Spring 2011 Newsletter

GirtonDevelopment Newsletter of Girton College Cambridge Spring 2011

newsletter

Spring 2011 | Girton Newsletter 3

Introduction

The story of Girton turns onhousekeepers who care, prize-winningchefs, and staff who feel part of thefamily. It is inspired by a thrivingFellowship; a social and scholarlycommunity whose cutting-edgeresearch underpins a fine programmeof teaching. And then there is theheartbeat of it all – successive cohortsof students – who inspire us with theirenergy, exuberance, enthusiasm andachievement. Scholarship, sport, arts, entertainment; an emphasis on excellence, celebrating breadth aswell as depth: Girton has it all! So far,so good.

The worst of times... there's the rub.Higher education has an uncertainfinancial future, and Girton is noexception. We are, indeed, entering asecond year of cuts. Key budget-holdersare working miracles to bring operatingcosts into line. And there are toughertimes ahead, especially for an institutionso committed to equality and diversity; sodetermined to keep its doors open toanyone with a passion for learning andthe potential to succeed. Fees are set torise, and our bursaries will be stretched.Teaching resources will be thinly spread,and College will respond. There will, Itrust, be no compromise on the qualityand content of the ‘Girton experience’.

In fact, thanks to the support of alumniand friends, together with some far-sighted thinking in the bursary, we aremanaging both to tighten our belts andentertain ambitious plans. College is

gradually, systematically andwholeheartedly, going ‘green’. We areactively raising funds to enhance theFellowship – boosted by the matchingfunds donated anonymously to supportour most pressing teaching needs. Andwhen the time is right, we have buildingplans on College’s main site, includingthe new sports pavilion.

In the meantime, you only have to glancethrough the pages of this newsletter toappreciate the vibrancy, diversity andsheer sense of momentum that infusesCollege life.

This year alone we are announcing anational poetry prize, hosting worldpremiere performances, mounting newlecture series and profiling core subjects.But this is only possible because we arein partnership with you. Now more thanever we appreciate those generations of

Girtonians who had the foresight to buildup the endowment, protecting us againsteconomic shocks and policy shifts.Whether through gifts of money, time,vision or enthusiasm, this tradition ofphilanthropy is what breathes life intothe spirit of Girton. Thank you!

Professor Susan J. Smith FBA

The best of times... really, it is. Girton’s buildings and grounds are in good repair: looking smart andfeeling homely; testimony to the wise stewardship of generous gifts. More notably still, the Collegecommunity is thriving; full of kindly people with each others’ interests at heart.

Message from the MistressProfessor Susan J. Smith FBA

In this issue...

Editor Francisca Malarée

Design www.cantellday.co.uk

Photography Girton photographer,

Kiloran Howard, Emma Cornwall,

Andy Marsh, Nigel Stead,

Stephen Bond, Andrew Houston

and Verity Armstrong

Print Norwich Colour Print

Contact:

Development Office

Girton College

FREEPOST ANG6880

Cambridge CB3 0YE

+44 (0)1223 766672/338901

[email protected]

www.girton.cam.ac.uk

Copyright in editorial matter and this

collection as a whole: Girton College

Cambridge © 2011. Copyright in

indivdual articles: © April 2011

All rights reserved. No part of this pblication may be

reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted,

in any forms or by any means, without prior permission

in writing of the publisher, nor be issued to the public

or circulated in any form of binding or cover other

than that in which it is published.

Message from the MistressThe Mistress, Professor Susan J. Smith FBA writes.

3

Alumni InterviewsLife of a recent graduate and interviews with two Girtonian MPs.

14

BooksReview of Emma Donoghue’s ‘Room’.

20

People’s PortraitsThe People’s Portraits exhibition celebrated its 10thanniversary in 2010

24

College SportReport on a new addition to GCBC’s fleet, and the launchof Girton Alumni Sports Association.

27

Please see back page for forthcoming events


Development

Girton Newsletter | Spring 20114

Development

Funds donated for teaching

The College received just over £2 millionin new donations and pledges in thefinancial year ending June 2010, thanksto the generosity of alumni and friends.

