Mansfield Magazine 2018-19

Mansfield 2018/19

Contents Message from the Principal.................... 3

MCBC Report.............................................. 29

News in brief............................................... 5

Sports roundup........................................... 30

Bursar’s Report........................................... 7

Student news.............................................. 32

A year in Development and Alumni Relations................................. 8

Mansfield’s Visiting Student Programme ................................ 34

News faces, old friends............................ 10

Mansfield’s Special Students, 1919........................................... 36

Senior Tutor’s Report................................ 11 Access Report 2019................................. 12 JCR President’s Report............................. 14

Wartime code-construction at College .................................................... 38

MCR President’s Report........................... 15

Adam von Trott Memorial Committee............................... 40

Mansfield-Ruddock Prize for Art.......... 16

Alumni Association Report ..................... 41

Making History........................................... 17

Alumni news ............................................... 42

Restoring lustre.......................................... 18

Meeting Mansfield’s mentors................ 45

Capturing the legacy of Eleanor............ 20

Staff & Fellows’ news and publications ........................................ 46

Mary Sieghart: in conversation.............. 21 Music at Mansfield.................................... 23 Always Forward.......................................... 24 Nature, heal thyself?................................. 26 The 1887 Society...................................... 28

Obituaries..................................................... 50 Academic prizes......................................... 52 Examination results 2019....................... 54 Events calendar 2020.............................. 56

Produced by the Development and Alumni Relations Office Editor: Catherine Conisbee, Alumni Relations and Communications Officer Copy Editor: Philip Harriss Design and print: Hunts Creative and BCQ Group Images: courtesy Photovibe, John Cairns, Keiko Ikeuchi, contributing authors, Bletchley Park Trust, David Slattery-Christy, Doug Thorp, Mansfield College, Savills and David Harber

Follow us: facebook.com/mansfieldoxford Mansfield College Alumni, University of Oxford @mansfieldoxford instagram.com/mansfieldoxford

Mansfield College Mansfield Road, Oxford OX1 3TF T: +44 (0) 1865 270 998 E: development@mansfield.ox.ac.uk W: www.mansfield.ox.ac.uk

Message from the Principal Helen Mountfield QC Mansfield is an Oxford college for our times. We know that our students are attracted to our unique and authentic character: we are socially conscious; we are diverse; we are nonconformist; we are creative; and we work hard to support all aspects of human rights. Our students know we live our values, and that at Mansfield they can truly be who they want to be.

It fills me with pride that the hard work of our students, academics, and supporters has meant we can continue to find able students from a wide range of countries and backgrounds (including a high proportion who are ‘first generation’ university), and that they are thriving. A truly remarkable number of 2019’s finalists achieved a first, putting the College fifth in the Norrington Table – Mansfield’s best ever ranking.

The challenge is to balance the formal educational opportunity with personal opportunities, so that each student can both flourish and contribute within the College community, and then in the world at large. This is particularly so in these times of social and political uncertainty, and often, for students, anxiety. It is my aim that Mansfield is a place where our students – and all of us – find excitement, hope, and in reasonable measure, confidence and conviction. This is something that inspires me every day.

I was fortunate to start my tenure as Principal with Allan Dodd as the bursar. Allan did so much over seven years to put Mansfield on a secure financial footing, and brought the wonderful Hands Building in on time and on budget. This was the result of much hard work, together with the huge generosity of many donors, and it has transformed our students’ lives. We hope you will join us in wishing him all the very best in his retirement.

I am delighted now to be in equally safe hands, with Allan’s able successor, Richard Scanlon, latterly of medical charity The King’s Fund and previously Chief Executive of the Royal College of Surgeons.

So how to nurture and sustain this special college, which achieves so much, with (by far) the lowest endowment in Oxford?

Firstly, we must do all we can to maximise our resources and use what we have as well as possible, through tight, skilled and secure financial management.

Another great appointment in 2019 was Tess McCormick, our new Development Director, who was previously Head of Development at Oxford’s Ashmolean Museum. As you meet Richard and Tess, you will see how much they have already contributed to Mansfield.

But the heart of a college is always its academics and students.

‘ O ur students know we live our values, and that at Mansfield they can truly be who they want to be.’

Thanks to a number of generous benefactors, including in particular alumnus Jan Fischer, this year we have been able to introduce an exciting new programme of support for our students, to enable them to enjoy their learning and to achieve to the best

3

Quad and the restoration of our famous painted library ceiling.

Each of these enhancements – which allow our students to enjoy a more peaceful and inspiring environment – is the result of a thoughtful, creative, and stimulating conversation with caring and engaged individuals. That conversation is essential and I hope you will be a continuing part of it.

of their capacity. The support we offer varies from free yoga and Pilates sessions (with a huge take-up!), to career mentoring, help with internships and study-related travel. We have also provided better coaching and Blues funding for College sport; improved academic writing support; enabled the revival of Mansfield Players; and piloted the ‘Kinetic’ programme devised with Baroness Martha Lane-Fox and a group of younger entrepreneurs.

Looking ahead, in addition to our undergraduate student community, I want to be able to properly support our academics – Mansfield Fellows, tutors, graduate students and early-career researchers – to do the high level teaching and research which is our raison d’etre. We have a strong and honourable Governing Body: people who care about the future of Mansfield and balance extensive teaching and research commitments with responsibilities as trustees of the College. I am so proud of our Fellows and all of our academic staff, but it is ever-more difficult to support them, in a competitive global market, and within one of the UK’s most expensive cities. They too are worth nurturing, and I am determined to make it possible to do this.

We were also able to launch the new Mansfield-Ruddock Art Prize in 2019, supported by alumnus Sir Paul Ruddock, to bring exciting new art work from the Ruskin School and distinguished artists to College. I am sincerely grateful to Sir Paul for his hands-on involvement in making this exhilarating initiative possible.

And we have made significant improvements to our buildings and grounds too, including the re-planting of the gardens around the

‘ A t a time when it has never been more important, I want to ensure your College continues to be a beacon for academic excellence, inclusivity and access to an education at the world’s leading University.’

So I look with excitement to the year ahead – a year in which we are planning for the next stage of Mansfield’s future, and considering carefully how we can put this remarkable place on a secure financial footing. At a time when it has never been more important, I want to ensure your College continues to be a beacon for academic excellence, inclusivity and access to an education at the world’s leading University.

Please do come back and see us soon.

4

News in brief

RIBA nod for the new Hands Building This year, the newly opened Hands Building was shortlisted for a Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) South Regional Award.

A total of 37 building projects were entered from the South region, with only 17 making the final selection. The South regional category covers Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Hampshire, the Isle of Wight and Oxfordshire.

The Hands Building faced stiff competition from several Oxford constructions, including the Greenland Library at Brasenose and was sadly just pipped at the post by the impressive new Beecroft Building, Department of Physics.

Enhancing both the student experience and the College’s architectural landscape, the Hands Building blends so harmoniously with the existing structures, it is now difficult to imagine the Quad at Mansfield without it.

The talks of the town Throughout term time in 2018/19 we have been proud to welcome members of the College and wider Oxford community to Mansfield for our highly successful Friday Night Lecture series. Particular highlights this year have included the Hands Lecture presented by Dame Colette Bowe, and the John Milton Lecture given by Dr Margaret Kean, Fellow in English at St Hilda’s College and previously a Junior Research Fellow and Director of the Visiting Student Programme at Mansfield College, who was joined by special guest Sir Philip Pullman.

Another memorable event was the Adam von Trott Memorial Lecture, presented this year by leading art and cultural historian Neil MacGregor OM. Neil is former Director of both the National Gallery and the British Museum, and most recently he was the founding Director of the Humboldt Forum in Berlin, Europe’s foremost museum

Philip Pullman and Margaret Kean

project. Neil’s History of the World in 100 Objects series and his other books, radio programmes and lectures, have changed our understanding of culture and how we see the world, and we were truly honoured to welcome him to Mansfield.

To a packed house, and after a rousing introduction from the Principal who described him as ‘the David Attenborough

5

Neil MacGregor

of things that don’t move’, Neil took us through an absolutely world-class original lecture on how the imagery of and myths around Charlemagne have been used over centuries, sometimes dangerously, by European leaders to define their role and reaffirm their power.

We look forward to announcing the details for our Hilary term lectures.

Honours for two Mansfield Fellows At the start of 2019, two Mansfield Fellows were recognised in the Queen’s New Year’s Honours. Helen Margetts was awarded an OBE for services to social and political science and Lucinda Rumsey received an MBE for services to widening participation in higher education.

As well as a Professorial Fellow at Mansfield, Helen is a Professor of Society and the Internet, a Turing Fellow, and Director of the Public Policy Programme at the Alan Turing Institute for Data Science and Artificial Intelligence. Throughout her academic career, she has worked to demonstrate the value of multidisciplinary research for social science; to raise the profile of social science across the mathematical and physical sciences in the newer fields of data science and artificial intelligence; and to maximise the policy impact of social science research.

Summarising her guiding principle, Helen commented: ‘I believe passionately that a rich multidisciplinary mix and new methodological approaches are needed

Purr-fect additions

in the power of education to foster social mobility, commenting:

Helen Margetts

to understand – and shape – society and politics in a digital world.’

As Senior Tutor, Lucinda is responsible for admissions and access at Mansfield, and has academic care for all undergraduates – no small task. She is also a Supernumerary Fellow in English, and has taught Medieval Literature at Mansfield for over 28 years.

When acknowledging her MBE, Lucinda hailed all those who acted on their belief

‘I feel very lucky to be part of Mansfield College, an institution long committed to encouraging access. A large proportion of Mansfield students volunteer as access ambassadors and we have incredibly energetic and resourceful access and admissions staff. Our tutors and Principal act on their beliefs in the power of education for change. In the wider University I am hugely grateful for the generous and collaborative work of many colleagues towards our common aim of widening access to Oxford and I give thanks to all those students whose tenacity and thirst for knowledge is the foundation of what we do.’

Both Helen and Lucinda have contributed hugely to the College and wider University community and we are overjoyed that their tireless efforts to drive important conversations forward in their respective arenas have been recognised in this way.

Those of you who have been keeping an eye on Mansfield’s social media accounts, may have noticed two special arrivals at College this year. Resident cats have become something of a modern tradition at Mansfield, with many of you speaking fondly of your memories of Erasmus and Roger Bacon. Mansfield’s fab new felines, Basil and Beatrice, have settled well into life at College and have proven popular with students, Fellows and visitors. They can usually be spotted leaping through the flower beds, relaxing in the Fellows’ Garden, or taking a power nap in their private office.

6

Bursar’s Report Richard Scanlon communications and other processes and procedures to build as well, and I have also been supporting the Principal and Governing Body to start a new College strategy process, part of which will surely be to build the endowment so that we can protect the special ethos of Mansfield in perpetuity.

The Bursar’s Report (they say) should have the numbers.

In May my esteemed predecessor, Allan Dodd, departed after seven years at Mansfield. It seems clear from his previous reports that those were (at least six) years of challenge and transformation, managed with confidence and financial flair on Allan’s part. Four months later, I am honoured to follow him as new Bursar.

But that’s enough numbers for now.

When I first arrived at the College in September I stayed in the Fellows’ flat on the top floor of the new Hands Building for a short while. I found the view over the College Quad in the early mornings inspirational. It’s clear that Allan – and I’m sure the many others who were involved in its funding, design and construction – put in enormous effort to deliver this splendid structure on time and within budget.

Following completion of the building, which not only provides us with much-needed student bedrooms but also houses the amazing Bonavero Institute of Human Rights, I feel the College is well-positioned to drive forward its mission.

But as Allan would advise, the challenges faced by the College have certainly not disappeared. There is still a great need for continuing financial caution and the urgency remains for the endowment to grow to a figure somewhat closer to the median value of other colleges. But what better place for me to land in Oxford than Mansfield, where creativity thrives and so much is produced – academically and socially – with so little?

Joining the College during the summer vacation afforded me the opportunity to meet my new colleagues before the students arrived and the hustle and bustle of a new academic year began. It also gave me a chance to start to understand how things work, both at Mansfield and Oxford more

‘ …what better place for me to land in Oxford than Mansfield, where creativity thrives and so much is produced – academically and socially…’

generally, as well as the opportunity to get to grips with the immediate financial landscape.

My second month coincided with the first half of the Michaelmas term, during which I was involved in welcoming new students, dealing with various operational issues, throwing myself into preparing for and attending committee meetings, and starting to put plans in place for the next academic year – for example, planning student numbers and making sure we will be able to accommodate them. There were new

7

I know that it was a busy operational year here at the College before I arrived, and one during which domestic and commercial activity continued to flourish. In summer 2019, for example, Mansfield welcomed the arrival of 165 students from a famous university in the United States. These spent six weeks at the College as part of a residential Study Abroad programme. We first hosted students from this university in a pilot programme back in 2017, when they stayed in one of our off-site accommodation blocks. Following the success of that visit, we were delighted to be able to host them again, this time in the Hands Building – more evidence, if it were needed, of how the new building has enabled the College to sustain and boost its commercial endeavours.

I was also interested to note that, in addition to conferences, in 2019 we hosted three very special weddings. Over three summer months, two alumni, one junior Fellow and one weekend Porter tied the knot at the College: further proof of the strong links those associated with Mansfield continue to have with the College. Looking ahead, I see a full calendar of conferences and functions in the coming year. Counting the Bonavero Institute’s expanding portfolio, as well as our own development and alumni events, there are literally dozens of them – a firm indicator that the College is thriving.

But I shall not quote you more numbers, except to count the ways my marvellous new colleagues work creatively and manage brilliantly with limited resources, and to whom I offer my sincerest thanks and gratitude.

A year in Development and Alumni Relations Well, where did that year go? There was a speed and excitement and a certain rumbustious quality to 2018/19 that saw us – at times on half of our usual staffing provision – maintain the full suite of events and engagements. Was it busy? Yeess. Did we deliver with all the humour, enthusiasm and professionalism that lately have become bywords for the Mansfield Development and Alumni Relations team?

Yes? We hope so, because we certainly loved having your company throughout.

we were readying ourselves for the roll-out of 2019 events.

Highlights among these included a Law Moot (and law alumni reunion); the visit in April to US alums (Boston, New York, Washington DC); the vibrant College community dinners for the 1887 Society and Boat Club; and onwards to the Summer Garden Party, Commemoration Service and the Alumni Dinner where our special guest speaker was Paul Worsley QC (Jurisprudence, 1966).

As always, we were buoyed by your support – your visits, your emails updating us, your advice and conversations, the ways in which you engaged with the College through your giving in telethons, annual funding and major gifts – building student life, enabling equitable access to Oxford, and making the College environment safe, purposeful and beautiful.

The hugely successful 2018 Gaudy was scarcely past, and the polishing rags for our new Eleanor Roosevelt statue (by artist Penelope Jencks, commemorating the 70th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights) stored away, when

8

Officially, the year on which we report ends in August 2019, and I am just a month or so into my new role as I write this, but I wanted to express my delight and awe at the work coming out of Mansfield, and my grateful thanks for the wonderfully warm welcome I have received into this brilliant community. It is a great privilege to be joining the team at Mansfield as its Development Director.

Just as I anticipated starting my new role, the news broke of Mansfield’s fifth-place ranking in the Norrington Table for Oxford undergraduate degrees.

It felt like a potent symbol. It underlined the success of Mansfield’s robust and flexible teaching and supportive college system, of dedicated and talented academic staff and best of all, of Mansfield students, who are inspiring in their dedication to making the very best of themselves while they are here.

But the ‘top five’ ranking is also a win for widening participation. Our 2018/19 cohort was one of the most educationally and socio-economically diverse. There is simply no advantage not to seek the greatest breadth of the brightest, most talented students.

This year has seen a number of big changes for the team. Helen Jones left us in June 2018 for a post as Director of Development at the London School of Economics after a successful seven years as Development Director. Nick Swift joined as Development Assistant from August 2018, supporting all of our operations superbly. Margaret (Mags) Belich arrived in late November 2018 to cover the maternity leave of Senior Development Officer, Gemma McPhail, while Gemma had her second baby, Harry. And then it was only a skip and a jump until Catherine Conisbee arrived, as Alumni Relations and Communications Officer. Soon after, we were delighted to welcome Suzy Cripps, a recent Mansfield graduate (English, 2015), her part-time role supported by a new major gift and enabling us to communicate more effectively online. Happily, Development Officer, Eleanor Crawford, has provided steady support and consistency throughout. Finally, in early September 2019, we were joined by our new Development Director, Tess McCormick.

What then is the responsibility of the College’s community and more specifically, of its supporters and philanthropists to help build on this success? How do we not only enable our students to gain the best academic outcomes, but give them

It was a good year.

