4 minute read
A Campaign for Teaching
Tess McCormick, Development Director
Academics at Mansfield are leaders in their fields, making significant contributions to their disciplines and to public life through ground-breaking research and teaching. One of the most distinctive elements of studying at Oxford is being taught by the person who ‘wrote the textbook’, through the College tutorial. For most students, it is their Tutor who plays the pivotal role in their academic life.
Advertisement
What sets Mansfield apart from other colleges is its pioneering role in widening access to elite higher education, working actively to find candidates with potential who might never have considered Oxford. This is a virtuous circle, as leading academics are also attracted to Mansfield by our contribution to positive change in the world.
A key strategic goal for the College is further establishing a high profile for our academic work, through attracting and retaining top talent. We are committed to finding and keeping academics who inspire independent critical thinking that remains with students throughout their lives.
At other Oxford colleges it is common for Tutorial Fellowships to be fully or partially endowed, providing significant security for the college, but currently only one of Mansfield’s posts is fully secured in this way (the Caird Fellow in Theology). Aiming to address this, Mansfield is launching an ambitious new Campaign for Teaching over the coming five years, asking alumni to support the teaching of their subject, and aiming to endow at least one Fellowship in each of our largest subjects: English, Geography, Law, Maths, and PPE.
Making a permanent difference: together
There are several ways in which donations to the Campaign will be maximised, enabling your support to have a permanent impact on the teaching of your subject at Mansfield.
University support: Most academic posts at Oxford are ‘split’ between colleges and faculties – academics often hold a professorial appointment with the faculty, and their Tutorial Fellowship with the college. We are looking to endow the ‘College side’ of Fellowship teaching posts at Mansfield, and if we can achieve this, the University covers all other costs.
Match funding: In some subjects, alumni are choosing to make a ‘match challenge’ gift to help us reach our goal for their subject (see the Maths example p.43).
Collective giving: While making an endowment-level donation is beyond the means of most individual alumni, even a relatively small gift, plus Gift Aid, made annually for a five-year period, quickly builds to have a significant impact.
I truly hope you will play an active role in the Campaign for Teaching at Mansfield, one of the most powerful ways you can support your College.
Currently, subjects prioritised for the Campaign are English, Geography, Law, Maths, and PPE. To find out more, please contact Tess McCormick on tess.mccormick@mansfield.ox.ac.uk.
Spotlight on Maths: the Janet Dyson Fellowship at Mansfield
In Maths, we have launched an ambitious initiative to raise finance to name and fund in perpetuity the College side of one of our three permanent Maths Tutors, in honour of Emeritus Fellow, Dr Janet Dyson, in recognition of her outstanding contribution to Mansfield over decades. ‘My life story would be very different if it was not for Janet’ ‘Her influence was quite genuinely life changing.’ ‘I have Janet to thank for laying the foundations of the career I have now.’
‘An opportunity to study Maths at Mansfield, but especially under Janet, is something I will always be grateful for. Janet is a visionary who went looking for talent in uncovered places, but importantly was able to nurture that talent to always get the very best out of people. What better way to honour her and support the College (and thus further opportunity for all) than to give to the Janet Dyson Maths Fellowship?’
Chris Foster (Maths, 1997)
A 1:1 match challenge
Mansfield alumnus Chris Foster (Maths, 1997), himself a beneficiary of Janet’s teaching, has generously promised to match all donations and pledges towards endowing the Janet Dyson Fellowship, over a five-year period. If we can raise £375,000, this will be matched pound-for-pound, and the post can be endowed. Already £115,000 has been raised, so we would achieve our goal if, for example, 26 Maths alumni donated £2,000 a year (or £1,600 plus Gift Aid) for five years.
If you are a Maths alum, we hope you will consider making a gift, recognising Janet’s outstanding contribution to the Mansfield community and helping secure a Fellowship post in perpetuity at your College. If you are interested in contributing to the Janet Dyson Maths Fellowship, please contact Tess McCormick on tess.mccormick@mansfield.ox.ac.uk.
The Constance Coltman Circle
In May 2021 we launched a new donor recognition group, the Constance Coltman Circle (CCC) – named after Mansfield’s inspirational first woman student in 1913 – for people giving £50 a month or £600 or more per year, or the equivalent. Members of the Circle will be invited to donor events, receive regular tailored communications from College, and will have the opportunity to leave a message in a CCC bookplate in the College Library. At the time of writing, we had already welcomed 37 supporters to the group.
We are passionate about acknowledging and recognising the invaluable contributions made by alumni and friends. The CCC is the newest of Mansfield’s six tiers of benefaction: Bancroft Fellows; The Mansfield Court; Guardians; The Fairbairn Society; and Patrons.
To find out more about supporting Mansfield or joining the Constance Coltman Circle, contact Eleanor Crawford at regulargiving.manager@mansfield.ox.ac.uk.