Many of the donations were to supportteaching, and to date over £1 millionhas been pledged in the most recentfinancial year for teaching support. Thisexcludes the matching fund which is stillavailable for those donating to supportteaching in Economics, English, History,Mathematics, Modern and MedievalLanguages and Law.

British higher education has become a public-private partnership, and atGirton we rise to this challenge as in the past. Every year we hold aceremony to mark the vision and

generosity of our benefactors, and we are conscious that it is this samephilanthropic spirit that will secure ourfinancial future. The need in teachinghas become especially acute with thecut in Arts and Humanities funding (for all of the UK’s universities) from£2.7 billion to £700 million.

Girton is prominent in the 'value-added'league tables. We are proud that,thanks to the investment we make intoteaching, Girtonians achieve degreesmeasurably better than their schoolgrades predicted.

Despite financial constraint, Girton hasan ambitious teaching programme,supporting all subjects and with acommitment to equality and diversity inaccess, experience and achievement.

The tuition fee, which will come intoplace in 2012, will unfortunately onlycover the sum which has been lost bythe government funding cut, andtherefore generates no extra funds forteaching. In addition to this, some ofthe funds raised from the fee will rightlybe allocated to bursaries, which leavesless allocation to support the supervisionsystem which is so cental to theCambridge experience.

Sports pavilion building to commence!

We are delighted that after a few yearsof fundraising, Girton has reached thetarget to be able to begin work on itsnew pavilion on the Crewdson Field.Although the building will commence in2011, fundraising for the project isongoing up until completion which isdue in 2012. We are grateful to all of

Projects update

more stretched, and per student is£70,000 – other Colleges have nearer to£200,000 per student. To remain at theforefront of education, and sustainteaching regardless of cuts in governmentsupport for Higher Education, Girtonmust bolster its endowment.

In the many qualities that moneycannot buy, Girton is certainly rich –probably the wealthiest in Cambridge.Girton is one of the larger colleges, has a firm commitment to equality and diversity, recruits widely and offersplaces for students in almost everysubject. This strategy of inclusion isintegral to the College's mission, but itis expensive to maintain. Girton hasnevertheless taken the bold decisionnot only to use its own funds to bridge the gap between universityappointments and the staffing needs ofa small-group teaching programme, but

also to offer career positions (ratherthan temporary appointments),underlining College's commitment tothe quality and continuity of thisdistinctive student experience.

The support of alumni and friends isthe key to our ambitions to expand thesupport for teaching, learning andresearch that previous donors haveinitiated. College is entirely behindfulfilling its original access mission byenabling Girton to give better academicand financial support to students.Donations also enable us to narrow thegap between Girton’s per capitaendowment and that of other colleges.

The future

In the current situation, Girton hasundertaken measures to protectteaching from the decline in income,but has had to make cuts in other

departments and in maintenance tostop the erosion of its endowment. Inaddition to this, the augmented councilis taking strategic decisions with regardto the site and other operations toreduce annual expenditure.

The challenge for the College, which hasbeen made more acute by the financialcrisis, is to continue to build up itsendowment in order to sustain its currentoperations, as well as to make efficiencysavings. Donating to the endowment orto endowed teaching posts is a vital partof the path to sustainability.

With even greater reductions in fundingthrough cuts to government funding ofArts and Humanities and the introductionof fees largely being used to counterthese cuts and provide bursaries, Girtonneeds to build its endowment now morethan ever before.

Girton: The financial story

Girton’s assets

Assets £

Buildings, furniture and fittings £64 million

Endowment (Investment capital) £49 million

Less creditors (£8.5 million)

Net assets £104.5 million

Income and expenditure:The College’s fee income is constrained by public policy; students are charged economic rates of rent, and conference prices include an element of profit, but conference income isconstrained by term dates and College activities, which take priority. The expenditure table also shows depreciation of the College’s buildings, of over £1 million per year, which means the College runs an operating deficit in most years (but not normally a cash deficit). This deficitcan be funded only by using up capital – a situation that is unsustainable in the long-run.