The Development team

9

the resilience, the discipline and the creativity they will continue to use and enjoy for life? How do we future-proof our services and facilities towards that complex ‘ahead of us’?

This year we are tackling those questions in earnest since the College has concluded its most successful ever campaign, for the beautiful new Hands Building and the world-leading Bonavero Institute of Human Rights.

We shall be seeking your opinions and your indications of support in myriad ways. By engaging with you – by seeking out the right questions to ask, by listening to how you want to see Mansfield develop, and how you want to support us – I am expecting to progress along the exciting path I have just begun: marvelling at my brilliant colleagues, cheering for our fantastic students, and spending my time with alumni near and far, telling our stories.

A privilege indeed.

Tess McCormick, Development Director

New faces, old friends A few months after their arrival, we caught up with Mansfield’s new Bursar, Richard Scanlon, and new Development Director, Tess McCormick, to find out more about what drew them to the College.

What attracted you both to Mansfield?

opened in 1962, named after his father, that runs along the south side of the College site) and with his family, had been College’s guest of honour to celebrate the building’s 50th anniversary in 2012.

Tess: Its excellence and values – access, Nonconformity, openness and community – and I was really inspired by our new Principal, Helen Mountfield. I was also drawn to the challenge of raising funds for a College that has a great story but a small endowment.

Tess: I come from a long line of Unitarians on my mother’s side, many of whom trained to be ministers in Oxford, so I feel very at home amongst Mansfield’s Nonconformist origins and traditions.

Richard: I’ve tried to work for organisations whose values align with my own, moving through the commercial sector, via a social enterprise, to the charity sector. I am the son of teachers, the father of boys currently at university and I value education, academic excellence and working with academics. So, I jumped at this chance.

What is your favourite space at College so far?

Tess: I love the view of the Quad from my desk next to the window in the Development Office – we are just behind the Porter’s Lodge, so it’s easy for me to open the window and say hello to passing staff, students and returning alumni. But I also love meeting my academic colleagues in their teaching spaces, as these give such a rich sense of the work that happens here and the brilliant tutorial system we’re working so hard to protect.

I also thought the University’s collegiate structure would be a good fit for me, in that it combines the reputation and resources of the wider University with a smaller, more focused and friendly College environment. The structure works for students, and I was confident it would provide a good working environment for staff as well, giving me a chance to make a difference as part of a small, closeknit team. The distinctiveness of Mansfield, and its Nonconformist foundation, also appealed to me.

Richard: The Hands Building with the Bonavero Institute of Human Rights (BIHR). The building, opened in 2017, was 100% funded by philanthropic donations. It lets more undergraduates live on-site, at the heart of the Mansfield community, and helps them financially by avoiding the private rental market in Oxford. And it supports our revenue streams. The BIHR goes from strength to strength – a wonderful partnership with the Law Faculty and a perfect fit with Mansfield’s ethos.

In my first couple of months, my expectations have been exceeded, and I am really enjoying working with my new colleagues.

Connections to Mansfield or Oxford?

Richard: My brother-in-law, John Marsh. His father, also John Marsh, had been the Principal of Mansfield from 1953 to 1970.

I think the new structure complements the style of the College’s historic buildings well. I also love the physical approach to the building, passing beautifully manicured flowerbeds and the uplifting eight-feet tall bronze statue of Eleanor Roosevelt. Knowing that Kofi Annan opened the Institute shortly before his untimely death also regularly reminds me of its global pull and importance.

It turned out, on investigation, that John the Younger was even more connected, as he had lived on site in the Principal’s Lodgings while his father was Principal. He also had a building with his name on it (our John Marsh Building,

10

Senior Tutor’s Report Lucinda Rumsey very fortunate to receive a generous donation from Jan Fischer, for help targeted towards academic and welfare support that is of benefit to our students. It feels very positive as we begin the new academic year to have the resources to do two things we consider essential for Mansfield: to widen access and to support our students to excel.

Mansfield came fifth in the Norrington Table! It is a cheering headline and a simple way of announcing how brilliantly our students have done this year. Of our 64 finalists, 28 were awarded firsts. In more than half of our subjects there were at least three firsts (Maths, Physics, History, Geography, PPE, English). With such strong results it is no surprise our finalists carried away a lot of prizes: Henry Straughan (PPE) won the Henry Wilde Prize; Jadon Buckeridge (PPE) was awarded the Gibbs Prize for Philosophy; Benedict Turvill (Theology) received the Gibbs Essay Prize; Rebecca Sinnott (Geography) was awarded a Gibbs Prize, and was runner-up for the JCA Meldrum Prize for best extended essay; Noel Cheong (Theology) won the Junior Greek Testament Prize; Noah Hurton (Geography) was awarded the AJ Herbertson Prize for his dissertation; and Yuxin Yin (Materials Science) received the Armourers & Brasiers’ Company Medal and Prize for best Materials Science Part II Project.

In the media we sometimes hear that widening participation to higher education brings about a drop in academic standards, but as Mansfield shows, the wider we reach, the better our students do.

We are really proud of their success, and of the care our staff put into admissions, teaching and support.

‘ …the wider we reach, the better our students do.’

Our students from other year groups also achieved some excellent results. In the third year, Benjamin Shi (Materials Science) was awarded the Gibbs Prize for Best Overall Performance in Part I, and also in the third year of Materials Science, Joshua King and Annabel van der Kooy were joint winners of the Best Team Project Award. Nearly 30 of our second years were awarded scholarships or exhibitions for excellent academic performance in their first-year examinations. Individual prize winners were: Tommaso Crestani (Oriental Studies), joint winner of the Joseph Schacht Memorial Junior Prize; in Theology & Religion Ellen Walkingshaw was awarded a Gibbs Book Prize and Katie Egerton won the Preliminary Greek Testament Prize; and of our prelims Geographers Jia Tham won the John House Prize, and Joel While was John House Prize runner-up.

Our league table position and the prizes are the icing on the cake, but I don’t want to be too focussed on the high point, which could make us all a bit dizzy and worried about falling. Mansfield has seen a steady climb in academic performance over the past 12 years, and we are regularly now in the top 20 of the Norrington Table. That overall rise, reflecting how consistently our students are excelling and achieving their best potential, is an important if more modest progress. A lot of work goes into attracting the most able and promising students we can find, and to looking after them when they start their course.

We are very grateful for the help we receive with these endeavours. Sarah and Peter Harkness generously relaunched and enhanced their bursary in 2018, making it available annually, and for the full length of a student’s course. This enabled us to give a regular award to an undergraduate recruited from Yorkshire or the North East – still underrepresented regions among Oxford students. And for students once they are here, we have been

Lucinda Rumsey

11

Access Report 2019

Royal recognition for Mansfield’s Access success Long before the cause became fashionable, our College was a pioneer for widening participation in higher education. Now the hard work has been acknowledged, and celebrated. Helen Brooks, Academic & Admissions Manager, joined the party.

Going on a works outing to Buckingham Palace is not commonplace. Even more of a rarity – I suspect – is to do so wearing a fascinator that was handmade for the occasion by the boss. Yet in third week of Trinity term 2019 this was exactly the position I found myself in, as I watched our Senior Tutor, Lucinda Rumsey, receive an MBE for services to widening participation in higher education. Lucinda and I were delighted to celebrate the occasion with two former Mansfield Access Officers, Helen Etty and Jenny Medland, who joined us in commemorating more than 20 years of access work at Mansfield. In characteristically self-effacing fashion, Lucinda was deeply embarrassed to receive the award and insisted on referring to it as ‘our MBE’. Yet I can think of no one who has shown more dedication to increasing access to Oxford, or more commitment to helping Mansfield’s students and staff realise their potential. It was an immense honour to be a part of the day, and I also take great pleasure in knowing that Lucinda will be deeply embarrassed to read this too.

May 2019 saw the announcement of a big milestone for Oxford as well, with the University launching two new major initiatives as part of its Access

Jenny Medland, Lucinda Rumsey, Helen Etty and Helen Brooks at Buckingham Palace

‘ Importantly, the extraordinary number of first-class degrees we received in 2019 shows that widening access does not mean lowering standards.’ and Participation Plan with the Office for Students. Opportunity Oxford will provide up to 200 students a year from underrepresented backgrounds with a residential bridging programme designed to support them through the transition from school to university. For students who have experienced great personal disadvantage or severe educational disruption, Foundation Oxford will offer a year-long programme of academic support to help them prepare for starting a full undergraduate course. Though Foundation Oxford will not admit its first entrants for another few years, selection is already

12

underway for the 2020 cohort of Opportunity Oxford students. Lucinda and I both had the privilege of being part of the University working group that developed the Access and Participation Plan, and we look forward to seeing our first Opportunity Oxford students start at Mansfield in the autumn.

Until then, Mansfield continues to lead the way on widening access to Oxford by quite a margin. In last year’s Magazine, I reported that our 2018 intake was one of the most educationally and socio-economically diverse in the College’s recent history.

Access Report 2019

‘ Across the 185 events we ran, we met over 8000 potential applicants from all around the country, along with more than 1000 parents and carers, and 500 teachers. ’

I am pleased to report that the same is true of the 2019 intake. Of our UK students, 97% came from state-sector schools, including two thirds from non-selective schools; over a quarter were from areas of significant socio-economic disadvantage; and a third were the first in their family to attend university. The intake was also very high-attaining: over 75% exceeded their offer, with more than a quarter of those who sat A-levels receiving straight A*s. Importantly, the extraordinary number of first-class degrees we received in 2019 shows that widening access does not mean lowering standards. I am hopeful that our new intake will continue to prove this point, and that other parts of the University will be encouraged to follow our lead.

Sara Harb and our team of Student Ambassadors

branches of the Social Mobility Foundation, and for students from our link regions in Yorkshire & the Humber. We were delighted to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the regional links scheme, and we look forward to working with our link schools in Yorkshire & the Humber and South London even more closely over the coming years. The 20th anniversary of the FE Initiative also fell in 2019, and in June we welcomed nearly 150 students and staff from colleges around the country to the FE & Sixth Form College Open Day to find out more about Oxford.

Though our intake figures reflect the enormous amount of work that our staff and students have put into outreach and admissions, it should also be emphasised that issues around fair access do not stop once new students set foot through our gates. It might seem obvious to say that the personal and educational disadvantage faced by some of our students doesn’t simply disappear when they arrive, but as one of Oxford’s poorest colleges we haven’t always had the resources to help overcome these challenges. I am therefore delighted that Jan Fischer’s generous donation will allow us to provide the additional academic and welfare support (and more) that will enable our students to make the most of their time here. I look forward to continuing to encourage young people from disadvantaged backgrounds to study at Mansfield, safe in the knowledge that they will be well-supported in every aspect of their lives when they get here.

In the spring we said goodbye to our Access Officer, Catherine Canning, who left to take up a post at Study Higher. Catherine was a huge asset to the College, and though sorry to lose her, we are grateful for all the hard work she put into the role. In her place, we were pleased to welcome Sara Harb as our new Access Officer.

Sara took up the post in July 2019, a week after she graduated from Mansfield with a first-class degree in History. She was one of our best Student Ambassadors, so I am delighted that we get to keep her for a bit longer. It is always sad to say goodbye to our Student Ambassadors, and I am especially sorry to lose some of this year’s cohort. Several of them first came to Mansfield as part of an outreach event when they were still at school, and I feel honoured to have watched them inspire the next generation of students in turn. We shall miss them all a great deal, but I know that there are many more who are waiting to take up the charge.

In 2018/19 we engaged with a record number of young people.

Across the 185 events we ran, we met over 8000 potential applicants from all around the country, along with more than 1000 parents and carers, and 500 teachers. In April 2019 we were able to host UNIQ (the University’s flagship residential programme) for the first time, and in the summer we also ran two residentials of our own for students from the North West and North East

While I find it hard to imagine how 2020 could top 2019 (certainly, I don’t anticipate any more trips to the Palace!), I look forward to seeing what it will bring.

Colin Please talking prospective applicants through a maths interview question

13

JCR President’s Report Saba Shakil (Jurisprudence, 2017)

The JCR is a community that embodies Mansfield’s principles of accessibility, inclusivity and diversity. Upholding these values is a matter of tradition at the College, but what enables us to put them into practice is change, and our willingness to embrace it.

Being President of the JCR in 2019 has been an incredible privilege. It has put me in the unique position of seeing how far Mansfield has come, and how much further we, and the University, must go. It has by no means been a predictable year. Issues have arisen to test the JCR committee and Mansfield as a whole, but it has been a year of growth with the potential for even more change.

In summer 2018, the late Kofi Annan officially opened the Bonavero Institute of Human Rights in Mansfield, adding a certain tangibility to the atmosphere of acceptance and tolerance on which Mansfield has always prided itself. This has been reflected in increased efforts by the JCR committee on both student welfare and student representation. Events held in 2018/19 included a Pride-themed bop, a professionalled workshop on female sex education, and an incredibly successful inter-collegiate Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) formal to help BME students across the University develop their own network. There has also been an emphasis on the greater integration of international students, with the JCR committee, together with College, organising Chinese New Year festivities.

In relation to welfare, 2018/19 saw the introduction of the extremely popular ‘Cake and Compliments’ event, where students ate cake as they crafted anonymous compliments for one another, and there has also been a revival of the JCR ‘Welfare Teas’ on Sundays. In addition, the Welfare committee has taken measures to clarify the welfare system at College, ensuring that students can access help as and when they need it. In Michaelmas 2019, Mansfield ran

‘ …the JCR’s ongoing commitment to, and Mansfield’s continuing success in, access initiatives means that it is imperative for the University not merely to recognise our efforts but to facilitate them further.’

Kinetic, a social justice leadership programme for JCR members.

One of the greatest changes in 2018/19 was in leadership, and we extended the warmest of welcomes to our new Principal, Helen Mountfield QC. An advocate by profession and nature, Helen has been instrumental in advancing the dialogue surrounding the distribution of wealth between the colleges in Mansfield’s favour.

This is a debate in which I have endeavoured to have the JCR’s voice heard by all tiers of the University’s administration.

In light of the University’s newly developed Student Wellbeing and Mental Health Strategy

14

(the consultations for which myself and the Disabilities and Mental Health Representative were party to), the JCR is eager to see equality of welfare provision across Oxford.

Moreover, the JCR’s ongoing commitment to, and Mansfield’s continuing success in, access initiatives means that it is imperative for the University not merely to recognise our efforts but to facilitate them further. This should be in conjunction with encouraging access initiatives in other colleges, which the University’s new Access and Participation Plan seeks to do.

Beyond University measures, our students and staff remain committed to access, with students dedicating their time to continue projects such as ‘Humans of Mansfield’ and providing tours to prospective students, as well as assisting with summer schools over the long vacation.

In addition to our new Principal, Mansfield has also seen other changes in personnel. We have welcomed new members of the Development, Alumni and Communications team. A result of this has been a notable increase in the level of communication between students and College, with the Principal attending JCR meetings and the JCR committee collaborating with the Communications Officer to develop Mansfield’s social media presence. Notable and much-welcome additions to the Mansfield cohort also include our new College cats, Beatrice (Bea) and Basil (Baz). However, this year we also said goodbye to our Bursar, Allan Dodd, who has retired. Allan had been at the forefront of Mansfield’s transformation throughout the last few years, overseeing for instance the successful construction of the Hands Building. We thank him for his tireless efforts on Mansfield’s behalf, and wish him the greatest happiness in his retirement.

Finally, I would like to thank the JCR committee for their enthusiasm and initiative. I have been very fortunate to work with such a driven and caring group of students. I can confidently say that they have done themselves and those that they represent proud.

MCR President’s Report Marianna Lovato (MPhil European Politics, 2017)

Over the past year, the Mansfield MCR has grown to be more active, more diverse, and more inclusive than ever.

Numbers have increased to over 200 graduate students, who hail from all corners of the world: from New Zealand to China, from the United States to Chile.

In order to cater to the needs and interests of such a diverse group of students, I decided to create new positions on the MCR committee, including a Women’s representative; an LGBTQ+ representative; a Disabilities representative; and a Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) representative.

I could not have been happier with the dedicated, genuinely kind and generous students who sat on the MCR committee this year.

The committee worked hard from the very beginning of freshers’ week to create an inclusive community for all of Mansfield’s graduate students. From guided tours of Oxford to bar crawls with other colleges, we sought to introduce freshers to the weird little corner of the world that is Oxford and to present the MCR as a welcoming social space and anchor among all the academic frenzy of graduate life.

by Liyang Han, organised an Equality and Diversity Conference (OUDEC 2019). The conference took place on 20 February 2019 at the BIHR and was centred around the themes of access to Oxford and accessibility while in Oxford. Opened by Principal Helen Mountfield, the event was attended among others by Alan Rusbridger, Principal of Lady Margaret Hall, and by many remarkable students who are doing incredible work to make Oxford more accessible. The event closed with a keynote lecture by our very own Senior Tutor, Lucinda Rumsey, who gave an insight into the outstanding and relentless work of the Access team at Mansfield.

