Rhodes House Alumni Association Newsletter - Nov 2018

RHODES ALUMNI ASSOCIATION NEWSLETTER YOUR BI-ANNUAL UPDATE FROM RHODES HOUSE

NOVEMBER 2018: WARDEN'S WELCOME 2 GLOBAL ASSOCIATION ACTIVITY 3 OXFORD ALUMNI WEEKEND 4 RHODES TRUST FORUMS 5 SCHOLAR AFFAIRS 6 RHODES GIVING DAY 7 DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION PROJECT 8 TRAVEL PLANS + CALL TO ACTION 9 CONNECT WITH US 10

"ONCE A SCHOLAR, ALWAYS A SCHOLAR"

Dear Alumni Association Committee Members, As always, we are keen to keep you updated on the latest news from the Rhodes Trust, as well as across our global community.

We hope you will share this newsletter with your association boards and members to ensure that our whole community is aware of everything that the Rhodes Trust is today, and we are all involved in shaping its future together.

Please let us know if you have any suggestions for content or other ideas to make this newsletter work better for you and your alumni constituents.

WARDEN'S WELCOME

TRAVEL TO RHODES CONSTITUENCIES The Warden, Dr Elizabeth Kiss recently travelled to North America and Canada to take part in some of our Bon Voyage events.

She first visited San Francisco and attended a drinks reception kindly hosted in the home of Roy Bahat (New York & Lincoln 1998) with 20 members of The Rhodes Incubator who were visiting Silicon Valley (below).

After brief time in Oxford for the Alumni Weekend she attended an alumni drinks reception, speaking alongside Elliot Gerson (Connecticut & Magdalen 1974), National Secretary and Ralph Smith (Alabama & Corpus Christi 1973), AARS President. Together they ensured our American Scholars were updated about major developments at the Trust, this year's selection process and upcoming AARS events.

During her visit to Canada, she hosted a drinks reception in Toronto and attended the Sailing Weekend in Ottawa (right) to join CARS in sending off the 2018 Canadian Scholars to Oxford.

She starts November with a trip to Kigali and Nairobi, both to partake in Selection and to meet some of our Senior Scholars in the region.

Please see page 9 for details of when Dr Kiss will be visiting your constituency!

GLOBAL ALUMNI ASSOCIATION ACTIVITY As well as the aforementioned North America and Canada Bon Voyage events, our Alumni Associations around world sent our class of 2018 Scholars off in style.

A special mention goes to SAARS, our Southern Africa association, who combined their Bon Voyage in Capetown with their Annual Alumni Conference, introducing our Scholars-elect early to a taste of Rhodes' academic programming and personal reflection.

Similarly in March, this year AARS held the second 'Welcome Home' weekend with the generous support of its co-creators, Swati Mylavarapu (Florida & Wolfson 2005) and Noorain Khan (Michigan & St Antony's 2006), Aimed to ensure the post-Oxford transition goes as smoothly as possible, the weekend involved a dinner on the Friday, a full day of programming Saturday and an informal brunch on Sunday.

ARSA, our Australian Rhodes Scholars Association, also had a busy year! Alongside the Victoria Annual Farewell Dinner in June, there were also dinners held across Australia, noticeably in Perth, Brisbane and Hobart.

This year also saw 70 years of the Indian Rhodes Scholarship, and the beginnings of an establishment of an alumni association in the countries two key hubs of alumni, New Delhi and Mumbai.

OXFORD ALUMNI WEEKEND 2018 INCLUDING 50TH ANNIVERSARY CLASS REUNION AND RHODES SCHOLARS IN BRITAIN ANNUAL DINNER

UPCOMING EVENTS Alumni Reception in Nairobi: 6 November Alumni Reception in Montreal: 8 November Prairies Selection Dinner: 17 November RSiB End of Year Drinks, London: TBC RSiB End of Year Drinks, Oxford: TBC Alumni Reception in Hong Kong: 4 December Alumni Reception in Singapore: 6 December SAARS End of Year Drinks, Capetown: 6 December Alumni Reception in Palo Alto, CA: 12 December Alumni Reception in Boston: Date TBC Alumni Reception in New York: 18 December Newfoundland Regional Meet-up: TBC Davos Nightcap Reception: 23 January

For the Class of 1968, the Oxford Alumni Weekend started a little early, with a panel discussion both about the past 50 years and about issues of today, followed by a hearty dinner at Malmaison.

