The JCR Presidential Egge Race
Unscrambling the story of a bygone tradition
One Family at a Time
An interview with lawyer Malini Skandachanmugarasan (Jurisprudence, 2002)
Climate Champions
Meet alumni promoting sustainability across diverse sectors
The Summer I Met Martin Luther King Jr
Remarkable memories from Iain Whyte’s (History, 1960) formative summer in the USA
The opinions expressed are those of the writers and/or subjects and not necessarily the official views of St Peter’s College, University of Oxford. The Editor thanks all who have contributed and advised on this year’s issue. Design and printing: Windrush Group Ltd | windrushgroup.co.uk
Edited by: Hannah Hempstead, Head of Communications
Feedback?: communications@spc.ox.ac.uk
IMAGE CREDITS: Every effort has been made to contact and/or credit copyright holders; any omissions are inadvertent and will be corrected in a future issue if notification of the amended credit is sent to the publisher in writing.
Front cover
• Painting by Annika Michael (Engineering Science, 2022) Introductions
• Prof Judith Buchanan courtesy of Judith Buchanan The JCR Presidential Egge Race
• All images provided by the College Archives St Peter’s People Lidia Hemmings and Bob Hilton © Edmund Blok
• Emily Middleton, Efe Shimwell and Jervon Sands © Tom Weller Photography One Family at a Time Headshot of Malini Skandachanmugarasan courtesy of Malini Skandachanmugarasan
• Lady Justice on the Old Bailey: www.istockphoto.com/portfolio/georgeclerk Climate Champions
• Aerial view of solar farm: www.istockphoto.com/portfolio/filippobacci
• Poppy Nicol courtesy of Poppy Nicol
• Urban garden vegetable basket: www.istockphoto.com/portfolio/pavliha
• Stuffed grape leaves: www.istockphoto.com/portfolio/fisunyilmaz
• Tim Clarke at St Peter’s College by Hannah Hempstead
• Save the Whales image courtesy of Tim Clarke Lydia Dutton headshot courtesy of Lydia Dutton
• Lydia Dutton and friends courtesy of Lydia Dutton
• Birmingham skyline: www.istockphoto.com/portfolio/dynasoar
Matthew Hunt headshot courtesy of Matthew Hunt
• Wind Turbines outside of Copenhagen: https://www.istockphoto.com/portfolio/ StiigLarsen
The Summer I Met Martin Luther King Jr
• Martin Luther King Jr by Marion S Trikosko (image in the public domain)
• All other photos courtesy of Iain Whyte Looking Back
• All images provided by the College Archives Alumni News
• Paul Sanders with diploma courtesy of Paul Sanders Alumni Events Highlights
• Castle Bailey Quad, 1980-1984 Gaudy, Advent Carols and Christmas Concert © Edmund Blok
55th Reunion Row courtesy of the St Peter’s College Boat Club
• 1975-1979 and 1990-1994 Gaudy © Tom Weller Photography
• Anniversary Reunion and Howard Society © Fisher Studios Vienna Dinner and Hong Kong Dinner courtesy of Judith Buchanan
• St Peter’s College Golf Society courtesy of Robert Wilson Back cover
© Tom Weller Photography
Dear St Peter’s College alumni,
I am delighted to introduce the 2024-2025 issue of Cross Keys. Cross Keys is, as many of you will already know, the publication in which we enjoy turning our primary focus on our alumni, as distinct from The College Record which is our annual record of the year in College.
Given a needy and fragile world, and a community of smart and energetic old members, it is unsurprising to find our alumni on the frontline of urgent issues. In this issue of Cross Keys, we highlight a handful of stories from a community of contributors and change-makers. From human rights law to community gardening initiatives, from bringing Dr Martin Luther King Jr’s Civil Rights message to Glasgow to managing green infrastructure projects now, the stories in this issue remind us of the contributions that alumni of the College are making to some of the key challenges we face. The stories showcased here are just indicative examples of some of the work in train across the St Peter’s community, but it’s a thought-provoking run. Different types of work and contribution will be showcased in future issues.
Thank you to all those who have submitted your personal news for our 'Alumni News' section. The run of entries speaks both to the considerable achievements of old members and to the connectedness of the cross-generational College community. Do keep your stories and updates coming: we are always pleased to hear from you.
In this issue, we also offer some lighter glimpses into College life, then and now. Our archivist Dr Alison Ray tells a cracking (sorry) archival tale of the infamous JCR Presidential Egge Race in which some of you will have participated. We’ve also included a few spotlights on St Peter’s people from the JCR, MCR, SCR and wider staff community, each sharing a personal perspective on aspects of life at St Peter’s today.
My colleagues and I are here because we love working with smart young people at a formative moment in their lives. As I speak with alumni at events back in College and across the world, I am struck by how many of you, even years (or decades) later, point to the short but crucial window of time you spent at St Peter's as having laid the important foundations for what has followed in your lives. Friendships, skillsets, values, confidence, critical acumen, problem-solving skills, the desire to contribute and even (and importantly!) a well-developed sense of fun are attributed to these years. A recognition of how College days, and College people, have played their part in equipping generations of students for what lies ahead, is also expressed in the stories that follow.
With my thanks to my colleague Hannah Hempstead who has edited this issue of Cross Keys, and to all those who have contributed, I commend it warmly to your attention. Enjoy the read.
JUDITH BUCHANAN Master
In the Hilary term of 1958, two students of St Peter’s Hall, William Holmes (1956) and Alan Smith (1956), made an astonishing discovery of a manuscript relating to ‘the ancient custome of Egge-Rollynge’ dating back to the medieval student life of New Inn Hall. Although the original work is now lost, Holmes and Smith carefully transcribed the record in the JCR Suggestions book and used the text to revive a ‘forgotten’ tradition of the outgoing JCR President challenging the incoming President to an Easter egg-rolling competition around Linton Quad. The College Archives today holds accounts and pictures of these races that took place between 1958 and 1978, with imaginative rules, costumes and variety of spectators, both human and animal.