Income

Income source 2009/10 2008/9 2007/8

Fees (constrained by government) £2.3 million £2.1 million £2 million

Student and conference income £3.3 million £3.5 million £3.5 million(rents, catering, rooms)

Investment income (including income £2.2 million £2.2 million £2.8 millionfrom endowment)*

Total £7.8 million £8 million £8.4 million

*This excludes cash income from donations, which thanks to alumni and friends totalled over £2 million in thelast financial year, as these are mostly added to endowment capital.

Expenditure

Type of expenditure 2009/10 2008/9 2007/8

Education £3.4 million £3.2 million £2.8 million

Residence, catering £5.5 million £5.8 million £5.4 million(conference and student)

Depreciation of buildings included in £1.3 million £1.3 million £1 millionabove expenditure

Total £8.9 million £9 million £8.2 million

The College’s endowment – its investment capital, as shown in table 1 – is used to support thedeficit College faces on its education account supporting ‘core’ functions, such as teachingposts, learning, Research Fellowships and research expenses, as well as scholarships, bursaries,and prizes. Last year, plugging the gap between education income and expenditure cost theCollege nearly £1 million. Expressed another way, Girton spends £4,857 per student, of whichthe college fee only makes up £3,285. In addition to this, there are deficits on residence incomeand expenditure, as the College receives no state funding to maintain or improve its historicbuildings, which makes alumni support for improvements and the endowment critical.

Is Girton rich or poor?

Girton is stretched by educating morestudents than the (mean) average inCambridge, and depends on a less thanaverage-sized endowment to do this,therefore it has a lower than averageendowment per capita. Arguably, Girtonbears a disproportionate share of the costof collegiate Cambridge, as it directlyemploys many teaching officers ratherthan relying on university-funded posts.

Comparisons can also be madeinternationally. Cambridge (Colleges andUniversity combined) has an endowmentof approximately £3 billion, whereas Yaleand Harvard, institutions with which itdirectly competes, have endowments of£8.5 billion and £14 billion respectively,though these too have been affected bythe financial crisis. In terms of per capitaendowment, Harvard has £600,000 foreach student, whereas Cambridge onaverage has £150,000 – however being a larger College, Girton’s endowment is

The College is funded by a mixture of public and private resources.

Girton’s endowment was affected by the economic recession, but has

now recovered, from £39 million as at 30 June 2009, to £49 million

as at 30th June 2010.

The College’s net assets (total wealth) are valued at £105 million, if the value of its land andbuilding assets are added to the endowment sum.

Economics at Girton

Economics at Girton has a strongacademic history. The most notablealumna in this respect is Joan Robinson1903-1983 (Maurice, 1922). By manyexperts since, she is thought to havebeen deserving of the Nobel Prize forEconomics for her work on imperfectcompetition and her lifetime of diversecontributions to the economic discipline,including neo-Ricardian economics,development economics and being anoriginal ‘disciple’ of J.M. Keynes.

The College has a lively economicssociety, named after Joan Robinson, and this hosts termly events, which haveincluded guest alumni speakers such asRachel Lomax (Salmon, 1963), formerDeputy Governor of the Bank of England,Colm O’Shea (1989) Founder of ComacCapital, and Colin Grassie (1980), CEO of Deutsche Bank UK, in the last year.

Girton has now established a five-yearJoan Robinson Research Fellowship inHeterodox Economics, which is jointlyfunded by College and the CambridgePolitical Economy Society Trust(CPEST – a charity established by theCambridge Political Economy Society,producer of The Cambridge Journal ofEconomics, Contributions to PoliticalEconomy and Cambridge Journal ofRegions, Economy and Society). Thishas a teaching component (six hours)compensated for by its longer run, and represents part of our widercommitment to erasing the oftenartificial boundary between teachingand research positions in the interestsof more rounded career-building.

There are usually 10 Economicsundergraduates in each year. Theteaching is led by an establishedDirector of Studies, Dr Clive Lawsonand by Dr Kamiar Mohaddes, who is an

expert in resource price modelling andthe oil sector.

