.
So many alumni and colleagues have written to tell us about occasions when she saved them, lifted them up, helped them to make difficult decisions or celebrated their attainment with them. We know she will continue to bring order and joy and, most importantly, inspiration to the lives of many others.
If you want to recognise Lucinda’s inspiration, and support Mansfield’s ongoing work in access, please contribute to The Lucinda Rumsey Access Fund (www.mansfield.ox.ac.uk/LucindaRumseyAccessFund).
Lamenting the end of Mansfield’s two decades with Joel Rasmussen
Professor Jennifer Strawbridge Associate Professor in New Testament Studies and Professor Stephen Blundell Professorial Fellow in Physics
Our wonderful colleague, Professor Joel Rasmussen, moved from Mansfield to the University of Notre Dame over the summer of 2024. One could not have asked for a more caring, conscientious, thoughtful, and erudite colleague than Joel. After an education in Kansas, Boston University and at Harvard, Joel found his way to Oxford where he was appointed a Fellow of Mansfield College in 2007. For almost two decades, Joel served as Director of Studies for students in Theology & Religion at Mansfield, faithfully attended governance meetings, took on numerous leadership roles (including Tutor for Graduates), and served on almost every Mansfield committee. Significantly, he could always be found supporting students and colleagues at talks, lectures, and musical offerings. Joel saw almost six generations of Theology & Religion and Philosophy & Theology undergraduates through their degrees at Mansfield and his wisdom, leadership, compassion, and intellectual acuity will be greatly missed.
In terms of Joel’s research while at Mansfield, his faculty title, Professor of Historical and Philosophical Theology, tells you something about the breadth of his academic outlook and made you wonder whether he was a theologian, a philosopher, or a historian. In fact, Joel is all
of these and this wide intellectual vision can be seen by looking at his publications. These cover a breathtakingly diverse range of topics, including William James, Thomas à Kempis, John Bunyan, Friedrich Schelling, and of course Søren Kierkegaard, the philosopher who might perhaps be closest to Joel’s heart.
Though we know that we have been in the presence of a significant scholar of intellectual depth and international renown, it is Joel the person we shall miss the most. Kind, generous, patient, and wise, Joel has been a colleague we could always depend upon to offer a thoughtful and conciliatory view in a College meeting, help out a student in trouble, support his colleagues, and provide a calm and positive presence. When Joel’s wife, Tanya, took up a position in the USA, we knew it was probably only a matter of time before Joel headed west too. We have been so lucky to benefit from his presence with us, even while he forged a transatlantic existence after Tanya’s relocation, spending his vacations Stateside. But now, Joel has finally left Mansfield, and our loss is the University of Notre Dame’s gain. We wish Joel every success as he settles into his new position in Indiana, and thank him for his friendship, kindness, and for his immense contribution to the life of Mansfield over the last 17 years.
New Fellows’ spotlight
Professor Sara Bernardini Professor of Artificial Intelligence at the Department of Computer Science; Tutorial Fellow in Computer Science at Mansfield
Before coming to Mansfield to take up the inaugural position of Tutorial Fellow in Computer Science, I previously held positions at Royal Holloway, King’s College, and University College London in the UK, as well as stints at MIT and NASA Ames in the US. I’ve also recently served as the Principal Research Scientist in AI and Data Science at the UK National Oceanography Centre and as a Senior Fellow at the Alan Turing Institute.
My research is in AI, specifically decision-making for intelligent autonomous systems such as ground robots, drones and underwater vehicles. I specialise in automated planning, which involves equipping artificial agents with the ability to synthesise plans to reach specific goals. My long-term objective is to provide the theoretical foundations for creating agents that can seamlessly support humans in undertaking sophisticated and temporally extended tasks, which, going beyond perception and pattern matching, require deliberation at the cognitive level.
At the heart of my research is the desire to combine theoretical and technical advancements in AI with the demands of the real world. Over the past few years, I’ve led several projects on intelligent autonomous systems for extreme environments, working closely with industry and stakeholders to ensure solutions address end-users’ practical problems. I’ve worked in several domains, such as space mission operations, nuclear decommissioning, mining, underwater missions, and offshore energy, leading several projects funded by Innovate UK, the Engineering & Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC), the Turing Institute, and the Leverhulme Trust.
Complementing my technical work, I’ve taken up several leadership roles in the AI scientific community. I was the Programme Chair of ICAPS 2024, the flagship International Conference on Automated Planning and Scheduling, and the Associate General Chair of AAAI-23 (run by the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence), where I started a new initiative, the Bridge Programme, to facilitate cross-fertilisation between AI and other disciplines. I led this initiative again at AAAI-24 and will do so at AAAI-25. I also act as Managing Guest Editor of the Artificial Intelligence Special Issue on ‘RiskAware Autonomous Systems’, and am a member of the AAAI Executive Council, where I lead the Partnership Committee, and the ICAPS Executive Council.
My research is in AI, specifically decision-making for intelligent autonomous systems such as ground robots, drones and underwater vehicles
I’m a historian of women and politics in Britain in the 19th and 20th centuries. My research to date has mostly focused on the women’s suffrage movement – especially the contribution of working-class women. More recently, I’ve been concentrating on the women who were elected to represent the Labour Party in Parliament between 1945 and 1979.
Usually, historians have seen this as a period in which women in the Labour Party did not necessarily pursue women’s interests, especially in comparison with the earlier and later decades of the 20th century. However, I’ve found that Labour women continued to champion many causes of interest to women, such as family planning, nationality rights, divorce reform and women’s pensions. They often worked hand in hand on these issues with progressive Conservative women, sharing a common understanding of the causes of and solutions to sex inequality. I’ve discovered too that Labour women were much more receptive to the rise of the women’s liberation movement than has been recognised. Labour women made common cause with activists interested in equal pay, abortion rights, and childcare provision – but were also open to new concerns being raised about sexual and domestic violence.
Presently, I’m considering how we might rethink women’s politics in the 1960s and 1970s to understand better how women who were committed to different kinds of politics – in established women’s lobby groups, emerging radical politics, and conventional party politics – could work collaboratively. I’m using the life and work of Joyce Butler as a case study here. She was MP for Wood Green between 1955 and 1959, and, among many campaigns, she was the driving force behind efforts to eradicate sex discrimination at work. In partnership with Haringey Archives and Museums Service, which holds many of her papers, I’m developing an exhibition which will mark the 50th anniversary of the Sex Discrimination Act in 2025 as well as Joyce Butler’s long career in Parliament and local government.
My research covers a wide range of topics in and around machine learning and experimental design, with particular interest in Bayesian experimental design, deep learning, representation learning, generative models, Monte Carlo methods, active learning, and approximate inference.
I currently hold a European Research Council Starting Grant entitled ‘Data-Driven Algorithms for Data Acquisition’ (February 2024 to February 2029, funded by the UK Research and Innovation Horizon Guarantee Scheme), which funds my research and that of the Rainforth Machine Learning (RainML) group which I lead (https://rainml.uk/). The focus of the project is to develop new approaches to gathering data intelligently by combining techniques from machine learning, statistics, and information theory. In particular, it focuses on constructing adaptive data acquisition techniques that control the data-gathering process in a manner that maximises the information content of the collected data. By improving the underlying approaches to gathering data, it is hoped that the project will ultimately lead to better data being available across a wide range of scientific fields and industries, in turn allowing for improved models, AI systems, and data-driven decision making.
Following an undergraduate degree in Engineering at Cambridge and a brief stint in the Ferrari F1 team, I completed my DPhil in Probabilistic Programming and Machine Learning in 2017 at Wolfson College. I have stayed in Oxford since then, first taking up a postdoctoral position in the Department of Statistics, followed by a Junior Research Fellowship in Computer Science at Christ Church, and then a Senior Research Fellowship in Statistical Machine Learning back at the Department of Statistics.
Dr Lyndsey Jenkins Associate Professor and Tutorial Fellow in History at Mansfield
Dr Thomas Rainforth Associate Professor at the Department of Statistics; Tutorial Fellow in Statistics at Mansfield
Launching a new subject at Mansfield: Computer Science
Dr Helen Lacey incoming Senior Tutor
Computer Science at Oxford University has a rich history, with its department (established in 1957) ranked number one in the world for the past five years (Times Higher Education University Rankings). The department is seeking to expand, aiming to double its undergraduate intake by 2030. In order to do this, it is appointing two new Computer Science Tutorial Fellows across the collegiate University every year to 2030.
Mansfield is one of the first of Oxford’s colleges to partner with the department on this initiative, launching the study of Computer Science with the appointment of two new Associate Professors in Computer Science in 2024 and 2025.
The first Fellow in Computer Science to be appointed is Professor Sara Bernardini (see her introduction on p17). We were delighted to welcome Sara to the Fellowship in October 2024. We also welcomed five graduate students this academic year, and applications for the undergraduate course will open for the academic year 2025/26.
Computer Science, as both a mathematical and engineering discipline, is an excellent fit with our existing range of subjects. Several of Mansfield’s tutors have research interests that intersect with Computer Science, particularly in the disciplines of Maths, Engineering, Physics, and Materials Science. Mansfield Fellows at the Oxford Internet Institute and the Bonavero Institute of Human Rights, are also involved with research programmes investigating questions relating to Artificial Intelligence.
Mansfield’s focus on widening access, academic support and excellence in education also means that Computer Science is an ideal addition to the College (and, we hope, the first cohort of undergraduates will feel the same when they arrive in 2025). Our research interests as a Fellowship overlap in complementary and productive ways with the research of the Computer Science Department, allowing us to make a significant contribution to the success and expansion of Computer Science at the University. We are excited to get started.
How royals broke rules in the 18th century
Noé Vagner-Clévenot (History, 2021) is a DPhil candidate specialising in political, gender and cultural history. His interests lie in the agency of princes in the selffashioning of their image. Here, Noé outlines his thesis.
One question DPhil students get asked a lot is: ‘why does your thesis topic matter?’ Personally, I struggled at first to provide a satisfying answer to non-historians, especially as history is a discipline whose research outcomes have a less concrete impact on people’s lives than, say, molecular research. Nevertheless, history is invaluable, reminding us of where we come from and providing numerous insights into modern society. My DPhil research focuses on a prince who had to overcome gender barriers, tackle ceremonial challenges and spread a positive image of himself long before the advent of social media, in the 18th century.
In 1736, Francis Stephen, a prince from Lorraine (today in north-eastern France), married Maria Theresa of Austria, the daughter of Charles VI. As King, Charles ruled dominions spanning across Europe (including Austria and Hungary). As Holy Roman Emperor, he was also the theoretical head of a confederation encompassing, broadly speaking, Germany, Austria and northern Italy. Maria Theresa was supposed to inherit the dominions, but she could not become Empress – the Empire was an elective monarchy, and only a man could be elected. Therefore, Francis was her family’s only hope of keeping the imperial crown.
Four years later, in 1740, Charles VI died. France, Prussia and Bavaria invaded Maria Theresa’s new territories. After
Charles’ death, Francis held an unprecedented position. Husbands, in Christian couples of the 18th century, were expected to hold seniority. But although Maria Theresa became Queen, Francis did not inherit the title of King. This fundamental contradiction between gender and social hierarchies had enormous implications.
On the one hand, while it was not shocking for a woman to occupy a man’s position, it was impossible for Francis simply to hold the role of a queen, as it would seriously undermine his masculinity. On the other hand, Maria Theresa theoretically held the senior rank, which she needed to assert. In the 18th century, rank conditioned the way all members of society presented themselves. Protocol rules ensured that everyone’s status was clearly visible. Even today, there are echoes of this convention. Although most countries in the world are now republics, when they host a state visit an ostensibly monarchical ceremonial is followed, whether the visitor is a monarch or a president.
To show that Maria Theresa was the Queen, between 1740 and 1745 (the date of Francis’s eventual election as Holy Roman Emperor), the royal couple reinvented the public representation of the ruling sovereign and the consort. In doing so, they partially de-genderised their respective roles. Before Maria Theresa’s time, a ruling couple was perceived as a sovereign entity. But by clearly emphasising Maria Theresa as the ruling monarch and himself as the consort, Francis contributed to the gradual embodiment of sovereign authority in the single figure of the monarch.
Being socially inferior to his wife was a concern for Francis. He wished to be elected as Holy Roman Emperor, but being seen as a consort by ministers, diplomats and the Viennese people was detrimental to his public image. To address this, Maria Theresa named Francis ‘co-ruler’, which made him a major actor in government. For instance, new ministers and public servants then had to swear their loyalty oaths to both members of the couple. Furthermore, there were many occasions where the royal couple did not swap their gendered position. In some public events, Francis was placed on an equal footing with Maria Theresa and occasionally outranked her – which broke protocol rules and set a new precedent. Already in the 18th century, seemingly rigid rules could be transgressed to serve geopolitical interests – a phenomenon still evident today.
These changes were not only visible to ministers and diplomats in Vienna, but also to a wider public. Maria Theresa and Francis were eager to spread both their individual images and a joint image as a couple in their propaganda, which consisted of printed poems, engravings and medals. These were distributed to multiple parts of the Habsburg monarchy, even reaching distant regions such as Brussels, where I found many engravings in the Royal Library. By taking such care over their image, Maria Theresa and Francis struck a subtle balance between stressing the former’s royal dignity and portraying the latter as a competent prince – an early multimedia campaign, incomparable in scale to those we are now subjected to, but not so different in nature.
Francis Stephen of Lorraine depicted on a medal
Reading protocol books at the Austrian State Archives (Vienna)
Synchronising time
If events happen at different times, how do we synchronise the accounting for their occurrence? Jimmy Jia, Management tutor at Mansfield and DPhil candidate at the School of Geography and the Environment, examines the disconnect between financial and carbon accounting methodologies.
‘Time is what keeps everything from happening at once.’
This humorous quote, often attributed to Albert Einstein or Mark Twain, summarises my research neatly. Some scholars point out that financial accounting, as we know it today, was created to account for the passage of time. Financial decisions are made not only between options but also regarding when to execute them. You can choose between buying a stock or a building, as well as when to buy them –at the same time, or wait several years between purchases. Furthermore, purchase decisions of the present are linked to cashflows of the future. For example, stocks purchased will incur a future dividend, and the capital costs to construct a building today will generate ongoing revenue in the future. Lastly, the assets will last for a certain duration.
One benefit of modern-day financial reporting is that it synchronises these activities across time, enabling
decision makers to understand their current position and make informed decisions. Long-term activities, such as constructing and holding buildings, are recorded with the same system as recurring operational costs, such as laundry services. The methodology of this time synchronisation is rooted in double-entry bookkeeping, with the earliest known documentation published in 1494 by a Franciscan friar, Luca Pacioli, in his mathematics textbook Summa de arithmetica, geometria, proportioni et proportionalita.
Unfortunately, corporate greenhouse gas (GHG) accounting, the area of my research, does not account for the passage of time. Corporate GHG accounting uses the metrics of Scope 1, 2, and 3. Briefly, Scope 1 is an entity’s direct emissions from combustion of fossil fuel, Scope 2 is
indirect emissions from electric energy consumption, and Scope 3 is all other emissions due to the upstream and downstream supply chain. However, Scope 1, 2, and 3 rely on life-cycle assessment (LCA) methodologies, which are well known to lack temporal attributes. Instead, this metric attributes to a present activity a summation of all events over time.
The temporal discrepancy highlights a big problem. The financial sector, through the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero (GFANZ), representing over $130 trillion in assets, has committed to alignment with the Paris Agreement climate goal of maintaining global warming to within 1.5ºC of pre-industrial levels. However, the financial sector uses a tool that synchronises time, while the carbon accounting sector uses a tool that sums across time. If the carbon accounting tool is not fit-for-purpose for the making of financial decisions, then the $130 trillion may be misallocated.
Fixing this problem begins with the insight that both financial accounting and LCA can be represented as an information architecture. The financial accounting information architecture was designed to represent the passage of time, with the past, present and future kept distinct. Historical costs are recorded on the balance sheet (ignoring fair market valuation for now), present costs are recorded on a profit and loss statement, and future costs are modelled on a pro forma. The treatment of past costs is different to the treatment of future projections.
My research applies the information architecture of financial accounting to LCA. I call the system General Purpose Life Cycle Assessment (GP-LCA) to show its parallel to General Purpose Financial Statements. Whereas financial reports consist of a balance sheet, profit and loss statement, and cashflow statement, I am proposing a GHG balance sheet, release and withdrawal statement, and GHG flow statement. Showing the GHG data in this format
Unfortunately,
corporate greenhouse gas accounting… does not account
for the passage of time
delineates stocks from flows, separates out past, present, and future GHGs, and creates a dataset that many stakeholders can use for further analysis. For example, engineers can still perform an LCA by summing together numbers from the three statements, and Scope 1, 2, and 3 can still be calculated with different combinations of items. Importantly, because GP-LCA is based on transactional data used to build financial statements, the system is aligned with management control systems, enabling leaders to analyse choices that maximise financial returns while minimising GHG emissions.
