WELCOME FROM OUR PRESIDENT AND VICE-CHANCELLOR

Happy New Year and welcome to your latest edition of Hartley News, the University of Southampton’s alumni and supporter magazine. You are part of an inspiring success story, one that goes from strength to strength each year. Together we are making great progress, from appointing our first ever Associate Vice-President for Equality, Diversity, Inclusion and Social Justice, to breaking ground on the first stage of our new estates development programme. We have improved or consolidated our position in all major league tables, been shortlisted for the Social Mobility Awards in recognition of our sector leading work in Widening Participation, and secured significant funding for our life-changing biomedical research. We were delighted to see several of our former students recognised by the British Council’s Study UK Alumni Awards, with winners and finalists in India, Jordan, Nigeria, and the Global finals.

2022 also saw the launch of our inaugural Outstanding Alumni Awards, celebrating talented members of our alumni community who embody the University’s mission to inspire excellence to achieve the remarkable and build an inclusive world. Our four winners represent the skill and dedication of our global alumni community, and I hope you find their stories inspiring.

You can read more about these developments in the following pages of Hartley News, as well as catching up with news and stories from fellow members of your alumni and supporter community.

I was heartened to see so many of you at our special 70th celebration, marking the anniversary of the University receiving its Royal Charter from the late Queen Elizabeth II. I hope that those of you who were able to come to Highfield Campus enjoyed the celebrations and were able to connect with old friends, and perhaps make some new ones.

The University of Southampton was the first institution to be granted a Royal Charter by The Queen, two months after her accession to the throne in 1952. The University community was deeply saddened by the death of Her Late Majesty earlier this year. Our special connection to The Queen has been a source of great pride to all of us at Southampton, and the University flag was flown at half-mast for the period of national mourning.

Looking forward to the future, I am pleased to be able to share with you some news from our colleagues at the Centre for Cancer Immunology, who are working in partnership with our world-leading data scientists to drive forward pioneering advances in cancer research. These new approaches could lead to a future where earlier detection and better modelling could save countless lives. You can read about some of this work, which represents just the beginning of Southampton’s ground-breaking collaborative research, on page 10.

Wishing you all the very best for 2023.

Professor Mark E. Smith CBE President and Vice-Chancellor