Excellent teaching and the EllenMcArthur bursaries, which reward Firsts and upper seconds, have madeEconomics one of the most successfulsubjects in the College. This quality isreflected in last year’s results, with allGirtonians securing a 2:1 or better inthe subject with several first-class scores.

At a time when understanding theeconomy has never been more urgent,Girton seeks to support, expand andwiden its programme of work oneconomics and finance. This ischallenging as only a little over half theacademic staff in the Department ofEconomics choose to hold collegepositions, and there is a gap to fill ifGirton is to cement its leading role inthe discipline.

Girton has embarked on a campaign led by alumni donations to endow atleast one of its teaching positions inEconomics, a funding need which iseven more acute now that governmentsupport to the funding of all arts andhumanities teaching has been removed.Endowment of a full-time post inperpetuity, including the costs ofpension and career progression is £1.5 million. As one of College’s coreteaching needs, the subject is eligiblefor matched funding from Girton’sanonymous donor. This initiative will bemore widely publicised with a speakerevent in London featuring notablealumni from Girton working in thefinancial industry.

An independent, philanthropicallyfunded post (which could be named) isessential to the continuing success ofEconomics at Girton.

Development


Development


those who have supported the project upuntil now, which will give Girton the beston-site sports facilities of any college.

The first element of the sports pavilionproject was completed in 2008, whenthe new pitches were relaid. The Collegenow boasts a full-size rugby pitch and afull-size football pitch.

The Jane Elizabeth Martin FellowshipFund and Jane Elizabeth MartinPoetry Prize

A new fund to support teaching inEnglish has been established, thanks tothe generosity of the Martin family. Jane

Elizabeth Martin sadly died last year, andher father, Professor Sir Laurence Martin,has dedicated a Fellowship fund in hermemory. The Jane Elizabeth MartinFellowship Fund will enable us tosupport one of the Fellowships inEnglish, the other is supported by theBradbrook Fellowship.

Jane Martin, who was up in 1978,studied Classics and loved literature. In later life she wrote poetry and shortstories. She worked as an editor of the prestgious Review of EconomicStudies, and was active in a number ofreading and poetry groups in London.

Additionally, Jane Martin’s family hasalso generously established a nationalpoetry prize of £1000 to be based atGirton. The Jane Martin Girton PoetryPrize will open in January and will beopen to any poet writing in the Englishlanguage. More details are available onthe College web site atwww.girton.cam.ac.uk/poetryprize

Generations of alumni and theirfamilies have continued to create fundsto remember friends and former tutors.Students are benefiting today fromlegacies which enable them to come to Girton to study and make the mostof the opportunities we offer.

There are a number of different ways inwhich you can make provision for Girtonin your Will. A pecuniary bequest is asimple legacy of a specific sum of moneyleft to a named beneficiary, which can

be index-linked to preserve its value. Aresiduary bequest can be used to leaveall, or part, of the residue of your estateto the College.

A reversionary bequest is amechanism that leaves your assets to a named individual for their lifetime,after which the whole, or a specifiedproportion thereof, reverts to theCollege. Bequests to Girton, which is a Registered Charity, are exempt from Inheritance Tax, and thus

including the College in your Will canmake a big difference to the taxablevalue of your estate.

If you would like to have a confidentialdiscussion about making a legacy toGirton, please contact either Fran Malaréeor Sam Venn in the Development Office,who will be happy to help you. You mayalso like to download our legacy brochurefrom our website, or call theDevelopment Office and we will send you a copy.

Supporting Girton through a legacy

Thanking our donors – the 1869 Society

The 1869 Society remembers the date of our foundation, and honours thosewho have made provision for College in their Will.

The Society’s first event is a luncheon party in College on Saturday 14 May 2011.Everyone who has notified us of a legacy will be invited.

If you’re not sure whether we know your intentions, or if you would like to informus that you have added Girton to your Will, please contact Samuel Venn in theDevelopment Office for a confidential discussion. You can also complete the legacypledge form in the donation forms in the centre of this publication.