Closer to home, Mansfield is in the early stages of a project to redevelop the south side of the College site. The project team is already evaluating upfront construction costs and ongoing operational costs as part of the process. By wisely incorporating temporal attributes into carbon accounting, the upfront embodied carbon and ongoing operational carbon figures can also influence the sustainability of any design.
Jimmy teaching a class on sustainable architecture
PLACE Forever leading the way.
No idea is greater than the action taken upon it.
We have a great idea – a transformation of the College site that will make the same Mansfield we know and love home to more students for generations to come – and so now is the time to act upon it.
Our effort to provide more and higher-quality accommodation and facilities to our community is thoroughly underway. Now, we are testing the idea from every angle: Does it work? Do we love it? Can we deliver it?
So far, the answer is ‘Yes’. And with your support, we can seize this once-in-a-generation opportunity to give Mansfield everything it needs to serve as a revitalised home to the whole of our community.
It’s a great idea, and so we are taking great action.
Find out more www.mansfield.ox.ac.uk/place
‘The best room in College’
Mansfield has been a home-from-home for generations of students. The BBC’s Climate Editor and Mansfield alum, Justin Rowlatt (PPE, 1984), recently returned to his old College room and met its current occupant, Elizabeth Drummond, Supernumerary Fellow, Stipendiary Lecturer in Law, and Tutor for Women. Here, they reflect on how the room has evolved while remaining a space that holds cherished memories.
Eleanor Hutson Alumni Relations Officer
‘It’s nice to be back,’ Justin Rowlatt remarks, surveying the room at the top of the tower, now belonging to Elizabeth Drummond. ‘I remember this place really fondly – the amazing views. Why wouldn’t you want a fantastic view of the Oxford skyline?’
While the room might seem impractical to some, given the many stairs to climb, for others it’s a hidden gem, away from the hustle and bustle. ‘I love it up here,’ Elizabeth says, ‘It’s so quiet, and perfect for tutorials.’
‘This was not a desirable room at the time,’ Justin responds, ‘I was actually assigned a room in the main block, but I overheard someone in the Dining Hall complaining about their draughty tower room. I thought “that sounds fantastic”, so I offered to swap, and they happily agreed.’
Elizabeth’s office, now adorned with plants, thank you cards from students and other personal touches, has changed quite a bit since Justin’s time. ‘It was simpler back then,’ Justin recalls, ‘but I brought a few things from home – a Breville sandwich maker, which I used to make cheese and onion sandwiches.’
Admiring the revamp, Justin notes that the small windows are still the same. ‘My bed was under the window, which I’d have open as you have. I remember one winter morning waking up surrounded by snow because it had snowed in on me.’
One impracticality that remains is the lack of running water. ‘I have to go to the SCR kitchen,’ Elizabeth mentions. ‘I always joke that I do have hot and cold running water up here, but I have to do the running.’
Despite its quirks, both Justin and Elizabeth embrace the charm of the tower room. For Justin, it was a sanctuary that shaped his student experience, while for Elizabeth, it’s a peaceful retreat amid the demands of academic life. Their shared affection for the space underscores its lasting significance as a cherished part of Mansfield’s history.
It’s a hidden gem, away from the hustle and bustle. ‘I love it up here’
Reimagining Mansfield
The role of Bursar is interesting and varied – and particularly so now. As well as my ‘day job’ of managing the finances, the resources, and the operational teams, I wanted to update you on our recent work to explore a truly ambitious and far-ranging capital redevelopment project at Mansfield.
Clem Brohier Bursar
A new era
Work has begun on the creation of a masterplan for the College site on Mansfield Road.
As alumni, you will know that special feeling of community which students experience when living and studying at College. So many of you have told us Mansfield felt like home. We want our College to continue to be that homefrom-home, and a warm, supportive community, for generations of students to come. As we embarked on this project, we had to ask ourselves how to retain everything that makes Mansfield feel like Mansfield, while enhancing the quality of the teaching, learning and living experiences we offer. We also needed to ensure any new development met our expectations for sustainability: physically, operationally, and environmentally.
Crucially, an increase in the number of student bedrooms would mean all Mansfield undergraduates and Visiting Students could live on site for the duration of their studies. We could then also group graduate students together, enabling them to live as a community in Mansfield-owned housing. In addition, increased accommodation out of term would strengthen our commercial offering.
While we are looking at how to make essential updates –such as providing flat access to areas of our Champneys buildings – the main focus of the project would be a transformational reimagining of the South Range: the John Marsh Building and later buildings on the south side of the Quad.
Planning on a large scale
As we have previously reported to alumni, the first step on the project was to find a redevelopment partner. In 2022, we appointed Stories, a BCorp (a company verified to meet high standards of social and environmental performance, transparency, and accountability) with shared values to
Mansfield. Stories is a key partner, as it co-manages the project with me and other senior leadership members at College. We have put in place a project team and hierarchy, reporting to Governing Body, to ensure an effective and collaborative decision-making process.
Following an architectural competition in 2023, thanks to funding from Antonio Bonchristiano (PPE, 1984), awardwinning London-based practice Feilden Fowles was appointed as our chosen architect. Interestingly, among other high-profile commissions, Feilden Fowles designed the new dining hall at Homerton College, Cambridge.
There are many other consultants and expert advisers looking at different elements of the site as part of the project: from analysis of tree root structures, to the vital preservation and protections required for the historic parts of our site and the Civil War ramparts on the boundary with New College.
The project is following the Royal Institute of British Architects’ (RIBA) Plan of Work. We are currently at RIBA Stage 2 (Concept Design) and in January 2025, Governing Body will decide if we should proceed to RIBA Stage 3 – at the end of which formal planning permission is submitted.
It remains our goal to ensure Mansfield is a leading college in Oxford, wellequipped and well-resourced for future generations
Funding and fundraising
We set ourselves an ambitious target for philanthropy to fund the potential redevelopment, and we will also make use of low interest borrowing, offset against the income that the additional student accommodation will provide. It’s rewarding to have had such enthusiastic support for the project already, even ahead of any planning submission. Our heartfelt thanks go to our lead benefactor, Chris Foster (Maths, 1997), as well as Sir Paul Ruddock (Jurisprudence, 1977) and other early supporters of our plans.
Engaging our alumni
We will keep in close touch with you, our alumni, as we progress, and ensure there will be opportunities to see designs and meet the architects and Development Partners in 2025. At later stages, we may again ask you for your views, as we did in November 2023. Thank you to all who submitted them; we have read every comment and are taking your thoughts on board. We are very grateful for your enthusiasm and support. There will be opportunities for alumni to make their mark on any new building, and moments to gather at Mansfield to celebrate project landmarks.
If we go ahead with this ambitious build, please be reassured that we will look after our students and academics as a priority, while any work takes place. A key challenge will be ensuring works have minimal impact on the day-to-day operations of College and are completed in the shortest possible timeframe.
So, there is much more to do. This is an important undertaking, and we are ready for the opportunity. It remains our goal to ensure Mansfield is a leading college in Oxford, well-equipped and well-resourced for future generations.
Welcoming visitors into the new Porter’s Lodge - winning concept by Feilden Fowles
Dormant seed
A conversation with Tom Edgar, Mansfield College’s gardener.
Shukria Rezaei Communications Officer
Every corner of our College garden is a work of art, thanks to Tom Edgar, Mansfield’s gardener for 12 years.
Tom’s passion for plants and landscaping took root in his childhood, while weeding his grandmother’s garden – a seed that remained dormant until flourishing in his early adulthood when he chose landscaping as a career.
Tom’s craft has transformed the lawn around Mansfield’s buildings into a thriving bed of healthy and lush plants and flowers that bloom throughout the year. The grounds have become a rich home for pollinators as well as the usual visitors, such as birds, badgers, and foxes.
‘You should never ask gardeners what their favourite plant is,’ Tom chuckles, ‘but the work that I am most proud of is the bed of flowers by the Bonavero Institute, where Miss Roosevelt sits. In part, I am proud because the erection of her statue was one of the most difficult projects I’ve ever had to do. It was especially tricky having to communicate
with our American colleagues on the West Coast to arrange the fitting. In the end it was all done in time for the unveiling ceremony with Hillary Clinton.’
In 2024, Tom’s focus has been on the wildflower meadow behind the beech hedge adjacent to the car park, transforming it into another bed of blooming flowers. Bold colours from roses, cornflowers, and joe-pye weed now frame the semi-circular bench.
‘I am pleased with how the flower beds now flow seamlessly around the College. They’re not disjointed like it used to be. I’m also happy to see the curved seat is well used. It’s every gardener’s dream to make the environment more inviting, and over the years, we have achieved this by adding more benches, gazebos and seating areas.’
Tom has also been working with the Bursar, Clem, and Principal, Helen, to revamp the Principal’s Garden. Furthermore, Mansfield has taken over maintaining the Princess Margaret Memorial Garden and Rothermere American Institute’s lawn this year, which Tom has turned into a paradise of long-stemmed daisies, pristine lawns,
You should never ask gardeners what their favourite plant is
Gardener
I will set you here to bloom, Without the usual audience, The gentle applause Of the passer-by’s eye.
I am sorry you will Have to grow up so Quickly and so Lonely.
But it is good to have Something growing, In the wild defiance Of silence.
Maya Little (English, 2017)
and arches of roses. Under Tom’s care, biodiversity in our College gardens has blossomed. ‘We’re quite bee friendly. We’ve got butterflies, and I’ve seen foxes, badgers and the odd hedgehog come in’, Tom recalls, ‘but there’s not an awful lot of bird life. We had a blackbird nesting in May, but the crows and jackdaws living on the tower took the young. They did the same in the Princess Margaret Memorial Garden behind the Principal’s Lodgings. That’s nature.’
For those tending their own gardens, Tom offers simple but sage advice: ‘Don’t dig. You’ll only disrupt the soil’s structure. It’s best to weed on hands and knees, and feed the soil from the top with nutrients that will leak down.’
As the climate continues to change, Tom suggests that home gardeners consider more drought-resistant plants, such as achillea, agapanthus, and canna lilies.
For Tom, gardening is not just a job: it’s a lifelong passion, nurtured by his many experiences with Mansfielders over the years. One particularly fond memory he has is of receiving a poem from a student, Maya Little (English, 2017), during the Covid-19 pandemic lockdown. Maya’s touching words reminded Tom of the profound impact the College gardens have on the community, especially during times of social isolation.
Status quo.
An opportunity is only one part of the equation. Just as important as the opportunity itself is having the determination, the ability, and the support to seize it.
Mansfield creates life-changing opportunities. But the real magic of Mansfield lies in our culture – how we support brilliant, determined people to pursue every opportunity they encounter.
We never stop changing lives. And we need your help to open every door to Mansfield.
For the person who never thought Oxford was an option.
For the person who had to leave their home in fear of persecution.
For the person who couldn’t take the next step on their own.
For every single Mansfielder. Forever.
For the next generation, you can be the difference between a missed opportunity and a changed life.
The Mansfield-Ruddock Art Prize 2024
Tess McCormick Development Director
The 2024 Mansfield-Ruddock Art Prize saw another stellar line-up of judges selecting new work from the Ruskin School of Art’s undergraduate (BFA) and graduate (MFA) degree shows in June, all with the support and close involvement of alumnus and philanthropist, Sir Paul Ruddock (Jurisprudence, 1977) and the Ruddock Foundation for the Arts.
The objectives of the Mansfield-Ruddock Art Prize are to open up new conversations around contemporary art, to inspire students and visitors to College, and to support some of the many talented artists emerging from the Ruskin School of Art. As this is a purchase prize, an additional ‘win’ is that the College is building an exciting new collection of contemporary art at the same time.
Judges this year were: Sir Nicholas Serota, Chairman of the Arts Council; Dr Stephanie Straine, of the National Galleries of Scotland; and artist – and former Mansfield-Ruddock Art Prize winner – Joy Labinjo. The winners were: Eunjo Lee (MFA) and Jamie Bragg (BFA), with a Commendation Prize for Brandon Saunders (MFA).
‘We are delighted to reflect the imaginative character of Mansfield College in the award of Mansfield-Ruddock Prizes… to inspire, delight and intrigue the Mansfield community and our visitors with the possibilities and stimulus of exciting modern art. We are hugely grateful to our alumnus Sir Paul Ruddock and the Ruddock Foundation for the Arts for making the awards possible, and to our distinguished juries for helping us to select the winners.’
Helen Mountfield KC Principal
Blouse and Skirt, 2024, Brandon Saunders
‘My pal Dixon with my chum the Donk!’, Egypt 1916, 2024, Jamie Bragg
Dr Stephanie Straine (left), Joy Labinjo (centre) and Sir Nicholas Serota (right)
Screen capture of Lullaby O’ The Ruin, 2024, Eunjo Lee
Mansfield and sanctuary: leading the way
Nowhere is Mansfield’s role as an Oxford trailblazer more evident than in its work as a College of Sanctuary, championing inclusion by offering scholarships and support to refugees and asylum seekers. In a turbulent world, we strive to be a bulwark against prejudice.
Helen Mountfield KC Principal
Mansfield College was founded to welcome to Oxford University those traditionally excluded from higher education, and – in conjunction with the Bonavero Institute of Human Rights – we are proud to stand up for equal dignity, respect and rights for all.
According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, while half of refugees worldwide are under the age of 18, only about 3% enter higher education. Witnessing the devastating ongoing conflicts worldwide, and having spent more than 30 years as a barrister fighting for the rights of people without power, I always hoped there was something we at Mansfield could do for people seeking sanctuary, and so live up to the nonconformist, trailblazing legacy of our founders.
In 2020, just before the pandemic, Baroness Jan Royall, Principal of Somerville College, and I met with colleagues from community groups and the Universities of Sanctuary scheme, which was born out of the Cities of Sanctuary movement. We knew our respective colleges – openminded, plural, welcoming – were perfect to lead on becoming Oxford’s first Colleges of Sanctuary, which we achieved in January 2021. Applying to be a College of Sanctuary was a rigorous process, requiring us to show how we would embed key concepts of welcome, safety and inclusion across an institution.
Attaining College of Sanctuary status has helped frame how our College welcomes and supports refugees and asylum seekers. Our students have for many years
Sanctuary Seekers STEM Seminar, February 2024
contributed through their battels to support a Reach Scholar (from a low-income country), and many are active in organisations like SolidariTee (which sells T-shirts to support work with refugees). But this isn’t just about charity or student campaigns. It is also about building intellectual and human networks, to the mutual benefit of sanctuary seekers and the Mansfield community.
A powerful example is the work of our Janet Dyson Fellow in Mathematics, Professor Ian Griffiths. Ian’s leadership of both online and in-person seminars for sanctuary seekers in STEM subjects has brought mathematically or scientifically qualified sanctuary seekers from across the UK together to share ideas, network, explore career paths, and learn about the application of maths to industry. I’m especially proud of this initiative, which highlights how combining academic curiosity and excellence with making human connections can create meaningful opportunities for those seeking refuge. In October 2024, Ian’s work even merited a mention in the Vice Chancellor’s Oration!
This spirit of connection is further reflected in the work of our Writer in Residence, Kate Clanchy MBE. Kate’s Sanctuary Poetry workshops with asylum seekers in Oxford bridge the gap between different communities, and bring asylum seekers living in the City to share our facilities at poetry readings in our beautiful Library, and as part of our annual Mansfieldmas celebration.
Central to achieving College of Sanctuary status was the commitment to provide fully funded scholarships at Mansfield for talented students forced from their home due to human rights abuses or war. Thanks to generous support from alumni and the Council of Lutheran Churches
we have welcomed multiple Sanctuary Scholars to Mansfield since 2021. A Ukraine Scholarship followed, and then Hope Scholarships. A Hope Scholarship is tenable by a refugee scholar within the Weidenfeld-Hoffmann Programme; Mansfield has the largest cohort, thanks to the generous support of alumnus Jan Fischer (PPE, 1989). Our next ambition – subject to funds – is to become a partner college for the University’s new Crisis Scholarship, which aims to support students who have been displaced by some of the world’s current dreadful humanitarian crises.
You can support our Sanctuary Scholarships by visiting www.mansfield.ox.ac.uk/make-a-gift.
The example of Mansfield and Somerville, as twin Colleges of Sanctuary, plus the efforts of the University to support Ukrainian scholars after the Russian invasion in 2022, led to the development across the University of an integrated programme of scholarships and support for students from displacement backgrounds under its new Oxford Sanctuary Community.