‘ Serving as President of the Mansfield MCR has been an incredible privilege and one of the greatest highlights of my time at Oxford. ’

In coordination with Amnesty International, we held several petition and letter-signing events in the MCR throughout the year, supporting campaigns such as Write for Rights 2018. Our Ethics, Environment and Charities representative also campaigned for the College to adopt the Oxford Living Wage, a request that was taken under consideration and agreed upon by College administration.

The Social team on the committee made sure that there would be no shortage of entertainment both during and outside of term. A few highlights included wine and cheese nights – a staple of the Mansfield MCR – exchange dinners, game nights, trivia nights, sports outings and chocolate tastings. All this and more provided plenty of recreation throughout the year.

Furthermore, in Trinity term the University of Oxford Mindfulness Centre hosted an eight-week Mindfulness Course at College.

In order to facilitate participation, the MCR offered to cover part of the cost of the already-subsidised course. Out of the 30 spots available, eight were filled by MCR members, which showed clear interest on the part of the graduate community.

Throughout the year we were able to rely on the support of all members of staff, academic and administrative, who were always ready to listen to the concerns of the MCR and significantly helped us with a number of MCR initiatives. Needless to say, the staff working at Mansfield could not be nicer to the students, caring for us when we were at our most stressed and tired. I was also exceedingly proud to see College administrative and academic staff, as well as the whole student body, step up and provide special care to those students who needed it the most.

Caring for the needs of MCR members was a task that our Welfare team took most seriously. We organised yoga sessions and held regular welfare brunches throughout the year. We also introduced welfare sessions with dogs, for which we have to thank our Chaplain, the Rev’d Canon John Ovenden,

The MCR committee made substantial efforts in 2018/19 to promote equality among graduate students at Mansfield.

With the support of the Student Council, Lincoln College, the Bonavero Institute of Human Rights (BIHR) and Mansfield College, a group of MCR students, led

Serving as President of the Mansfield MCR has been an incredible privilege and one of the greatest highlights of my time at Oxford. Mansfield College promotes a truly friendly, inclusive and welcoming environment – and the graduate community is an embodiment of that culture.

and Dr Alex Henley for bringing along their four-legged friends – Barney and Mishmish.

15

Mansfield-Ruddock Prize for Art Greta Sharp

Anya Gleizer

From Mansfield’s unique open and circular Quad, its stained glass and painted ceilings, to our sympathetic modern architecture and contemporary sculpture – high-quality art and design have long been a feature of the College environment. This year, Mansfield’s support for the arts extended beyond the bounds of College, with the introduction of the MansfieldRuddock Prize.

This new prize, generously funded by the Ruddock Foundation for the Arts, will be awarded to one graduate and one undergraduate from Oxford University’s Ruskin School of Art degree show each year, with the winning pieces being presented to College. It is hoped that, through displaying works by Ruskin students in the College setting, Mansfield will open up new conversations and debates around contemporary art, inspire current students and visitors, and support talented emerging artists from the Ruskin School.

‘ We are delighted to be able to reflect the forward-looking character of Mansfield College by launching this new prize.’

The inaugural prize was awarded in summer 2019, by a jury consisting of contemporary artist Marc Quinn; Victoria Siddall, Director of the Frieze Art Fairs; and BAFTA-winning filmmaker (and Mansfield alumnus), Simon Pummell (English, 1977).

The jury chose Anya Gleizer’s work Granny’s Bones as the winner of the graduate prize.

They felt the many elements to her work – performance, monumental sculpture, virtual reality, photography, and costume – were tied together by a strong narrative, exploring cultural identity, both personal and historical.

Greta Sharp was awarded the undergraduate prize for her compelling and hypnotic film Conversation with Myself, which features the artist speaking directly to camera – lip-syncing the voices of a man and a woman talking about a relationship.

16

Both artists presented their work at Mansfield in November 2019, as part of the Friday Night Lecture series. Our Principal, Helen Mountfield, commented: ‘We are delighted to be able to reflect the forward-looking character of Mansfield College by launching this new prize, to support artists at an early stage in their careers, and to inspire, delight and intrigue all who visit Mansfield. We are hugely grateful to our alumnus Sir Paul Ruddock and the Ruddock Foundation for the Arts for making it possible, and to our distinguished inaugural jury for helping us to choose from some really exciting work.’

The jury

Making History Michèle Mendelssohn, Tutorial Fellow in English at Mansfield, reveals the inspiration behind a recent exhibition and event series on three extraordinary Oxford students, which sprang from her latest book on Oscar Wilde.

The most exciting moments in an archive come when an item calls out to you: ‘Look at me! Listen to me! Tell my story!’. Then, like a hand emerging from the page, it will grab you and refuse to let go.

That’s what happened when I found a young suffragette confessing to her diary that Oscar Wilde flirted shamelessly with her sister. It happened again when I encountered the anti-imperial writings of Oxford’s first black African graduate, Christian Cole. And Alain Locke, Oxford’s first African-American Rhodes Scholar, whispered to me once more when I discovered that he had modelled himself on Wilde.

I wrote about this remarkable trio in my latest book, Making Oscar Wilde. Still they clamoured to have their story told.

Soon ‘Making History: Christian Cole, Alain Locke and Oscar Wilde at Oxford’ was born. In summer and autumn 2019, the exhibition and event series took centre stage at Magdalen College Library, enabling hundreds of visitors to learn about the surprising shared histories of Oxford’s trailblazing queer and black undergraduates. Items on show included never-before seen photographs of Wilde during his time in Oxford, the key to his prison cell in Reading Gaol, Locke’s impressions of Oxford as ‘a land of class distinctions’, and rarely seen verses by Cole on the Zulu War. We offered free workshops, Black Oxford walking tours and gala lectures with Oscar Wilde’s grandson, Merlin Holland, Black Oxford

was nearly 26 million. Of these, only 258 were born in Africa. So Christian Cole of University College was more than a visible minority in Oxford. He was an outlier.

By the time Alain Locke turned up, in 1907, there were a few more students of colour at the University. Like Cole, Locke knew his African history. ‘I’m going to win that Rhodes Scholarship,’ he told his mother. ‘It’s the least that Rhodes can do considering all the wealth he took from Africa.’ Like Wilde, Locke was a dandy and a homosexual who imagined Oxford as a place to make himself over. author Pamela Roberts, and Rhodes Scholar Donald Brown. These events prompted questions about inclusion – at Oxford and in the world at large. As a current student commented, they ‘fostered such productive conversations and made space for thoughts to come forward that otherwise wouldn’t have.’

Together, the trio challenged visitors to weigh the opportunities they had against the struggles they faced, inviting observers to see the University through their eyes. As an Irishman, Wilde was an exotic outsider in 19th-century Oxford. ‘You ought to hear him talk!’ his English friends told other students. But his contemporary, Christian Cole, was almost unique: a statistical aberrance in the University’s 700-year history. The few statistics we have about black Victorians paint a striking picture of how rare the Sierra Leonean was. By 1881, the total population in England and Wales

The exhibition addressed history, but did not seek to excuse it. It examined the complicated ways in which Cole, Locke, Wilde and other students like them have been simultaneously made to feel included and excluded. Being on the margins means you’re inside and you’re outside.

Marginality is also a place of possibility and a space of resistance. Cole protested against colonialism by publishing pamphlets and speaking out at the Oxford Union.

Locke became a dedicated cosmopolitan and a pan-Africanist. Wilde spoke out in defence of same-sex love.

‘It was great to reflect on the progress made and not made here at Oxford, and the inspiration we can draw on from the sacrifices of these early history-makers,’ concluded one visitor to the exhibition. This trio of pioneers reminds us that inclusion is what every student longs for. Inclusion is what they all deserve.

Michèle Mendelssohn is Professor of English and American Literature and Tutorial Fellow of Mansfield College. She tweets @TheYoungOscar. Making Oscar Wilde was a finalist for the PEN America Biography Prize, the Biographers’ Club Slightly Foxed First Biography Prize and the LGBTQ+ Polari Prize. The book is available from Oxford University Press at a 10% discount for University alumni https://global.oup.com/ academic/product/making-oscar-wilde-9780198802365?cc=gb&lang=en&.

17

Restoring lustre The Main Library at College is one of Mansfield’s glories.

It is among the first places visiting alumni ask to see – accompanied by friends and family, who pass over the threshold wide-eyed and open-mouthed, marvelling at this hidden gem. Such stunning surroundings can’t fail to inspire: from the extraordinary painted ceiling and carved woodwork, to the secluded reading bays and original oak tables.

Mansfield was headed by Arte’s lead conservator Tom Organ, who has won a range of conservation awards, including the Europa Nostra EU Prize for Cultural Heritage, for his work on Walpole’s Gothic villa at Strawberry Hill on the outskirts of London.

Several interesting discoveries were made during the course of the project.

The conservators found various pieces of graffiti, for instance, including advertising by the local roofing company and Champneys Architects (Basil Champneys designed the original buildings at Mansfield in the 1880s).

Fortunately, the 19th-century Library had generally remained in a good condition over the years, but by early 2019 it was showing its age. Localised areas of water damage had begun to appear in the lower parts of the roof and, due to the accumulation of sooty dirt and dust, the paintwork was losing its lustre. As a consequence, the decision was taken to close the Library temporarily in summer 2019 in order to carry out preventative conservation work and preserve this incredible space for future generations of students.

Perhaps the most surprising discovery concerned the painted decorations on the Main Library ceiling, which are not stencilled designs as was previously supposed. Although some of the borders may have been painted using a stencil, the vast majority was created using a technique called ‘cartooning’.

Now that the conservation work has been completed, the ceiling looks revitalised and, almost, as good as new. Next time you’re in Oxford, why not pop in and have a look? We hope you’ll agree the conservators have done an incredible job.

Expert advice was sought from Arte Conservation, an independent team of consultants and conservators who specialise in the treatment of painted and applied decoration. The project at

18

The project involved four major stages: 1. Assessment A survey was conducted to determine the condition of the ceiling and to identify areas of greatest deterioration.

2. Surface cleaning The conservators carried out superficial cleaning of the murals to remove more than a century of accumulated dust and dirt using soft brushes and vacuum extraction.

This was followed by further cleaning using special dry sponges that cleaned the panels without incurring further water damage.

Cartooning involves an artist creating a full-scale preparatory drawing, which is then transferred to a wall by making small pin pricks along the outlines of this drawing. Next, a procedure known as ‘pricking’ or ‘pouncing’ takes place, where the artist follows the design with a cloth bag full of pigment. This transfers a mirrorimage of the composition on to the wall as a series of spots of powder. With these dot-to-dot guidelines, the artist is able to follow the pattern freely, creating a more fluid and expressive form of painting than might have been possible if using a stencil.

3. Re-adhering flaking paint and repairing plaster Areas of flaking paint were laid back on to their original plane using conservation-grade adhesive. After this, any cracks or holes were filled with plaster. This ensured that loose areas were stabilised.

4. Retouching Preserving the original paintwork was a priority, but in places where damage was considerable, designs had to be painstakingly retouched with acrylic.

‘ W e are well-used to hearing the involuntarily oohs and aahs as visitors look up in the Main Library for the first time, often followed by apologies as we have just asked them to be silent in the Library!

Having access to the Gallery, we were more aware than most of the water damage, cracked plaster and century’s worth of accumulated dirt, dust and cobwebs. It’s been brilliant to see the ceiling given the attention it deserves, ensuring many more years of oohs and ahhs.’

Sally Jones and Clare Kavanagh, College Librarians.

19

Capturing the legacy of Eleanor Professor Monroe Price reflects on Eleanor Roosevelt and the Mansfield statue by Penelope Jencks.

The commissioning of the Eleanor Roosevelt statue for Mansfield College was made possible thanks to kind donations from friends and supporters of College. It is a replica of Penelope Jencks’ original statue, which stands in Manhattan’s Riverside Park in New York.

Penelope Jencks was present at the unveiling of her work at Mansfield, at a special event in 2018 where Hillary Clinton was guest speaker.

I start with this image: the statue of Eleanor Roosevelt. First Lady in the administration of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, she was appointed delegate to the UN in 1945 and became the first chair of the UN Commission on Human Rights. As part of her function at the UN, she oversaw the drafting and adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which hugely advanced the idea or international norms of freedom of expression.

Yet there’s a more specific reason to single out the work on this occasion. In October 2018, the sibling version was installed in the beautiful grounds of Mansfield College in front of the brilliant new Bonavero Institute of Human Rights (BIHR).

Eleanor gave her all to this task, and we would not so comfortably argue those rights without her efforts. The Declaration was a precursor to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and, as well, to the powerful European Convention on Human Rights.

The elegant statue of Eleanor is by American sculptor, Penelope Jencks. Its first casting has sat, since the late 1990s, at the edge of Riverside Park on the Upper West Side of Manhattan – 15 short blocks from where I live.

The Park is a place for dog walkers and just plain walkers, busy city dwellers and their families. I pass by wondering whether many of my compatriots take notice of Eleanor’s presence or remember her accomplishments.

I try to do my part, pausing and reflecting, stopping to read quotes by and about her embedded in the statue’s base.

Director of the BIHR, Professor Kate O’Regan, and former Principal, Baroness Helena Kennedy, were determined that Roosevelt should be recognised for her massive contribution to human rights – and that this objective should be accomplished in proximity to the Institute. Hillary Clinton, who spoke at the dedication in New York City in 1996, also gave a speech at the 2018 dedication here in College.

Mansfield’s statue sits pensively in the elegant flower gardens and smiles benignly on visitors to the BIHR, students and on visitors from town and gown who are welcomed freely to Mansfield’s regular Friday Night Lectures.

Mooters at the Price Media Law Moot final rounds brush past as they hurry to the lecture theatre.

I can imagine Eleanor Roosevelt’s satisfaction at this assemblage of young scholars from around the globe. She would have welcomed the BIHR and loved particularly the Moot Court bringing together so many, with such passionate commitment, contributing to fervent debate on freedom of expression. The idea of human rights is embraced by the

20

diligence, hard work and dedication of the competitors and the friendships that occur among them. Some very important aspect of what is universal is captured by this: the extraordinary diversity of backgrounds but unity of purpose that is present in the room.

The Moot final week at Mansfield caps a year of global debate. Each of the mooters has been working out the consequences of technological and social change for the ways of presenting and understanding a new freedom of expression.

This powerful work of art, this statue that captures Eleanor Roosevelt’s legacy, serves as a fine tribute to the spirit of Mansfield, the spirit of the Bonavero Institute and the spirit of free and open intellectual enquiry which is so important to us all.

Professor Monroe Price directed the Center for Global Communication Studies at the Annenberg School for Communication, University of Pennsylvania. He is an author of many books and articles on freedom of expression and is a long-term friend of Mansfield College and the Bonavero Institute of Human Rights (BIHR). The Price Media Law Moot, held by the BIHR each year, brings together young lawyers from across the globe to learn about and to debate free speech.

Mary Ann Sieghart: in conversation On Fridays during term, Mansfield invites highly respected speakers to talk on some of the most topical issues of the day.

Our Friday Night Lecture Series is free for all to attend and has rapidly become a popular fixture on Oxford’s calendar.

In May 2019, we were delighted to welcome the acclaimed journalist and broadcaster, Mary Ann Sieghart, as our guest speaker. Her lecture, ‘Why don’t we take women as seriously as men?’ addressed the issue of bias against women in public life. JCR Women’s Officer, Emily Jones (English, 2017), had the opportunity to meet Mary ahead of her talk and explore this question in greater depth.

‘ N ever… mistake confidence for competence.’

21

Can you tell me a bit about the lecture you’re going to give today?

I’m giving a talk about why we tend to take women less seriously than men. When I say ‘we’, I mean women as well as men, sadly. So, this is not just a man-blaming talk. We tend to do it without realising.

It’s as if we assume a man knows what he’s talking about until he proves otherwise, whereas for a woman it’s the other way around.

I’m writing a book about women’s authority and there are two definitions of authority. One is in the sense of power and leadership, the other is in the sense of expertise and knowledge and authoritativeness, and having influence as a result of those two. In terms of power and leadership – well, we’ve seen a lot in politics of just how uncomfortable many people are with women in power. A lot of men are uncomfortable and some women are as well, unfortunately. When it comes to expertise and knowledge, women tend to be listened to less

‘ O ut of the most influential political journalists on Twitter, not one single female made it into the top ten – even BBC Political Editor Laura Kuenssberg didn’t make it. It’s staggering.’

than men. They tend to be less influential in a group of people than men are – and I’m citing research that’s been done on this. They tend to be challenged more than men in their expertise, interrupted more than men, talked over more, and often just not listened to in the first place.