What an eggshellent yolk: extract from the ‘discovery’ of the Presidential Egge Race custom in the JCR Suggestion Book, 1958
Easter egg races with decorated eggs, or pace-eggs, have been popular in the United Kingdom and throughout Europe for centuries, with an Easter Egg Roll also hosted annually by the US President at the White House. In the JCR Suggestions book, Holmes and Smith detailed their remarkable find of a wooden casket buried behind the Besse Building which contained a document ‘yellowed with age’ dated 1542 and composed by one ‘Nicholas Jurdon, scholere of Newe Inne Halle in the town of Oxenforde’. Jurdon committed the whole observance of the
Presidential egg race ‘to papyre and the papyre to the grounde trustynge in the diligence of sekeres after knowledge in later daies to find and renovelles it’. Thus, the race was introduced to St Peter’s Hall students as successors to this rich cultural history.
In 1958, the JCR President was elected by ballot in Hilary term and invested with the Presidential Topper, a top hat passed in a ceremony from the incumbent to the incoming President. According to the Cross Keys account, the first Egge Race was held on the last Friday of term between Ralph Rolls (1954), outgoing President for 1957-58, and Harold Burnett (1956), incoming for 1958-59. Both contestants were required to wear pyjamas and top hats, and the Race was officiated by the Marshall of the Egg. They first rolled their coloured eggs, then held them on spoons while bicycling, before peeling and eating their eggs. Rolls was declared the winner and awarded a pint of ale in the Presidential Pot by the Sentinel of the Stoop. Additional challenges were added to the 1959 Egge Race between Burnett and Albert Johnson (1957), 1958-59 President, owing to the ‘discovery of another fragmentary document relating to the race which made it clear that the competitors had been required to perform 50 hula-hoop revolutions as part of the contest’. Burnett won this Race, with Johnson being disqualified for failing to eat his egg, bumping and boring with his duck and practising with his hula-hoop on the morning of the Race.
Subsequent Egge Races added new features, each more imaginative than the last. In 1961, the Race was accompanied by bag-pipes and a jazz band. Modes of transport varied greatly, with the contestants of the 1962 Race arriving in a handcart and Rolls Royce and a 1963 contestant entering by fire engine. By this time, the JCR Presidential election had been moved to Michaelmas term and a sporting participant is pictured wearing shorts in the December 1964 Race. Obstacles
were also introduced, with spectators of the 1976 Race hurling vast quantities of water, flour and other substances ‘of a more uncertain origin’ at the contestants while they rolled their eggs on their hands and knees around the course with their noses.
While we have heard accounts of the tradition surviving at least into the 1980s, the archival trail of the Presidential Egge Race runs cold by 1978. Still, the records and anecdotes of this unique tradition reflect the egg-cracking good time had by the St Peter’s community, not to mention the deep respect which sixteenth-century manuscripts discovered behind the Besse Building should properly engender.
With special thanks to Derek Palmer (1962) and Philip Wilkinson (1958) for their donation of photographs to the College Archives.
Do you have memories and photographs of the Presidential Egge Race, or other special memories and photographs you would like to share with the College Archives? Contact archives@spc.ox.ac.uk!
DR ALISON RAY
The cover for this issue of Cross Keys is a painting of Chavasse Quad by current student Annika Michael (Engineering Science, 2022), who shared her inspiration for the artwork:
‘I’m a current third-year Engineering Science student and I’ve really enjoyed my time at Peter’s.I did the painting in my first year during the Long Vacation, from a photo I took
during Trinity term on a nice sunny day. Lots of people were sitting outside enjoying the sun. I hadn’t done any art since GCSEs, and don’t have much time while at Oxford, but I was really pleased to capture such a nice memory of St Peter’s College.
Lidia Hemmings joined St Peter's College in 2008 as the Bursar’s Administrative Officer and later became the Facilities Manager, a role she continues to occupy today. Sixteen years into her career at St Peter’s, Lidia still looks forward to each day in the office.
‘As a relatively small college, we have always been ambitious and are never afraid to think big. The people who work here make it a place where you are happy to come to work every day.’
Thinking big is nothing new for Lidia. She is passionate about sustainability and uses her role to influence change around College.
In the period between 2013 and 2019, St Peter's reduced its CO2 output by 40%. This reduction was achieved through a range of interventions Lidia spearheaded as Facilities Manager. And then in 2020, the College formed a Sustainability Forum to consolidate and extend work in this area.
In 2022, Lidia led the College’s successful application for a Public Sector Low Carbon Skills Fund grant (Phase 3). The Fund provides grants for public sector bodies to access skills and expertise to unlock heat decarbonisation on their estate.
St Peter’s was thrilled to receive the grant of £134k, enabling the College to commission an expert mapping and calibration of its heat decarbonisation needs. The funding award was used to develop a Heat Decarbonisation Plan, which will inform future decisions in the development and maintenance of the College’s facilities and estate. For Lidia, this is her proudest career moment so far.
‘I am motivated by the belief that even small positive actions we as individuals carry out every day are significant and can bring about change.’
Outside of work, Lidia enjoys swimming, reading and going to the theatre. Living out her philosophy about small positive actions, she also recently became a first-time blood donor. ‘What made the experience even more special for me is the fact that my teenage son and I went together as first-time donors. As long as I am accepted, I will carry on donating.’
Professor and Tutorial Fellow in Earth Sciences
Bob Hilton joined St Peter’s in 2021 as our Fellow and Tutor in Earth Sciences after 12 years at Durham University.
‘Moving from Durham to Oxford with a young family has meant the last two years have been quite busy! But now we’re settled I’m enjoying getting back into running, camping, hiking and other outdoor fun with the kids.’
Bob's favourite aspect of his new home at St Peter’s is the strong community environment. ‘I love the friendly and relaxed atmosphere of St Peter’s, and how everyone is really working to make it a great place to be.’
His lifelong love for the outdoors fuels his passion for his subject. He recalls one of his favourite childhood memories: a visit to the Canadian Rockies as a seven-year-old with his family. ‘I was in awe of the magnificent mountains and glaciers, and loved seeing the huge dinosaur specimens in the Drumheller Museum.’
Bob teaches across all year groups in Earth Sciences on themes of sedimentary processes, weathering and erosion, and biogeochemical cycles (e.g. the carbon cycle).
‘I’m really passionate about research-led teaching, where you as a student get a chance to think deeply about questions and conduct your own research, under supervision, as a way to learn.’