The University of Oxford as a whole was awarded University of Sanctuary status in May 2023. The gardener in me loves how the seed of an idea has germinated and is now growing across the University.
I am so proud that our College, with Somerville, pioneered the way for the world’s leading university to make sanctuary central to its mission. There is much more we can do and to take other universities and colleges with us. But for now, I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone at Mansfield and beyond who has worked so hard to put our Sanctuary initiatives into practice.
Student stories: my Mansfield experience
Mansfield is known for its welcoming and inclusive ethos – it’s ingrained in our history as a ‘nonconformist’ College. In the Development team, we often hear from alumni who tell us that Mansfield helped them feel at home. They go on to explain how the support provided by College and the sense of community they found here had a positive impact on their lives. Interested to discover from students about their experiences of Mansfield, we interviewed two of our current Law undergraduates, Luis Hewitt (Jurisprudence, 2023) and Amina Benhammouda (Jurisprudence, 2023).
What experiences shaped your life prior to university, and what brought you to Mansfield?
Luis: I come from a working-class part of Liverpool, and I was the first person in my family to go to university. I went to a private school for a couple of years on a scholarship, but I left [that school] because I didn’t feel I belonged. I remember being laughed at for having misconceptions about Oxford. Back at my state school, I felt Oxford was out of reach because I didn’t know much about how it worked. I resigned myself to the fact it wasn’t the place for me.
A university advisor encouraged me to apply anyway. I was hesitant; I was worried that I wouldn’t fit in. But the more I read about Mansfield, and the culture there, I felt I’d be all right. And when I arrived at the College I found it wasn’t elitist at all. Everyone is here for a reason and belongs here.
Amina: Like Luis, I’m the first in my family to go on to higher education, but unlike Luis I was set on Oxford from year 12. All the schools I’ve attended in my life have been state schools. Although my sixth-form college knew I was applying, it wasn’t able to provide much help.
I was going to apply to Magdalen first, but the day before I applied, I changed it to Mansfield, because I did a quick Google on the colleges and thought ‘I like the look of this’.
When I got here, I think I expected there to be a big divide [between different types of people], and I just haven’t experienced that at Mansfield. The environment feels familiar, and welcoming.
Chloe Banks (Geography, 2020) Development Officer and Eleanor Hutson Alumni Relations Officer
Amina Benhammouda
The College aims to establish sustainable support for current and future students. Our latest campaign, For Mansfield. Forever. seeks to raise funds across three pillars (People, Place and Culture) in order to provide the same levels of support students receive at other Oxford colleges
How has support from Mansfield had an impact on your time here?
Amina: Our tutors are very caring and they don’t expect you to know everything. Apart from the academic support, I’d say the financial support is pretty good. Everyone in Mansfield kind of feels like family, so you have that confidence to branch out and make friends at different colleges.
Luis: I think the academic support is really good. It’s a very supportive atmosphere, and it’s informal, very conversational. I was surprised by how confident I felt to speak up, and share my ideas.
It’s good knowing that if I need to spend money on academic materials, I don’t have to worry about how I’ll afford it, because it can be reimbursed [by College funds]. It’s not just a case of making up for hardship and affording necessities. It also means I can get involved in societies or go to balls, and not feel I have to spend money in a different way to other people.
Much of the student support Mansfield provides is made possible through the generosity of alumni and friends of the College. What do you think is important for supporters of Mansfield to know?
Luis: With a college like Mansfield, we’re a different cohort of people coming out of Oxford, and when you think of the high-level jobs people from Oxford go on to get, it’s making a big difference to the world. People who support Mansfield are challenging the effects of discrimination and providing chances that would not have otherwise been possible.
Amina: We need to tackle the mental perception that people have about themselves and their access to a place like Oxford. When people like me see that others want us to succeed, we are more inclined to apply.
People who support Mansfield are challenging the effects of discrimination and providing chances that would not have otherwise been possible
Luis Hewitt
What’s next?
Ruby Mullin (Geography, 2021)
Having finished a Geography undergraduate degree, I’m off to do a Master’s in Urban Design & Planning at The Bartlett School, UCL.
Faizan Ahmed (BCL, 2023)
As a human rights lawyer and Kofi Annan Scholar, I felt privileged to be at Mansfield, home to the Bonavero Institute of Human Rights. I look forward to implementing my learning from here when fighting legal battles for the marginalised in India.
Martin Binet (MSc Mathematical & Theoretical Physics, 2023)
I am hoping to start a teacher-training programme at a school in England.
Hannah Ezer (MPhil History: Women’s, Gender & Queer History, 2022)
I will be returning to my undergrad college, Harvard University, to pursue a PhD.
Thomas Darré (Dip Legal Studies, 2023)
I’m continuing my master’s degree at Sciences Po Paris where I’m going to prepare for the entry exam to the French École nationale de la magistrature.
Yani Ince (VSP: History & Politics, 2023)
I’m going back to complete my senior year at Brown University!
Some of our newest alumni share their hopes and plans for what promises to be an exciting future.
Lenny Jenkins (MSc Sustainability, Enterprise & the Environment, 2023)
I’m entering the world of climate tech, working with start-ups and venture capital firms to support companies that will make a difference in pursuit of net-zero and sustainable development.
Josh Treacy (Theology & Religion, 2021)
I’m moving back to Dublin to study for a Master’s in Common Law.
Zaman Faraz Karamat (MSc Refugee & Forced Migration Studies, 2023)
I am starting as an intern with the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) – United Nations Migration –to analyse flood displacement.
Jun Chen Annie Lee (BLC, 2022)
I shall be starting my career as a lawyer in Singapore.
Isabella McIntyre (VSP: Politics & Human Sciences)
I am going on to my senior year at College of the Holy Cross.
Jessie Miller (MSc Social Science of the Internet, 2023)
Next year I will be enrolling at Yale Law School to obtain my Juris Doctor (JD).
What’s next?
Ellie O’Brien (Physics, 2020)
After completing my MPhys at Oxford, I’m going to do a PhD in Particle Physics at Sheffield University.
Nora Wall (VSP: English, 2023)
I’m moving on to a full-time editing position for Amazon Publishing.
Scout Adams (VSP: English, 2023)
In the coming year I will graduate in English & Creative Writing from the University of Iowa. I aspire to publish the novel I am currently writing, and start a graduate programme in Library Sciences & Book Arts.
Alexander Walls (VSP: Politics, 2023)
I will return to William Jewell College to finish my bachelor’s, then I will pursue a PhD in Political Science.
Penelope Juarez
(VSP: Human Sciences & Theology, 2023)
I have a fellowship at Caltech for the summer and will then be completing my senior year at Wellesley College.
Creating a career
‘What shall I do when I graduate?’ The thought is never far from students’ minds. We spoke to a current second-year undergraduate to discover his thoughts about future careers and which path to choose. We then posed some of the burning questions to Mansfield alumni working in the creative industries.
John Whittingdale (Geography, 2023)
Ayear into my studies at Mansfield, I feel poised to reflect on my achievements thus far and look ahead to impending adventures. As a secondyear Geography student, I take pride in my academic accomplishments, yet I’ve also learned that being a student at Mansfield pushes you beyond what you can achieve within your course.
Not only have I found community in places I expected, such as the Mansfield-Merton Football Team, which I’m excited to captain this coming year, but I’ve also explored my creative side through my love of art, literature, and culture.
Beyond the College, I’ve taken on committee roles in societies such as the Oxford Poetry Society, which I’m sure will introduce me to a cast of wonderful and eccentric people. Within Mansfield, I’m proud to serve as Editor of the Virtual Quad: the weekly newsletter for students. Suffice to say, I feel I have found a community at Mansfield that pushes me to enrich myself.
As I explore new opportunities here at Oxford, I am sure I’m not the only one of my peers who’s begun to think about future careers. As a Geographer, it is tempting to feel I must streamline my focus to traditional paths for Geography graduates. However, I’ve realised that there are no constraints to the path I can pursue after University. It’s crucial for us aspiring students to see what Mansfield alumni have achieved, motivating us to set high goals and recognise our potential. By learning about what other Mansfield alumni have gone on to accomplish in their professional lives since graduating, and how their time at Mansfield shaped their journeys, we hope future generations of Mansfield students can follow in their footsteps.
As I explore new opportunities here at Oxford, I am sure I’m not the only one of my peers who’s begun to think about future careers
Rishi Dastidar (History, 1996)
What is your current role?
I have parallel careers in copywriting and branding, and poetry. Four days a week I am a writer for brands, sometimes directly, but a lot of the time through advertising and design agencies. Over the years I’ve written for clients including Sky, O2, EDF Energy and CoppaFeel! The rest of the time I try and do the poetry stuff, and everything else that comes with a career in literature.
How does a typical day unfold for you?
There’s not much that is typical about any given day for me, but one thing common to most of them is that it will generally start with some sort of blank page, and by the end of that day there will be some form of mark on that page. Nearly all my days revolve around writing, and I need to be responsive to what needs to be created at any given moment.
What’s the most enjoyable part of your job?
There’s a lot of things to enjoy from the range of what I do. I think, ultimately, this is what draws a lot of people to creative careers: a sense of play, having the privilege and pleasure of making things, knowing you can provoke a reaction in people. And if you’re lucky, you get paid to do it.
What’s the most challenging part of your job?
There can be pressure on the commercial side of things –hard and fast targets that aren’t always easy to meet. With poetry, there’s always work going on in the background. The best artists are restless about what they’re trying to articulate through their way of working. You’ve got to stretch and develop to get there. It’s challenging – but it’s a good challenge.
How did you get to where you are now?
There was no grand plan. I knew I wanted to write from about the age of 14, but 2007 was when I got my first job in a creative agency as a copywriter and discovered contemporary poetry as well. Since then, it’s been a case of saying yes to as many opportunities that I can, engineering those as well. I’m fortunate in terms of having the time, energy, and health to pursue a lot of these where others might not have. So, there is luck involved. But people manage to stay in creative careers when there’s an openness to trying something new.
Do you have any stand-out memories of your time at Mansfield that may or may not have influenced where you are now?
There’s not one stand-out moment, per se. It’s more that, across the three years, Mansfield felt like home. Coming from a comprehensive school that didn’t have a great record of sending people to university, finding a place where I fitted mattered a lot. Mansfield was an oasis of relative normality in a place that is often not very normal. I got the best of both worlds, benefiting from an Oxford education but in a context where I was surrounded by nice, down-to-earth people.
What’s a professional or personal achievement you are proud of?
I still think back to a reading I did of the title poem of my first book Ticker Tape, in Berlin back in 2018. Afterwards I had gone to the bar, carrying the printout of my poem which I had read from. The bartender was in tears, and asked if I would sign the printout for him to keep. I have no idea how that happened. But the fact that those 220 lines moved someone, who I’d never met before, to tears; that remains a standout moment for me.
How do you like to spend your free time?
There’re not many days that I’m not doing some form of writing. I do like my American sport, and that’s where a lot of my emotional energy gets spent. I have become a big Philadelphia Phillies fan – that really exploded during lockdown, and long may it continue. Go Phils!
Do you have any life tips for our current students?
Say yes, as much as you can – that ‘yes’ might be the start of a new adventure, who knows? I’ve generally found that if you assume good things will happen, good things come back to you.
Jane Commane (left), Editor with Nine Arches Press, and Rishi Dastidar (right)
Rishi Dastidar
Alexander (English, 1997)
What is your current role?
I present The Food Chain on the BBC World Service (bbc.com/foodchain).
How does a typical day unfold for you?
The production week runs Tuesday to Monday. On Tuesday morning, I read briefs to prepare for interviews and will then conduct interviews in the afternoon and through Wednesday – this may be down the line or in person on location. On Thursday, the producer and I work out the programme structure and start to cut down the taped interviews, then on Friday, I script the programme. Come Monday, I put the finishing touches to the script, record it, and then start preparing for the next programme.
What’s the most enjoyable part of your job?
I love talking to people about what they do and why they do it, and finding out about the historical, cultural, political and social significance of food. And then I love figuring out how to turn everything I’ve learned into a story.
What’s the most challenging part of your job?
When I first started making radio programmes, a senior producer told me the job was to ‘tell a simple story well’. It’s great advice and almost every week it remains a challenge to condense a complicated, multi-faceted subject or issue into a straightforward and compelling narrative.
How did you get to where you are now?
My first job was as a reporter on Investment Week, a magazine for Independent Financial Advisers. I then did a postgraduate diploma in Broadcast Journalism at Cardiff University, funded by a bursary from ITN. After that, I got work experience in BBC local radio, which quickly turned into a short-term contract writing Ceefax news (the precursor to the BBC News website) and freelance radio shifts. I then spent four years as a journalist at Radio Stoke,
where I also worked as a video journalist, before joining the BBC’s Radio Current Affairs department as a producer/ reporter. There I worked for 15 years on a wide variety of programmes like More or Less, Money Box and Crossing Continents on Radio 4, The Inquiry on BBC World Service and various other series and documentaries. I then saw an advert for The Food Chain job, and thought it sounded interesting – and it is!
Do you have any stand-out memories of your time at Mansfield that may or may not have influenced where you are now?
At the end of my first term my tutors, Ros Ballaster and Lucinda Rumsey, told me to keep asking questions – they said no one else in the room knows the answer either, but they don’t want to ask. So, I remain unafraid to ask a basic question – in fact, they’re often the best.
What’s a professional or personal achievement you are proud of?
My work has taken me to a number of countries – Belgium, Bulgaria, Estonia, France, India, Italy, Japan, Kenya, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Uganda, USA – where I’ve had the privilege of finding out about people’s lives and businesses, and I have found that just fascinating.
How do you like to spend your free time?
I spend it with my little boy, in playgrounds, in the garden –we keep it simple.
Do you have any life tips for our current students?
I remember feeling very anxious about what job I was going to do when my finals were over – not least because people kept asking me and I didn’t know. So, follow your heart: do what you’re interested in; don’t feel you need to have it all mapped out, and that way you’ll naturally find a career path you find enjoyable and fulfilling.
Ruth
Ruth Alexander (right) interviewing author Bonnie Garmus (left), for The Food Chain
Ruth Alexander
Ashish Ravinran (History, 2009)
What is your current role?
I’m an independent filmmaker based in New York City. My work spans both fiction and documentary. I recently completed the Warner Bros TV Writers’ Workshop in LA, which is a pipeline programme to write on TV shows that the studio produces. I also work as an editor and have edited multiple documentaries, most recently Queenmaker on Hulu (Disney+ in the UK).
How does a typical day unfold for you?
When I’m hired to edit a project, I’m often working with a team during regular work hours. But when I’m working on my own projects, it involves sitting in the writing posture during both regular and highly irregular hours. This past year I’ve also been finishing a feature documentary I directed. It’s called Chasing Cricket and it’s about immigrant teens who will do anything to pursue cricket in the US, including playing in an annual youth tournament organised by, of all people, the New York Police Department.
What’s the most enjoyable part of your job?
The unpredictability. Every project is a new world to discover and explore, which appeals to the former history student in me. I never quite know what I’m going to find out. Like when I discovered that the CIA made a fake sex tape in the 1950s to try and depose the Indonesian president, Sukarno – which inspired a short film I made.
What’s the most challenging part of your job?
Again, the unpredictability. In my documentary, one of the coaches references the adage that ‘cricket is a game of glorious uncertainty’, which could apply to the film industry too – with all its mergers, acquisitions, strikes and cuts. Depending on who you ask, it feels like there’s talk of both end-times and boom-times at somehow exactly the same time.
How did you get to where you are now?
I realised I wanted to get into filmmaking, strangely enough, while doing two years of compulsory military service in
Singapore. I then went to Mansfield where I started making short films and roped in people at College and at the Oxford University Film Foundation (OUFF). After graduating, I did a Master of Fine Arts (MFA) degree in Filmmaking at NYU Tisch School of the Arts and I’ve been working in the film world since. By the way, the short films I made at Mansfield were naturally all masterpieces but will only be seen posthumously.
Do you have any stand-out memories of your time at Mansfield that may or may not have influenced where you are now?
Plenty! Reading History taught me a lot about narrative and storytelling. I sometimes think of myself as a wannabe historian in disguise as a filmmaker. Mansfield was a very supportive, open place for me to make films. But once, right before I finished third year, I got in trouble for filming late at night outside the College gates without permission – during exam season! I argued that we were making far less noise than people who were stumbling home drunkenly from clubs. It didn’t work. I got fined £30, which now seems like a pretty reasonable location fee!
What’s a professional or personal achievement you are proud of?