How does this manifest day-to-day?

We find that when it comes to reading, we women will read books that are roughly 5050 written by men and women. We’ll just read the best books on the market or the ones our friends recommend. Men will read roughly 80-20 [men-women]. So in other words, it’s not just that they’re not according our views, our expertise, authority – they’re not even reading what we write in the first place.

It’s the same with academic citations.

Women’s articles are less likely to be cited in journals than men’s. Women’s articles are also less likely to be put on university reading lists – all these are functions of authority. Then there’s the book review pages, say the New York Review of Books.

In 2017, 77% of the books it reviewed were by men, and 76% of the critics were men. It’s not as if women don’t write books – we write really good books actually.

most influential political journalists on Twitter, not one single female made it into the top ten – even BBC Political Editor Laura Kuenssberg didn’t make it. It’s staggering.

I was on the judging panel of the British Journalism Awards that year for the Political Journalist of the Year and we chose a woman, Rachel Sylvester at The Times. She’s brilliant. It’s not as if she wasn’t any good, she was the best. But she still didn’t make it into the top ten, and the reason was that men retweeted male political journalists four to five times more than female ones.

Often they didn’t even follow the women in the first place. So they couldn’t have retweeted them if they didn’t know what they were saying. In general on Twitter, not talking about the elites, men are twice as likely to follow other men than women. A lot of this isn’t a conscious bias. I don’t believe men think, ‘I’m never going to read a book by a woman or follow them on Twitter’. I think they just club together really.

Of course the other thing about social media is the backlash against authoritative women using their voice. It’s vile – and has become much worse. Most things are getting better (women are obviously being taken more seriously than they were in the 1970s), but the backlash has got worse.

Do you think that social media particularly highlights this bias?

You’ve managed to identify these biases: what do we do about it?

Yes, I do. There was a study done in the last General Election campaign about who the most influential political journalists were on Twitter. Now, Twitter really matters for political journalists, and I know because I used to be one. It’s how you get your voice amplified, how people engage with you, how your opinion is thought to be authoritative. So you want people to engage with you on Twitter, to get conversations going and retweets and so on. Out of the

There are individual small things that each of us can do as people, women as well as men. Look at the books you read; if you’re an academic, look at the ones you cite and put on reading lists. Look at the people you follow and retweet on Twitter. Actively listen to women with the same attentiveness that you do to men. Notice if you’re ever feeling unconscious bias. I do it myself – and I’m writing a book about it. I will occasionally hear a young woman on the radio, maybe

22

her voice is quite high and she sounds a bit childish in a way a man can’t because his voice has broken. And I actually find myself thinking, ‘Oh, I wonder if she knows what she’s talking about?’, and I have to say to myself, ‘Stop it! Listen to the content of what she’s saying and then judge it.’ So you need to spot yourself doing it. And if you find you’re disliking a woman in a position of power or authority, actually interrogate yourself and work out if that’s because she is dislikeable, or because of how you feel about the idea of a woman being in that position.

Is there any advice you’d like to give to the women in the Mansfield student community?

I think my biggest piece of advice is never to mistake confidence for competence. On average, boys and men are overconfident, disproportionately confident given their abilities, and girls and women are on the whole disproportionately under-confident.

They are no less able than boys, and sometimes they’re abler. Yet boys and men have been trained, in a way, and brought up to project this image of themselves as being uber-confident. People believe them, and you shouldn’t always believe them.

Mary Ann Sieghart is a Visiting Fellow of All Souls College and former Assistant Editor and political columnist at The Times.

She has written for the Financial Times, The Economist, and the Independent and has worked as an occasional presenter on BBC Radio 4. Mary also chairs the Social Market Foundation, an independent British public policy think-tank based in Westminster.

Music at Mansfield John Oxlade (Director of Music) John Oxlade with members of the choir

Our Choral Scholars have given a magnificent lead in the choir this year. Indeed, they have all contributed hugely to the success of Mansfield music over the entire three years of their respective courses. Sadly we said goodbye to four of them – Grace Green, Grace Walker, Benedict Turvill and Tariq Ali – when they graduated in summer 2019. We shall miss them very much, not only vocally and musically, but for their exemplary commitment and enthusiasm, and for making the choir such a vibrant community within the College, the legacy of which continues to flourish.

Turvill provided great entertainment in saxophone duets by Berlioz and Massenet; and Jeremy Beard (oboe) has been a key member in ensembles, as well as a brilliant soloist in recitals and in the Commemoration Service.

A celebrity recital featured two principal viola players, Peter Mallinson and Matthias Wiesner from the BBC Symphony Orchestra; other guest recitalists have included Leslie Dickson-Tetteh (guitar) and Mark Atherton’s band in folk and contemporary music. Ruth Simms (clarinet) was chosen to play for the visit of Secretary Hillary Clinton in September 2018 and again at the Leavers’ Farewell, giving memorable performances of the Mozart concerto.

Our repertoire this year has expanded and diversified. There has been an emphasis on unaccompanied choral works, ranging from Tudor composers to Eric Whitacre and Morten Lauridsen, with a vesper to conclude the weekly Wednesday evening Chapel services. In Hilary we sang Part Two of Handel’s Messiah and the ‘Gloria’ from Rossini’s Petite Messe Solennelle in Michaelmas – as well as major choral works by Parry, Vivaldi and Michael Haydn. We welcomed new undergraduates Yasmin Nguyen, Caitlin Duggan and Patryk Imielski, bringing the total choir numbers to 21.

As ever our graduate students have brought their talents and experience to enhance College music – George Klaeren (as conductor and singer), George Manning (a notable trumpeter in the ‘Last Post’ on Remembrance Sunday), Jessica Williams and Liyang Han – all are stalwart members of the choir.

We were sorry to say goodbye to Paul Burke who ably assisted Mansfield’s musical activities for two years and has now been appointed Director of Music at Lady Margaret Hall. Farewell also to the VSPs who contributed so much to the choir – Leela Mennillo, Samantha Schaer, Audrey Schlimm and MaryGrace King. We wish them all the best for their continued studies in the USA. Finally, at the Alumni Association Dinner, Deems Ioratim-Uba, the first recipient of the Prof Norman Booth Memorial Instrumental Exhibition, ended the year’s music-making on a wonderfully upbeat note with another of his own inspired compositions, Always Forward.

Our Sunday Recitals have provided a wide range of music and an amazing array of instrumental talent. As well as Aondoyima (Deems) Ioratim-Uba’s creative genius, other pianists have also provided much enjoyment: Joshua Gei, Nicolas Köcher and Joseph McKenzie playing Beethoven, Chopin and Schubert; Grace Walker some Bartok and Jeremy Beard Chopin; and Matthew Harrington accompanying MaryGrace King and Jinrui Fan in early Baroque vocal music. Nicholas Watt (viola) and Joshua Gei (violin) have also given sterling service in the instrumental ensemble. Cellist Joschua Spiedel-Johnson gave a superb performance of Bruch’s Kol Nidrei in a Remembrance Sunday Recital; Nathan Bentley and Benedict

You can read more about Deems’ composition on page 24.

23

Always Forward Towards the end of April 2019, we approached the brilliant pianist and finalist Aondoyima (Deems) Ioratim-Uba, to ask if he would take on the challenge of creating an original musical composition to celebrate College and then perform it at the Mansfield Alumni Association Dinner. To our delight, he accepted. A few months later, Always Forward was born.

We recorded a short film interview with Deems prior to his leaving College, in which he discussed his musical inspirations and how he approached the task of creating this piece – and musical composition generally.

My first musical experiences were as a child, listening to music with different members of my family. They all listen to various things: my sister a lot of R&B, my dad a lot of classical music (also Celine Dion) and my brother’s tastes are wide and varied. So, through what my family listened to, I got to hear music all the time.

I first started playing when I was 16 or 17.

One of my best friends at the time was an inspiration to me because he had been teaching himself. We both really loved music, so it became a thing that we did together. I started by learning how to read music, painfully going through, note by note. I found sight reading really difficult, and still do, but that process was useful because it taught me about patience, consistency and hard work – the hard work it takes to learn and internalise a piece of music. Then I got kind of sick of it, or at least my interest shifted a bit more. I wanted to be able to listen better and to pick out sounds and learn by ear.

Teaching yourself certainly isn’t a bad thing and, having done it, I would definitely do it again. I would encourage anyone who wants to play an instrument to just go for it. The worst that can happen is you play

‘ I started composing about a year ago, or at least attempting to. I still see this as an attempt rather than me doing it (but is there a difference?). I wanted to turn the ideas I improvised into full stories in their own right.’

badly, and that’s fine because you can always get better and better. It’s fun at the end of the day.

I started composing about a year ago, or at least attempting to. I still see this as an attempt rather than me doing it (but is there a difference?). I wanted to turn the ideas I improvised into full stories in their own right.

Composing this piece for Mansfield was, at first, really difficult. There are many people here, so I couldn’t represent everyone and everything. Very quickly, I decided that I wasn’t going to, but instead do something as a person who has gone to this College.

From then on the process involved finding a sound that I liked, a sound that, to me, fits. I think the piece will continue to change over time as I play with it.

24

Performing a piece that I have written is in some ways harder and in some ways easier. Easier in the sense that I can’t make a mistake, or rather mistakes are less punishing – I can always change things – but harder in the sense that it is difficult to settle on what to do because I can always change it. If I don’t like something, then I can alter it here and there. It also means I never really decide what the piece is; it’s a little different every time.

I would love to discover what it’s like to see someone learn something I’ve written. I hope I shall get to do that. I could probably convince a friend to waste a bit of time on one of my pieces.

I absolutely love it: being able to perform something that I’ve written and have people listen to it is something special.

Deems was awarded the first Professor Norman Booth Memorial Instrumental Exhibition in recognition of his contribution to music at Mansfield and is now studying at Bristol University for a doctorate. You can find the short film of Deems performing his composition on the College’s Facebook page.

25

Nature, heal thyself?

‘With a design that was intended to reflect the beauty and power of nature in every way, the Savills and David Harber Garden included roughly 1000 perennial plants and 10,000 biannual species, which were predominately native.

It featured a muted green, white and yellow colour palette intended to represent the natural shades of nature and sunlight.’

26

Pam Berry, Mansfield’s Supernumerary Fellow in Geography, discusses the role of nature-based solutions in combatting climate change and biodiversity loss.

There can be little doubt that climate change and biodiversity loss are two of the most topical and pressing global challenges of our time. It is argued that they are two sides of the same coin.

We cannot address climate change yet ignore biodiversity loss, but we cannot address biodiversity loss without tackling climate change. Also, it has been suggested that nature (biodiversity) can be part of the solution to broader societal (environmental, social and economic) challenges.

Globally, it has been proposed that significant mitigation of climate change can be achieved through the conservation and restoration of forests, wetlands and peatlands in order to store or sequester carbon. This could lead to benefits for communities who rely on these habitats for their livelihoods, as well as regulating water flows and providing protection from hazards. Some of my work in the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) will be looking at what nature-based solutions can deliver for climate change.

Urban areas also face a number of environmental challenges, such as pollution and water management, in addition to climate change and biodiversity loss.

Green spaces and particularly domestic gardens, which may form up to 25% of the urban area, can play an important role in tackling some of these problems, while also providing a visually attractive space for relaxation – all of which contributes to our health and wellbeing. By using nature-based solutions and by the careful selection of species, people can also contribute to making more space and better conditions for plants and animals – as well as improving the environment.

In 2019, I helped advise on the design of a nature-based solutions garden for the Royal Horticultural Society Chelsea Flower Show, which is shown here. The Savills and David Harber Garden sought to

27

capture a sustainable woodland clearing with, for instance, trees and a green wall to shade a house in summer, thus reducing temperatures and a need for air-conditioning, as well as capturing air pollutants. It also included permeable hard surfaces to help reduce flash flooding, with the water draining into a pond that contained plants for cleaning the water.

A diversity of flowering plants was used, aimed at providing food for pollinators.

In Oxford, there is increasing academic and practical interest in these naturebased solutions. For example, one group is aiming to make the urban area more permeable for hedgehogs, by ensuring there are holes in fences and walls. Estate Services is also considering making the University a hedgehog-friendly campus.

The Chelsea garden showed other actions that could be taken.

So, what can be the role of nature? Some actions are relatively small scale, and may not seem much in the global scheme of things. Nevertheless, gardens and green spaces – especially if collective action is taken – could make a significant difference to our future living environment. By increasing their biodiversity we could improve our own health and wellbeing – as well as addressing climate change.

Dr Pam Berry is a Senior Research Fellow and Leader of the Biodiversity, Ecosystem Services and Climate Adaptation Group in the Environmental Change Institute. In April 2019 she was appointed as a Systems Fellow in Rural Land Use by Defra as part of a new Systems Research Programme, which will look at some of the UK’s most pressing environmental issues to inform and shape key future policy decisions.

Guest speaker Dr Debbie Hopkins at the 1887 Dinner

The 1887 Society Holly Fothersgill (Geography, 2017)

The 1887 Society, formed of a large number of present and past Geographers, has enjoyed another successful year in 2018/19. The society takes its name from the year when Geography was first formally introduced as a discipline at Oxford. It brings together members of Mansfield’s Geography community for intellectual discussions and enjoyable social events, and prides itself on supporting and strengthening the connections between current students and alumni.

Save the date: the next 1887 Society Dinner will take place on Saturday 9 May 2020.

In May we held our 48th annual 1887 Society black-tie dinner, offering a warm welcome to alumni, current students and Geography Fellows alike, who enjoyed a memorable evening. We were delighted to be joined by this year’s guest speaker Dr Debbie Hopkins, a Department Research Lecturer in Transport Studies at our University, who commenced the event with a thoughtprovoking talk on ‘waste’ in cities. After the speech, a drinks reception was held in Mansfield’s Old Hall, before a four-course meal in the Chapel. Our sincere thanks and gratitude go to the College’s fantastic catering team who made the event possible.

In 2018/19 it was a pleasure to encourage friendships to develop across the year groups, with a number of social events, including a formal dinner in Michaelmas term, and a wine-tasting evening in Hilary term, guided by Mansfield Fellow, and former Geography Tutor, Dr Tony Lemon.

It was a wonderful evening and undoubtedly the highlight of the year. Thank you to everyone who attended – we look forward to welcoming you again next year.

28

MCBC Report Henry Williams (Engineering, 2016) This year Mansfield College Boat Club (MCBC) has continued to strive to make improvements and punch above its weight, going toe to toe with some of the larger clubs on the Isis. Having said goodbye to many committed members before the summer, we were ecstatic to welcome a whole host of new faces at the start of Michaelmas, keen to give rowing a try.

As always, Christchurch regatta proved to be a testing but rewarding experience for all our new rowers. The competitive crews (two men’s and two women’s) were a testament to the huge effort put in not only by the rowers, but also from the captains in training our new recruits. The stand-out performance here was from the Mansfield Men’s first novice boat (MA), which reached the quarter finals, beating the likes of Keble and Oriel first VIIIs before narrowly losing to St Catherine’s. Three out of the four crews progressed through the first round of the competition, making it overall a great success for the club.

Save the date: the next MCBC Summer VIIIs Week Dinner will take place on Saturday 30 May 2020.

men weren’t able to match the women’s success, with the M2 narrowly missing out on qualifying and the M1 losing four places.

the highs and lows of the year at the MCBC Summer VIIIs Week Dinner and it was fantastic to see so many alumni there.

The start of Trinity term saw MCBC put on a 24-hour ergathon, with members rowing in a relay continuously through the night. This was to raise money for Fenix Humanitarian Aid, an NGO based in Greece and founded

by MCBC alums, which provides refugees with important legal assistance. We’d like to thank you for all the generous donations we received. Once the challenge was completed our momentum only increased, with four crews training hard for Summer VIIIs. The M1 and W2 managed to hold their starting positions, while the W1 and M2 unfortunately went down one and four spots respectively. As always, once racing was over we came together to celebrate

To end the year, MCBC said goodbye to one of its oldest and dearest friends, the Stelph 8+, more commonly known as ‘The Buttertub’. She has seen many generations of Mansfield students learn to row and has won multiple sets of blades over the years. We wish her all the best at her new home as she makes the trip across the water to Germany.

Icy dark mornings were a familiar occurrence in Hilary term, but they did not deter us. When Torpids finally came around it was the turn of our women’s side to shine: we entered a W3 for the first time since 1999, demonstrating how far MCBC has come in recent years. Despite rowing admirably, however, they missed out on qualifying by just a few seconds.