As a scientist, Bob is motivated to tackle important knowledge gaps and questions about how the Earth works.
‘I’ve always been fascinated by the connections and feedback loops between key parts of the Earth system—for example, how our changing climate impacts the carbon cycle, but how perturbations to the carbon cycle can have cascading impacts on the climate.’
Designing research questions building observations and geochemical datasets to tackle these tricky questions get him to work in the morning.
‘Finding the time to support and motivate them in their studies, and guide them towards their next exciting opportunity is really important to me.’
To learn more about Bob’s research and work, check out his feature article in the 2023 College Record, ‘Breathing Rocks’.
In the summer leading up to her first year, Emily Middleton (Jurisprudence, 2023), who is from Hong Kong, was riddled with nerves about moving to a new country.
‘All of that washed away the second I stepped up to the JCR welcome table on move-in day. The JCR at Peter’s is so special because it is truly welcoming, friendly and fun. The smaller size of the College is conducive to a tight-knit community. I’ve found another family across the globe.’
Emily, whose goal is to become an environmental lawyer, is the JCR Environment Representative and has become the go-to environmentalist for her cohort.
‘I love that people come to me with their questions about how to recycle or where to find the best plant-based food. I feel my actions are making a difference, one suggestion at a time.’
Emily’s biggest motivators are her appreciation of the privileged opportunity of studying at Oxford, and the impact she hopes this education will have.
‘Being at Oxford has given me a unique head-start towards achieving the career goal that I have in mind: to be an environmental lawyer. The prospect of using my experience here to make a difference in the world and society has to be the greatest source of motivation.’
Efe Shimwell (History and Economics, 2023) is a student with serious – and quite literal – goals. As if tackling joint honours at Oxford does not keep him busy enough, he plays for the national Blind Football team and West Bromwich Albion Blind Football Club.
‘Football has been a passion of mine since a very young age, and the goal is to establish myself as one of the best players in Europe, with the end goal of reaching and competing in the Paralympics.’
The top scorer for West Brom Blind FC this season, Efe discovered his power as a child when an ambitious shot dented a wall in his family home. ‘I dreaded telling my parents, but I have to admit that I was buzzing!’
Playing hard and working hard go hand-in-hand for Efe, who finds equal enjoyment in the challenge of academic work and the thrill of sport. ‘I want to disprove stereotypes about disabled people being “less capable”,’ he says, and it is clear that his motivation to do so is never in short supply.
Efe loves the social community of the JCR and enjoys hanging out at the College Bar or playing chess in his free time.
‘What makes Peter’s stand out is the communal nature of the JCR – a very tight and sociable group. Almost everyone knows each other, and all social occasions share a similar close atmosphere. St Peter’s is a brilliant place to show family and friends, as well as being conveniently located for a blind person to access Oxford city centre. These benefits, along with the support College has given me to pursue my sport, are highlights for me.’
Eight weeks into his time at St Peter’s, Jervon Sands (MSc Environmental Change and Management, 2024) is already struggling to choose just one favourite memory.
‘It’s a three-way tie between 1) winning the amazing race* with my MCR family, because I got to have a late-night adventure with new friends while learning about Oxford and being silly at the same time; 2) opening the BAME Formal at the beginning of Michaelmas term with an original poem about belonging –this was when I truly started to feel at home in the St Peter’s community; and 3) falling asleep while working late in the MCR and waking up to a Swiss Society fondue event going on around me! I got to try fondue for the first time, along with some chocolates and wine to round out the experience.’
Describing himself as a dreamer, Jervon jokes about the questions his younger, Harry-Potter-obsessed self might ask him now that he’s at Oxford:
‘Am I studying science or magic? Am I sure I’m not at Hogwarts? Are there dragons?’
Jervon's big imagination also inspires him to make an impact on the world around him. His desire to help his community led him to volunteer for two roles in the MCR, as both BAME Representative and Sustainability Representative.
‘I’ve realised that I am not just driven toward communities but also by them. The desire to show up for the people and places I belong to has always been my greatest motivator. Taking on these roles means I get to play a part in shaping the experience for fellow Peterites, not only for this year but also into the future.’
* The Amazing Race is an iconic activity of our MCR’s Fresher’s Week, during which College families compete to get the most points whilst completing different tests, tasks and games around Oxford.
‘I remember when I went to university, my sister told me, “Those are the best years of your life!” and I thought to myself, “Oh no! What’s next?”’
More than 20 years have passed since Malini Skandachanmugarasan (Jurisprudence, 2002) matriculated at St Peter’s College for her BA in Jurisprudence, and she looks back on all of it, her time at Oxford and her subsequent career in human rights law, with delight.
Part of this satisfaction comes from a rock-solid sense of certainty in her vocational choice, which for her came much earlier than her time as a student at St Peter’s.
‘My dad loves to recount a story of how my indignance about a particular issue of injustice led me, at the age of four, to stage an impromptu protest in Homebase!’
Malini traces her sense of compulsion to speak up for just outcomes to her family’s experience of having to leave their home in Sri Lanka and migrate to the United Kingdom. As a result of mounting tensions against Tamils, Malini’s parents, who are Tamil, separately made the decision to move to the United Kingdom as students in the early 1970s. Malini was born in the UK in 1983, the same year as the deadly events of Black July in Sri Lanka.
‘Growing up with this in the background, I always knew I wanted to do something to do with human rights and represent those who don’t have access to justice or a voice to empower them.’
Oxford’s law degree at the time was not specifically tailored to human rights law, and Malini’s school was not particularly encouraging when it came to applications to Oxbridge. Nevertheless, Malini visited St Peter’s and felt instantly at home.
‘I’d missed the Open Day so I rang and asked to visit. Mrs Henrietta Leyser (now Emerita Fellow of History) took the time to show me around, answer my questions and put my mind at ease. I could see myself here.’
Henrietta Leyser’s willingness to go out of her way to give a prospective law student a tour was reassuring: St Peter’s seemed both a close-knit and generous-spirited community,
and one in which Malini believed she could thrive.
‘In freshers’ week, the second-years said that within two weeks we’d know everyone’s name. And as they said, two weeks later, we all did.’