I mentor fifth graders in a screenwriting programme where I help them write a short script, which actors then perform live. It’s thrilling to watch them watching their stories come to life, and I’m frequently jealous of their wild ideas. I’ve also taught editing to NYU graduate film students, and I spent a few days as an editing tutor to Danny DeVito.
How do you like to spend your free time?
During Covid, I rediscovered some neglected hobbies like doing card tricks and playing the guitar. In fact, my wife and I started doing song covers with personalised lyrics as birthday presents. My cricket career ended after a brief stint for Merton-Mansfield, but cricket has been having a moment in the US and I am ready and willing to watch.
Do you have any life tips for our current students? Laugh at yourself.
Ashish Ravinran (right) directs actor Ian Unterman (left) in a scene from Ashish's short film Eastern Delights
Making short films at Mansfield
Nastassia Dhanraj (Theology, 2012)
What is your current role?
I am a comedy writer working in TV and radio.
How does a typical day unfold for you?
It varies, depending on if I’m in a writers’ room or not. In a writers’ room, I’ll spend the day with other writers, punching out jokes, shaping stories and developing characters. If I’m not in a writers’ room, I’ll spend the day in my office, punching out jokes, shaping stories and developing characters – but it’ll be weirder when I speak out loud because there’s nobody else there.
What’s the most enjoyable part of your job?
I just love coming up with the stupidest jokes imaginable. Life can be relentlessly depressing, so I enjoy my small part in bringing levity to people.
What’s the most challenging part of your job?
My job is constantly juggling notes, deadlines and meetings. As a freelance comedy writer, I have to switch the audience in my head constantly and shape my tone to the tone of the show I’m writing on. I tend to work on between four and eight TV shows at a time, so taking a break among those schedules is very challenging.
How did you get to where you are now?
I’d been doing stand-up since my early teens, even before arriving at Mansfield, so comedy was always the industry I knew I wanted to work in. After University, I spent years doing part-time jobs like working in escape rooms and as a support worker while honing my craft. My now-husband was financially supporting me through all of that. Eventually, I was lucky enough to get a sitcom development deal, an agent and then my first few scriptwriting jobs.
Do you have any stand-out memories of your time at Mansfield that may or may not have influenced where you are now?
I put on a couple of very stupid plays in the Mansfield JCR, one called ‘Father God’ and then a sequel called ‘Father God 2: The Nativity’. It was the Holy Trinity as a family sitcom. Some of my Theology tutors came to see it and didn’t send me down for butchering their educational efforts. Another very fond memory was when I was very kindly given some funding by Mansfield to cover a bit of the cost to study sitcom writing at NYU for the summer. My tutors, Dave Lincicum and Joel Rasmussen, used our next review to pitch their own sitcom ideas to me. Dave’s, memorably, was about a mob boss who has to go undercover as an Oxford Theology tutor. I did write that up as a script, but nobody wanted it!
What’s a professional or personal achievement you are proud of?
My professional achievement I’m possibly most proud of is a Horrible Histories song I wrote which was a Hamilton parody about the Sons of Africa. Meeting the claymation model for Shaun the Sheep was a big day too. Personally, my husband and I completed honour mode of Baldur’s Gate 3. That was huge.
How do you like to spend your free time?
Reading books about beautiful yet strong women who fall in love with fairy princes. I also like to take terrible photos of delicious food at fancy restaurants.
Do you have any life tips for our current students?
If you want to pursue a risky career in the arts, lock yourself down a spouse with a stable job and be charming enough that they’ll financially support you.
Nastassia meets claymation model for Shaun the Sheep
Nastassia and friends matriculating in 2012
What is your current role?
Commissioning Editor at Bonnier Books – I acquire, edit and publish fiction on the Footnote Press and Ithaka Press lists across a range of genres.
How does a typical day unfold for you?
No day is the same as an editor, but most will involve lots of emails, some admin, and several meetings to talk about books. Internally, these can be about everything from a book’s cover, to its marketing and publicity campaign, to where it lines up against other books in the market; externally, they’re often about what kind of books we’re keen to publish.
What’s the most enjoyable part of your job?
Conversations with my colleagues that are basically us all fangirling over books. The same happens with authors, and I love the part of trying to acquire a book where I get to meet the author of a brilliant new novel and convince them that I’m the right editor for their book.
What’s the most challenging part of your job?
Not having more time in the week as we have to juggle a lot at once as publishers and also, more specifically, when a book that we all really loved goes to another publisher instead of us.
How did you get to where you are now?
I did an SYP (Society of Young Publishers) mentorship while I was at Mansfield, and I also co-founded and was Deputy Editor of a student magazine called Onyx which platforms the voices of artists of African and Caribbean heritage, both of which really helped me to get a sense of what publishing might involve. After I graduated, I did some work experience placements at two independent
children’s publishers and then, after lots of applications to internships, I got a place on the Hachette Books UK 12-month traineeship in September 2019. I stayed at Hachette in various roles – first as a trainee, then Editorial Assistant, then Editor – until spring 2024 when I moved to my current role.
Do you have any stand-out memories of your time at Mansfield that may or may not have influenced where you are now?
So many centre around the amazing people that I met at Mansfield. From that very first late night creating bibliographies in the Mansfeld Library, I knew I’d met my people and my support group in both work and play (and there were so many amazing Mansfield events for us all to go to). Tutorials, including those with Lucinda and her constant stock of tea, taught me some of the skills that help me in my role now.
What’s a professional or personal achievement you are proud of?
Getting into Oxford, graduating, getting to do my dream job, and now being able to build my own curated list of books. Also, every time I see any of the books I publish connect with readers.
How do you like to spend your free time?
Seeing my friends – many of whom were actually in my English cohort at Mansfield – and taking in different perspectives through film, art and theatre. I’m also a spoken word poet so often go to poetry nights in London.
Do you have any life tips for our current students?
Keep trying – often a no means it isn’t the right fit for you or them, and you’re on your way to something better, even if it doesn’t feel like it at the time.
Serena Arthur (English, 2016)
Serena Arthur (right) at the Waterstones Debut Fiction Prize
Speeches at the book launch of Second Self by Chloe Ashby (right)
From Mansfield to Westminster
In the summer of 2024, we were delighted and proud to see that eight Mansfield alumni were running for office in the General Election.
Jane Waghorn Head of Communications
Torsten Bell (PPE, 2002) MP for Swansea West (Labour)
Before his election to Parliament, Torsten was Chief Executive of economic think-tank, the Resolution Foundation for nine years, after serving as Ed Miliband’s Director of Policy. Prior to that, he was a Treasury civil servant who became special adviser to Alistair Darling during the 2007-08 financial crisis. While at Mansfield, Torsten was Editor of Cherwell and he still makes time for journalism, writing about inequality in the UK, particularly the North-South divide. Since 2017 he has also written a column in the Observer entitled ‘Hidden Gems from the World of Research’.
Sir Chris Bryant (English, 1980) MP for Rhondda & Ogmore (Labour)
Chris is probably the most well-known of our Mansfield MPs. Not only has he had a distinguished political career, holding ministerial positions under Gordon Brown and chairing Commons Committees, he has long been a strong advocate for LGBTQ rights. Today he is Minister of State at the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. After graduating from Mansfield, Chris became a priest until leaving the ministry in 1991. From 1998 until his election to Parliament in 2001, he was Head of European Affairs at the BBC. In 2022 Chris was welcomed back to Mansfield to give the Hands Lecture. Sir Chris was knighted in the 2023 New Year Honours.
Luke Charters (PPE, 2013) MP for York Outer (Labour)
Luke started his career at the Bank of England, working on a project to launch the polymer banknotes. He then became a regulator at the Financial Conduct Authority, where he worked on projects to protect vulnerable customers and reduce fraud. Before being elected to Parliament, Luke worked in the private sector in compliance and fraud protection. ‘My time at Mansfield played a significant role for my future career, including preparing me for life as an MP. From the moment I was welcomed by Lucinda Rumsey on an Open Day, I felt drawn to the College’s inviting ethos. The nurturing environment encouraged me to challenge myself, fostering the confidence and critical thinking essential for public service.’
When elected to Parliament at the 2024 General Election, John became the first non-Conservative MP to represent Horsham in nearly 150 years. Prior to entering politics, he worked as a creative director in the advertising industry. John’s political career began when he was elected to Horsham District Council in 2019. He served as Deputy Leader of the council until his election to Parliament.
Joe’s election win in Hexham was historic, overturning the Conservatives’ century-long majority of more than 10,000 to become the town’s first Labour MP. Before entering Parliament, he worked as a parliamentary assistant for Labour MPs Kate Hollern, Rupa Huq and Bill Esterson. Joe has been an active member of the Labour Party since he was 18, holding positions at branch, constituency and University levels. He was also President of the Mansfield College Alumni Association between 2017 and 2019.
Coming to Oxford in 1993 as the first in my family to attend university, I found the prospect daunting, but during my three years I found Mansfield gave me confidence to attempt to reach my professional goals. I was elected JCR President in 1995 when Mansfield gained ‘full college status’ – it has thrived since and it’s fantastic that Chris and myself are now joined by five new Mansfield alumni. I hope they will forgive me for sitting opposite them – we need some diversity among Mansfield parliamentarians!
Another of Mansfield’s veteran politicians, John was first elected to Parliament as Conservative MP for Salisbury in 2010. He has held various Government posts: Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office (November 2023 to July 2024); Chief Secretary to the Treasury (October 2022 to November 2023); Minister of State to the Treasury (September 2021 to July 2022); City Minister (January 2018 to July 2022); Economic Secretary to the Treasury (January 2018 to September 2021); Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for the Department of Culture, Media and Sport (June 2017 to January 2018); and Parliamentary Private Secretary to Philip Hammond (July 2016 to June 2017).
The Rt Hon John Glen
John Milne (English, 1979) MP for Horsham (Liberal Democrat)
Joe Morris (History, 2011) MP for Hexham (Labour)
The Rt Hon John Glen (Modern History, 1993) MP for Salisbury (Conservative)
James Naish
(Modern History, 2006) MP for Rushcliffe (Labour)
After graduating from Mansfield, James joined a marketing graduate scheme in London which led to a career working for a range of household names such as Barclaycard, Shell, Thames Water, Lloyds, TSB, SSE and RSA. James’ political career began in 2019 when he was elected to Bassetlaw District Council. He went on to become Leader of the Council in September 2022. James was selected by the Labour Party as its parliamentary candidate for Rushcliffe in February 2024 and went on to become the first Labour MP for the seat since 1966.
James Uffindell
(PPE, 1997) Conservative candidate for Warwick & Leamington
James is a technology entrepreneur and one of the UK’s leading experts on Gen Z talent. He started his first business in his student bedroom while studying at Mansfield – aptly a business helping students from nontraditional backgrounds to access the UK’s top universities, which he later sold to a private investor. In 2013 James founded Bright Network, a social mobility platform that uses data and insights to connect graduates with the world of work. He is a regular media commentator and speaker and has been featured in The Economist, Management Today,The Times, the Independent, the Daily Telegraph as well as live on radio and TV. In autumn 2023, James was selected by the Warwick & Leamington Conservative Association to represent it at the 2024 General Election and he led his campaign with a strong message to support regional economic growth.
Mansfield was fundamental in shaping my political views and outlook. I grew up in a rural area, was raised by a single working mother and we lived in rented accommodation before she eventually bought our house. Mansfield opened my eyes to people from all walks of life. The Berlin Wall had just fallen and Mansfield really was liberalism at its best, instilling a belief and trust in humanity. Everyone was open, curious, friendly and wanted to get on in life as opposed to following narrow obsessions with ideologies. My Mansfield experience allowed me to broaden my political interests, and my PPE tutors were superb – all of this combined to shape my thinking about how we balance building a society that is both fair but also takes account of individual responsibility and frees human talent to flourish, something I have committed my career to
James Uffindell
Reaching further than you’ve travelled
Coming across the pond from a small, close-knit liberal arts college in New England, USA, I quickly realised I was exchanging one family-like community for another. Only this time, my new home offered a window to a much wider world. I went from a relatively homogenous northeastern suburb to a place where you could casually pull up to a table at the Crypt and find a global representation that would make the UN General Assembly blush.
Ispent my VSP year at Mansfield studying Development Economics. The VSP programme assembled an amazing array of courses and tutors, from Economics professors to a Rhodes scholar. But the tutor who made the most lasting impression was a former Oxfam staff member turned English Literature don.
The languages, accents, origin stories, and diverse perspectives of my Oxford friends stayed with me long after I left. They sparked a lifelong global curiosity. After my year as a VSP, I pursued further studies abroad in Cuba, researching the island’s economy and its relationship with the USA.
Mansfield’s courses have had a lasting impact on my career. While my home institution had a robust academic catalogue, it lacked traditional business courses like management and finance. My Mansfield tutorials in these subjects piqued my interest, and when I returned to the States, I accepted an internship at JPMorgan. Eight years later, I’m still with the bank.
I vividly remember the bittersweet feeling of leaving my home institution and heading to Oxford for an entire year. Looking back now, I wouldn’t trade the experience for the world. I still keep in touch with my Mansfield friends and always reflect on that year with deep fondness. My only regret, perhaps, is indulging in too much ‘Champagne’ and not enough ‘Chocolates’ (or water) on certain Friday nights. But overall, it was a year that profoundly shaped who, and where, I am today.
In a class on NGOs and Development, she asked what I would recommend for a given situation (the details of which are long forgotten). Having no experience in developing countries or NGO management, I was hesitant to offer a response. But she encouraged me to reply, observing that international development would throw me into situations where I would not have the answers, but nevertheless, needed to find solutions. The exercise was prescient.
From my early work with children affected by conflict in West Africa and the Balkans, to my current assignment with UNICEF (as a Senior Climate Advisor) re-envisioning humanitarian response in a changing climate, I have always looked for a way forward, guided by evidence and expertise, along with a fair dose of hope and imagination.
Indirectly, the tutor also taught me that it was never too late to go back to school and study what we love, which I took to heart, pursuing a PhD in Public Policy in my 40s. So, in addition to my UNICEF work, I am now an Adjunct Assistant Professor at Hunter College, City University of New York.
Tyler Ambrose (VSP, 2015)
Samantha Cocco-Klein (VSP: Economics, 1993)
Every year, Mansfield welcomes around 40 students from universities across the world to study as part of our Visiting Student Programme (VSP). Our VSPs, past and present, form a huge part of the diverse and multicultural community that defines Mansfield, and many have wonderful recollections of their time here, and the impact it had on their lives.
My time at Mansfield was among the most memorable and enjoyable of all my college years. While it would sound better to claim that the tutorials were what I remembered most, it was the people and extracurricular activities that made my time as a Visiting Student unforgettable.
As a previous member of the rowing team at my home institution of Hamilton College, New York, I was able to secure the stroke position on the College’s Third VIII for both the Torpids and Eights Week races. Though our eight did not place in either race, the thrill of competing in those bump races on the Isis is something I will never forget.
Feeling the need to ‘give something back’ to our host country and to Oxford University, fellow Mansfield Visiting Students Dana Benner (VSP, 1989), Seth Miller (VSP, 1989), Anthony Ewing (VSP, 1989), and I teamed up to support a great UK charity. In the early morning hours of Comic Relief’s Red Nose Day, we adorned a Roman bust on the Sheldonian Theatre’s fence with a moustache, glasses, and a large red nose. While we convinced the Oxford police officer who caught us that our creative contributions would really help the charity, the spiked wroughtiron fence almost ended up ensuring we would have a childless future!
My time at Mansfield allowed me to make lifelong friends from other countries and awakened an interest in international affairs and working with allied and partner nations – as I did while a military officer, and as I continue today in the aerospace industry.
At 18 years old, as my peers headed off to university, I packed my bags and moved to Italy with the dream of becoming a professional trapeze artist. By the age of 30, I had achieved more than I had ever imagined possible: starring as a solo swinging aerialist with Cirque du Soleil and Ringling Brothers. Then, a debilitating injury during a rehearsal left me incapacitated. Like Kafka’s Gregor Samsa, I awoke one morning in a body I did not recognise, and was forced, without warning, to reinvent myself. I had to reimagine my future given the very real possibility that I might never heal from my injury.
That path carried me first to Brown University, and then to Mansfield. One of the highlights of my time at Oxford was Mansfield’s interdisciplinary approach to academic scholarship. I was able to merge my passion for history and Shakespeare by charting how the implementation of antimiscegenation legislation in Jacobean England, Antebellum America, and Imperial Germany shaped the textual evolution of Othello. I am thrilled that my paper, ‘Othello: A Moor Rorschach Test,’ was published in October 2024 in New Theatre Quarterly (Cambridge University Press).