Spurred on by this, the W2 achieved plus four overall this year, while the W1 bumped on three out of the four days – both hugely impressive accomplishments. Sadly the

29

You can find more College rowing news and updates on the MCBC website or Facebook page, ‘Mansfield Rowing’. If you have any memories you’d like to share then do please get in contact; whether you left Mansfield last year or 50 years ago we’d love to hear from you.

Sports roundup For a small college, Mansfield certainly punches above its weight in the sporting arena. Whether combined with other colleges or striking out on their own, our teams are never short of enthusiasm nor dedicated support from other Mansfield students.

I n Trinity term 2019 the College tennis team, captained by Jadon Buckeridge and Casper Scheible, were crowned cuppers winners after a comfortable 6-3 victory on the Iffley clay.

Although they found themselves in the tough half of the draw, along with the formidable Magdalen, who boast the University’s highest ranked player, and last year’s victors, St John’s, these two sides proved little danger as they were swept aside, along with Oriel, on the road to finals day. This was the first tennis cuppers win in recent College history and demonstrates the great commitment of the team. Special thanks are due to the captains, who played despite their impending finals.

he Merton-Mansfield Hockey club T (M&Ms) started off the season extremely successfully, thanks not only to strong recruitment numbers from both Colleges, but also because the club managed to retain many of its more long-standing members. After the success of last year’s alumni match, the event was repeated this year. From 2-1 down going into the last five minutes of the game, the M&Ms managed to clinch victory with two crunch-time goals from Josh Lanham (Mansfield, 2017). As a large number of players remain at the University, the team should continue its successful run this year.

It was more of a challenging year for Mansfield-Merton footballers who, despite bags of enthusiasm and some success at cuppers, finished the season in the bottom division. They’ll be back in 2019/20 with their new kit and fresh enthusiasm – the only way is up, after all. Congratulations go to Nick Lai and Adam Austin, who both attended pre-season training with the Blues at the start of the new academic year.

The Mansfield-St John’s badminton team, creatively known as ‘Johnsfield’ also enjoyed a memorable year in 2018/19.

The team won the Men’s Division 1 league, pipping Somerville to the title, having seen off Brasenose, Wadham, Lady Margaret Hall and Merton during their campaign.

Swimming for Mansfield is a highenthusiasm experience, without the pressures or commitment that can sometimes come with other sports.

Anyone capable of swimming at least one length is encouraged to take the plunge and swim for the College in cuppers at the Rosenblatt Pool on Iffley Road. Mansfield students give outstanding support to one another and the loud cheering for our swimmers often makes our College stand out from the crowd. Last year, James Harris and George King competed in cuppers and achieved a respectable 16 points.

Mansfield College Netball Club (MCNC) has continued to strike fear into the hearts of rivals in the lower leagues, bolstered by a fresh intake of first years and some new kit. After a brief relegation to Division 5, the team managed to reclaim their Division 4 spot by the end of the season. They rounded off the netballing year with a very sunny day of play at cuppers, where a few MCNC alumni re-joined the ranks. Off the pitch, the team continues to enjoy an active social calendar.

30

31

Student news 1

Alice Bruce History & Politics, 2017

Alice was awarded the Clive Taylor prize for sports journalism. She used the prize to create MOVE, a new magazine aiming to ‘move’ the conversation about women’s sport forward, looking at themes from competition, body image and mental health, to the perception and portrayal of women’s sport in the media.

You can find out more about MOVE on the magazine’s Facebook page: https://m. facebook.com/movemagazineoxford/

2

Brennig Davies English, 2018

Brennig was awarded the Crown literary prize for prose at the Urdd National Eisteddfod, for his story on this year’s theme, ‘Reconciliation’.

Held in a different location in Wales every year, the Urdd National Eisteddfod is one of Europe’s largest youth touring festivals, attracting around 90,000 visitors annually. Over 15,000 children and young people from across Wales and beyond take part each year, coming together to compete in fields comprising of music, performance, art and literature.

Brennig has previously won the BBC Young Writers’ Award for his story, ‘Skinning’.

3

Maya Little English, 2017

In Michaelmas term 2019, Maya staged her play Stranger, Baby in the Burton Taylor Studio, at the Oxford Playhouse.

‘A haunting, tender play about daughterhood, love and loss, and identity,’ Maya’s work is based on a collection of poems by Emily Berry and portrays a daughter’s grief over losing her mother and the accompanying sense of selfhood in the isolation of her bereavement.

4

Nicholas Lai Maths, 2018

Over the summer, Nick was lucky enough to be part of the Oxford University Blues Squad for the World Elite University Football Tournament being held in Guangzhou, China. This prestigious annual tournament attracts some of the world’s top universities. The tour took place over a two-week period, during which Nick trained and competed in a knock-out tournament, while also taking time to experience China’s rich culture.

He comments: ‘It was a great honour to have been asked as it was my first time playing for the Blues and also my first time visiting China. I had an incredible time and made memories and friends that I’ll cherish forever. Sadly we narrowly lost in the quarter-finals on penalties, but I think our performances did the University proud.

It was a great opportunity, not only to travel to the other side of the world but to compete in my sport at such a high level.’

5

Sarah Khan Theology, 2017

Sarah was invited by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Asian Development Bank to present at their annual Judicial Roundtable Conference on Environmental Justice, in Fiji in October 2019.

This conference brings together justices and judges from across Asia and the Pacific to explore the role that the rule of law can play in responding to climate change – especially for island nations that will be impacted the most. Sarah, who is an award-winning filmmaker, was the youngest expert speaker at the event, where she shared her environmental film and policy recommendations.

32

Her session focused on resource depletion and the sustainability of climate actions, showcasing the adaptation methods of rural Pakistani women that may be replicated in other affected communities.

In November 2019 she launched a forum at the Bonavero Institute of Human Rights to explore the link between storytelling and social change, as well as showcasing climate adaptation: a wonderful example of the connection between Mansfield students and the BIHR.

6

Veera Vudathu Materials, 2018

If you’re a fan of Formula 1 racing you may wish to look away now. Thanks to the connections of one alum, and due to the generous support of another who covered accommodation costs, Veera was able to undertake a two-week work experience placement with the Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula 1 team.

He reports: ‘Having the opportunity to work with the Mercedes-AMG F1 race team was incredible. I gained so much from my time there, such as being able to see, in real life, the techniques we learn the theory of in our degree. As a scientist, it was invaluable to see the work I have done and the things I have learnt over my first year at Oxford actually be useful in understanding real-world situations.

The highlight from my work experience placement (and this was hard to narrow down) was seeing the Simulator they have on-site in use. However, every day working with the team was inspiring and has definitely encouraged me to keep chasing my goal of working in the automotive industry. I’m so grateful to the donors who supported my experience with Mercedes as I could not have carried it out without their help.’

1

4

5

2

3

6

33

Mansfield’s Visiting Student Programme, 2018/19 Helen Lacey, Director of the Visiting Student Programme (VSP) at Mansfield, reports on this year’s developments, including welcoming our first students from the University of Gothenburg and the University of Oslo.

Mansfield’s visiting students thrived academically in 2018/19. Prizes for excellence were won by Katherine Ingram (Washington and Lee University) and Julia Adamo (Kenyon College), with the overall prize being awarded to Peder Skjelbred (University of Oslo).

Outside of the classroom, our visiting students proved, as ever, to be integral to the College community, taking part in the choir, in voluntary work and in College sport.

Several participated in Summer VIIIs rowing, and Jeremy Hofman coxed the men’s first crew. In the second boats were: Audrey Schlimm, Carlye Cording (stroke), Leo

Confalone, Drew Kaplan and Rob Kresch.

The rowers also took part in a 24-hour ergometer challenge for charity, managing to cover a distance of over 327km and raising £1743 for Mansfield College Boat Club and Fenix Humanitarian Legal Aid. At the University level, Julia Bloechl and Blair Li played basketball and tennis respectively for Oxford. Julia Adamo hosted a weekly music show on Oxide Radio. Our visiting students also volunteered to work in the local community, with one becoming a reading partner for primary school children.

The class of 2019/20 includes students

34

from Barnard College, Boston College, College of the Holy Cross, DePauw University, Dickinson College, Georgetown University, Hamilton College, Haverford College, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Kenyon College, Northeastern University, Santa Clara University, Sun Yat-sen University, Swarthmore College, Trinity College of Connecticut, Trinity University (Texas), University of Iowa, University of Pennsylvania, University of Rochester, Washington and Lee University, Wheaton College, William Jewell College, and Yale University.

Travelling to the US Eastern Seaboard cities of Boston, New York and Washington DC

Lunan Zhao VSP Representative At the end of every day, I take a moment to write down the things for which I am grateful. At the end of this journey, I reflect on the whole year. Along with all the visiting students at Mansfield, I sense we have much to feel thankful for. For each of us, the College was a home, and the community welcomed us in different ways. The warmth of Mansfield’s students helped us feel at ease. They were as eager as we were to get to know each other and engage in meaningful discussions. Many visiting students also found that the space gave them the freedom to explore their own minds, while always offering the reassurance of being part of the community.

We came from around the world, including Europe, Asia, and mostly from North America. The shift was a shock at first. For many of us coming from large universities, the tight-knit college atmosphere and abundant welfare support gave us a new sense of belonging. Instead of large classrooms and high-stakes tests, we learned to adapt to the academic independence and careful guidance that define Oxford’s tutorial system. We eventually found our own ways of juggling the weekly essays with a vibrant social life, as well as putting aside time alone to rejuvenate. in April, our Principal, Helen Mountfield, took the opportunity to meet programme leaders for several of the VSP colleges there. She reported that not only was it a wonderful opportunity to catch-up with people, but also to share knowledge and gain some fascinating and inspiring insights on the ground into how these US colleges work hard to enhance their students’ experience of higher education, leading to future success.

Finally, congratulations to Eric Esten (class of 2014/15) who has been accepted by Harvard University for a graduate degree in Education Policy and Management. It is great to receive news from our past visiting students; we would love to hear from other VSP alumni about their current activities.

Do drop us an email with any details: vsp@ mansfield.ox.ac.uk.

The academic freedom allowed us to develop our own viewpoints and discuss a variety of topics with inspiring academics. Subjects ranged from considering how the political implications of Islam differ from those of Christianity, to analysing female bravery and sacrifice in myths, to examining the rise in pay of Chief Executive Officers, to looking at gender in sub-Saharan Africa. These experiences challenged us to think in new ways. For some of us, they provided inspiration for a senior-year thesis or encouragement to adjust our future academic pathways.

Outside of the classroom, we joined cultural groups, artistic societies, College and University sports teams – all while tapping into the wealth of talks and social events around the University. Yet perhaps the most memorable shared experiences were the simple catch-ups in the Crypt, or the strolls through Oxford’s historic streets.

Dr Helen Lacey took up the position of Director of the Visiting Student Programme in Trinity term 2014. She is Supernumerary Fellow in Late Medieval History at Mansfield, and is Co-Investigator on a major new project called The People of 1381 (www.1381.online).

35

Mansfield’s Special Students, 1919 David Seymour (History, 1973) looks at an unusual forbear to today’s Visiting Student Programme.

The character of the annual College group photographs was set in 1888. At the centre of the front row is the teaching staff, looking suitably serious; from 1890 they wore academic dress. Their students are grouped around them, some in academic dress, some more casually attired, many adopting a nonchalant pose. The youngest – reading for their first degrees at other Oxford colleges, but on Mansfield scholarships prior to embarking on theological courses – are often to be found sitting on the ground in front of the group. And so the pattern continued, except in a remarkable and unique photograph taken in June 1919.

Those appearing in this photo had completed their war service and had been admitted to Mansfield, as ‘Special Students’, under a unique nationwide post-Armistice scheme to give Allied officers and enlisted men, already in possession of suitable academic qualifications, the opportunity to study for a term in British universities.

Mansfield’s tradition of Special Students began in 1887. Howard Bliss arrived at Mansfield from the New York Union Theological Seminary. He attended the lectures of Principal Andrew Fairbairn, and other Oxford theologians, taught himself Arabic, and preached in Oxford and further afield. Usually two students per year followed until 1900. The scheme revived in 1915, for that year only. Mostly Americans participated, though there were some Australians and one Canadian.

Throughout its time in Oxford, Mansfield had endeavoured to take as great a part in the work of the University as possible for an institution not a full collegiate member.

The College insisted that all its students matriculated. They worked, mainly, for Oxford degrees and some took University prizes. Its academics were highly regarded within the University. And in Trinity 1919 not only did Mansfield join other colleges

in welcoming Allied soldier-students, but also, through the number it accepted, demonstrated a determination to take a full part in the scheme. The figures in the ‘Roster of US Army Students at Oxford’, in the January 1920 edition of The American Oxonian illustrate this. In accepting five such students, Mansfield exceeded the numbers at Oriel, Worcester, and the Delegacy for Non-Collegiate Students, and matched those at Brasenose, Univ, and Wadham.

Although these officers were to be in College only for Trinity term, they were listed, in the 1918/19 College Report, with their countries of origin, as ‘Special Students’. That was the College’s sole administrative record of their attendance.

In the July 1919 Mansfield College Magazine’s ‘JCR Notes’ the President, OJ Francis, wrote warmly of their presence: ‘We were fortunate in having the company of many oversea friends from the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.

They contributed a great deal to the life of the J.C.R., and their stay will not be forgotten.

We believe, too, that they will go down glad of having made our acquaintance.’

And, indeed, the latter proved to be the case. John Ruskin Dyer, commenting on

36

the value of the scheme in The American Oxonian, wrote: ‘Almost without exception the 2000 men, many of whom went to England in anything but a friendly spirit for that country, have come home warm admirers of a really great people.’

Of the ‘oversea friends’ on the 1919 photo, it has only been possible to name four with certainty. Although a list of names for the regular Mansfield students was made, the compiler was uncertain as to the identity of the Special Students and left blanks. However, it has been possible to discover something of all these students, except the New Zealander AI Brown. The Australian identified on one copy of the photo as ‘H King’ is a mystery as no such name appears in the College Report.

The five Americans, four in the photo, comprised three artillerymen, Hugh Sevier Carter, John Ruskin Dyer, and Norton Ives, and two chaplains, Curtis Worth Chenoweth and George D Kirkpatrick. After the war Carter and Chenoweth became university professors, and Dyer a university administrator; Ives was a life-insurance salesman. I have not been able to trace Kirkpatrick.

A named photo in The American Oxonian, of all the Oxford Americans, shows that Chenoweth is sixth from the left in the back row in the Mansfield photo. Kirkpatrick stands on his right, with a cross on his forage cap. Ives is back row fifth from right and Dyer

‘ Although these officers were to be in College only for Trinity term, they were listed, in the 1918/19 College Report, with their countries of origin, as “Special Students”.’

middle row fifth from left. Chenoweth wrote his impressions of Mansfield, and of Oxford, in the Mansfield College Magazine. He notes, of Oxford, ‘…the power of its tradition, the delight of its social life, and the uniqueness of its effort in the behalf of knowledge’ and of Mansfield that it ‘…is in no essential which I have been able to discover different in kind from the rest of Oxford.’

The ‘Lemon Squeezer’ hats identify the New Zealand chaplains, David Craig Herron and Edmund John Tipler. Herron, in the back row, wears his Military Cross ribbon and Tipler, sitting at the front, holds a walking stick.

Arriving in the UK in October 1916, David Herron saw hospital service before joining the Otago Regiment in France in November 1917. His Military Cross was for ‘distinguished service in connection with military operations in France and Flanders’.

From 1919, until retirement in 1950, Herron was minister of two Presbyterian Churches in New Zealand. In 1943 he was Moderator of the New Zealand Presbyterian General Assembly and, from 1945 until his death in 1955, was Chancellor of Otago University.

Edmund Tipler arrived in England in December 1917. He served with the Otago Regiment in France where, on 4 November 1918, he was wounded in action, suffering gunshot wounds to the leg, hip, and foot.

He was placed on the seriously injured list

for ten days, and it was found necessary to amputate his right leg from the knee.

Transferred to hospital in Brockenhurst, he had recovered sufficiently by April to join Mansfield for Trinity term. Post-war, Tipler worked in the Presbyterian ministry and was, on his death in 1935, Moderator-Elect of the New Zealand Presbyterian General Assembly.