Through her engagements with St Peter’s tutors like Professor Dapo Akande and former Master, Professor John Barron, Malini gained the confidence to speak her mind and pursue her ambition to work in human rights.
‘What I left Oxford with was a grounding and confidence in my skills, and different perspectives on various aspects of law which gave me time and space to find my path.’
On her first day as a junior caseworker in a Legal Aid Firm’s immigration department, Malini was handed 30 cases for refugees and asylum seekers. One of her very first cases? A Sri Lankan Tamil woman seeking asylum in the UK, having escaped torture at the hands of government authorities.
‘I still remember the (many) hours I spent on the case. As it was legal aid, the amount of time I put into it certainly wasn’t covered by my paycheck! But, it mattered to me to take the time to prove the client’s account of being taken away and tortured whilst also corroborating her statement and physical injuries by liaising with third parties such as medical experts.’
The client’s case was a long process but ultimately a successful one. Malini looks back on it now as one of her most rewarding career highlights. Both the nature of the case, harnessing her expertise in ways that connected so directly to her own family history, and the timing of it so early in her career, helpfully whetted her appetite for more.
By 2020, Malini was made a Partner where she now heads up her firm's growing personal immigration practice.
Malini reflects on working as an immigration lawyer in the light of the sudden Taliban takeover in Afghanistan:
‘On the heels of the pandemic where the world’s pace had slowed down, the Taliban takeover was shocking. The UK immigration community was unprepared for the repercussions.’
As partner at a leading law firm, Malini continues to pursue pro bono work. This includes the effort to help British-Afghan families who have been separated following the takeover as well as Ukrainians looking for sanctuary at a time of war.
‘I've been fortunate to work with brilliant lawyers throughout my career. Yes, my current role involves more management and everything else that comes with being a partner, but I still get to do what I love, which is help people.’
As a student, Malini had also found ways of advocating for others, serving in her second year as the JCR Women’s Welfare Representative.
‘I always smile when I think of my time at St Peter’s—in fact, I could talk about it all day! It’s a real privilege to call myself a St Peter’s alumna. It was here that I made my best friends for life.’
The world in which Malini works is dominated, and often divided, by different views on immigration. In the midst of all this, Malini stays focused.
‘It’s not about headlines, it’s about humans. I am focusing on each client as an individual, on their story and circumstances. They are all going to be different. Immigration is a broad category and doesn’t just consist of asylum seekers and refugees. Immigration affects workers, families, students— people from all stages of life and circumstances.’
The cases Malini takes on require patience and tenacity. She reports that she learns a lot about resilience from her clients as she watches them navigate the uncertainty of the UK immigration system, and she often remains in contact with them years after the case is over.
‘My family used to tease me, saying, “Oh, Mali’s going to try to save the world!” I suppose I am in my own way. Helping one human being or family in the most desperate of times is my version of saving the world.’
HANNAH HEMPSTEAD
‘My family used to tease me, saying,
“Oh, Mali’s going to try to save the world!”
I suppose I am in my own way. Helping one human being or family in the most desperate of times is my version of saving the world.’
As the world faces ongoing environmental challenges, we caught up with four St Peter’s alumni working to champion sustainability across different sectors. While Poppy, Tim, Lydia and Matt each bring a unique perspective, background and approach, their stories inspire alumni and students who seek to bring about positive change through their studies, work and volunteering.
CHAMPIONING BIODIVERSITY: DR POPPY NICOL
For Poppy Nicol (Geography, 2003), sustainability work means connecting people and communities with the environment. She does this through one of humanity’s most basic needs: food.
Based in Cardiff, Wales, Poppy is the coordinator of Global Gardens, a community-based project that educates and empowers local communities to grow and cook food within a sustainable system.
‘A driving question for me in both my research and applied work is, “How can we create localised and regenerative food systems and food
biodiversity where we are now?” or, to put it more simply, “What can we grow sustainably in our community, and what happens when we work together to do it?”’
Prior to this, at Cardiff University, Poppy contributed to the work of the Sustainable Places Research Institute, focussing on sustainable food systems. She also worked with National Museum Wales, investigating how the museum’s biocultural collection can support public understanding and the valuing of biodiversity using co-production approaches. She remains affiliated with the University and the Museum even as she has turned her focus to Global Gardens and
community food growing. From upskilling local volunteers in a community gardening effort to providing sustainable cooking tips, Global Gardens is her way to putting research into action.
Studying Geography at St Peter’s College led Poppy to become interested in growing food, sustainability and the political ecology of modern food systems. She wrote her undergraduate dissertation on food deserts in Wales, where she now works and lives, and later wrote her PhD thesis on urban agroecological food systems, focussing on places that support regenerative approaches to local and regional food production.
In a food economy where food can travel thousands of miles before landing on the kitchen table, Poppy notes that many communities have become disconnected from agricultural processes and, as a result, are disconnected from the environment.
‘Food is something quite ancestral that connects us as people to each other and the planet. The way our current dominant food system has developed is only the result of the last century or so. Before that, we were much more connected to nature and the food we eat.’
In her research and work, Poppy shows that approaches that invite people to, quite literally, get their hands dirty, are valuable in creating connections and forging new ways forward.
‘A people-centred approach does not just support the eco-system, it also promotes justice, culture and connectivity.’
As an example of this, Poppy highlighted a recent experience with the grape vines at the Global Gardens plot. As more sanctuary seekers joined the project, the Syrian families were thrilled to use grape leaves in their recipes. A part of the plant Poppy might otherwise have ignored supported a feeling of home for other garden participants.
Poppy is clear that her work is not to be equated with a romanticised or unrealistic view of agriculture. She sees it as part of the bigger story, where global efforts at every scale from the individual to the industrial fit together.
‘The work we do has to be interconnected, progressive and focused on the future. It’s not regressive, parochial or nostalgic; it’s connecting in new ways and building on the diversity and interconnectedness of life.
The more connected we can be, the more collaborative we can be, the better. We need to be multidisciplinary and transdisciplinary if we are to address the global challenges we face. The more opportunities there are for dialogue and collaboration the better.’
Poppy found that the Syrian families were thrilled to use grape leaves for familiar recipes such as Warak Enab (stuffed vine leaves).