I recognise that my path has been anything but traditional. I will be forever grateful to Mansfield College, and Dr Helen Lacey in particular, for taking a chance on me. I have never felt more at home than I have at Mansfield, which is truly a College for nonconformists like me. I am grateful for the incredible opportunity I had to embrace a new type of flight – to soar once again. But this time with my feet firmly planted on the ground.
Eric Hannis (VSP, 1989)
Akaela Michels-Gualtieri (VSP: English, 2023)
JCR through the decades
Times have changed over the past half century, though many traditions that make Mansfield, Mansfield have remained. We asked former JCR Presidents - spanning more than six decades - to share their recollections.
1960-70
Sidney Blankenship (Theology, 1967)
JCR President 1968/69
In the 1969 College photo, you’ll see the depiction of a 100% male college community, including Principal John Marsh (himself JCR President 1930/31), tutors, Visiting Students, undergraduates, and doctoral students. There was no MCR – everyone met in the Common Room at the west end of the main building, where JCR meetings were held.
The second photo is our 1968 First VIII rowing team: centre, Keith Gittins (History, 1966), cox; Principal Marsh, an avid supporter of the Boat Club; and Wally Buckingham, Steward. Back row: Paul Worsley (Jurisprudence, 1966), Alan Spoors (English, 1967), Antony Thomas (Jurisprudence, 1966), and Paul Jay (English, 1967); front row: John Main (History, 1965), Chris Hayman (History, 1966), Bruce Robertson (DPhil Theology, 1967), and myself. We attained three bumps, and one in 1968 Torpids.
As Bob Dylan almost said, ‘The times, they were a-changing’. The Vietnam war was a source of discontent; Bill Clinton was at University College; Prince Charles was at Cambridge; and Neil Armstrong set foot on the moon. Yet the JCR was not a political vehicle. We were generally occupied with our individual academic pursuits. As a master of caring paternalism, John Marsh had a Christian
view of morality, order and discipline. Wally Buckingham had the presence of a stern enforcer, but was equally a nurturing friend. We all managed on that basis, and deep friendships were formed.
The incident of foregoing academic gowns in Hall, in retrospect, seems to have been simply a test of wills that did not prevail. I recited the College Latin grace before evening meals, and the formality of Oxford was an assurance of the University’s order and prestige. By my day, the College had already evolved as a Permanent Private Hall from its early Congregational debates over theological subjects, even as Theology remained a fieldencompassing course. See Mansfield College, Oxford by Elaine Kaye for that history.
With its increasing interdisciplinary input from all subjects at Oxford, the JCR was open to the idea of accepting women students during my tenure, and so we voted. This issue was ultimately settled within the University.
Sidney Blankenship
1968 First VIII boat
1970-80
Admiral Sir Philip Jones GCB DL (Geography, 1978) JCR President 1979/80
Istepped up to the role of President from JCR Treasurer at short notice in my second year and really enjoyed it. Mansfield was transitioning from accepting only male undergraduates (my year was the last such year), and it was fascinating to see the way the College was changing to reflect that. The whole University was going through a similar transition at the time.
I recall some feisty discussions with the SCR over rents, bills and charges, but it was always conducted in the right spirit and in the engaging, sympathetic style that was the hallmark of the wonderful Dr Donald Sykes, Principal at the time. The JCR itself was a fun place to gather, and you could always find someone that you knew in there for a chat, a cuppa, or a beer (or three!), depending on the time of day (‘posh coffee’ wasn’t really a thing 45 years ago).
Mansfield was turned into a film set during the Easter vacation of my second year, to portray late 19th-century Harvard for the opening scenes of Michael Cimino’s epic (flop?) Heaven’s Gate. Many students were employed as extras, enduring early starts and long days, but some welcomed the extra income. I missed it all, as I was at sea on a Royal Navy frigate, keeping my hand in as a University Cadet. This also involved lots of early starts, long days and some welcome extra income, so I suppose it wasn’t that different in the end.
1969 Matriculation photo
Admiral Sir Philip Jones
1980-90
Sir Ian Blatchford (Jurisprudence, 1983)
JCR President 1984/85
In early 1984, I was the Education Officer at the Oxford University Student Union (OUSU) leading a ‘Target Teachers’ campaign. Its aim was to encourage teachers in the state sector to embrace the idea of Oxford entrance, as research had shown that prejudices and uncertainties about the ‘dreaming spires’ might be curtailing pupil aspirations. However, fascinating though this project was, I was encouraged by several Mansfield friends to run for JCR President and so resigned from OUSU.
The JCR was very much focused on ‘bread and butter’ issues with long negotiations with the then Bursar (David Kinnersley) over potential increases in battels, and fairer procedures for allocating (scarce) College accommodation between home and international students. One nice ritual was a pre-lunch sherry with Principal Donald Sykes every Wednesday to catch up on the latest issues, concerns and gossip across the student and Fellow bodies.
It felt like a very vivid time politically, with Thatcherism at its peak and the Left struggling to define its narrative. I had been elected to OUSU under the Lib Dem banner, during a period when the social democratic ticket was very strong. Universities were also the subject of controversial funding changes, although these now seem mild compared to today. The JCR went on a massive demonstration outside All Souls when Keith Joseph, Education Secretary, was speaking at a dinner.
As JCR President, I was invited to attend the famous Congregation meeting in the Sheldonian when the dons voted by a large margin not to confer an honorary doctorate on Margaret Thatcher, in protest at cuts to scientific and medical research funding. I recall a passionate but erudite debate.
1990-2000
Gill Kirk (English, 1991)
JCR President 1992/93
The year 1993 was an awesome time to be JCR President. Why? The students were ace, the academic and administrative staff almost exclusively kind and smart, and we followed in the footsteps of wise, witty and pretty sane JCR Benches, led by 1990’s President, the beloved and gone-too-soon Nigel Hall (History, 1988), 1991’s Ed Cox (Geography, 1989), and 1992’s Jason Edwards (PPE, 1990). Our Principal was another recently departed hero, Dennis Trevelyan: ‘Den-Trev’ as I’m sure he’d forgive me revealing. And on a personal note, Lucinda Rumsey was my marvellous English Course II tutor - here’s to her recent retirement (too young, surely?!).
The Lodge was run by a heavenly trio: Hugh, Mike and Karl, and we had a JCR-run bar and a glorious JCR full of soggy old sofas, which ate newspapers and soaked up leaky beakers of questionable coffee and floating cigarettes.
Sunday was Video Night – thanks, Steve Elliott (History, 1988). Thursday JCR meetings were decent get-togethers, with passionate but respectful argy-bargy, upholding Mansfield’s tradition of dissent, in all its mucky glory.
These were great days because of the true mix we all were. We rarely agreed on anything. I’ve worked in politics - and scriptwriting - ever since, and that Mansfield spirit of disagreement, listening and questioning remains central to my world view.
After Mansfield, I was an OUSU sabbatical officer. My supporting OUSU exec member was Liz Truss, and I realised how special our JCR was; let’s say she had a different way of working! I genuinely treasure that year, and all my Mansfield time. I love bumping into ‘us’ in the strangest places, knowing that we shared some weird differences, but that we all knew this special time and place.
Sir Ian Blatchford Gill Kirk
2000-10
Sara Bainbridge (Human Sciences, 2007)
JCR President 2008/09
My presidency in 2009 included snow, swine flu and a spat. Early on in my term of office, I had to alert hungry students that 12 inches of snow had cancelled all catering - but I knew I could turn to others for help.
Being JCR President has never been a solo effort. The brilliant VP, Kath Davies (English, 2007), was always on hand to provide humour and wisdom (and still is).
I was lucky to be preceded by James Naish (History, 2006), an excellent President who had campaigned for and secured more equitable rent for students living on and off-site. He’s now an MP (see p47), so demonstrated his political acumen early and was unfailingly supportive - a positive sign for his new constituents in Rushcliffe!
We had to prepare for swine flu, with a buddy system and isolation measures communicated to the students. Luckily, we didn’t see much illness, though it did plant a seed of professional interest - I’m now working in public health.
Another time, an unhappy open letter to the then-Dean was sent from the student body, which meant I had to look up the word ’pusillanimous’. I’ve found an email from our Principal of the time where apparently, I managed to defuse the situation, but I can’t say I enjoyed the role of diplomat.
I am proud that Mansfield JCR started its journey as a ‘College of Sanctuary’ back in 2009, when we passed a motion to support people seeking asylum via a scheme run by the charity Praxis.
I’m sure being JCR President still involves many meetings and emails. Mansfield students were always engaged and even more so when it came to the riddle included in each weekly update. We also adopted a College cat - the friendly black and white Erasmus - whose food the JCR bought (and was delivered by my mum at the start and end of each term!).
That Mansfield spirit of disagreement, listening and questioning remains central to my world view
Erasmus the College cat
Sara Bainbridge
JCR Bench, 2009
2010-20
Daria Lysyakova (Jurisprudence, 2016)
JCR President 2017/18
My time as Mansfield JCR President started with a ‘baptism of fire’ – the new JCR pool table was damaged during the last social event of term, and it was now my responsibility to figure out how to fix it. No two days in the role were the same: it was exciting, busy, challenging and a lot of fun. My tenure was highlighted by an issue near and dear to Mansfield. In 2018, fallout from the first Annual Admissions Statistical Report led to an invitation to then-Vice Chancellor Louise Richardson’s office for a conversation about future University-wide access initiatives.
Whether it is by welcoming new students to Mansfield, running multiple social events each term, or providing peer support, the JCR Bench is at the heart of the student experience at Mansfield. Some of my fondest memories are of attending JCR-run Champagne and Chocolates events, either behind the bar serving with the rest of the committee or enjoying a champagne with friends. The JCR President’s main role is to lead the JCR Bench, providing a helping hand, and meeting with the right person when needed. All the credit for the great achievements of the JCR is due to the members of the committee.
I recall my predecessor, Joe, describing the role as a ‘full-time job’, and I certainly agree. I hope the current and future JCR Presidents of Mansfield rise to the challenge of one of the best full-time jobs out there!
2020-present
Daisy O’Connell (Geography, 2022)
JCR President 2023/24
The role of JCR President comes with a set of unique challenges. It can be a slightly awkward position, as I find myself navigating the tension between being the leader of the JCR, and a member of the JCR myself. Sometimes, it can be tricky to oversee the activities of my peers given that many of them are my closest and most valued friends. In working through these challenges, I have reconfigured my definition of good leadership. I have concluded that the best leaders are the ones who are prepared to take their foot off the gas, be carried away by the ideas of others, and get stuck into making these happen with the rest of their team.
Such collaborations have led to the most exciting initiatives of this JCR. One example is the creation of the new bike-share scheme. This project has been a joint effort, involving a number of actors across the College. From the Environment and Ethics officer who suggested the idea, to alumnus Jan Fischer (VSP, 1989) whose funding made the scheme possible, and the multiple members of the JCR who helped to transport accessories across town in the rain. Projects like these are only made possible through our combined efforts.
While the JCR population changes by roughly a third every year, such willingness to lend a helping hand has been a constant in my time at Mansfield. I am endlessly impressed by the generosity of our community, with the outpouring of time and energy working to keep the cogs turning. I am proud to be a representative face of the JCR, but our success is down to the character of the JCR Bench and the members who engage with our initiatives.
Daisy O’Connell
Daria Lysyakova
Mansfield Lives: sharing memories
Mansfield is proud of the thousands of its alumni contributing to communities all over the world. With the help of Simon Giddings (Physics, 1989), we have embarked on an exciting project, Mansfield Lives, to create a digital archive to capture and record the lives and experiences of Mansfield alumni while living and studying in Oxford.
Launched in February 2024, Mansfield Lives aims to create a digital collection of alumni memories, capturing the rich history of Mansfield College as ‘lived’ by its students and staff. Within four months of its launch, the archive already contained over 160 items. They range from classic pictures of celebrating the end of finals, and participating in team sporting events, to the less exciting – but equally significant – cooking dinner in student houses. Items also include a letter offering a place as an undergraduate, typed assignments received and a video of College history.
Next for the project is building a functional, searchable digital archive within the College’s new website. Over time, the aim is for Mansfield Lives to be a vibrant digital resource containing thousands of items by, and for, alumni.
A huge thank you to everyone who has already submitted items to us. We hope that more of you will consider contributing. Your photos, videos and documents representing your time at Mansfield and Oxford are the building blocks for a rich archive and resource for our entire community to enjoy.
A group of friends at Mansfield marking the end of their time together at College in the summer of 1976. Contributed by Martin Stott (Geography, 1973)
So, do you have a picture from a College Ball, or from a sporting event? Maybe you have a photo or footage of croquet on the Quad, bikes at the Porter’s Lodge, a quiet time in the University Parks, cooking with friends, drinks in the student bar, or from celebrating your finals? Whatever you have, we’d love you to share them by adding them to the Mansfield Lives archive. It will only take a few minutes.
Head over to the alumni section on the College website to contribute.
Alumni memories, capturing the rich history of Mansfield College as ‘lived’ by its students and staff
Summer VIIIs, 1992. Men’s First VIII. The boat was new to the College. I believe it was the first one the College Boat Club had purchased in ten years. It was bought second-hand from one of the London rowing clubs. On our first outing in it, excited, we swerved to the right to avoid hitting a swan and rowed the boat straight into the bank, putting a hole in the side of our brand new purchase. It took four weeks for the repair. Embarrassing to say the least!
Contributed by Simon Giddings (Physics, 1989)
A collection of pictures taken at the Mansfield Spring Ball, 1995. Contributed by Ben Shaw (Geography, 1992)
Mansfield VSPs, 2004/05. This is a group photo of most of the Visiting Students, all from various universities in the United States, who attended Mansfield for the 2004/05 academic year. (Several VSPs were unable to participate in the photo the day it was taken.) At the time, the students were referred to as JYAs (Junior Year Abroad), but are now called VSPs (Visiting Student Programme). Contributed by Matthew Putorti (VSP: History & Politics, 2004)
Mansfield College Bar, winter 1989. The bar, run by students, was then at the bottom of the Library staircase, near the JCR. I remember it always being lively. Contributed by Simon Giddings (Physics, 1989)
Visit of President Bill Clinton to receive an honorary doctorate in 1994. Contributed by Ben Shaw (Geography, 1992)
Programme cover for the 1992 College Ball. Contributed by Ben Shaw (Geography, 1992)
Mansfield Lives: special feature
Pat Perks (née Gosling) was brought up by her grandparents at Mansfield during the 1930s and 40s. Her grandfather, William Buckingham, was then the College senior servant and they lived in the Porter’s Lodge. Here are some of her recollections of that time.
As I grew up in somewhat unusual surroundings there were rules which had to be observed. Gran and I were not recognised by any member of the College, so we were expected not to make any noise or stray from our own territory. Fortunately, there was a good expanse of grass behind the house, and a number of shrubs and trees, which we were allowed to use. I spent many happy hours playing on my own. In the summer nets were set up along the side, extending the full length of the drive to keep the students’ tennis balls off it, but at other times the drive was completely open and I was expected to know exactly where that boundary was and never go beyond it.
At the back of the house there was a small yard for drying washing, with an outside loo and coal shed. It was separated from the garden by a high concrete wall, so Gran was unable to see me from the house. I was trusted from a very early age not to leave the garden, but could go, with permission, to the local shop or wander in the field opposite Nevertheless, I was always careful to let her know when I was back. I was very active and the garden was a lovely place to let off steam. Living in a quiet university area there were no other children so I was used to being on my own.
Pat Perks at Mansfield, 1937
The Porter’s Lodge, c.1930
A year of alumni engagement
It has been such a great pleasure to see so many of you coming back to College, joining us for events in varied locations, and engaging with us across the year. We truly value your continued support and involvement with Mansfield – it makes all the difference to our academic community continuing to flourish today. Below are some highlights of the year in pictures.
Eleanor Hutson Alumni Relations Officer
Gaudy for 1990-99 Matriculands (23 September 2023)
Kofi Annan Scholars’ Lunch (10 November 2023)
For Mansfield. Forever. Campaign launch (6
2024)
Alumni London Drinks Reception (25 April 2024)
Boston gathering (20 May 2024)
For Mansfield. Forever. US launch for alumni (23 May 2024)
MCBC Summer VIIIs Dinner (25 May 2024)
Leavers’ Celebration (11 June 2024)
Benefactors’ Dinner (22 June 2024)
Summer Celebration (22 June 2024)
Mansfield on the shelves
We are proud to showcase all the latest books and articles penned by Mansfield alumni, and Emeritus and Honorary Fellows, on our website at: www.mansfield.ox.ac.uk/alumni/ publications. Below is a selection of the books published since October 2023.