On Friday members of the class took part in a taster session of the Character, Service and Leadership programme which forms part of the current Scholars Experience. Excerpted from the Second Year Retreat, they focused on what friendship means to them and what qualities they personally value in lifelong connections.

Followed by a lunch (and a drink!) at The Victoria Arms, the cohort then toured the house and Oxford to compare changes since the 60's.

They were then joined at a drinks reception by current Scholars and members of the Rhodes Scholars in Britain Alumni Association. Drinks turned to dinner, with fantastic speeches given by Warden Kiss (Virginia & Balliol 1983), RSiB President Jonathan Tepper (North Carolina & Christ Church 1998) and reunion class leader, Professor Douglas Eakeley (New Jersey & University 1968).

The night ended, as ever, with a nightcap in the Kings Arms and a promise to keep in touch!

RHODES TRUST FORUMS The Rhodes Global Forums and Convenings started in 2016 as a way of transforming the Rhodes Scholarship from an individual award for individual promise into a community of purpose and action addressing some of the most important global issues. Since our last newsletter we have held:

UPCOMING FORUMS

3rd Annual Healthcare Forum Forward Together: Approaching Global Inequities in Health 4 – 5 November 2017 With over 150 participants, including Rhodes Scholars and alumni, Atlantic Fellows and Gates Fellows, this year saw presentations from current Rhodes Scholars highlighting their research and work to advance health equity. We also heard from leading experts from around the world, including: Dr Lincoln Chen, President, China Medical Board Ira Magaziner (Rhode Island & Balliol 1969), Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Clinton Health Access Initiative; Dr Trevor Mundel (South Africa-at-Large & Balliol 1984), President of Global Health Division, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Dr Pardis Sabeti (Florida & New College 1997), Computational Geneticist, Harvard University and Broad Institute

2nd Annual Ventures Forum - Collaborate. Create. Change - Entrepreneurship in the 21st Century 16 – 17 June 2018 Again saw Milner Hall full to the brim with Rhodes Scholars and alumni, Mandela Rhodes Scholars, Skoll Scholars and Atlantic Fellows. We also hear from leading minds in the entrepreneurial arena, including: Roy Bahat (New York & Lincoln 1998), Head of Bloomberg Beta Lynna Chandra, Atlantic Fellow, Health Equity in Southeast Asia; Founder & Trustee, Rachel House John McCall MacBain O.C. (Québec & Wadham 1980), Founder & President, McCall MacBain Foundation and Pamoja Capital; Trustee & Second Century Founder, The Rhodes Trust Joyce Meng (Virginia & Balliol 2008), Partner & Managing Director, Vernier Capital; CEO & CoFounder, Givology Nancy Pfund, Founder & Managing Partner, DBL Partners

The Inaugural Schwarzman – Rhodes Symposium Public Leadership in the 21st Century: Ethical, Global, Local and Connected 26-28 October To mark the partnership between Schwarzman Scholars and the Rhodes Trust, 150 participants from both communities cameto Rhodes House. The Symposium explored how today’s and tomorrow’s public leaders exercise ethical leadership in government, business, academia and other fields. Speakers included: Dr Hans-Paul Bürkner, Chairman, The Boston Consulting Group Dame Helen Ghosh, Master, Balliol College, University of Oxford; Trustee, The Rhodes Trust Ndjodi Ndeunyema, Research Director, Oxford Human Rights Hub; Former President, Oxford University Africa Society Prof Kate O’Regan, Director, Bonavero Institute of Human Rights; Trustee, The Rhodes Trust Dr Eboo Patel, Founder, Interfaith Youth Core; former member in President Obama’s Inaugural Faith Council Prof Louise Richardson, Vice Chancellor of Oxford University Stephen A. Schwarzman, Founder and Chairman, Schwarzman Scholars; Chairman, CEO and CoFounder, Blackstone