Francis Rolland served in Egypt, England and France. In France he took his ministry into the trenches becoming known as the ‘Cocoa King’. He joined attacks, carrying splints to assist at aid posts. Rolland won a Military Cross in June 1918 and was recommended for another in July. The July recommendation gives a good idea of his style of ministry:

At the left of the back row is the Canadian, James Arthur Eyres. He flew with the Royal Naval Air Service and the RAF. His pilot’s wings are clearly visible. Eyres’ interest in studying at Mansfield may have emanated from his background as a Methodist lay preacher in Calgary and Divinity student at Toronto University. However, although he maintained an interest in theology, after the war he took a medical degree.

‘Laden with medical comforts and hot drinks for the wounded he jumped off at zero hour close behind the attacking waves, and ten minutes after the barrage lifted he was established at the [aid post] dispensing hot coffee to the wounded… for the following 48 hours he laboured tirelessly under heavy shell fire attending to… the wounded. His calm steadfast behaviour and cheering example had the greatest effect on all ranks.’

The Australian chaplains Henry James Clifton Foreman and Francis William Rolland cannot be identified on the photo. Their service records show that they were granted leave, with pay and subsistence, from April to September 1919 to study, Rolland mentions, a ‘course of reading’, at Oxford.

Rolland was Principal of Geelong College from 1920 to 1945 and served as Chairman of the Headmasters’ Conference of Australia.

From 1954 to 1960 he was ModeratorGeneral of the Australian Presbyterian Church. He was knighted in 1958.

Henry Foreman had served 18 months in the South African War before World War I took him to the Australian Hospital at Abbeville. Later, he joined the Methodist Central Mission in Australia before becoming Principal of the Sydney Methodist Ladies’ College until his death in 1939.

The Americans left England at the end of June 1919 and those from the Dominions during September. They, like Mansfield College, treasured their memories of a unique and valued term that played its part in the continuing journey towards today’s ‘Visiting Student Programme’.

37

Wartime code-construction at College

‘At Mansfield College, Mansfield Road, We labour, making many a… ssh.

Two hundred girls, all shapes and ages and ten strong men all wise as sages.’

38

These words, taken from a poem featured in The Monitor, an in-house staff magazine for the Government Code & Cypher School (GC&CS), offer just a peep into life at College during World War II. Mansfield was requisitioned in 1939, under the Emergency Powers (Defence) Act, to play host to ‘Construction Section’ which formed part of GC&CS, based at the renowned Bletchley Park. Dr Tom Cheetham, Research Officer at Bletchley Park Trust, explains: ‘Bletchley Park is famous for breaking German codes and ciphers during World War II; much less well-known is its role ensuring the security of British communications. This was the purpose of the ‘Construction Section’, which took up residence at Mansfield College shortly after the outbreak of war, probably to make use of the services of Oxford University Press. The section was staffed mostly by civilian women overseen by naval officers, and grew from 49 on the outbreak of war to some 300 by 1945.

J

N M D A T L M T R

A

U M V Z L I I M F E

sequences of numbers and letters to be employed in the production of code books for use throughout the armed forces and government, as well as the monitoring of British communications for any weaknesses or breaches in security procedures.

at Mansfield College. From 1939 the same man, Edward Travis, oversaw both the attack on the highest-grade German ciphers and the work of Construction Section, and this close liaison certainly continued when he became head at Bletchley Park in 1942.’

‘Bletchley Park fully embraced the “poacher turned gamekeeper” model of communications security. The knowledge and expertise gained in breaking enemy codes and ciphers were used to test and strengthen British systems. German signals decrypted at Bletchley Park could reveal which British systems were vulnerable to attack and inform the work

Understandably, given the nature of the work, the material available about this piece of College’s history is limited.

If you or a family member has any more information about Mansfield and/or College life during the War, both Mansfield and Bletchley would be delighted to hear from you. Please email: development@mansfield.ox.ac.uk.

CAN YOU CRACK OUR CODE?

Images courtesy of Bletchley Park Trust.

‘Work at Mansfield involved the selection of apparently random

Rooms used by GC&CS during WWII

HINTS: 1) THINK POETICALLY 2) LETTER POSITIONS ARE SET IN STONE

As part of 2019’s National Coding Week, we challenged StipendiaryJ Lecturer in Mathematics, Radu Cimpeanu, to A create a special Mansfield-themed code. Why not have a go and put your code-breaking skills to the test? The answer to this problem can be found on page 53.

DECODED:

MAN SFI ELD

REV EAL EDX

MANSFIELD REVEALED X

E

39

Located on the outskirts of Milton Keynes, Bletchley Park is now a museum and heritage site. Bletchley is open daily and offers a changing programme of events and exhibitions throughout the year. For more information, contact: www.bletchleypark.org.uk

Mansfield remembers Hitler bomb plotters On 20 July 2019, a crowd of some 200 gathered on a hilltop just outside Imshausen in central Germany to pay their respects to a man who, 75 years before, had risked all in a bid – a vain bid as it turned out – to rid his country, and the world, of Adolf Hitler. Paul Flather reports on the continuing legacy of Adam von Trott.

We had congregated to commemorate a German aristocrat who had had formative intellectual periods at both Mansfield and Balliol Colleges, and who then chose to remain within the Nazi party. But Adam von Trott aimed to destroy Nazism from the inside.

That bomb plot in 1944 featured in the film Valkyrie and was led by General Claus von Stauffenberg. It failed, and some 200 plotters, including von Trott, were executed after summary trials. As the current German Foreign Minister, Heiko Maas, reminded us at our ceremony, the courage of those involved should not be forgotten. At another rally in Berlin on the same day, German Chancellor Angela Merkel asserted that the July plotters were examples for all who oppose those who seek to destroy democracy – including right wing tendencies. ‘This day is a reminder to us, not only of those who acted on 20 July, but also of everyone who stood up against Nazi rule,’ she added.

In Spring 2019, the Oxford Adam von Trott Memorial Committee helped organise what is set to become an annual international graduate workshop – bringing together some 24 students from Oxford, Göttingen (where von Trott also studied) and other leading European universities within the Europaeum club. Each workshop will focus on an idea central to the thinking of von Trott himself. Our inaugural workshop at the refurbished family house in Imshausen was entitled ‘Populism, prejudice and post-truth – Europe’s democratic values in crisis’. It brought together speakers from

Catherine’s College, spent several weeks in autumn 2019 at Göttingen. Her work involves research into specialist archives on church rituals, in relation to gender and ‘churching’. In May 2019, Tina Walther, an MA student from Göttingen, spent four weeks in Oxford investigating how ‘discourses and practices of ordinary people’ relate to climate change.

In addition, Mansfield is delighted to be welcoming Julian Goldmann its seventh Adam von Trott Scholar since 2010. The scholarship is now awarded annually, jointly supported through the German Federal Government, the Adam von Trott Memorial Appeal, and a fee waiver from Oxford’s Department of Politics & International Relations and Mansfield College. politics, policy-making, and academia, as well as a number of students.

The event featured Oxford contributions from Martin Conway, Norman Davies and myself, alongside talks from Adam von Trott’s daughter, Verena, and the German Greens (confronting the rise of the rightwing AfD party). It was deemed a great success, and plans are set for a second workshop in Oxford on civil resistance.

This new series is backed by the University of Göttingen, the Stiftung Adam von Trott, Imshausen eV, and our Adam von Trott Committee based at Mansfield. We are also supporting a new annual study bursary scheme, successfully launched in 2019.

From Oxford, Mette Ahlefeldt-Laurvig, who has now completed her DPhil from St

40

Our annual Adam von Trott Memorial Lecture goes from strength to strength and in November 2019 we were delighted to welcome special guest speaker Neil MacGregor, the eminent museum director, who has made a special feature of analysing British-German relations.

The Committee has also been remembering The Revd Geoffrey Beck, who was critical in helping to launch the memorial initiative at Mansfield some 15 years ago, and sadly passed away in March 2019 aged 100.

Dr Paul Flather is Chair of the Oxford Adam von Trott Memorial Committee.

Anything is possible It has been a busy year for the Alumni Association as well as a time of change.

In June 2019 I became President of the Association, having previously acted as Secretary – a position now held by Mike Walton (English, 1956). I wish to pay tribute here to our former President Joe Morris (History, 2011) for the hard work he put in over his two-year tenure.

In the academic year 2018/19 the Association awarded £1903 to undergraduate and graduate students covering a wide range of interests – from music, drama and sports, to research and conference papers. The committee were particularly delighted by the spread of requests for awards and it was great to see the array of projects that students are pursuing.

Receiving nominations for the Student of the Year Awards was another highlight of the year and committee members enjoyed hearing about the great work students are doing for College. I was pleased to present Marianna Lovato (European Politics, 2017) with her tankard and shield for being awarded MCR Student of the Year at the Alumni Association Dinner in June. Marianna served as MCR President and has been recognised by fellow students for her role in advocating graduate accommodation and organising the equality and diversity conference seeking to widen access to students from

Daniel Tarry (Geography, 2011), President of the Mansfield College Alumni Association, reflects on the Association’s activities during 2018/19.

all backgrounds. Sara Harb (History, 2016) received the JCR Student of the Year Award, in recognition of her work supporting Mansfield’s Access programme and as a member of the JCR bench. Congratulations to both students, and other nominees.

At our Trinity term meeting, the committee welcomed Mansfield’s new Principal Helen Mountfield QC. We look forward to working with Helen over the coming years to help support the activities of the College. The committee also expresses its thanks to the Development Office and Lucinda Rumsey for all the hard work they have put in to support our work over the past year.

It is always great to come back to Mansfield and catch up with old and new friends. The (very warm!) Summer Garden Party in June provided the most recent of these opportunities. The evening Alumni Association Dinner heard a talk from Paul Worsley QC (Jurisprudence, 1966), who shared his memories of College and the role Mansfield has played in his life.

It was a delight to hear that Mansfield had made fifth place in the Norrington Table, a testament to the hard work of students over the past year. Congratulations to all of them and special thanks to the dedication of Mansfield’s tutors in helping the cohort achieve this. I am also a passionate believer in encouraging students from

41

all backgrounds to study at Oxford, and as a former Access Ambassador, it was fantastic to see Mansfield’s Access work recognised through Lucinda’s MBE in the New Year’s Honours list.

In September, I undertook a personal endeavour, to cycle from Land’s End to John O’Groats as part of the Deloitte Ride Across Britain (RAB) challenge. This involved cycling a 980-mile route, over nine days and camping every night except one. The greatest impediments were generally in the mind, and the experience of sitting finals helped me overcome dark moments, recognising that anything is possible, and More Is In YouTM (the slogan of the company running the challenge).

On this adventure, I met a London-based tour guide who regularly leads trips to Oxford. He had never been to Mansfield, instead opting to show tourists one of our neighbouring colleges. Needless to say, I corrected the error of his ways and highlighted the gem that he and his tourists were missing. If you are planning your own challenge of sorts, please remember to get in touch with the Development Office so they can share the great news.

The Mansfield College Alumni Association is your association, so please get in touch if you would like to be involved in the committee or its activities – helping to widen and maintain the alumni community and the Mansfield family.

Alumni news

We are always delighted to hear from members of our alumni community – whether it be career news, personal milestones or professional achievements. Here are just a few highlights from 2018/19.

1

Anthony Lunch Geography, 1964

Back in November 2018, Tony was presented with the Royal Yachting Association (RYA) Lifetime Commitment Award, in recognition of his 40 years’ involvement with Oxford University Yacht Club (OUYC) – including a 19-year stint as its President.

3

In September 2019, Dan battled the elements, spending nine days cycling and camping his way from Land’s End to John O’Groats. He succeeded in raising more than £3000 for the Alzheimer’s Society.

4 As a Life Member, Tony has provided financial and logistical support to students, organised Varsity matches, hosted training events, facilitated participation in Cowes Week and raised the international profile of OUYC through an ex-change programme with students in Japan. Importantly, he has also helped to ensure that the club remains a home for all Oxford sailors, irrespective of their discipline or experience.

Tony comments: ‘I am extremely pleased to have been nominated and regard the award as a great honour and totally unexpected.

To help and encourage youth sailing is a particular privilege and I have had enormous enjoyment from sailing, both in dinghies and keelboats over many years.’

2

Bethany Whalley English, 2009

In November this year, Beth Whalley married fellow Mansfield alumni, Daniel Keeling (Physics, 2010), in Ilam, Derbyshire.

Their wedding party included three more Mansfield alums, Emily Feltham (English, 2009), Sam Knight (Engineering Science, 2010) and Chris Lee-Evans (Engineering, Economics & Management, 2010).

Dan is currently working as a Management Consultant and Beth is just in the process of finishing her PhD in Early Medieval Literature.

Daniel Tarry Geography, 2011

Emma-Jane Hampsheir-Gill English, 2014

Emma-Jane joined us at Mansfield in Michaelmas 2019, to teach first aid to the College’s new undergraduates. She is a qualified First Aider with St John Ambulance, which she joined ten years ago.

In 2015 Emma-Jane co-hosted the Big First Aid Lesson with Claudia Winkleman and taught 410,000 school students life-saving first aid skills. More recently, she successfully campaigned for mandatory first aid in schools as a National First Aid Advocate. She is currently on the Regional Youth Team in London and the South of England.

5

Joel Semakula Jurisprudence, 2014

In October 2019, Joel began the final stage of his legal training as a pupil barrister at Landmark Chambers in London. He will gain experience in all of Landmark’s areas including property, planning, public and environmental law.

Joel tells us: ‘I completed the Senior Status course at Mansfield because I thought it would give me the best chance of securing that highly coveted pupillage. After many applications, rejections and reserves, I can now say I’ve finally got there. I could not have done it without the endless support of my Mansfield tutors, Pavlos Eleftheriadis and Andrew Higgins.’

42

6

Dr John McTague English, 2002

John is currently working as a Lecturer in English at Bristol University and in September 2019 celebrated the publication of his new book Things that Didn’t Happen: Writing Politics and the Counterhistorical 1678-1743.

In the book, John explores fake news and alternative reality in late Stuart and early Hanoverian political and literary culture, from the Popish Plot and the South Sea Bubble to the Dunciad.

7

Josie Bearden VSP, 2014

Josie’s musical career began even before she left Mansfield. While on her exchange year studying music, she began work as the Assistant to Orchestrator, Alex Lacamoire, on the original Broadway production of Hamilton and Dear Evan Hansen.

Since leaving Mansfield, Josie has returned to the States, working in New York as a Music Copyist. Currently you can find her on set for the forthcoming Steven Spielberg remake of West Side Story.

In 2019 Josie worked with composer Alexandre Desplat on the music for the newly released film adaptation of Little Women. Her latest project is a Broadway transfer of the London West End hit show Tina: the Tina Turner musical.

Although Josie is based in New York, her work often takes her to LA and London.

In fact, she will be returning to the UK in 2020 to work on a new West End musical.

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

43

Lucinda May Slater English, 2006

8

Over the summer, Lucinda and her husband Martin Slater (Physics, 2005) welcomed their first child, Brontë May Slater.

9

Paul Palmarozza PGDip Education Studies, 1980

of a house-group, or in preparation for preaching from the gospel.’

Peter is an ordained Minister within the United Reformed Church and former national URC Secretary for Church and Society.

11

This year Paul released his new book, More Quiet Time, a nine-step action plan for living a good life and serving other people.

10

The Revd Peter Brain Theology, 1963

Peter has published The Knowable God: A fresh look at the Fourth Gospel. This new work comprises 23 self-contained chapters on the key issues raised and the emphases made in John’s Gospel.

John Proctor, current URC General Secretary and published New Testament scholar, says of the book: ‘It would work well for thinking church members who want to use their minds to deepen their faith. It could be read for personal growth and interest, or to inform the discussions

Dr Robert Scott Senior Visiting Fellow at the Rothermere American Institute and visiting member of Mansfield College SCR, 2015

Robert’s publication, How University Boards Work: A Guide for Trustees, Officers, and Leaders in Higher Education, has received a 2019 Eric Hoffer Book Award.

In his work, Robert explores trustee governance and the challenges faced by universities today. The Eric Hoffer Awards honour freethinking writers and independent books of exceptional merit.

12

Steven Philp Jewish Studies, 2014

In September 2019, Steven Philp tied the knot with Toby Lawes. Their ceremony

was held in the Old Hall – just steps away from where they had their first date nearly four years ago. Toby, originally from Cambridgeshire, is now working as a Senior Advisor at WT Partnership in New York.

Steven, who hails from Hawaii, is now a Rabbi at Park Avenue Synagogue, also in New York.

13

Tarik Gooptu Economics, 2017

Over the summer Tarik took part in the International Monetary Fund’s inaugural Finance & Development Magazine Global Student Essay Contest.

Tarik was named runner-up for his essay, ‘Tackling Inequality: A focus on cities can improve upward economic mobility’.

