6 minute read
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.