4th Rhodes Healthcare Forum 9-10 February 2019 In 2019, our theme is “From Surviving to Thriving”. Our focus must shift to goals beyond just reducing mortality, to create a future where everyone can enjoy thriving health. We will discuss opportunities and approaches in technology, epidemiology, public health, drug discovery, biomedicine and policy to promote global thriving health. We have invited experts and innovators to bring depth to these discussions as well as encouraging Scholars to apply the ideas generated over the weekend in real-world initiatives.

3rd Rhodes Ventures Forum 22 -23 June 2019 The Forum is a connection point for current Rhodes Scholars, alumni and friends to showcase their entrepreneurial ventures and ideas across disciplines. The format will be highly interactive with opportunities for thought-provoking discussions and mentoring.

Whilst our Forums are usually current Scholar-led, we welcome ideas for speakers and themes from our key volunteers - please email alumni@rhodeshouse.ox.ac.uk

GOING DOWN AND COMING UP We have said a fond farewell to many Scholars (most from the classes of 2015 and 2016) over the course of the summer, culminating with a memorable Going Down Dinner at which we unveiled the portrait of Justice Edwin Cameron (South Africa-at-Large & Keble 1976) who also gave the keynote address. You can find the bios of those who have gone down, along with contact details and what they are going on to do next here: https://www.rhodeshouse.ox.ac.uk/pages/goingdown-bios-2018/ (password 18GDbRhodes!1). We know you will welcome them warmly to your respective locations across the globe and into your respective alumni associations.

The 2018 Class has arrived in Oxford to a warm welcome. As always, the Amazing Airport Collection Team (aka Bob, John, Colin & Ricardo) met nearly everyone at the airport. On arrival, Scholars have flung themselves into the Scholar-organised welcome week activities, including a Harry Potter Tour, Yoga for beginners, sports in University Parks, a trip to London, poetry in the park, pizza in Port Meadow, a number of important conversations and discussions about legacy and many, many dinners. Warden Kiss welcomed the Class of 2018 as ‘fellow newbies’ at Welcome Day, on Saturday 29th September. The sun shone on the new Class at the crucial moment for the Class Photo and the day continued with discussions between the Warden and Nadiya, the Dean of Scholarships, on navigating the various transitions new Scholars undergo and how to get the most out of their time in Oxford. Second-year Scholars led conversations on Building Home Away from Home and gave a number of TED-X style talks on the same theme. The day ended with an ‘expo’ of all of the Rhodes Scholar groups, followed by the RSAF auction. The event raised a significant amount towards supporting small NGOs across Africa. The Welcome Day turned into Welcome night with the incoming Scholars enjoying their first Meet and Mingle with all Scholars in residence.

OUTREACH AND SELECTION We are excited to welcome the first West African Scholars – Tolu Awoyese (Nigeria) and Emmanuelle Dankwa (Ghana), both of whom are commencing DPhils in Oxford. In addition, this year’s two SJLP (Syria, Jordan, Lebanon & Palestine) Scholars are from Syria (Alexey Youssef) and Gaza (Bahaa Ataallah), all of whom are further contributing the breadth and depth of the Scholar community. It is satisfying to see the hard work and generosity ploughed into the Scholarship expansion come to fruition in the arrival of these 96 Scholars. Accompanying the arrival of the 2018 Scholars is the selection of the 2019 Scholars – the first selections are expected imminently – please visit the Rhodes scholar class lists on the website, and the various Rhodes Trust social media channels, for updates!