Retired Diplomat; Development Specialist
Climate change is experienced differently in various parts of the world, with some of the most economically disadvantaged being the most adversely and urgently impacted. This broader global concern motivates Tim Clarke (Zoology, 1971), who is spending his ‘retirement’ volunteering and advocating with organisations that address climate change. His passion for globally informed environmentalism is nothing new, and he traces it back to the holistic education he received at St Peter’s College.
He cites Dr Malcolm Coe (Emeritus Fellow), his Zoology Tutor, as one of the most significant influences on his life’s path. It was during his days under Malcolm Coe’s tutelage that Tim first travelled to Kenya in July 1972, leading an Oxford Ecological Research expedition, foreshadowing both his diplomatic career, his love of Africa, and one of his much-later retirement initiatives to develop a free 12-week MOOC (Massive Open Online Course) on Climate Change and the Sustainable Development Goals
IWC Secretary General, with the dripping ‘Message from the Whales’. The image went viral across the globe. His time at Friends of the Earth helped him discover his lifelong passion for community mobilisation and activism.
Tim spent more than 30 years working for a range of EU institutions in various roles, including as the EU Ambassador tot the African Union, IGAD, East African Community, Ethiopia, Djibouti and Tanzania, where he was responsible for EU political relationships and development co-operation on human rights, governance, the environment and climate change. Since retiring in 2013, he as spent the past decade volunteering with international NGOs and universities, from chairing the External Advisory Board of Lancaster University’s Centre for Global EcoInnovation to serving as a Senior Adviser with the World-Wide Fund for Nature (WWF). He has also served as a Trustee of the Jane Goodall Institute and is currently a Trustee of GAIA Education, an award-winning provider of holistic education for Sustainable Development. It is with GAIA Education that Tim has been developing the ambitious 12-week MOOC on Climate Change and SDGs. The plan is to launch the pilot version of this MOOC in 2024 for over 50,000 students in eight Sub-Saharan universities which are members of CESDA (The Centre for Education and Sustainable Development).
More than 50 years after matriculating, Tim’s experience at St Peter’s continues to motivate him.
‘St Peter’s is a place with welcoming arms, and I had a sense that I was became part of life education. It has
Senior Director, Regional ESG & Sustainability, CBRE
Lydia Dutton (née Booth) (Geography, 2002) has spent the past 17 years connecting with people who are buying, selling or developing real estate, helping them advance measurably sustainable and environmental operations. She has noticed an increased sense of urgency in business: ‘People were hesitantly open to the conversation before, but now they’re saying, “We really need to know this.”’
Like Poppy, Lydia studied Geography at St Peter’s. She came to Oxford with a passion for environmental activism, citing Greenpeace, WWF and local community gardening initiatives as major influences in her early years.
She recalls what she considers one of her life’s ‘sliding doors’ moments:
‘I had planned to do my dissertation on something related to the environment and activism, which was (and still is) a major interest of mine. However, there was a once-in-alifetime opportunity to participate in a Geography research trip, through the School of Geography, to St Petersburg and Moscow, which led me to write a dissertation on AIDS in postcommunist Russia of all things! Had I done my initially planned dissertation, would I have gotten to this point in my career sooner—or, would I have ended up working in activism rather than in a corporate setting?’
Following her first post-graduation job at a boutique management consultancy, Lydia found herself gravitating towards corporate responsibility and sustainability. This led to a number of sustainability roles in London and, later, in Birmingham, her current home. In 2022, she joined the ESG Consultancy at CBRE, the world’s largest real estate services and investments company. Now as Senior Director, she leads ESG and Sustainability in the Regional Markets, across 10 cities from Aberdeen to Southampton, connecting real estate stakeholders and clients across the spectrum – from investment and development to occupation – to crystallise and then realise sustainability and ESG ambitions.
In the last decade, there has been an increase in both popular awareness and high-level legislation surrounding the climate crisis. This trend is driving businesses to set ambitious goals to achieve net zero. However, in a profit-driven and resourceheavy sector, tensions arise between cost and ambition and between profit and mission, and that is where Lydia seeks to make an impact.
‘We can do things so much better. With the investors, developers and occupiers we’re working with, I see a huge potential for major advancements — the question we are supporting them with is how to make that change happen. Further, the sector desperately needs upskilling and fresh talent when it comes to environmental and social sustainability — I see this as a huge opportunity.’
She also notes a recent shift in the conversation around sustainability in the corporate world from Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) (making environmental commitments and thinking about fitting sustainability into current, set practices) to Sustainability and Environmental, Social, and Corporate Governance (ESG).
‘While CSR provides a framework for ethical and sustainable business practices, ESG is about setting metrics and reporting to demonstrate positive and long-term impact or change.’
Lydia’s approach is well-suited to the real estate industry, which by its very nature generates daily challenges for a sustainability professional.
‘Using your skills and knowledge in the place you’ve landed, bringing change on the inside, that’s really important. One of the things that I’ve only just started to work out as I have been reflecting on my career is that I am an activator. I like to start things up, get them moving, and then go on and do it all over again – consultancy is a fantastic way for me to do this.’
Returning to her time at St Peter’s, she considers the ways it transformed her passions and turned them into a career as a sustainability ‘activator’. Unsurprisingly, it had less to do with the specific dissertation she chose than with the way in which she was taught.
‘My job requires that I take on board many different viewpoints to get a wellrounded answer. This is something that I learned from tutorials. There was an assumed trust in the way we were taught that built both confidence and a positive approach to challenges. This is something that still energises me.’
Lydia also recalls how the community life of St Peter’s prepared her for a career requiring a collaborative approach:
‘In College, you’re constantly mixed in with students across all subject areas. With sustainability and net zero, it’s necessary to
work across different disciplines and agendas and somehow find a way to take everyone on the same journey. I learned these skills with people who are still my friends more than 20 years later.’
From her current base of Birmingham, Lydia seeks to activate change in the property development sector.