Star Bound: A feelgood space adventure
Julian Brown (Modern History, 1983), writing as Rex Burke
A Serious House: Why if Churches Fall Completely Out of Use, We May Miss Them
Martin Camroux (Theology, 1969)
Something About Her
Clementine Collett (Theology & Religion, 2013), writing as Clementine Taylor
Timeboxing: The Power of Doing One Thing at a Time
Marc Zao-Sanders (Mathematics & Philosophy, 1997)
Routledge Handbook on Men, Masculinities and Organizations
Jeff Hearn (Geography, 1965) et al (ed)
The Book Forger: The true story of a literary crime that fooled the world
Joseph Hone (English, 2008)
Plot One
Peter Johnson (Geography, 1967)
Freedom of Religion or Belief in the European Convention on Human Rights: A Reappraisal
Caroline Roberts (Theology, 2005)
The Life of LTC Rolt: Where Engineering Met Literature
Victoria Owens (Jurisprudence, 1979)
Come Wind, Come Weather
Janet Lees (Theology, 1989)
A Year of Creativity
Sue Unerman (Modern History, 1979)
The Thought of Bal Gangadhar Tilak
Robert E Upton (History, 2000)
Becoming a Composer
Errollyn Wallen CBE (Honorary Fellow) Literature for the People
Sarah Harkness (Honorary Fellow)
Milton and the Resources of the Line
John Creaser (Emeritus Fellow)
Congratulations to Professor John Creaser for winning the prestigious Milton Society of America’s James Holly Hanford Award for 2022 for his book. The James Holly Hanford Award recognises a distinguished article on Milton published in a journal or in a multi-author collection of essays.
Have a publication to share? Let us know by emailing development@mansfield.ox.ac.uk, so we can add it to our website.
For Mansfield.
Mansfield’s moment has been years in the making.
2019: Jan Fischer (VSP, 1989) establishes the Jan Fischer Social and Educational Opportunity Fund
2019: Antonio
(PPE, 1984) establishes the Bonchristiano Sport Fund
2018: Helen Mountfield KC becomes Principal
Bonchristiano
2020: Mansfield partners with the University of Oxford’s prestigious Weidenfeld-Hoffmann Scholarships and Leadership Programme to offer seven new fully funded Kofi Annan Scholarships, also supported by Jan Fischer (VSP, 1989)
2021: Alastair McBain (Oriental Studies, 1974) and the McBain Family Foundation endow the McBain Access Officer and the McBain Scholarship in Human RIghts Law
2021: Mansfield becomes a College of Sanctuary in recognition of its inclusive culture of welcome
2022: Professor Peter Baldwin and Dr Lisbet Rausing endow the Jonathan Cooper Chair of the History of Sexualities at Mansfield College, now held by Professor Matt Cook
Find out more www.mansfield.ox.ac.uk/forever
Matt Cook
Ilham Abdalla Tagelsir Ali, 2021/22 Sanctuary Scholar
For Mansfield.
2022: William Jackson (Exeter, Geography, 1983) endows the Tony Lemon Tutorial Fellowship in Geography
2022: Chris Foster (Maths, 1997), Anthony Dewell (Maths, 2002), and the entire Maths alumni community come together to endow the Janet Dyson Tutorial Fellowship in Mathematics – Mansfield’s first fully endowed Tutorial Fellowship
2023: Sir Paul Ruddock (Jurisprudence, 1977) pledges generous support towards the College’s transformational redevelopment
2023: Guy Hands (PPE, 1978) and his wife Julia Hands MBE endow the Michael Freeden Tutorial Fellowship in PPE
2023: Stories appointed as Mansfield’s development partner and Feilden Fowles as architects of our transformational redevelopment project
2023: Chris Foster (Maths, 1997) makes a historic gift of £25 million to kick-start the For Mansfield. Forever. campaign in support of People, Place and Culture
2024: 170 supporters donated more than £150k in our most successful Giving Day yet. Since 2018, more than 1500 generous alumni have made gifts totalling more than £46 million
Next: Championing our world-class teaching and research, transforming our site, taking Mansfield to net zero, and creating lifechanging opportunities for generations of students to come
A marriage at Mansfield
Although our College has held civil partnership blessings, in July 2024
Mansfield was delighted to host its first ever same-sex marriage in Chapel: the wedding of alumnus, Darryl Davies (Theology, 1991) and his partner Richard Porter. Verity Armstrong (Legacy and Planned Giving Manager), caught up with Darryl to chat about his big day and what Mansfield means to him.
Tell us about your big day
Ours was one of the first same-sex marriages in an Oxford college chapel. Richard and I really appreciated how Mansfield moved mountains to secure the licensing so that we could get married at College. Over 30 years after being a student at Mansfield, I was delighted that eight of our 102 guests were close friends from my time here. It meant a great deal to me, as College is not just a stunning backdrop, but was my home all those years ago and continues to mean so much to me. Richard has also enjoyed joining me for many events here over the years.
What are your memories of Mansfield as a student?
I didn’t choose Mansfield, but Mansfield chose me, and I am so glad that it did. At the time, Mansfield had only a small number of undergraduates so you had the advantage of getting to know everyone. I had come from a state school but I never felt that it mattered as I was struck by how grounded everyone was and College wasn’t in the least pretentious. I was one of five children in my family and it was the first time I had left home so it was nervewracking. Also, same-sex relationships had only been legal for about 25 years and there was still some stigma in society, so I could have felt very isolated, but there was no judgement from this friendly community. I became the JCR Bench LGB Officer at the time and there was great support in College. I had three very happy years at Mansfield and I am delighted that it continues to lead in accessibility and widening participation.
Who or what inspired you during your time at College?
The people and the place inspired me. I made great friends and was taught by amazing tutors. My tutor, the Revd Dr John Muddiman, was a remarkable scholar with a truly interdisciplinary mindset that made his tutorials an inspiring learning experience. Mansfield made a great home during some of the most formative years of my life – the place itself is wonderful.
What did you go on to do after graduating?
I became a chartered accountant and have stayed in finance ever since. One of the great advantages of a career in accounting is that these skills can take you anywhere.
What advice would you give to your younger self and to students today?
I wouldn’t change anything. I am so glad I studied Theology and feel extremely fortunate to have enjoyed such a rich educational experience. I would say to students today that you don’t need to panic about career choice. Don’t be afraid to take risks and live – try different things and see where life takes you.
Richard (left) and Darryl (right)
You’ve generously left a gift in your Will to Mansfield. What motivated you to do so?
I had just bought my house and, when writing my Will, I thought carefully about how it could benefit others. I knew that by leaving a gift in my Will to Mansfield it would benefit many others and felt confident that it would be used wisely. An Oxford education opens doors. It was such a positive experience for me that I wanted to give something back to help future generations of students.
I know that Mansfield continues to grow and evolve as times change and needs change, so I felt it important that my legacy wouldn’t be about preserving things how I knew them to be, but to support the future needs of the College. I have unashamed gratitude for Mansfield and I know it will continue to transform lives as it did mine.
I didn’t choose Mansfield, but Mansfield chose me, and I am so glad that it did
Leaving a legacy, bequest or planned gift to Mansfield, whatever the size, will have a lasting impact. If you would like to inform us of your legacy intentions or if you are interested in finding out more about leaving a gift in your Will to Mansfield, our Legacy and Planned Giving Manager, Verity Armstrong, would be happy to hear from you. Please contact: verity.armstrong@mansfield.ox.ac.uk and you can find out more information on our website: www.mansfield.ox.ac.uk/wills.
Celebrating with friends from university
To ‘walk in the light of creative altruism’
Martin Luther King
Honouring Chris Foster (Maths, 1997), lead benefactor at Mansfield
Tess McCormick Development Director
Mansfield College and Oxford University honoured the magnificent support of Chris Foster (Maths, 1997) in Michaelmas term 2024, welcoming Chris as a Fellow of the Chancellor’s Court of Benefactors (CCB) within the University of Oxford, and as a Bancroft Fellow of our College, for his cornerstone gift of £25 million to Mansfield last year.
The Bancroft Fellowship is named for the late Lord Bancroft, who was Chairman of Trustees at Mansfield before the College was awarded its Royal Charter as a full College within the University in 1995. It is the highest philanthropic honour Mansfield can bestow, and is conferred for life.
Oxford’s prestigious Court of Benefactors meets twice a year, at special events in Oxford and London, and offers benefactors the chance to engage with the Chancellor, Vice-Chancellor and other senior leaders within the collegiate University. These meetings also allow benefactors to meet other members of the Court and to gain a greater understanding of the life and work of the University and the colleges.
Fellows of the CCB can have their generosity honoured with an engraving on the Clarendon Arch, near the
entrance of the Bodleian Library. Names inscribed on the arch comprise some of the University’s most prominent benefactors, including King Henry VIII, Queen Elizabeth I and Sir Thomas Bodley. The inscription ‘Christopher David Foster and Family’ joins others added within the last generation, including Guy and Julia Hands – also for their support of Mansfield – Dame Stephanie Shirley, Mr George Soros, HM Queen Elizabeth II and the Wolfson Foundation.
On 10 October, Chris and his wife, Kat, were welcomed by Professor Irene Tracey, Vice-Chancellor of the University, and Helen Mountfield KC, Principal of Mansfield, to view the new inscription on the Clarendon Arch.
Helen thanked Chris and Kat for their leadership philanthropy, and – on behalf of Mansfield’s Governing Body – set out how their names will not only be permanently inscribed in this historic place at Oxford, but also in the history of Mansfield College, where generations to come will recognise that they stood for equality of opportunity, and rewarding talent, just as we do.
Thank you, Chris, Kat and family, for your incredible philanthropy, which will have an impact on students and academics at Mansfield in perpetuity.
Our supporters
We give our sincere thanks to the 632 people who have made donations to Mansfield in the last financial year (1 August 2023 to 31 July 2024), including those who have chosen to remain anonymous. We would like to give particular thanks and recognition to the members of our Sarah Glover Society, the 60 alumni and friends who have chosen to pledge a legacy gift to Mansfield.
The Bancroft Fellowship
This is the College’s highest recognition of philanthropy. We thank our Bancroft Fellows for their superlative support:
Mr Antonio Bonchristiano (PPE, 1984)
Mr Jan Fischer (VSP, 1989)
Mr Chris Foster (Maths, 1997)
Mr Guy Hands (PPE, 1978) and Mrs Julia Hands MBE
Mr William Jackson (Exeter, Geography, 1983)
Mr Harry Leventis
Mr Alastair McBain (Oriental Studies, 1974)
Dr Lisbet Rausing and Professor Peter Baldwin
Sir Paul Ruddock (Jurisprudence, 1977)
In memoriam:
The late Revd Dr Charles Brock (Theology, 1967)
The late Sir Joseph Hotung
We give thanks to the following who have given over £25,000 in support of Mansfield:
AB Charitable Trust (The Bonavero Family Charitable Foundation)
A&S Burton Trust
Atlantic Philanthropies (GB) Ltd
Dr Kazuo Araki (Medical Anthropology, 2018)
Mr David Bailey KC (Jurisprudence, 1984)
Mr Richard Baker (Maths, 1980) and Mrs Lorraine Baker
Mr Sean Beck (Geography, 2001)
Professor Jocelyn Bell Burnell FRS
Mr Philip Bignell (Christ Church, Maths, 1972) in memory of Jon Blanchard (English, 1972)
Mr Yves Bonavero (Philosophy & Modern Languages, 1996)
Mr John Caird
Mrs Deborah Chism (Jurisprudence, 1987)
Mr Nick Chism (Theology, 1987)
City Solicitors’ Educational Trust
The Council of Lutheran Churches
Mr Anthony Dewell (Maths, 2002)
Mr Jo Elliot (New College, Physics, 1970)
Mr David Elsbury OBE
Mr Roger Finbow (Jurisprudence, 1971)
Mr Ronald Freeman
The Garfield Weston Foundation
Mr Toby Gosnall (Engineering, 1989)
Mrs Sarah Harkness (PPE, 1980) and Mr Peter Harkness
Mr Steve Harris (Jurisprudence, 1982)
Mr Giles Harrison (Geography, 1986)
Mr Rhys Hedges and the late Mrs Jillian Hedges
Mr Yang-Wahn Hew (History, 1997)
Mr James Hopkins (History, 1978)
Mr Ian Howard MBE (Jurisprudence, 1974)
Kanto Gakuin University
Mr Matthew Keats (Geography, 1989)
Mr Robin Ketteridge (Geography, 1984)
Mr Jason Klein (Jurisprudence, 1988)
Mr Donald Macdonald (English, 1984)
Mr Steven Paull (Jurisprudence, 1974) and Mrs Frances Paull
Michael Peacock Charitable Foundation
Mr James Pearson (PPE, 1993)
Phoenix Asset Management Partners
Mr and Mrs J A Pye’s Charitable Settlement
Mr Philip Rattle (English, 1984)
Mr Noel Reilly (Jurisprudence, 1977)
The Rhodes Trust
Mrs Kathleen Russ (History, 1986)
Mr Juan Sabater (VSP, 1984) and Mrs Marianne Sabater
Mr Stephen Sayers (History, 1972) and Mrs Cynthia Sayers Schmidt Futures Schroder Foundation
Mr Martyn Scrivens (Jurisprudence, 1975)
Mr Jonathan Steinberg (VSP, 1988)
Mr Timothy Throsby (Jurisprudence, 2009)
Mr Matthew Tipper (Geography, 1983)
Trusthouse Charitable Foundation
Mr Carl Vine (PPE, 1994)
Mr Michael Walls (PPE, 1988) Waste Management International
Mr Joshua Weisenbeck (VSP, 2002) and Mrs Janine Weisenbeck
Mr John Willis (Geography, 1980)
The Wolfson Foundation
In memoriam:
The late Professor Robert Adams (Theology, 1959)
The late Mrs Ursula Casswell
The late Mr Geoffrey Fuller (Jurisprudence, 1980)
The late Mr John Hodgson (English, 1960)
The late Dr Elaine Kaye (St Anne’s, History, 1948)
The late Mr Robert Skelly (English, 1965)
Alumni donors
1951
Revd Anthony Tucker
1958
Professor Ian Bellis
1959
The late Professor
Robert Adams
The late Revd John Muir
Mr Victor O’Connell
1960
Revd Peter Moth
Revd Robert Scribbins
1961
Revd Robert Blows
Mr George Carcagno
The late Revd Anthony Coates
Professor John Creaser
Mr Richard Hill
1962
Mr Antony Payn
Revd Donald Rudalevige
1963
Revd George Agar
Mr Andrew Daykin
Mr Chris Horrocks CBE
Dr Kenneth Parker
Mr Robert Porrer
Mr David Reston