New 2019 Scholarships include one Scholarship each for Singapore, Saudi Arabia, East Africa (covering Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, South Sudan and Burundi), and two new Global Rhodes Scholarships. The application windows for all of the above have now closed and the quality of the applications is looking strong. There are a hundred 2019 Rhodes Scholarships available – a record for the Rhodes Trust. We are extremely grateful to all the volunteers who make selection possible.

Special thanks to all the new Deputy and Assistant Secretaries who have come on board across constituencies, growing the teams that support Selection.

#RhodesGivingDay Save the date of 16 November 2018 to join the Rhodes community during our first 24-hour fundraising challenge in support of the Rhodes Scholarships.

Our goal is 100 gifts for 100 Scholars. This is an exciting opportunity to celebrate the Rhodes Scholarships as we elect 100 Scholars for the first time this year.

Ways to be involved are to donate via www.rhodeshouse.ox.ac.uk/donate on November 16th and to share your support and our updates across Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook. Throughout the 24-hour period, we will give you a sneak peek into the 2018 Coming Up Dinner and illustrate the many ways your gifts provide immediate and vital support for each and every Scholar in Oxford.

Your gift – of any amount – directly supports our current cohort of Scholars. From helping those who are experiencing hardship to enhancing the Scholar experience, your gift matters.

"“The Rhodes Scholarship gave me and my wife an experience of a lifetime. The intellectually stimulating environment that spanned from Oxford classrooms to Rhodes House seminars and even corner pub tables stretched our minds more than we could have ever imagined. We are so grateful for the Rhodes Trust for providing these opportunities and bringing our cohort together for the two most incredibly years of our lives full of friendship, travel, and growth. We give back to support and expand these opportunities that shaped our lives in such a meaningful way"

David Moore (Michigan & St Hilda's 2015) and Dr Erin Cameron

We hope you will consider making a gift on November 16th and join your fellow Scholars and friends who are investing in the Rhodes experience.

We also hope that you will help to spread the word and encourage others to give alongside you with the hashtag #RhodesGivingDay across all social media platforms. Please be in touch with Jacob (jacob.kreyberg@rhodeshouse.ox.ac.uk) and Celia (celia.tezel@rhodeshouse.ox.ac.uk) if you would like to serve as a social media ambassador leading up to and on this special day.

16 November 2018

“I will forever be grateful for the tangible and intangible takeaways from my two years at Oxford. The opportunity to pursue graduate school in the U.K. would not have been an option for me without the scholarship. More importantly, the lifelong friends and mentors that I met helped me to grow and develop in ways that I never expected. I’m choosing to give back because I know that the Rhodes community continues well beyond our time in Oxford, and because I know that others contributed to make my experience as enriching and fulfilling as possible.”

Emily Mediate (Colorado & Magdalen 2016)

DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION PROJECT

The Trust started earlier this year a digital project to help us shape a 21st century organisation structure with systems and processes to ensure that our vision of a lifelong community of Scholars that we select and develop can be fully realised. To achieve this, we will ensure that our Scholars are digitally connected in the areas that they need to be, that they can collaborate on projects of interest or simply support each other through mentorship and advice. It also means seamlessly coordinating with our sister Fellowships, the Schmidt Science Fellows, Atlantic Fellows and Mandela Rhodes Scholars, so that synergies can be leveraged, and connections made where appropriate, thus supporting our “Fellowship of Fellowships” concept. We will invite alumni associations and alumni from around the world to participate in this project – either with focus groups or specific feedback. If you know of alumni that would like to contribute and be involved in this effort, please let us know at alumni@rhodeshouse.ox.ac.uk

ANNIVERSARY CLASSES 2019 will see the classes of 1959, 1969. 1979, 1994 and 2009 respectively celebrate their 60th, 50th, 40th, 25th and 10th anniversary of being elected to a Rhodes Scholarship. We're hoping to host a special reunion for these years as part of the Oxford Alumni Weekend in 2019 and would appreciate if you could galvanise those in your constituencies who will be commemorating milestones in the New Year!