DR MATTHEW HUNT
Director, Environment, Resilience and Renewables; Leading Professional, Enhancing Society Together, Royal HaskoningDHV
Matt Hunt (MSc Enironmental Change and Management, 1998; DPhil Zoology, 2000) joined one of the first cohorts of the MSc in Environmental Change and Management just over 25 years ago. At that time, roles like his current position as a director at a sustainable engineering consultancy barely existed. He saw himself headed towards a research career in academia.
‘Climate change awareness was “there”, but not in the mainstream as it is today,’ he says. ‘The environment was then a much more partisan issue, and the first thing you had to do was convince people that climate change was actually happening. We’ve moved on from that significantly.’
Following his MSc, he stayed on to pursue an experimental Zoology DPhil, focusing once more on climate change.
Matt has fond memories of being a postgraduate at St Peter’s.
‘The St Peter’s MCR was a big part of my time at Oxford—I even served as MCR President for a year. I was also lucky to have my DPhil supervisor at my college (Jonathan Newman—now Vice-President of Research at Wilfrid Laurier University). And alongside my studies I rowed for the St Peter’s Boat Club.’
Matt soon realised he was passionate about building bridges between the academy, policy-making and industry—focussing on the application of what he and his fellow researchers were discovering. After completing his DPhil in 2003, he landed a job as a Climate Change and Environment Manager for a local authority in Cambridgeshire.
‘The early to mid-2000s was a period of ambitious development in the UK. With the housing boom, it was important to consider sustainability, addressing issues of water supply, decarbonisation, renewables, car-free transport and social equity.’
Matt joined the independent engineering consultancy firm Royal HaskoningDHV in 2007, where he is now their Director of Environment, Resilience and Renewables and the Leading Professional for their Enhancing Society Together purpose. His group primarily targets major sustainable infrastructure initiatives in the UK, supporting the delivery of large-scale projects such as offshore wind plants that produce enough renewable energy to power up to 1.5 million homes.
As a Board Advisor for Royal HaskoningDHV, he contributes to driving forward and delivering on the firm’s mission, vision, and purpose.
‘It is important to make sure that what we can back up what we say about ourselves, and it’s not “greenwash”. It has to have real content.’
The demands of leadership in a global business are significant, but Matt still loves getting involved in the technical side of the work.
‘I still love “getting my hands dirty” with the actual delivery of projects. At the moment, I’ve got three UK offshore wind developments for which I am our project director, and I am also advising on a climate resilience venture for a port in the Mediterranean.
The application of what we know from research into large-scale interventions is really important to me. I want to see the impact.
Thankfully, in the last 25 years, the research world has become far more closely tied to the practical world than it used to be.’
Matt believes the closing gap between research and application reflects a larger trend in climate and sustainability awareness, activism and innovation.
‘All of these things fit together. I am involved with the advancement of significant developments that support and deliver positive changes for society. At times, I work on large-scale projects that I appreciate some more grassroots environmental activists might challenge, like transitional energy-from-waste schemes, but the transition to a sustainable
world is a complex one. Like research, industry and community work, there is plenty that can and should be done in awarenessraising, lobbying and activism. All of it has an important part to play. In the end, opinions on how we get to a more sustainable future may vary between people and sectors, but ultimately we are all going in the same direction.’
The St Peter’s sustainability story is not limited to Poppy, Tim, Lydia or Matt. Reaching across decades, subjects and sectors, we hear frequently from St Peter’s alumni who are dedicating their careers, life choices, and, like Tim, retirements, to making positive change.
Many St Peter’s alumni are responding to the climate crisis in innovative and impactful ways. Do be in touch to let us know of other stories in this area!
HANNAH HEMPSTEAD
Iain Whyte shares how the summer of 1964 set him on a lifelong path of pursuing racial justice through activism and research.
‘Go back to Scotland and tell them about our struggle here.’
Those were the words of Dr Martin Luther King Jr to me, a recent graduate of St Peter’s College, and now a 23-year-old Theology student in Glasgow, as we sat in his office in Atlanta, Georgia late in the summer of 1964.
A few months before this monumental meeting, I was living in London and volunteering at Christian Action, run by the peace activist and Dean of St Paul’s Cathedral, Canon John Collins. Canon Collins asked me what I was doing over the summer vacation. I replied that I would travel around the southern United States, living near Atlanta, Georgia, and on Sundays taking services in the northern Alabama Presbyterian Churches.
When I told Canon Collins of my plans, he casually suggested that I ‘go and see Martin.’ ‘Martin?’
‘Yes, Martin King,’ he responded. ‘He’s a good friend. I’ll write you a letter of introduction.’
And he did.
I had had an interest in learning more about issues of slavery, racism, and Civil Rights since reading History at St Peters, where ‘Slavery and Secession in the US’ was my special subject for finals in 1963. I entered the South in 1964 on the day that President Johnson signed the Civil Rights Bill into law. I found that racial segregation was still all too alive wherever I went, and the Alabama churches were deeply divided (as many are still). But what if an African American came to a service that I was conducting? I heard the elders discuss this possibility and I resolved that if anyone attempted to exclude someone from a service I was leading, I would immediately vacate the pulpit and finish my summer early.
My duties in northern Alabama Presbyterian Churches were limited to Sundays, giving me the rest of the week free for travel. I had read about the Mississippi Summer Campaign (MSC), where students from all over the States travelled to the most hard-line racist state in the US (and where lynching was still a norm). The student activists ran ‘Freedom Schools’ and supported local African Americans undertaking the risky task of registering to vote. I had also read of the so-called ‘disappearance’ of three MSC students, Chaney, Goodman and Schwerner, who had been arrested by the local Sheriff. Their bodies were discovered under a dam later that summer.
I managed to make a connection with the MSC and was invited to spend some days in Greenville, Mississippi, helping with voter registration and teaching children in the ‘Freedom School’ about other cultures. I was met by the local African American organiser who welcomed me with the cheerful comment that if the Ku Klux Klan got me, ‘your Scottish (sic) passport won’t save you!’ It was one of the most exhilarating and terrifying times of my life. When we were desegregating a cinema one day, we were surrounded by a circle of state police with guns at the ready. One false move and they would not have hesitated
to club or fire.