14

Dr William Tullett History, 2009

William’s new book, Smell in Eighteenth Century England: A Social Sense, traces how smells – from paint and perfume to onions and farts – were perceived by individuals and communities.

He is currently working as a Lecturer in History at Anglia Ruskin University.

8

10

13

9

12

14

We always welcome news from our alumni. If you would like to share some with us, please contact alumni.officer@mansfield.ox.ac.uk.

44

Meeting Mansfield’s mentors We are grateful to those of you who have kindly given your time to support current students and recent graduates by offering careers workshops, mentoring sessions or attending College networking events. Students speak with huge enthusiasm and gratitude for the wisdom they have received prior to embarking on their careers. Two alumni we were delighted to welcome back were Jason Klein (VSP, 1988) and Roland Earl (PPE, 1985).

‘You can do good by doing good. There is huge value in enabling super-talented students to be in a position to make better decisions that are, importantly, for them. Accelerating their ability to achieve and contribute – it is a part of access and inclusion and ensures a diversity.’

Jason has given a number of careers sessions at Mansfield, as well as in New York. During a recent visit to College, he told us about his experience of giving careers guidance to students, describing the positive impact of both being and having a mentor. Jason has continued to work with mentors throughout his career.

Roland Earl, who is Director General at the British Toy and Hobby Association, returned to Mansfield in summer 2019 to meet current students. The informal careers event took place in a relaxed setting with tea and cake, which gave students the wonderful chance to ask Roland plenty of questions about their future plans.

‘University teaches you how to think and how to write.

However, what neither College nor University teach you is how to write a good CV, or present the knowledge and academic skills acquired in a way that demonstrates to a potential employer how transferable these skills can be.

‘It was great to come back to Mansfield to undertake a short session on business careers. I met a range of students who were interested in a career in business, lobbying and indeed the work of trade associations. The students I met were absolutely engaging and interested in learning more.

I’m sure every one of them will do terrifically well, no matter what career they go on to pursue. For my part, it was a pleasure to try and help. I really enjoyed meeting them and learned a lot myself!’

‘There is a particular challenge faced by students, who are perhaps the first generation in their family to go to university (as was the case for me), or who do not have friends or family members working in their own field of interest. Without guidance, it can be difficult to know the career options open to them, or the routes available to achieve their career goals. An English degree, for instance, does not preclude a student from a career in finance.

‘Careers events and mentoring sessions present current students with a friendly face, and the opportunity to have a candid, closed-door conversation, without judgment – in an environment where the only bad question is the question not asked.’

Our students (and the Development and Alumni Relations team) were very taken with some visual aids that Roland had brought with him.

So what does Jason take away from these sessions? ‘The joy of being able to mentor at Mansfield particularly, is the commonality of experience, as well as the opportunity to inspire and enable those who are here now. It is great to encourage students to broaden their knowledge, through openmindedness, collaboration and a cross-disciplinary approach.

If careers workshops, talks or mentoring opportunities are of interest to you, please contact development@mansfield.ox.ac.uk.

45

Staff & Fellows’ news An exhibition ‘Meet the Edgeworths’ is open to the public in the Proscholium, Old Library 30 November 2019 – 26 January 2020. https://visit.bodleian. ox.ac.uk/display/meet-the-edgeworths.

Professor Vanessa Berenguer-Rico Tutorial Fellow in Economics Recent publications: ‘Cumulated sum of squares statistics for non-linear and non-stationary regressions’, Vanessa BerenguerRico and Bent Nielsen in Econometric Theory, 22 February, 2019.

Professor Ros Ballaster Professorial Fellow in English Since February 2019, Ros has been leading a joint research project, ‘Opening the Edgeworth Papers’, with the Bodleian Library engaging with the rich archive of papers relating to the Anglo-Irish family of Maria Edgeworth (1768-1849). The project has been supported by the work of two Research Associates, both of whom are affiliated to Mansfield: Dr Anna Senkiw (who graduated with her DPhil November 2019) and Ben Wilkinson-Turnbull (Junior Dean from January 2019). You can find news and updates about this project on Twitter @EdgeworthPapers.

A punctual monthly blog runs from March 2019 to February 2020 tracking the Edgeworth family life and correspondence from March 1819 to February 1820 https://blogs.bodleian. ox.ac.uk/archivesandmanuscripts/ Recent publications: ‘ “Thoroughly to unfold the labyrinths of the human mind”: Distributed cognition and women (novelist)’s representation of theatre in eighteenth-century England’, in Distributed Cognition in Enlightenment and Romantic Culture, ed Miranda Anderson, George Rousseau and Michael Wheeler (Edinburgh UP, 2019), 170-186. ISBN 9781474442282.

‘Dramatic satire’, in The Oxford Handbook of Eighteenth-Century Satire, ed Paddy Bullard (Oxford UP, 2019), 336-352. ISBN 9780198727835.

Dr Peter Bergamin Lecturer in Oriental Studies In September, Peter presented at the European Association of Israel Studies Conference at Charles University in Prague.

Recent publications: The Making of the Israeli Far-Right: Abba Ahimeir and Zionist Ideology (IB Tauri, 2019), ISBN: 9781788314534.

‘Revolutionary fascist or fascist revolutionary: Abba Ahimeir and the success of revolutionary Zionism’, in Jewish Radicalisms: Historical Perspectives on a Phenomenon of Global Modernity, ed Frank Jacob and Sebastian Kunze (Walter de Gruyter, 2019). ISBN 9783110545753.

‘Sensible readers: Experiments in feeling in early prose fiction by women’, in The Sentimental Novel in the Eighteenth Century, ed Albert J Rivero (Cambridge UP, 2019), 34-50.

ISBN 9781108418928.

A workshop with Irish and English academics and archivists was held 3-4 December 2019 in Oxford to scope a larger funding bid for a digital resource of materials held mainly in Oxford and Dublin.

46

Professor Stephen Blundell Professorial Fellow in Physics Stephen has collaborated with Professor JC Séamus Davis from the University of Oxford’s Department of Physics, to develop a new approach to detecting and studying ‘emergent’ magnetic monopoles – discovering that, when amplified, the noise they make is audible to humans.

Their work and findings were published in the journal Nature on 3 July 2019.

Professor David Clifton Associate Professor of Engineering Science This year David shared the overall prize in the inaugural Vice-Chancellor’s Prize for Innovation. This prize seeks to identify the best interdisciplinary research from across the entirety of the University of Oxford. David received the prize for his research team’s collaboration on ‘smart handpumps’.

the 1989 revolutions. He then worked in Prague for four years to build the Central European University for George Soros, as the first CEO/Director of the now hugely successful institution. At Oxford over 25 years he has helped develop many scholarship and linked international programmes with Charles University academics and students as Director of International Relations and latterly the Europaeum Association of leading European universities as its founding Secretary-General.

Revd Professor Andrew Gosler Fellow in Human Sciences and Tutor for Welfare Dr Paul Flather Supernumerary Fellow and Secretary General of the Europaeum

In addition to being ordained as a Priest in the Church of England, this year Andy has been made an Honorary Life Member of the British Ornithologists’ Union.

Dr Alexander Henley Stipendiary Lecturer in Theology and Marie Curie Research Fellow In May, Alex held a workshop to launch a new interdisciplinary research network on ‘Categories of Religion and the Secular in Islam’ (crsi.theology.ox.ac. uk). The network serves an international community of scholars interested in decolonial approaches to ‘religion’ and the ‘secular/non-religious’ in Islamic discourse and practice. This means thinking about whether and how these Western terms apply to Islam, and the changing ways Muslims differentiate religion from politics, culture, economics and other spheres of life. Mansfield will host a series of visiting speakers on these themes in Hilary term 2020. You can follow the network’s activities on Twitter (https://twitter.com/ CrsiNetwork) or Facebook (https://www. facebook.com/CrsiNetwork).

This year Paul received the honorary Jan Masaryk Medal (named after the first democratic PM of Czechoslovakia) from His Excellency the Czech Ambassador Libor Secka at a special ceremony in London, for special contributions to the Czech and Slovak nations.

Paul worked with the dissident movement during the 1980s, smuggling messages and books in and out, giving underground lectures and providing moral support, teaching and funds to leading dissidents, including those who went on to become ministers, Prime Minister and President in the freed countries after

Henry (Nick) Green Front of House Manager Recent publication: The Oxford Botswana Murders: An Amanda Godspeed novel. ISBN: 9781688847347.

47

Dr Sarah Knott Senior Visiting Fellow at the Rothermere American Institute 2018/19 and visiting member of Mansfield College SCR Recent publications: Mother: An Unconventional History (Viking, 2019). ISBN: 9780241198605.

events of 1381, while an education collaboration programme with the Historical Association will include training and materials to be used in schools, as well as a children’s poetry competition arranged with the Poetry Society.

Dr Helen Lacey Supernumerary Fellow in Late Medieval History and Tutor for Visiting Students

This innovative new research project is set to produce the most comprehensive interpretation of the Peasants’ Revolt to date.

This year Helen has been involved in the creation of a new multi-institution research project, ‘The People of 1381’, which has been awarded almost £1 million in funding by the Arts and Humanities Research Council.

To find out more, consult: www.1381.online

‘The People of 1381’ will shed new light on the complex economic, social and political dynamics of the Peasants’ Revolt, to enhance our understanding of its cultural impact. Helen will act as Co-Investigator for the project, led

by Professor Adrian Bell from Henley Business School.

Central to the cross-disciplinary project is the creation of a database to provide the first overview of events, places and people involved.

In addition to forming case studies of individual rebels and their victims, the project will be a ‘history from below’, investigating participation of social groups whose role has been little examined, such as household servants, soldiers and women. The project will use Geographic Information Systems to map the development and structure of the revolt, to identify differing levels of community protest and examine how these fitted together.

Community engagement with the project will also be encouraged via two key pathways. A travelling exhibition will visit locations closely linked to the

Professor Paul Lodge Professorial Fellow in Philosophy In June, Paul played his cycle of songs, ‘Shakespeare in the Alley’ at Stratfordupon-Avon’s Shakespeare Institute.

Each song performed took inspiration from one of Shakespeare’s plays.

Professor Helen Margetts Professorial Fellow in Society and the Internet In 2019, in addition to being awarded an OBE, Helen was made a Fellow of the British Academy. Commenting on

48

her fellowship, Helen stated: ‘What a wonderful opportunity to become a Fellow of the British Academy among scholars not only renowned in their respective fields but also whose research spans across disciplines and bridges divides. I am proud to receive this prestigious fellowship in recognition of multidisciplinary work that operates at the interface of political science and other disciplines, from philosophy to the physical and life sciences. And I look forward to joining this new cohort in pushing the boundaries of how the social sciences and humanities can meet the great challenges of our time.’

Professor Chris Martin Professorial Research Fellow in Civil Engineering In June 2019, Chris spoke at the Lubbock Lecture on his work developing models to simulate the movement of sub-sea pipelines.

Professor Michèle Mendelssohn Tutorial Fellow in English At the end of 2018, Michèle’s latest book Making Oscar Wilde was named as a semi-finalist for the PEN/Bograd Weld Prize for Biography.

In early 2019, Making Oscar Wilde was also named as a semi-finalist and a finalist for the Biographers’ Club Slightly Foxed First Biography Prize.

In April Michèle appeared on BBC2 in The Importance of Being Oscar, a new programme exploring the writer’s life.

Helen Mountfield Principal In June, Helen was featured in The Times as ‘Lawyer of the Week’ for her work acting for Tamara Gubeladze, a Latvian, in the Supreme Court. The case saw seven justices rule unanimously that it was unlawful for the Government to extend its worker registration scheme beyond April 2009 and that EU nationals must not be refused a right to reside because they failed to register with the scheme after that date. This was an important decision of the UK’s highest court, revealing large-scale unlawful treatment of EU nationals in the UK.

In June, Making Oscar Wilde was long-listed for the Polari Prize, which honours writers, ‘whose work explores the LGBT experience, whether in poetry, prose, fiction, or nonfiction’.

From May to October 2019, Magdalen College hosted an exhibition and event series based on Michèle’s book. ‘Making History: Christian Cole, Alain Locke and Oscar Wilde at Oxford’ highlighted the surprising shared histories of Oxford’s queer and black undergraduates. By showcasing rare archives, the exhibition gave the public a unique glimpse of the documents and drawings bearing witness to these students’ remarkable lives and times.

Dr Ruth Scobie Stipendiary Lecturer in English Recent publications: Celebrity Culture and the Myth of Oceania in Britain 1770-1823 (Studies in the Eighteenth Century) (Woodridge: Boydell and Brewer, 2019) ISBN: 9781783274086.

‘Familiar Strangers’ in History Today.

Issue 12, Vol 69 (December, 2019), 51-61.

49

Professor Jenn Strawbridge Caird Fellow in Theology at Mansfield Jenn has been serving as convenor of a large seminar (the St Augustine Seminar) at Lambeth Palace and the Anglican Communion Office, in preparation for the 2020 Lambeth Conference. The Lambeth Conference is a hugely significant event in the life of the worldwide Anglican Communion, bringing together all active bishops from more than 165 countries.

This conference takes place once every 10 to 12 years and seeks to discern the figure of the Anglican/Episcopal Church for the decades ahead. The seminar includes 35 scholars from around the world: Australia, Botswana, Brazil, Canada, Hong Kong, Columbia, Egypt, India, Ireland, Kenya, Nigeria, the Philippines, Singapore, South Africa, Switzerland, the UK and the US. These gatherings, which include the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, play a significant role in developing and refining the themes for the 2020 Lambeth Conference and will also create resources for the conference worship, discussions, and daily Bible studies, as well as pre-conference materials, including a published book on 1 Peter (the First Epistle of Peter), which will be distributed to all delegates around the world.

Obituaries Revd Geoffrey Beck Theology, 1942 16 June 1918 – 5 March 2019

‘ I n 1965, Geoffrey would become the first Warden of the Chapel of Unity attached to the new Coventry Cathedral.’

Despite wartime 1940s’ turmoil, Mansfield had an illustrious cohort, with George Caird, Daniel Jenkins, Erik Routley and Geoffrey Beck among others as ordinands. Thanks to their teachers, Nathaniel Micklem and John Marsh, each became ecumenically committed as everyone awaited the inauguration of the World Council of Churches that the Oxford Conference of 1937 had agreed to create. No surprise that, as well as being Congregational minister at Summertown in Oxford between 1950 and 1965, Geoffrey worked with David Jenkins (then Chaplain at Queen’s and later Bishop of Durham) to pioneer a local ecumenical partnership in the new estate of Blackbird Leys, established to help house the 25,000 workers at the Morris Car Factory in Cowley.

In 1965, Geoffrey would become the first Warden of the Chapel of Unity attached to the new Coventry Cathedral. It was at Coventry in 1967 that the Apostolic Delegate, the Pope’s official representative, was received in an Anglican cathedral for the first time since the Reformation, no doubt due to some quiet backroom work in the ecumenical tradition of Mansfield.

Ordinands of a later generation, such as Tony Tucker and Donald Norwood, benefitted from Geoffrey’s frequent visits to and support for Mansfield. In his final years it was he who helped pioneer the Adam von Trott Scholarships and Lectures and was honoured by the German Embassy for doing so.

Folk at Summertown still treasure Geoffrey’s capacity for friendship, remember his lovely wife Joy and their family of four that made for such a welcoming family church. We all miss him dearly.

Donald Norwood with Tony Tucker

50

Revd Dr Alex Boraine Theology, 1960 10 January 1931 – 5 December 2018 With the death of Alex Boraine in December 2018 Mansfield lost one of our most distinguished alumni, whose remarkable life helped to transform South Africa and contributed to democratic transitions beyond its shores.

‘ H e envisioned a better society and was able to work effectively, one step at a time, to bring it about.’

Alex was born in Cape Town in 1931 and grew up in a poor white housing estate. He left school two years before matriculation and started work as a ledger clerk. He became a Methodist lay preacher in 1950 and graduated in Theology and Biblical Studies at Rhodes University in 1956, when he was ordained in the Methodist church. He received his Master’s degree at Mansfield in 1962 (helped to come to Oxford by wealthy South African Methodists) and went on to gain a PhD in Theology at Drew University in the USA. In 1970 he became the youngest-ever President of the Methodist Conference in South Africa, serving for two years, during which he visited mine compounds and criticised the conditions of black workers. This led to an invitation to join the mining company, Anglo American, to implement changes in training black workers and to improve their conditions.

In 1974 he was elected to Parliament for the liberal Progressive Party, serving as an MP until 1986. Believing that an all-white Parliament was not relevant in establishing a non-racial society, he then resigned his seat to co-found the Institute for a Democratic Alternative in South Africa (IDASA, later the Institute for Democracy), which organised a critical conference initiating dialogue with ANC leaders at Dakar, Senegal in 1987.