ALUMNI ASSOCIATION MICRO-SITES We are looking to roll our microsites for Alumni Associations, that will sit underneath the main Rhodes Trust website. Starting with ARSA by the end of the year, Director of Communications Babette Tegldal will be in touch with Association Chairs regarding the timeline of roll out to your constituency.

WARDEN'S TRAVEL PLANS Kigali and Nairobi – 5th to 9th November San Francisco (Atlantic Fellowships) – 9th to 14th December Boston & New York – 15th to 18th December

2019 (still to be confirmed) DAVOS - January China - March Singapore - March Australia - March New Zealand - March South Africa,- April Zambia - April Zimbwawe- April North America Alumni Weekend - April

CALLS TO ACTION HOW CAN I HELP? Collaborate with The Trust to mutually share data, to ensure that we together have the most accurate contact details and can facilitate Scholars changing constituencies.

Welcome new Scholars to your region - whether they've just gone down or have moved for work ensure they know who to contact and what your upcoming events are by keeping your website/microsite updated.

Let us know about your smaller regional events so we can advertise them globally - you never know who is travelling on business!

Send us your publications -not only can we help distribute them to Scholars in or elected from, your constituency, we can share them with our wider community, including the other Alumni Association Committees Inform us when you, or Scholars you may know, are travelling to the UK and have the availability to give a talk to/mentor our current Scholars.

Help us transform digitally by being part of the upcoming project's focus group, letting us know how you currently interact with the Trust, how we can improve and what the gaps in our provision are for our Senior Scholars.

PLEASE CONTACT US AT ALUMNI@RHODESHOUSE.OX.AC.UK

ATLANTIC INSTITUTE Across the Atlantic Fellowship, all programs are now up and running. The first full global cohort now stands at 267 Fellows from 48 countries across five continents.

The Atlantic Institute welcomed it's first gathering of Atlantic Fellows to Rhodes House in Spring 2018, with attendees spending time working together on knowledge sharing, team building and developing connections. From next year, the gathering of Atlantic alumni will become an annual affair at Rhodes House.

As testimony to the great potential of the Fellowship of Fellows, the members of the Atlantic Community actively participated in both last November's Rhodes Healthcare Forum and this June's Rhodes Ventures Forum.

SCHMIDT SCIENCE FELLOWS The inaugural class of Schmidt Science Fellows (8 men, 6 women, 9 nationalities) was announced in April.

The fourteen completed their PhD studies by early summer joining the Schmidt Science Fellows program at its first of four convening, known as the Global Meeting Series, at Rhodes House over two weeks in late July and early August. The inaugural fellowship year includes further Global Meetings in Cambridge (MA), Northern California and returning to Oxford in summer 2019.

In July 2018, Dr Megan Wheeler (New Hampshire & Magdalen 2002) joined as the Executive Director of the Fellowship. The Chair of the Academic Council Professor Sir Keith Burnett joined in autumn this year.

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YOUR ALUMNI RELATIONS TEAM

Rodolfo Lara Torres

rodolfo.lara@rhodeshouse.ox.ac.uk Rodolfo joined the Rhodes Trust in January of 2016 as Director for Programs and Alumni Relations.

Prior to that he held several positions at the World Economic Forum including leading its Technology Pioneers Programme and managing the development and relationship of the WEF’s corporate partners in Europe and Latin America.

Previously, he worked for Siemens in Germany, where he led projects in product development and strategic planning for all of the group’s lines of business. He holds a B.S. in Industrial Engineering from the Monterrey Institute of Technology in Mexico, and an MBA and M.A. in International Studies from the University of Pennsylvania.

Rebecca Martin

rebecca.martin@rhodeshouse.ox.ac.uk Rebecca joined the Rhodes Trust in August 2018 as Alumni Relations and Programmes Manager.

Prior to that she has held several alumni relations manager positions, most recently working for Jesus College, University of Oxford where she led various strategic projects including non-alumni community expansion, volunteer programme creation and engagement metric definition. .

She holds a joint honours BA in English Literature and Psychology, from the University of Durham.