Principal’s Welcome

BARONESS ROYALL of BLAISDON

Somerville’s finances rarely looked more precarious than in 1919. As the world emerged from the shadow of the Great War, the College found itself running at a deficit of £1,776.8s.6d, with the expectation of just £25 p.a. from its endowment.

This year, as we emerge from a similar crisis in world affairs, Somerville finds itself in better shape. Thanks to the excellent financial management of Treasurer Andrew Parker, a strong endowment has insulated us from the worst of the economic fallout (see Treasurer’s Report, p8).

And yet, as in 1919, the crisis took its toll and a hard road lies ahead. Somerville suffered £3.5m of lost revenue during the two years of the pandemic, and now faces a grim inflationary future exacerbated by climate change, war and instability. In such a bleak environment, one might reasonably expect our supporters or our community to have spent the last year consolidating their positions and ignoring everything else. But that would be to forget that this is Somerville, a college with altruism and progressive values embedded in its DNA.

Faced with a world convulsed by suffering, our community did not hesitate. Our academics, students, staff and alumni have rallied across multiple fronts, devising new ways to address the most pressing crises of the day and breaking down the barriers that make Oxford seem inaccessible.

One of the most exciting examples of these projects is our work as a College of Sanctuary. Here we are updating our century-long commitment to defend the rights and education of refugees by offering scholarships to displaced young people, only 6% of whom at present enter higher education. Thanks to a phenomenal outpouring of support for this cause, I can confirm that no fewer than four fullyfunded Sanctuary Scholars will join our existing Sanctuary Scholar next year, including two from eastern Ukraine, the region hardest hit by the current war. Another indicator that we are delivering on our historic commitment to inclusivity is the College’s admissions figures. Progress here retains an impressive upward trajectory. Our percentage of state school admissions increased to 70.4% this year compared to the current university average of 66.5%, with year-on-year increases in admissions of BME students (19.7%) and students from socio-economically disadvantaged areas (14.8%). These numbers testify to a collective effort, but also the tireless work of our Access team, whose ability to run open days, school visits and access partnerships is directly enabled by your support.

Of course, once we get students to Somerville, our next challenge is ensuring they succeed. The pandemic made it clear that wellbeing is a vital, often overlooked piece of this puzzle, with successive lockdowns exacerbating both mental health and socio-economic divides. Recognising this situation, we allocated funds this year for the creation of an Inreach Officer to support under-represented students and improve student experience. Recent Somerville graduate, Orlá Lavery (2019, English) is our first Inreach Officer, and is already making great strides in the role.

Orlá Lavery, Somerville's new Inreach Officer Principal Jan Royall and Cyril Shroff Principal Jan Royall with international climate lawyer Farhana Yamin (1983, PPE)

have an ever-growing scholarship programme in College: this year, we awarded over 130 academic scholarships and exhibitions, increased our roster of Oxford India Scholars to 21 and Margaret Thatcher Scholars to 25, and inaugurated several new scholarships. One of the most interesting of our new scholarships is the Bingham Law Scholarship. Dedicated to the memory of one of England’s finest jurists, Lord Bingham, by the preeminent Indian lawyer, Gopal Subramanium, it enacts a triangular flow of influence that will support a bright young lawyer through the BCL (see feature, p18). It is through such inspired giving that Somerville maintains an academic edge which this year included 47 undergraduate firsts, 8 Principal’s Prizes (for scoring in the top 10% across the university) and 23 postgraduate Distinctions.

Endowing the Fellowship is another means by which we secure academic excellence. I hope that Shirley Williams would have approved, therefore, when our Governing Body decided that the most fitting memorial to this paragon of liberal democracy would be to endow our Politics Fellowship in her name. Thanks to the support of friends at Westminster and from Shirley’s Oxford days, we were able to raise the £450,000 necessary, thereby ensuring that politics will always be taught at her former College. You can read an interview with Professor McNay, our new Shirley Williams Fellow, on p16. News of the first album in ten years by the Somerville College Choir is surely music to all our ears. My thanks, then, to Somerville’s great friend Virginia Ross (1966, International Studies) for enabling this uniquely Somervillian take on the traditional Christmas album. Featuring 20 festive works by modern female composers, including 11 world premieres, ‘The Dawn of Grace’ is both a resounding vindication of women writers and a rousing Christmas treat.

Finally, I am writing to you as Cop27 unfolds, following a summer of extreme global weather. Many of our academics and alumni are already in the vanguard of the fight against climate change. This year, we added to their number by signing a new scholarship partnership with the Shroff family, who lead India’s largest civil law firm, Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas. Created to nurture those law and public policy experts willing to address India’s most pressing issues, these scholarships will generate a pipeline of future leaders to address climate change and other problems.

We shall have need of our experts soon. They will be vital as we to respond to many challenges, including the climate crisis, with new infrastructure, new strategies and new hope. The next stage in our journey may be hard. But with you by our side, I know we shall find our way as we always have done: with intelligence and integrity. Thank you for supporting Somerville.