WELCOME

Robinson was founded by a successful entrepreneur and honours Sir David’s legacy by continuing to nurture his entrepreneurial spirit. Innovative and dedicated, confident and passionate—these traits apply not only to our current students, striving towards academic excellence, but also to the alumni we feature in this issue of Bin Brook. Ifeyinwa Frederick describes her journey from a Classics degree to opening a now acclaimed Nigerian tapas restaurant in London, armed with no hospitality experience but with a flair for marketing and a drive to succeed. Dr Steve Fuller describes the chance encounter at a Robinson dinner that led to his being the first employee of a new pharmaceuticals company, which is now a global business leading on drug development for rare diseases. The stories in this issue of Bin Brook demonstrate that Robinson’s alumni are bold enough to turn their business ideas and career opportunities into tangible success.

In this issue we also welcome a number of new Fellows and staff, including Karen Tate, the new Head of Student Wellbeing and Welfare whose post was funded through donations to the Wellbeing Appeal. Already students are taking advantage of the new Wellbeing Centre, which will soon also be home to Molly the dog, who will be available to students wishing to de-stress and get outside. We also celebrate in this issue the lives and legacies of two extraordinary individuals who have left indelible marks on our College and its community. Twenty years on, the Hugh Paton-JP Morgan Bursaries continue to celebrate and support our female undergraduates, in memory of Hugh Paton, the first Law Fellow of Robinson College. Our greatly missed Fellow Emeritus, Dr Steve Trudgill, is remembered in this issue by former students, friends, and colleagues. I cannot help but think of Steve every time I take a walk through Robinson’s Gardens, of which he was one of the most devoted supporters.

As I write, the Michaelmas term is already nearing its end, and we are looking forward to the ‘Bridgemas’ events in College and to seasonal celebrations beyond Cambridge. For the first time these include the Cambridge in America holiday party in New York on Thursday 8 December, which the Warden and I will be attending.

On behalf of everyone at Robinson I wish all our readers a very merry Christmas and happy holidays—I look forward to seeing you in 2023.

Sarah Westwood Development Director and Fellow sw344@cam.ac.uk

FRONT COVER: Sibling duo Emeka and Ifeyinwa Frederick (Classics, 2011) inside their Nigerian tapas restaurant, Chuku's Photo: Andrew Crowley

Editor: Gabrielle Hick Editorial Committee: Professor Rosalind Love, Max Mason (RCSA), Dr Christine Stopp, Dr Chris Truscott, Norbert Truszczynski, Dr Judy Weiss, Sarah Westwood

The Editor and members of the Editorial Committee are grateful to our contributors for the materials submitted for publication. Contributors provide photographs unless otherwise stated. The opinions and views expressed in Bin Brook are those of the contributors and not necessarily those of Robinson College and its members. No part of this publication may be reproduced without the prior written consent of the Editor.

We are always delighted to hear from anyone who has a Robinson-related story to tell. If you would like to contribute an article to Bin Brook, please email development-office@robinson.cam.ac.uk.