During the summer of 1964 I was accommodated by Mr Peters, a wonderful old gentleman who told me stories of his father’s experience of being enslaved. When I learned that several local African Americans who hosted students had had their houses fire-bombed, I asked Mr Peters if he was afraid. ‘Lord no,’ he said to me. ‘I’m 95 and I’ll soon go to heaven. They can’t do anything to me now.’ When President Obama declared he was standing on the shoulders of those who went before, I thought of this fine man who had endured so much but kept his humanity. His photo has been in my study ever since, and I have dedicated my latest book to his memory.
Mr Peters, my host during the summer of 1964
It took weeks of phoning to get an appointment with Dr King, by which time he had been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. At our meeting, Dr King asked me to visit Clifford and Virginia Durr, a white couple in Montgomery, Alabama (home to the famous ‘bus boycott’). He explained that Clifford was a lawyer
who supported and represented participants of the bus boycott (including posting bail for Rosa Parks), resulting in his own family being socially isolated. ‘White people completely shun them,’ he said, ‘and negroes (the term used widely at the time) are too frightened to visit them. Please go and see them.’
I did – and spent the night at their house later that summer.
I returned to Montgomery in 2012 and visited the Dexter Parsonage (the King family home from 1954 to 1960). Hearing of my meeting with Dr King in 1964, the museum guide gave me the key to the home and the privilege of opening the door and sitting in the kitchen where he and the family had survived the bombing in 1956.
I hope that I fulfilled Dr King’s request to tell people in Scotland about the struggle. Once back in Glasgow, I spoke about Civil Rights to many groups, was interviewed by The Glasgow Herald and wrote a piece for the Guardian
The meeting ignited in me a passion for racial justice that has informed much of my work and ministry over the 60 years since and inspired me to continue exploring the history of racism and slavery in Scotland. I have published widely on the subject of slavery in Scotland, including the books Scotland and the Abolition of Black Slavery (Edinburgh University Press, 2006), Zachary Macaulay 1768-1838: The Steadfast Scot in the British Anti-Slavery Movement (Liverpool University Press, 2011), and Send Back the Money!: The Free Church of Scotland and American Slavery (James Clarke & Co, 2012). I am just putting the finishing touches to another book, Tools of Control or Seeds of Liberation?: Reformed Evangelism and Slavery in the Ante-Bellum South (James Clarke & Co, forthcoming)
Visiting the Dexter Parsonage in 2012
At the 50th Anniversary of the Selma to Montgomery March in 2015, I was the only European to walk that journey, raising funds for Anti-Slavery International. This time, the police escorted us rather than pointing their guns at us. It was amazing to meet some of the veterans of 1965. Every morning
Mrs Crayton, in her 90s, was brought by her granddaughter to where we were starting that day to greet the marchers with hugs and prayers.
‘What did you do 50 years ago?’ I asked her.
‘Ah,’ she said, ‘they were tapping the phones, so I carried messages for young Martin. It was risky.’
In the light of the killing of Michael Brown in 2014, we carried banners reading ‘Black Lives Matter’ and ‘Restore our Voting Rights’, conscious all the time that the struggle for racial justice is ongoing and our only hope, and not just in the US, but for all of us.
‘No one should underestimate the impact of their gift. For me, it’s made the difference between getting a degree from the top university in the world and having to refuse my offer because of finances. The support I received completely changed my life and has given me the best education possible.’
Zuhaira (History and Politics, 2020)
However you choose to give, your support goes to work right away, ensuring that we can build the next generation of leaders and contributors through exceptional tutorial teaching and community life.
A GLIMPSE FROM THE COLLEGE ARCHIVES INTO ST PETER’S HAPPENINGS 10, 25, 50 AND 75 YEARS AGO.
10 years (2014):
Journalist, broadcaster and presenter Andrew Marr, Honorary Fellow of St Peter’s College, gave a talk in the College Chapel on 26 November 2014 on the State of the Union following the Scottish independence referendum in September of that year.
50 years (1974):
25 years (1999):
Share your news with St Peter’s College by visiting our website, www.spc.ox.ac.uk/alumni/stay-in-touch.
1960-1969
Joseph Mason (History, 1968)
Terence published Going for Cold: A Biography of a Great Physicist by J.G. Weisend II and Terence Meaden (Springer, 2021)
A co-authored biography about physicist Dr Kurt Mendelssohn (1906-1980) who was Terence’s doctoral supervisor in low-temperature physics research at the Clarendon Laboratory in Oxford during the years 1957 to 1961.
Dr Mendelssohn escaped from Nazi Germany to Oxford in April 1933 and later that year he was the first scientist in Britain to liquefy helium. His ground-breaking research of the next two decades in low-temperature physics increased the fundamental understanding of the behaviour of liquid helium and superconductivity, and for this, he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society.
Read more from Terence Meaden about the book and his experience working with Kurt Mendelssohn here.
Joseph contributed a chapter on the Great Stone of Lyng in the volume Britain's Landmarks and Legends (National Trust, 2023)
‘On 14 March 2022, at the age of 71 – over 50 years after my first degree at St Peter’s and after four years of research – I was thrilled to be awarded the title of Doctor (PhD) in Political Science by Paris 8 University. The title of my thesis (written in English) is “21st Century Commons: A Critical Appraisal.”’
Along with Paul, we are curious to know whether this is an age record for a St Peter's alumni obtaining a non-honorary doctoral degree! Please do write to development.office@spc.ox.ac.uk if you know anyone who can beat Paul’s record!
Tim published The Routledge Companion to Applied Performance: Volume One – Mainland Europe, North and Latin America, Southern Africa, and Australia and New Zealand (Routledge, 2020) and The Applied Theatre Reader (Routledge, 2020).
Roger was a contributor to Ecumenical Encounters with Desmond Mpilo Tutu, edited by Sarojini Nadar, Tinyiko Maluleke, Dietrich Werner, Vicentia Kgabe, Rudolf Hinz (Regnum Books, 2021)
The SPC Golf Society held its autumn match in September 2024 at the magnificent Royal Automobile Club near Epsom. It was a perfect day; blue skies, shirt-sleeve temperatures, a course in tip-top condition and excellent hospitality. See the bottom of page 27 for photo highlights from the day. We intend to hold (at least) two events in 2025. The first will be at Maidenhead GC in late June and the second at the RAC in September. We look forward to seeing you there.