Mr Robert Smith
Mr John Thorndyke
1964
Mr Roy Foster
Revd Stephen Haine
Revd Dr Walter Houston
1965
Revd Dr Thomas Best
Revd Dr Noel Davies
Professor Jeffery Hearn
Dr Fisher Humphreys
Mr Keith Lock
Revd Julian Macro
The late Mr David Parry
The late Mr Robert Skelly
1966
Mr John Cooper
Dr John Dorrell
Mr Peter Froebel
Mr Graham Hartley
Mr Christopher Hayman
Mr Ralph Holmes
Mr Peter Lerner
His Honour Paul Worsley KC
Mr Glenn Yocum
1967
Mr Sidney Blankenship
Mr Gregory Bowden
Mr Paul Jay
Mr Peter Johnson
Mr Malcolm Levi
Revd Dr Roy Long
1968
Mr Geoffrey Bott
Mr Michael Harris
Professor Johannes Maree
Dr Dabney Townsend Jr
1969
Mr Walter Olesiuk
Mr Peter Wilson
1970
Dr Philip Aylett
Mr John Bell
Revd David Ivorson
Mr Roger Jackson
Revd Dr Arnold Klukas
Revd John Landon
Dr Robert Lively
Mr Charles Long
Mr Jonathan Rooper
Mr Stephen Sheedy
1971
Mr John Bachman
Dr Douglas Connor
Mr John Higgs
Mr Stewart Rutter
Dr Doug Stange
1972
Professor Eric Lund
Mr Craig Nelson
Mr Stephen Sayers
1973
Mr Jonathan Arkush OBE
Mr Martin Stott
1974
Mr William Annandale
Mr Andrew Eastgate
Mr Ian Howard MBE
Mr Stephen Maguire
Mr Alastair McBain
Mr Ian Neville
Mr Steven Paull
1975
Mr David Bailey
Mr Chris Frewer
Mr Simon Gregory
Mr Charles Linaker
Dr Arthur Mielke
Mr Martyn Scrivens
1976
Mr Crispin Barker
Mr Sean Crane
Mr Philip Dean
Mr Stephen Gaskell
Mr Kent Kildahl
Mr Hugh Purkiss
Mr Robert Wakely
1977
Mr Chris Jenkins OBE
Mr Noel Reilly
Sir Paul Ruddock
Mr Jonathan Wells
1978
Mr Timothy Booth
Revd Richard Church
Mr Antony Cook
Mr Philip Jemielita
Admiral Sir Philip Jones GCB DL
The Honorable George Krol
Mr Colin Sedgewick
Mr Mark Tantam
Mr Cleophus Thomas
Mr Steven Thomas
Revd Richard Wolff
1979
Mr Bashir Ahmed
Mr Mark Beardwood
Mr Andrew Cannons
Mr Martin Christensen
Mr Martin Clemmey
Mrs Patricia Dean
Professor Glenn Holland
Mr Michael Ingledow
Mr Gavin Prosser
Mr Martin Riley
Ms Susan Unerman
Mr Peter Vickers
1980
Mr Richard Baker and
Mrs Lorraine Baker
Mrs Sarah Harkness and
Mr Peter Harkness
Mr Mark Jones
Mr Paul Midwinter
Mr Paul Palmarozza
Mr Michael Russell
Mr Timothy Waters
1981
Mr Nigel Clarke
Mrs Melanie Clemmey
Miss Jane Coughlin
Mrs Melinda Cripps
Mr Geraint Rees
Mr Paul Vine
1982
Mr Graham Davis
Mr Rolf Howarth
Mr Richard Klein
Revd Iain McLaren
Mr Sean Moriarty
Mr David Testa
Mr John Weston
1983
Mr Yogesh Bhagat
Mrs Lisa De Silva
The Rt Hon Lord Justice
Dingemans
Ms Gill Duddy
Mr Saul Jones
Mr Daniel Pollick
Mr Steven Ruth
Mr Matthew Tipper
1984
Mr Brian Ashe
Mr David Bailey KC
Mr Antonio Bonchristiano
Mr Andrew Davies
Mr Timothy Harris
Mr Andrew Hurst
Mr Robin Ketteridge
Mr Donald Macdonald
Revd William MacKinnon
Mr Robert Mison
Mr Juan Sabater
Ms Fiona Southern
1985
Revd John Bremner
Mr Michael Holyoake
Mr Douglas Jeffery
Dr Joanne Musominari
Mr Stephen Pollard
Mrs Jane Roberts
Ms Jaee Samant CBE
Mrs Veronica Williams
1986
Mr Giles Atkinson
Ms Alexandra Clark
Mr Jon Fish
Mr Andrew Gates
Ms Diana Glassman
Mr John Lipsey
Dr Matthew Scott
Mr Timothy Storrie KC
1987
Mrs Deborah Chism
Mr Nick Chism
Mr Richard Darby
Revd Sandra Pickard
Mr Prashant Popat KC
Mr Alan Shaw
1988
Ms Lisa Baglin
Mr Timothy Burroughs
Mr Simon Jones
Mr Jason Klein
Ms Catherine McClen
Mrs Rhian Sherrington
Mr Jonathan Steinberg
Dr Richard Underhill
Mr Michael Walls
Mr Stewart Wilkinson
1989
Mr Neil Elton
Mr Jan Fischer
Mr Toby Gosnall
Mr Matthew Keats
Dr Toby Purser
Miss Frances Reynolds
1990
Mr Angelo Basu
Ms Joanna Jameson
Mr Joseph Nuttall
Mr Duncan Ruckledge
Ms Nicola Smyth
Dr Helge-Torsten Wöhlert
1991
Mrs Sian Croxson
Dr Edward Goodwin
Mrs Shevaun Haviland
Mr Alexander Johnson
Mr Thomas Joyce
Ms Gill Kirk
Mr Daneree Lambeth
Revd Martin Smith
Mr Richard Washington
1992
Mr Brian Arnold
Mr Jonathan Brod
Mr Simon Carmichael
Mr Andrew Croxson
Mr Paul Jackson
Mr Richard Kelly
Mrs Christine O’Connor
Mrs Ellie Rossell
Mr Benjamin Shaw
Dr Matthew Simpson
Mr Christopher Williams
1993
Mr Richard Apps
Mr Stuart Ferguson
The Rt Hon John Glen MP
Mr Stephen Gough
Ms Barbara Guenther
Mrs Alexandra Harle
Mr Marc Murray von Gusovius
Mr James Pearson
Mr Zachary Schlappi
Dr Matthias Wernicke
Mr John Zolidis
1994
Mr Tom Bray
Mrs Kumiko Brocklebank
Mr Finbar Clenaghan
Mr Alexander Coakley
Mr Richard Davies
Revd Tiffany-Alice Ewins
Mr Zachary Finley
Revd Derek Hopkins
Mr Christopher Hoskin
Dr Daniel Kapitan
Mr Simon Kennedy
Mr Andrew MacDonald
Mrs Wendy MacDonald
Revd Iain McDonald
Miss Brigitte Worth
Mr Andrew Young
1995
Mrs Catrin Bennett
Mr Edward Bryce Morris
Mr Simon Calhaem
Ms Olwen Greany
Mr Michael Margolis
Dr Deya Sanchez
Mr Stephen Tall
Mr Gregory Wall
Mrs Maaike Wall
Mr Marcus Williamson
1996
Mrs Carolyn Bryce Morris
Ms Laura Baggaley
Mr Timothy Berry
Mr Charles Classen
Ms Dawn Craig
Mr Rishi Dastidar
Professor Jane Hamlett
Mr Marcus Haywood
Miss Anna Jenkins
Mr Matthew Maclaren
Ms Munira Mirza
Mr Ernestos Panayiotou
Mr James Selby
Mr Rhys Watkin
Ms Amber Wheeler
1997
Mr Philip Avery
Mr Matt Brindley
Mr David Clyde
Mr John Doy
Mrs Deborah Edwards
Mr David Falkner
Mr Christopher Foster
Mr Yang-Wahn Hew
Mr Assad Maqbool
Ms Hayley McRae-White
Professor Graham Martin
Dr Jayne Nicholson
Mr Matthew Reed
Mr James Uffindell
Mr David Varcoe
1998
Ms Helen Bray
Mrs Eve Brindley
Mr Richard Colebourn
Dr Kate Flynn
Mr Martin Hall
Ms Chantal Hughes
Mr Damian King
Dr Rebecca Lodwick
Mr Sean Mackenzie
Ms Helen McShane
Mr Liam McShane
Mrs Lisa Martin
Mrs Emma Pell CBE
Mrs Mary Pert
Miss Emily Watt
1999
Mrs Marie-Anne Barnes
Mr Adrian Clark
Ms Cheryl Law
Dr Christine McCulloch
Mr Tom McLaren Webb
Mrs Catherine Wright
Mr Alexander Wright
2000
Mr Adrian Barlow
Ms Katherine Bilsborrow
Mr Clayton Bond
Mr Robert Cumberland
Ms Kyrsia Cywinski
Mr Marcus Edwards
Mr Niall McCarthy
Ms Lindsey Mepham
Mr Wichanun Niwathinda
Dr Emilie Prattico
Mr David Robson
Mrs Rebecca Sumner Smith
Mr Edward White
2001
Mr Sean Beck
Mr Tom Buttle
Mr James Chatterjee
Dr Richard Day
Mr Simon Hale
Mr Timothy Hirst
Mr Onyemachi Njamma
Miss Helen Prowse
Mr Nigel Simkin
Ms Catherine Thomas
Mr Jonas Twitchen
Mr Andrew Walker
2002
Mr Muhamet Alijaj
Mr Ryan Amesbury
Mr Richard Bazzaz
Mr Erik Darcey
Ms Alexis Faulkner
Mr Sharif Hamadeh
Mr Jonathan Lord
Mr Gregory Smye-Rumsby
Mr William Tyzack
Mr Georg von Kalckreuth
Mr Joshua Weisenbeck and Mrs
Janine Weisenbeck
2003
Mr Alastair Brown
Mr Matthew Castle
Revd Dr Chigor Chike
Miss Eleanor Coombs
Mr Ryan Fitzgibbon
Dr Carlos Jaramillo IV
Mr Edward Mayne
Dr Katie Moore
Mr Peter Ringlee
Ms Catriona Rutherford
Mr Jack Sheldon
Mr David Wall
2004
Mr William Brewster
Mr Johnny Elliot
Miss Alyssa Heath
Dr Valentina Iotchkova
Miss Alexandra Jezeph
Mr Benjamin Jones
Ms Helen McKenzie
Mr Richard Saynor
Miss Carina Watney
Mr Joseph Zhou
2005
Dr Horatio Boedihardjo
Mr Andrew Cook
Mr Roy Cooper
Mr Richard Dyble
Ms Emma Gerrard-Jones
Mr Alex Guerra Noriega
Dr Daniel Harvey
Mrs Annie Heaton
Miss Melissa Julian-Jones
Mr Thomas Leveson Gower
Miss Katherine Moore
Dr Caroline Roberts
Mrs Kate Shockley
Mr Daniel Thompson
Mr Adam Watkins
2006
Ms Ruth Cook
Mr David Hartmann
Ms Felicity Hawksley
Mr Reuben Holt
Mr Giorgi Lebanidze
Mr Timothy McCue
Miss Lauren O’Donnell
Mr Michael Shaw
2007
Mr Luke Bullock
Mr Daniel Cowley
Mrs Marianne Dring-Turner
Ms Jillian Fishman
Mr Nicholas Gomes
Mr Chirag Goyate
Mr Perry Hartland-Asbury
Mr John Kerr
Mr Duncan Lugton
Mr Giles Rabbitts
Mr Luke Webster
Mrs Joanna Wood
2008
Mr Andrew Campbell
Mr Christopher Du Boulay
Mr Kevin Koplan
Mr Ewan Miller
Dr Alasdair Morrison
Mr James Nettleton
Miss Eilise Norris
Mrs Anna Turskaya
Miss Adina Wass
Mr Matthew Williams
Mr Simon Williamson
2009
Mr Benjamin Ball
Dr Cheng Cheng
Mrs Lucy Dixon
Mr Alexander Ford
Miss Rachel Freeman
Dr Chong Kyoon Lee
Mr Christopher Major
Mr Andrew McCormack
Mr Frederick Overton
Mr Daniel Rey
Mr Alec Selwyn
Mr Nathan Webster
2010
Mr Oliver Cohen
Dr Sarah Connolly
Mr Matthew Dodd
Miss Rosemary Hart
Mr George Hasell-McCosh
Mr Christopher Lee Evans
Mr Robert LiCalzi
Mr David Lukic
Dr David Macdougal
Miss Sophie Wilson
Mr Oliver Wood
2011
Mr Matthew Bradbury
Miss Bethany Collett
Mr James Fisher
Dr Franziska Kirschner
Mr Karl Laird
Mr Jean Frédéric Ménard
Mr Joseph Morris MP
Mr Daniel Orford
Mr Timothy Smith
Mr Alex Starr
Mr Daniel Tarry
Miss Colette Wojewodka
2012
Dr Peter Bergamin
Mr Thomas Blower
Mr Hector Craft
Miss Katherine Danks
Mr Adam Deane
Miss Nastassia Dhanraj
Mr Patrick Ferguson
Miss Amy Francis
Miss Victoria Hawley
Ms Rebecca Lee
Ms Ariane Moshiri
Mr Ulysse Schnyder
Miss Alice Willcox
Miss Tamsyn Woodman
2013
Mr Wojciech Dziwulski
Miss Tabitha Jones
Ms Rachael Kershaw
Miss Jehanara Mehta-Jamooji
Miss Emmeline Skinner Cassidy
Miss Miranda Stock
Mr Pei Wang
Miss Fay Watson
Mr Tinger Wen
2014
Mr Ferran Brosa Planella
Mr Nicholas Bushnell-Wye
Mr Toby Chapman
Mr Owen Clarridge
Mr Sebastian Fox
Miss Claire Maria Siu Kam
Gibson
Mr Louis Jamart
Mr Kiran Modi
Mr John Tinsman
2015
Mr Tyler Ambrose
Ms Kat Collison
Mr Michael Corbett
Ms Lydia Felty
Miss Ella Grodzinski
Ms Zoe Hodge
Miss Eloise Lee
Miss Miriam Nemmaoui
Mr Alexander Oscroft
Mr Matthew Palmer
Ms Amaris Proctor
Mr Michael Railton
Dr Tarlan Suleymanov
Mr Matthew Sylva
2016
Mr Tariq Ali
Mr Jonathan Barrow
Dr Liyang Han
Mr James Howard
Miss Chloe Lettington
Mr Vladimir Lovric
Mr Robert Scales
Mr Shreyas Srinivas
Miss Alicia Vidal
Miss Grace Walker
Mr Laurent Wu
2017
Miss Alice Bruce
Mr Pedro-José Cazorla García
Ms Danlong Gao
Miss Sarah Lawrence
Mr Ioan Alexandru Puiu
Mr Matthew Rueter
Mr Frank Vitale IV
Mr Qihao Wang
Ms Fanmei Xia
2018
Mr Joshua Allan
Dr Kazuo Araki
Mr Adam Austin
Mr Oluwafemi Fakokunde
Mr Alexander Feldhaus
Miss Ikra Hussain
Dr Oliwier Melon
Miss Charlotte Moore
Miss Boluwatife Soyebo
Ms Charlotte Withyman
2019-2021
Ms Chloe Banks
Mr Alex Beck
Mr Laurin Bonkowski
Mrs Kate-Lynne Bouwer
Miss Natalia Brigagao Ferrer
Alves Carvalho
Miss Julia Cashman
Mr Dario Cowdery
Miss Rhiannon Hawkins
Mx Ellie O’Brien
Mr Eric Zhang
Friends and supporters
AB Charitable Trust (The Bonavero Family)
Mrs Verity Armstrong
Professor Ros Ballaster
Mr Philip Barnard
Mrs Jill Barnett
Mrs Adale Bennett and Mr
James Bennett
Mr Philip Bignell
Professor Stephen Blundell
Mr Andrew Brown
Ms Jillian Brown
Professor George Caird
Mr John Caird and Mrs Jane Salmon
Miss Hannah Christie
Mrs Kathryn Cooper and Mr
David Cooper
The Council of Lutheran Churches
Mr Derek Cowdery
Mr Kenneth Davies
Mrs Alison Edwards and the late
Mr Michael Edwards
Mrs Jacquie Featherstone
Mr Adam Frame
Professor Michael Freeden
Mrs Anna Fryer
Dr Heinz Fuchs
Professor Andrew Gosler
Professor Ian Griffiths
Mr Adam Gwilt and
Mrs Diane Gwilt
Mr Rhys Hedges
Mr Richard Hitchcock
Mrs Brenda Hunt
Mr Richard Jones
Dr Gueorgui Kantor
Mr Alistair Kennedy
Ms Nancy King
Dr Anthony Lemon
Mr Edmund Levin
McBain Family Foundation
Mrs Carol Mahoney Greatorex
Mrs Tess McCormick
Miss Michaella Mitchell
Professor Peggy Morgan
Anne Mountfield
Ms Helen Mountfield KC
Mr Joe Muddiman
Mr Richard Nutton
Revd Canon John Ovenden
Mr David Perry
Mr John Pettit
Dr Colin Podmore MBE
Mrs Kim Price
Ruddock Foundation for the Arts
Mr Eike Schick
Dr Robert Scott
Sir Stephen Sedley KC
Ms Amanda Sharp
Sigrid Rausing Trust
Ms Colette Stein
Revd Professor Jennifer
Strawbridge
Mr Richard Thomas
Mr Daniel Valovin
Dr Albrecht von Moltke and Mrs Loraine von Moltke
Mrs Jane Waghorn
Mrs Margaret Wilmot
Mr Tian Zhou
We are extremely grateful for the following legacy
Michael J Edwards (Merton, PPE, 1956)
Members of the 1886 Circle
Mr Tariq Ali (History, 2016)
Dr Kazuo Araki (Medical Anthropology, 2018)
Mr Richard Baker (Maths, 1980)
and Mrs Lorraine Baker
Mr Jonathan Barrow (English, 2016)
Mr Alexander Beck (MBA, 2019)
Mr Philip Bignell (Christ Church, Maths, 1972)
Mr Antonio Bonchristiano (PPE, 1984)
Mr Matthew Bradbury (Materials, Economics & Management, 2011)
Mr John Caird
Mr Martin Clemmey
(Geography, 1979)
Mrs Melanie Clemmey (English, 1981)
Mr Anthony Dewell (Maths, 2002)
Ms Lydia Felty (VSP, 2015)
Mr Patrick Ferguson (Theology, 2012)
Mr Jan Fischer (VSP, 1989)
Mr Christopher Foster (Maths, 1997) and Mrs Katherine Foster
Miss Amy Francis (Physics, 2012)
Mr Simon Hale (Jurisprudence, 2001)
Mr Christopher Hayman (History, 1966)
Mr Ian Howard MBE (Jurisprudence, 1974)
Mr Thomas Joyce (VSP, 1991)
Mr Matthew Keats (Geography, 1989)
Mr Robin Ketteridge (Geography, 1984)
Mr Jason Klein (Jurisprudence, 1988)
Ms Cheryl Law (Human Sciences, 1999)
Miss Chloe Lettington (Jurisprudence, 2016)
Mr Donald Macdonald (English, 1984)
Mr Sean Mackenzie (History, 1998)
Revd Julian Macro (Theology, 1965)
Ms Munira Mirza (English, 1996)
Mr Kiran Modi (PPE, 2014)
Miss Charlotte Moore (Theology, 2018)
Ms Ariane Moshiri (History, 2012)
Mr Marc Murray von Gusovius (PPE, 1993)
Mr Steven Paull (Jurisprudence, 1974) and Mrs Frances Paull
Mr James Pearson (PPE, 1993)
Sir Paul Ruddock (Jurisprudence, 1977) and Lady Jill Shaw Ruddock
Mr Juan Sabater (VSP, 1984) and Mrs Marianna Sabater
Mr Stephen Sayers (History, 1972) and Mrs Cynthia Sayers
Mr Eike Schick
Mr Jonathan Steinberg (VSP, 1988)
Mr Martin Stott (Geography, 1973)
Mr Matthew Sylva (Materials Science, 2015)
Ms Catherine Thomas (Jurisprudence, 2001)
Mr Matthew Tipper (Geography, 1983)
Revd Anthony Tucker (Theology, 1951)
Mr William Tyzack (Geography, 2002)
Mr Gregory Wall (Maths, 1995)
Mrs Maaike Wall (English, 1995)
Mr Michael Walls (PPE, 1988)
Mr Qihao Wang (Physics, 2017)
Mr Joshua Weisenbeck (VSP, 2002) and Mrs Janine
Weisenbeck
Mr Laurent Wu (Maths, 2016)
Special thanks to
Miss Bunmi Agusto
Dr Anna Beer
Professor Alex Betts
Professor Katherine Blundell
Professor Robin Choudhury
Mrs Kate Clanchy MBE
Dr Catherine Coldstream
Professor Matt Cook
Ms Paige Diedrick-Edwards
Professor Jennifer Evans
Mr Simon Giddings
Ms Siân Hughes
Professor Murray Hunt
Ms Emily King
Ms Joy Labinjo
Mr Sean Mackenzie
Dr Claire Mitchell KC
Dr Albrecht von Moltke
Professor Kate O’Regan
Professor Kiran Klaus Patel
Mr James Pearson
Mr Noel Reilly
Sir Paul Ruddock
Ms Lucinda Rumsey
Dr Andrew Seaton
Professor Lynne Segal
Sir Nicholas Serota, CH
Mr Lemn Sissay OBE FRSL
Ms Żanna Słoniowska
Professor Lyndsey Stonebridge
Dr Stephanie Straine
The Rt Hon James Wolffe KC
Lord Simon Woolley, Baron
Woolley of Woodford
Dr Zoe Venditozzi
Members of the Mansfield College Campaign Board
Mansfield College Alumni Association Committee
Mansfield’s 2024 Telethon Team
Obituaries
We are always saddened to hear about people we have lost from our alumni community, but we greatly appreciate it when you let us know. Friends and family are welcome to send words for the obituaries section of the Mansfield magazine each year. We publish full obituaries on our website: https://www.mansfield.ox.ac.uk/news/obituaries. Below are summaries.
