Foreword from the Interim Principal

Foreword from

the Interim Principal

Elizabeth Crawford

Revd Dr Rob Ellis stood down as Principal at the end of September when I was delighted to join the College as Interim Principal. This meant I joined in time to experience the sheer joy of having all our students back in residence in October with a full programme of in person tutorials and lectures. The palpable atmosphere of purpose and excitement about learning pervaded the whole city and Regent’s was no exception.

In the first week of term, I stopped to talk to a couple of freshers, who were looking, very intently, at rowing honours on the south wall of the Quad. They were novice rowers but told me that they were planning for their names to be up there next summer. The confidence and ambition were delightful to see and made me think afresh of the way that Regent’s has been the springboard for generations of people, worldwide.

Our graduate common room is larger than it has ever been and includes people doing a huge range of both taught and research degrees, with a significant number of international students. A new Regent’s ’tradition‘ was our first Freshers’ Dinner for postgraduates and ministerial students and the Helwys Hall was buzzing with anticipation of the year ahead. This kicked off the first Formal Halls since Hilary 2020, including one for parents and carers of first years and culminating in our traditional Christmas celebrations for the whole community.

In recent months we have welcomed several new colleagues including the Revd Beth Allison-Glenny, Chaplain and Dr Tareq Moqbel, H.M. King Abdullah II ibn Al Hussein of Jordan Fellow for the Study of Love in Religion. Dr Masud Ally, Lecturer in Economics, Tim Smith, Temporary Director of Studies, Classics and Mathis Ebbinghaus, Lecturer in Politics have all strengthened our offering in those subjects and Dr Lorena Becerra-Valdivia and Dr Lulu Shi, have joined us as Lillian Goldman Junior Research Fellows. We bade farewell to the inimitable Bob Cowley in late September and were almost immediately faced with the first dilemma of the post-Cowley era, which involved the oversight of the hibernation of Emmanuelle, before Dean Holmes was appointed as Maintenance Officer in November. All of these colleagues have quickly become part of the Regent’s Park family. We were delighted to welcome our new Visiting Fellow, Dr Francis Gurry, who spent some time with us in October. Dr Anthony Reddie delivered the annual David Nicholls Memorial Lecture on Dealing with the Two Deadly Ds: Deconstructing Whiteness and Decolonising the Curriculum to an enthralled audience.

A particular highlight for me has been the Principal’s meetings with first year students at the end of term. Each meeting gives a wonderful opportunity to talk to students about their subject and about life in College. Even when they are finding the pace rather bracing, it is inspiring to hear how the tutors have fired up the love of exploring their subject in depth. The last few years have set a high bar for success in finals and the enthusiasm for learning at this stage is a clear indication that the standard will remain high.

Being in an interim role is unusual in professional life, in that there is a clear expectation that it is ’not for long‘ and no-one is expecting a whole raft of initiatives or changes in direction. However, it is also important not simply to tread water because the reality of that means that you are sliding backwards, so we have been working on our academic strategy and development strategy to allow us to continue to move forward with purpose. Alongside our students, staff, and wider community of alumni and friends, I want to see the College continue to flourish and grow over the coming years: I hope that everything I do during my time as Interim Principal will be guided by that.