The St Peter’s Alumni Golf Society is entirely alumni-run. Any St Peter’s alumni golfers interested in joining the Golf Society gatherings in the future may contact the St Peter’s Development Office (development.office@spc.ox.ac.uk) to be put in touch with Robert Wilson (1972).
Michael Harris (Music, 1977)
Michael was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2025 New Year Honours list for his services to music. As Organist and Master of the Music at St Giles’ Cathedral in Edinburgh, Michael was responsible for directing the music at the Service of Thanksgiving for the life of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II in September 2022, when Her Late Majesty lay at rest in St Giles', as well as for the Service of Dedication and the presentation of The Honours of Scotland to King Charles III in July 2023.
Michael Latner (Jurisprudence, 1977)
Michael was appointed to the Order of Ontario in 2023, the province’s highest civilian honour, for contributing significantly to Ontario’s social and economic prosperity through business and philanthropy.
1980-1989
CD released in memory of Ian King (Music, 1981) (d. 2020)
In 2022, Gloucester Cathedral Choir released a CD of church music composed by Ian King (1981) for Gloucester Cathedral Choir. The recording was made in memory of Ian, who passed away in December 2020.
Max Hill (Jurisprudence, 1983)
Max was appointed Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath (KCB) in the 2024 New Year’s Honours for services to law and order.
1990-1999
In 2021, Steven recorded two volumes of a projected four-volume survey of the harpsichord works of Johann Ludwig Krebs (1713 - 1780). Krebs is widely acknowledged as one of J. S. Bach’s favourite students and his music fascinatingly shows the transition from Baroque Music, which was starting to be seen as old-fashioned, into the Classical Period. Volumes 1 and 2 have been released on the Resonus label (September 2021 and April 2022, respectively).
Jeevani Mantotta-Maxted (Biochemistry, 1994)
Jeev published three new novels: When Soma Met Sahan (2023) and Knowing Me Knowing You (2024), and The Winner Bakes it All (2024).
Christoffe van Tulleken (Physiological Sciences, 1996)
Chris has published a new book, Ultra-Processed People: Why Do We All Eat Stuff That Isn’t Food … and Why Can’t We Stop? (Penguin, 2023). The volume is a Sunday Times bestseller.
Elena was elected Fellow of the Royal Historical Society in 2023, and also celebrates three recent publications: Michelangelo, the Byzantines, and Plato (2021), Creation and Time. Byzantine and Modern (2021), Glimpses into Byzantium. Its Philosophy and Arts (2021).
Mary Ann Lund (English Language and Literature, 1998)
Mary Ann published A User's Guide to Melancholy (Cambridge University Press, 2021). The volume has been praised by, among others, Philip Pullman.
Laura was appointed to the Order of the British Empire in December 2023 for services to Crisis Management and British Foreign Policy.
Akemi Brodsky (Visiting Student in Green Sciences, 2006-2007)
Akemi published The Brill Pill (She Writes Press, 2023), a near-future, speculative narrative about a medical research scientist who works on brain regeneration.
Helen Han (MJur, 2008)
Helen was promoted to Associate Professor of Teaching at Lingnan University (Hong Kong).
Simon Clark (Physics, 2009)
Simon published Firmament: The Hidden Science of Weather, Climate Change and the Air That Surrounds Us (Hodder & Stoughton, 2022).
Alice Winn (English Language and Literature, 2012)
Alice was awarded the September 2023 Waterstones debut fiction prize for her debut novel, In Memoriam (Penguin, 2023).
Swéta Rana (Philosophy and Theology, 2009)
Swéta published her debut novel: Queuing for the Queen (Aria, 2023). A British-Indian story about a mother and daughter, set in the queue that formed when Queen Elizabeth II died and mourners wanted to view her lying in state.
Leonora Craig Cohen (MSt English, 2014)
Leonora's fiction debut, Parallel Hells, is a Gothic short story collection written under the pen name Leon Craig. It has been reviewed favourably in The Financial Times, The Literary Review, The London Magazine and elsewhere.
Ameer Kotecha (Philosophy, Politics and Economics, 2010)
Ameer published The Platinum Jubilee Cookbook: Recipes and stories from Her Majesty's representatives around the world (Jon Croft Editions, 2022)
Robin Adams (DPhil History, 2014)
Robin published Shadow of a Taxman: Who Funded the Irish Revolution? (Oxford University Press, 2022).
Daniel Mandur Thomaz (DPhil Medieval and Modern Languages, 2015)
Daniel published Transatlantic Radio Drama: Antônio Callado and the BBC Latin American Service during and after World War II (University of Pittsburgh Press, 2023). This book is based on the doctoral thesis that Daniel completed at St Peter's, supervised by Prof Claire Williams.
We are delighted to welcome our alumni back to St Peter’s College or to meet them around the world! Alumni events are your chance to be in touch with old friends and tutors and new members of the College. Below are a few snapshots presenting highlights from several recent alumni events. To explore upcoming events, visit www.spc.ox.ac.uk/events/alumni-events
The 1980-1984 Gaudy in March.
Our
of
‘This recording is affecting in all sorts of ways: emotionally direct, narratively compelling, imaginatively rich, harmonically supple and deeply dutiful towards the writers of the texts. Piers, himself a St Peter’s alumnus, and more recently as our Associate Composer, understands what makes our students and Choir tick, and has a craftsmanship as a composer that produces stylistically varied music which is an utter joy to sing. I hope you will hear as much joy in our sound as we had in making the recording.’
- Quintin Beer, Director of Music
UPCOMING EVENTS
5 JULY Shakespeare@Peter’s
13 SEPTEMBER: Gaudy (1999-2002)
20 SEPTEMBER 2025: 50th, 55th and 60th Anniversary Reunion
Our events calendar is always subject to change.
Please visit www.spc.ox.ac.uk/events to explore the latest events. CONTACT THE DEVELOPMENT AND ALUMNI RELATIONS TEAM development.office@spc.ox.ac.uk +44 (0) 1865 614 985
We look forward to seeing you soon!
21 SEPTEMBER: Howard Society Luncheon
30 NOVEMBER AND 4 DECEMBER: Advent Carol Services 10 DECEMBER: London Choral Carol Concert