With the end of apartheid in 1994 it was Alex Boraine who proposed the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. He became its Vice Chair alongside Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu, serving from 1996 to 1998. He then moved to a Chair in Law at New York University, where he was Director of the University Law School’s Justice in Transition Programme. In 2001 he founded the International Center for Transitional Justice, a human rights NGO, serving as its President for three years and subsequently as President of its South Africa office. He travelled to many countries in transition from dictatorship to democracy to share the South African experience, assisting them to redress the past, support victims and rebuild institutions.

Alex also found time to write. His publications include Dealing with the Past: Truth and Reconciliation in South Africa (with Janet Levy and Ronel Scheffer Rondebosch, 1994); A Country Unmasked: Inside South Africa’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission (2001); A Life in Transition (2008) and, with Desmond Tutu, What’s Gone Wrong? South Africa on the Brink of Failed Statehood (2013). This last book reflected the bitter disappointment that Alex felt with the new South Africa, something he shared with most liberals who had courageously opposed apartheid. His contribution was nevertheless recognised by the government in 2014 with the award of a high civic honour, the Order of the Baobab.

Other awards included a 2000 honour from Italy, the President’s Medal for Human Rights.

Alex Boraine was one of Mansfield’s earliest Honorary Fellows. In person he was warm, humane, decent and insightful, a fine combination of idealism and pragmatism. He envisioned a better society and was able to work effectively, one step at a time, to bring it about. He is survived by his wife Jenny, his children Andrew, Kathryn, Jeremy and Nicholas and seven grandchildren.

Tony Lemon

51

2018/19 College and University Prizes Scholarships Madeleine Awan (Theology & Religion) Gabriel Barrueco (Mathematics) Jeremy Beard (Mathematics) Benjamin Campbell (Engineering) Khazna Chami (Human Sciences) Noel Cheong (Theology & Religion) Lukas Dijkstra (Mathematics) Nigel D’Souza (Mathematics) Oliver Farquharson (Engineering) Lara Garrett (History) Grace Green (Theology & Religion) Daniel Guest (Mathematics) James Harris (Mathematics) Alberto Hernandez Melian (Physics) Timothy Hobson (Mathematics) Philip Holdridge (Mathematics) Zhongyi Hu (Mathematics & Statistics) Aondoyima Ioratim-Uba (Physics) Jordan Jones (Oriental Studies) Kathryn Jones (Physics) Pia-Marie Kaden (Human Sciences) Aamir Kaderbhai (Theology & Religion) Tabitha Kirkwood (Oriental Studies) Nikola Langov (Mathematics) Joshua Lanham (Geography) Charlotte Martin (Engineering) Shezad Mohamed (Mathematics) Carlo Mussolini (Physics) Harry O’Neill (History) Kieran Rivers (Materials) Emily Roper (Oriental Studies) Henry Sasse (History & Politics) Daniel Scotson (Materials Science) Troy Sharples (Mathematics & Theoretical Physics) Adhiti Shenava (PPE) Benjamin Shi (Materials Science) Yixuan Song (Materials Science) Henry Straughan (PPE)

Thomas Surridge (History) Samuel Sutherland (Physics) Anna Sweetman (Human Sciences) Jasper Threadingham (Engineering) John Wadsworth (PPE) James Ward (Geography) Robyn Ware (History & Politics) Laurent Wu (Mathematics) Yuxin Yin (Materials Science)

Jordan Jones Benedict Turvill Grace Walker Instrumental exhibitions Jeremy Beard (Oboe) Joschua Spiedel-Johnson (Cello) Grace Walker (Violin)

College prizes

Exhibitions Isabel Chalmers (PPE) Juliet Garcia (English) Carys Greenaway (Law) Mihai Hrecinuc (Engineering) Maya Little (English) Jorge Lopez Llorente (English) Heather McDade (Human Sciences) Lucy McGauran Porter (History) Mustaqim Muhammad Iqbal (Law) Robert Scales (Materials Science) Rebecca Sinnott (Geography) Anna Wald (Physics) Edwin Watson-Miller (Mathematics) Timothy Woods (Mathematics & Statistics) Kaize Ying (Materials Science)

Music scholarships and exhibitions Norman Booth Memorial Instrumental Exhibition Aondoyima Ioratim-Uba (Piano) Choral scholarships Tariq Ali Jeremy Beard Grace Green

52

Worsley Prize for Law Saba Shakil Horton Davies Prize for best second-year work in Theology Madeleine Awan Lynda Patterson Scholarship for best prelims distinction performance in Theology or Philosophy & Theology Ellen Walkingshaw Mason Lowance Mods Prize in memory of Malcolm Parkes Jenny Scoones Mason Lowance Prize in honour of John Creaser for best performance in English Language and/or Literature second-year work Maya Little Mason Lowance Prize in memory of Stephen Wall for the best performance in English finals Rhian Hamilton Adam Kelly Jorge Lopez Llorente Mahony Prize for best second-year performance in History Lara Garrett

Bob Coates Prize for Mathematics Philip Holdridge

Sarah & Peter Harkness Bursary Alexander Williamson (English) Adam Austin (Law) College Essay Prize Kate Haselden

Kwabena Osei-Boateng Engineering Science Prize Yilong Yang

Principal’s Prize for Outstanding Academic Performance Mingyang Ye (Physics)

Andrew Olive Prize for Economics, 2017/18 John Wadsworth

Henty Prize for outstanding second-year work in Geography Holly Fothersgill

Andrew Olive Prize for Economics, 2018/19 James Odor

Grenader Family VSP Prizes, 2018/19 Katherine Ingram (Washington and Lee University) – Michaelmas term 2018 Peder Skjelbred (University of Oslo) – Hilary term 2019 Julia Adamo (Kenyon College) – Trinity term 2019 Visiting Student Prize for 2018/19 Peder Skjelbred (University of Oslo)

JCA Meldrum runner-up prizes for the three best extended essays in FHS Geography 2019 Rebecca Sinnott (Geography) Gibbs Prize Rebecca Sinnott (Geography) von Clemm Fellowship Rebecca Sinnott (Geography) Henry Wilde Prize Henry Straughan (PPE) John House Prize - runner-up Jia-Yi Tham (Geography)

University prizes

Gibbs Essay Prize for best performance on an extended essay submitted for the Final Honour School of Theology & Religion Benedict Turvill (Theology & Religion)

Junior Greek Testament Prize Noel Cheong (Theology & Religion) Joint winner of the Joseph Schacht Memorial Junior Prize Tommaso Crestani (Oriental Studies)

Gibbs Book Prize Ellen Walkingshaw (Theology & Religion)

Preliminary Greek Testament Prize Katie Egerton (Theology & Religion)

John Sykes Prize for best part I Materials results Benjamin Shi Adam Monk Scholarship (Mathematics) Thomas Morris

John House Prize – runner-up Joel While (Geography)

Best Team Project Award (joint winning team) Joshua King (Materials Science)

Armourers & Braisers’ Company Medal and Prize for best MS part II project A Yuxin Yin (Materials Science)

J

Gibbs Prize for best overall performance in part I Benjamin Shi (Materials Science)

N M D A T L M T R

CAN YOU CRACK OUR CODE?

U M V Z L I I M F

HINTS: 1) THINK POETICALLY

E

2) LETTER POSITIONS ARE SET IN STONE

J

Solution to ‘Wartime code-construction at College’ test

MAN SFI ELD

A

REV EAL EDX E

53

DECODED: MANSFIELD REVEALED X

Examination results 2019 DOCTORATE (DPhil) Astrophysics Pass Joshua Warren Cyber Security (EPSRC CDT) Pass Andrew Dwyer Engineering Science Pass Marimar Bravo Cadena

Christopher Chahine

Suchandrima Das

Heather Nelson

Ho Suk Ryou English Pass

Anna Senkiw

Geography and the Environment Pass Peter Martin Industrially Focused Mathematical Modelling (EPSRC CDT) Pass Niall Bootland

Davin Lunz

Lindon Roberts Materials Pass

Junliang Liu Shuqiu Wang

Mathematics Pass Vadim Kaushanskii

Seungjai Lee Pharmacology Pass Ecem Kaya

BACHELOR OF PHILOSOPHY (BPhil) Pass

Oushinar Nath Reuben Oreffo

Environmental Change & Management Distinction Sarah Novak

Antonina Scheer Mathematical & Computational Finance Merit Armel Chatue Pass Cedric Damien Mathematical & Theoretical Physics Merit Rene Allerstorfer Mathematical Modelling & Scientific Computing Pass Xuanqing Zhu Mathematics & Foundations of Computer Science Distinction Nicolas Köcher

Tristan Pham Pass David Klambauer Medical Anthropology Pass Kazuo Araki Modern Middle Eastern Studies Pass Abigail Curry Nature, Society & Environmental Governance Distinction Louise Smith Social Science of the Internet (PT) Pass Caio Machado Statistical Science Distinction Conor McCabe

Achille Thin Pass Shangbin Zhu Water Science, Policy & Management Distinction June Samo Merit Alexander Lee-Emery

MASTER OF PHILOSOPHY (MPhil)

MASTER OF STUDIES (MSt)

Economics Distinction Sarthak Agrawal Pass Tarik Gooptu

Ekaterina Gordyukhina

English Distinction Colton Valentine Pass Sam Ashby-Crane

International Relations Pass Serik Sagymbayev Politics Pass

Marianna Lovato

MASTER OF SCIENCE (MSc) Biodiversity, Conservation & Management Pass James Arkell Economic & Social History Merit James Evans

English & American Studies Pass Henry Hempstead Faldon History Distinction Isabelle Ardron Medieval Studies Merit Pamela Kask

Women’s Studies Distinction Rachel Roberts World Literatures in English Merit Joshua Allan EMBA Pass

Abdul Dadabhoy Clarence Doboronski

MASTER OF PUBLIC POLICY Merit Pass

Paola Schietekat Sedas Zile Huma Moeha Ido Valentina Rosas Plaza

BCL Distinction Yen Jean Wee

Rachel Woodward

MASTER OF ENGINEERING (MEng) Engineering Science Class I Charlotte Martin Class II.i Mihai Hrecinuc Materials Science Class I Yuxin Yin Class II.i Jack Aspinall

Alexandra Austin

Matthew Sylva

MASTER OF MATHEMATICS (MMath) Mathematics Class I Nigel D’Souza

James Harris Class II.i Marius Todea

Edwin Watson-Miller Mathematics & Statistics Class I Zhongyi Hu

MASTER OF MATHEMATICAL & THEORETICAL PHYSICS (MMathPhys) Distinction Troy Sharples Pass Aondoyima Ioratim-Uba

Philosophical Theology Merit Hien Bui

MASTER OF PHYSICS (MPhys)

Study of Religion Merit Toby Morris

Physics Class I

Class II.i

Theology Pass

Stephen McCarthy

54

Kathryn Jones Carlo Mussolini Samuel Sutherland Anna Wald

BACHELOR OF ARTS (BA)

UNCLASSIFIED HONOURS

English Language & Literature Class I Rhian Hamilton

Adam Kelly

Jorge Lopez Llorente Class II.i Zeynab Alwi

Serena Arthur

Jonathan Barrow

Oluchi Ezeh

Juliet Garcia

Ruth Simms

Grace Walker

Engineering Science Part B Class II.i Henry Williams

Geography Class I Casper Scheible

Rebecca Sinnott Class II.i Anna Valentine History Class I

Class II.i

Sara Harb Lucy McGauran Porter Harry O’Neill Tariq Ali

History & Politics Class II.i Georgia Fisher

Henry Sasse Human Sciences Class I Khazna Chami Class II.i Heather McDade

Materials Science Part I Hon Pass Joshua King

Tara Milne

Robert Scales

Daniel Scotson

Benjamin Shi Physics Part B (four years) Class I Alberto Hernandez Melian

Rohan Nuckchady Mathematics Part A Hon Pass Danlong Gao

Daniel Guest

Philip Holdridge

Nikola Langov

Callum Schafer

Tianrun Yang Physics Part A Pass Matthew Feaster

Emma Godden

Qihao Wang

MODERATIONS

Jurisprudence (with Law in Europe) Class II.i Matthew Prestidge

English Distinction Pass

Mathematics Class I †Jeremy Beard †Lukas Dijkstra †Timothy Hobson † Shezad Mohamed Class II.i †Gabriel Barrueco †Laurent Wu

Jurisprudence Pass Adam Austin

Caitlin Corrigan

Beth Gilmour

Isabel Holland

Mustaqin Mohammad Iqbal

Yan Shen Tan

Mathematics & Statistics Class I Timothy Woods Class II.i †Matthew Harrington

PRELIMINARY EXAMINATIONS

Jurisprudence Class II.i Grace Bowland

Andrew Garratt

Carys Greenaway

Chloe Lettington

Daria Lysyakova

PPE Class I

Class II.i

Isabel Chalmers Henry Straughan John Wadsworth Gabriel Bather Joseph McKenzie Alicia Vidal

Physics Class II.ii

Charles Yin

Theology & Religion Class I Noel Cheong

Grace Green Class II.i Olivia Dwyer

Benedict Turvill

Jenny Scoones Martha Birtles Florrie Burke Caitlin Charles Vasiliki Gkogkou Kyaice Hendricks Amira Izhar Alison Porter

History Distinction Pass

Francis Taylor Callum Brignall Sara Dalzell Katherine Hunter Roma Rana Vaishna Surjid

Human Sciences Distinction Yasmin Nguyen Pass Grace Beresford-Boon

Anya Sochacka

Rachel Thomas Materials Science Pass Oluwafemi Fakokunde

Prisma Gautam

Veera Vudathu

Nicholas Watt

Charlotte Withyman Mathematics Distinction Tobia Beccari

Robin Gerlach

Nicholas Lai

Thomas Morris Pass Tessa Brunt

Szymon Gorczyca

Oliver Harding

Qi Jin Oriental Studies Distinction Tommaso Crestani Pass Jed Kelly PPE Pass

Adam Baker Caitlin Deacock Samuel Gibson Jessica Hemsley Eloise Ireland Alexander Kitching Nichita Matei Julia Sojka Iona Watters

Physics Distinction

Pass

Cameron Matchett Mingyang Ye Nathan Bentley Lex Joosten Jamie Priestley Jasmine Simms

Engineering Distinction Joshua Gei

Yilong Yang Pass Louis Emanuel

Caed Knight

Jim Laney

Theology & Religion Distinction Ellen Walkingshaw Pass Katie Egerton

Geography Distinction

Pass

Diploma in Legal Studies Pass Victoria Dhaisne

Jia Tham Joel While Rachael Chan George King Georgina Morris Robert Power Francesca Rigby

55

DIPLOMA IN LEGAL STUDIES

†Staying on for four-year MMaths / MMathsPhys

Events calendar 2020 February

Thursday 6th Alumni Drinks Reception: London

June

Saturday 27th Alumni Association AGM

March

New for 2020

Tuesday 10th Alumni Drinks Reception: Manchester

Saturday 27th ALUMinate Join us at College for a fantastic alumni party with dinner, live music and dancing.

More at www.mansfield.ox.ac.uk/events

Saturday 21st Meeting Minds: Berlin Please visit www.alumni.ox.ac.uk/ meeting-minds for more information.

April

Friday 17th to Saturday 18th Meeting Minds: New York Please visit www.alumni.ox.ac.uk/ meeting-minds for more information.

May

Saturday 9th 1887 Society Annual Dinner Saturday 30th MCBC Summer Eights Dinner

Sunday 28th Commemoration Service

September

Saturday 12th Gaudy: 1970-1979 Friday 11th to Sunday 13th Meeting Minds: Oxford Please visit www.alumni.ox.ac.uk/ meeting-minds for more information.

Mansfield Lecture Series As well as all these exciting events, please don’t forget our regular lecture series every Friday at 5pm during term time. Entry is free and all are welcome to attend.

For more information about Mansfield events, please visit www.mansfield.ox.ac. uk/events or contact the Development and Alumni Relations team.

Email: development@mansfield.ox.ac.uk Telephone: +44 (0) 1865 270 998

November

The Adam von Trott Memorial Lecture & Drinks Reception

Mansfield College Hospitality at its heart

Our accomplished chefs have created a range of enticing classic and contemporary menus that can be tailored to various dietary requirements, ensuring Mansfield’s core values of inclusivity and warmth are reflected in the hospitality we provide.

Next time you are in Oxford, why not come and see for yourself?

Mansfield prides itself on delivering exceptional dining to all who visit.

For more information or to book: T: +44 (0) 1865 282 888 | E: lynne.quiggin@mansfield.co.uk W: www.mansfield.ox.ac.uk