Dennis Trevelyan CB
PRINCIPAL OF MANSFIELD, 1989-96 1929-2024
Mansfield was sorry to learn of the death of former Principal Dennis Trevelyan CB on 19 July 2024.
Dennis was Principal during a transformative period in our College’s history. His leadership was instrumental in elevating Mansfield to full college status within the University of Oxford in 1995. Under his guidance, Mansfield was no longer on the periphery of University activities but firmly placed at the centre.
Before joining Mansfield, Dennis had a distinguished career in the Civil Service, serving as Director General of HM Prison Service (1978-83) and the First Civil Service Commissioner (1983-89), where his commitment to integrity and fairness was a hallmark of his work. We feel proud this ethos continues to permeate our College’s approach to recruiting students, academics and administrative staff. Dennis leaves behind a lasting legacy of tenacity, inclusivity, and vision.
Our condolences go to his children, Joanna and Jonathan.
Helen Mountfield KC Principal
Read the full obituary at: https://www.thetimes.com/uk/ obituaries/article/dennis-trevelyan-obituary-civil-servantwho-butted-heads-with-thatcher-bxv6brph7
David Marquand FBA FRHistS FRSA
PRINCIPAL OF MANSFIELD, 1996-2002 1934-2024
The Mansfield community mourns the passing of David Marquand. He was the first Principal to be elected after Mansfield obtained full collegiate status and the first not required to be a member of the United Reformed Church. David arrived at the College having made a stellar mark in three careers: as a centre-left politician, as an academic, and as a stylish political commentator.
David brought with him tolerance, congeniality, and an open and inquiring mind. He revitalised Mansfield’s goals, initially in two fields. The first resulted in a generous £2 million donation from Guy Hands (PPE, 1978), part of a concerted effort to put the College’s finances on a secure footing. The second goal was to focus on recruiting students from state schools and appoint an Access Officer.
In later life David became a champion of devolution and returned to his Welsh roots, both in joining Plaid Cymru and in moving to Penarth.
David’s long partnership with his wife, Judith, was a mainstay of his life, buttressed by her own experience as a senior economist in the Civil Service and academic author, and by their shared political sympathies.
When the vacancy for a Mansfield Principal arose, David’s name was the first in my mind and I wrote to sound him out. His response was characteristically positive and thus began a new chapter in Mansfield’s life – and in David’s, in a post he described as ‘the most enjoyable and worthwhile’ he’d ever had. We were fortunate to have had such a vigorous and committed advocate for the College, a man of warmth and vision in whose care Mansfield’s flourishing could be wholly entrusted.
Professor Michael Freeden Emeritus Fellow in Politics
Nigel Hall
HISTORY, 1988
1968-2024
In memoriam by his fellow alumni:
My undergraduate recollections of Nigel are of his highly successful tenure as JCR President, where he forged good relations with the SCR in something of a volatile period of relations (I recall at least).
Upon my return to Mansfield in 1994 to study postgraduate History, Nigel –or ‘Deano’ as we called him – was working on his doctoral thesis, but also as Junior Dean, College Porter and later as History tutor. So, if you needed an essay extension you asked Nigel, if you wanted a taxi, you asked Nigel and if you needed access to the wine cellars, you asked Nigel.
Christopher Rivington OBE
ENGLISH, 1970 1952-2024
Christopher Edmund Thurston Rivington died peacefully on 25 April 2024, after a brave struggle with cancer. A member of the Rivington publishing dynasty, Chris spent much of his career near Chesterfield –the birthplace of Charles Rivington (Rivington’s founder) – having moved there with the Manpower Services Commission (MSC) in 1981.
In recent times, Nigel wished he could go through the door back to his Oxford days. So do we all. The past is indeed a different country, but the memories remain open to us who knew Nigel at Mansfield, and we will always cherish his kindness, good humour, tolerance and patience, and the richness he brought to us in those halcyon years. Thank you, Deano.
Toby Purser (History, 1989)
Nigel was among my very best friends as an undergraduate – but that doesn’t mean I didn’t learn as much from him as those who saw him later as a tutor and mentor. His was an old and beautiful soul, one that delighted in shocking you out of your lazy ways of thinking and opening up the beauty of a world reimagined.
The world is a little sadder, a little less boisterous, a little less profound today, but his impact will reverberate in ways seen and unseen.
Simon Jones (English, 1988)
Nigel was a close friend at Mansfield, an older, goodhumoured, understanding and kind presence in my troubled and messy life there. He never lost faith in me, put up with my foibles, and encouraged me all the way to somehow getting my IIi and leaving with my head held high. He taught me 19th-century European politics in my second year, tolerating my late essays, my cheeky appearances without any work done, and my general sloppiness. Nigel was a true, eccentric gentleman and a man of love. May he rest in peace and rise in glory.
Richard Washington (History, 1991)
During a gap year between Charterhouse and Mansfield, Chris went to Dundee as a Community Service Volunteer, and this began a lifelong commitment to voluntary work. He later worked for International Voluntary Service (IVS) in a variety of local groups, painting and decorating for elderly members of the community, and helping to take disabled children riding.
Professionally, Chris was a Fellow of the Institute of Personnel Management, and attained the role of Principal in his department. The MSC became the Department for Education and Employment and subsequently the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills. Throughout his career, Chris was focused on creating opportunities for disadvantaged people. He became passionate about young people’s training schemes and other vocational training projects. He was proud of his work in steering bills on post-16 education through Parliament. In recognition of his achievements, he was awarded the OBE on his retirement in 2007.
In 1992, Chris married Dr Mary Elizabeth Holt, Consultant Rheumatologist at Rotherham General Hospital. They were married at St Mary Magdalene’s, Whiston, their local parish church, where they were both deeply involved. Chris served as a member of the Parochial Church Council (PCC) and for some years as PCC Secretary, and later Parish Safeguarding Officer. Following his retirement from the Civil Service, Chris joined the Board of Trustees for Age UK Rotherham, on which he served with distinction for many years, including as Co-Chair.
Chris is survived by Mary, his sister Anne, and his brother James.
David Ivorson (English, 1970)
Robert Adams FBA
THEOLOGY, 1959 1937-2024
Bob came to Mansfield from Princeton in 1959 to read for a second BA in Theology. After studying for his MA and PhD at Cornell, and a brief stint at the University of Michigan, he taught for many years in the Philosophy Department at UCLA. He moved to Yale in the early 1990s as the Clark Professor of Moral Philosophy and Metaphysics.
Bob retired from Yale in 2004 and returned to Mansfield as a Senior Research Fellow when his wife Marilyn McCord Adams was elected Regius Professor of Divinity at Christ Church. On Marylin’s retirement they returned to the USA, and in 2009 Bob became a Distinguished Research Professor of Philosophy at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Bob’s final academic post was from 2013 as a Research Professor at Rutgers University, where he was one of the founders of the Rutgers Center for the Philosophy of Religion. He was elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1991 and Fellow of the British Academy in 2006.
Bob was one of the leading Anglophone philosophers of his generation and one of the kindest people it has been my privilege to know.
Paul Lodge Professorial Fellow in Philosophy
Stuart James
PPE, 1992 1973-2024
It is with great sadness that I reflect on the events of Tuesday 9 July 2024. On this day we lost a great friend and former Mansfield student, Stuart James. He leaves behind a loving wife and three fantastic children.
Stuart attended Mansfield between 1992 and 1995, reading PPE. The wonderful experience he had made a lasting impact upon his life, and Stuart cherished the lifelong friendships he formed at Mansfield.
Anyone who remembers Stuart from his time at Mansfield will recall fondly his sense of style – a unique sense of style to which he always remained true. He knew what he liked, and he wore it regardless of anyone’s opinion. I always admired that confidence.
Following Mansfield, Stuart built a distinguished career in the legal profession which proved an ideal environment for his curious mind and great intellect.
Stuart had many qualities, including a profound tolerance of others. He was fascinated by difference and valued people based on whether they cared about others, were fundamentally decent, kind, and thoughtful. This explains the wide variety of friends Stuart made at Mansfield – and reflects the extraordinary qualities of the man himself.
Glen Smith (History, 1992)
Robert Skelly
ENGLISH, 1965 1946-2024
Bob Skelly was a supportive alumnus of Mansfield until his death in August 2024. He was a dedicated member of the Mansfield College Alumni Association Committee and made generous donations to varied initiatives and our students throughout his life. A Liberal Democrat councillor in Bermondsey since 2002, Bob also served as Mayor of Southwark 2007-08 after a long career as a teacher, school governor and trade unionist. We shall remember Bob’s great sense of humour, his passionate love of books, and we will sorely miss him as a member of our alumni community.
Tess McCormick Development Director
Read the full obituary at: https://www.remembering-bobskelly.net
John Muir
THEOLOGY, 1959 1938-2024
The Reverend John William Muir died on 2 October 2024, aged 86. John arrived at Mansfield in 1959, reading for a BTh in Theology. Mansfield played an enormous role in his life, and it was there that he met lifelong friends Donald (Theology, 1955) and Marta Sykes.
1970-75: Minister, United Church of Zambia, Kitwe, Zambia 1975-78: Lecturer, Zambia Institute of Technology, Kitwe, Zambia; Director, Samaritans
Moved to Church of England
1978: Chichester Theological College
1978-1980: Curate, Brighouse Parish Church, Diocese of Wakefield
December 1978: Ordained Deacon, Wakefield Cathedral July 1979: Ordained Priest, Wakefield Cathedral 1980-87: Vicar, Parish of Northowram, Diocese of Wakefield 1987-2001: Vicar of Sowerby, Diocese of Wakefield 2000: Appointed Honorary Freeman of the Borough of Calderdale
2002-09: Lecturer, Halifax Parish Church (now Halifax Minster), Diocese of Wakefield.
Stephen Muir
Peter Cutts
THEOLOGY, 1961 1937-2024
Peter was born on 4 June 1937 in Erdington, Birmingham. He attended King Edward VI High School, where he won an organ scholarship to Clare College, Cambridge. Following two years of National Service as a pianist in the Royal Army Service Corp Staff Band, Peter took up his place to study music at Clare College in 1958. After graduating in 1961, he continued his studies at Mansfield where he gained a second degree in Theology.
In 1963, Peter moved to Huddersfield, working as a Music Lecturer at Huddersfield Technical College and then the Oastler School of Education before being appointed Warden and Lecturer in Music at Bretton Hall College of Higher Education, where he taught from 1968 to 1989.
He is fondly remembered by many of his students for his musical and teaching abilities, but also for his kindness.
In 1989, Peter moved to Boston, where he worked as Director of Music at Andover-Newton Theological School and as Director of Music at several local churches. He lived in Boston for 16 years before retiring in 2005.
Peter never married. He enjoyed hosting enjoyable culinary evenings and at one point was an occasional reviewer for The Good Food Guide. He loved to travel, frequently visiting Europe as a young man and then travelling widely within the USA and Canada when living in Boston.
Having lived an extremely independent life, Peter finally moved to a care home in 2021 and passed away peacefully on 26 January 2024.
Diane Clarke and Sue Jackson
In memoriam
Anthony Coates
THEOLOGY, 1961 1937-2024
Read the full obituary at: https://www.oikoumene.org/ news/wcc-mourns-lossof-linguist-and-unitedreformed-church-ministerrev-tony-coates
Martin Idale
MODERN LANGUAGES, 1964 1945-2024
Read the full obituary at: https://www. darlingtonandstocktontimes. co.uk/memorials/deathnotices/death/30614262. martin-idale
Christopher Joll
JURISPRUDENCE, 1969 1948-2024
Read the full obituary at: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/ obituaries/2024/04/28/ christopher-joll-militaryhistorian-tournamentobituary
David Parry
HISTORY, 1965 1946-2024
Read the full obituary at: https://www.barnetsociety. org.uk/tributes-to-visionarycampaigner-for-the-opendoor-centre-high-barnet-samazing-community-huband-drop-in-cafe
Upcoming events in 2025
February
Friday 7: The Jocelyn Bell Burnell Lecture
Friday 21: The Hands Lecture
March
Saturday 15 (afternoon): The Sarah Glover Society Lecture and Tea
Saturday 15 (evening) Gaudy for 1969 and previous Matriculands
Thursday 27: Alumni London Drinks Reception
May
Saturday 3: Geography 1887 Society Lecture and Dinner
TBC: Alumni New York Drinks Reception
Friday 30: The Milton Lecture
Saturday 31: MCBC Summer VIIIs Dinner (Celebrating 60 years of MCBC)
June
Friday 13: College of Sanctuary Lecture
Saturday 28 (afternoon): Alumni Garden Party
Saturday 28 (evening): Benefactors' Dinner
Upcoming gaudies
Saturday 27 September 2025:
Gaudy for 2010-20 Matriculands
2026: Gaudy for 1970-79 Matriculands
2026: Gaudy for 1980-89 Matriculands
Public Talks and named lectures
Every Friday at 5.30pm during term time, Mansfield hosts a ‘Public Talks’ lecture series. Entry is free and all are welcome.
Many of these talks are available on our YouTube channel, with permission from the speakers. So, if you can’t be with us in person, you can still catch them at a time that suits you, wherever you are in the world.