Throughout our history, legacies have been of tremendous benefit to Girton College. Our earlybenefactors gave generously during and after their lifetimes and the names of our founders areremembered today in the prizes and scholarships that are still awarded in their names.


Development Development


Introducing new colleagues

We are delighted that we have a new member of the Development team, Tamsin Elbourn, and a

new colleague working on College communications as PR co-ordinator, Andy Allen.

Tamsin Elbourn is the Mistress’s Officeand Development Assistant at Girton,working in each office respectively inthe mornings and afternoons. Herresponsibilities include assisting theDevelopment Director and the Mistressparticularly with College events andadministration. She read history at the University of Leeds, and spent ayear volunteering for an Arts charitybased in Letchworth and also workedas a booking agent for a folk andpoetry project. Tamsin dances withTabeeya Egyptian Dance company andOrigins Latin Dance Company in herspare time.

Andrew Allen has been appointedPublic Relations Co-ordinator for theCollege. Employed on a part-time basis,his role is to help the College bettercommunicate its strengths.

His background is in communicationsand campaigning. Over the last 10years he has worked for the NationalTrust, the Wildlife Trusts and the GreenAlliance. This has included authoringand promoting research reports,

fundraising, acting as media spokesmanand taking part in decision-making andadvisory bodies. He has a BSc. inEnvironmental Management and anMA in Environmental Policy.

Alumni wanted forBBC documentary

The BBC is researching a documentaryabout the experiences of people whostudied at Cambridge around 20 yearsago and who are currently aged around40. If you were at the University in theyears around 1988 to 1992, and youwould be happy to help with theresearch by contributing your thoughtsabout studying at Cambridge and theeffect the University has had on yourlives, please get in touch with theresearch team via email [email protected] orcall 020 8008 4931.

The Mistress delivers the Tanner Lectures at Clare Hall

The Mistress delivered the prestigious Tanner Lectures hosted by Clare Hall, in November2010. The theme of the Mistress’s lecture was ‘Care-full markets: miracle or mirage’,focusing on possibility of producing more equitable outcomes for mortgage andhousing markets in the developed world. A video of the lectures is online on theCollege website at: www.girton.cam.ac.uk/fellows-and-staff/mistress

Andy Allen Tasmin Elbourn


Development


Development

13 students stayed in College in Marchto call just under 1,000 alumni in therun up to Easter. Students chatted toOld Girtonians about upcoming eventsand the latest College news, as well ascollecting feedback on publications andevents. Through the campaign, we alsosought support for our priority projects.We were delighted that over half theOld Girtonians we spoke to decided tosupport such projects.

Thanks to the generosity and supportfrom so many Old Girtonians, we raised just over £155,000, making it

the second most successful telethon to-date. Due to the recent globaleconomic instability, which has affected many of us in some way oranother, some felt that they would beunable to make a significant impact.However, this is not the case because if every Old Girtonian just gave £10 we would raise £90,000, which couldmake a real difference to our College community. So it was greatlyappreciated when many Old Girtonianschose to give a modest gift, whichcollectively amounted to a verygenerous amount.

2010 Telethon – ‘Every little helps!’

The Easter vacation of 2010 saw the 10th telephone campaign taking place in College. The campaignis now very established and it is always fantastic when we receive correspondence from alumni who specifically ask to be called in each telethon because they enjoy speaking to our student callers so much.

Girton telethon callers, from left to right: Alan Young, Ed Button,Vince Trakulphadtkrai, Tuba Omer, Jo Harries, Georgia Wheeler, Chris Lockwood, Isla Young, Davina Levy and Helen Bromhead

Kate Talbot (History 2008),telethon caller

Girton has launched a SustainabilityFund to respond to the need forcarbon-neutral buildings. This fund willbe used both to improve existingbuildings’ energy consumption, and willbe used when developing new buildingprojects such as the sports pavilion. Thelatter is envisaged as a carbon-neutralbuilding which will use solar energyand where possible ‘grey water’.

This initiative is also tied in tofundraising for a prize for students whoare researching low energy consumptionbuildings, which will be interdisciplinarybut it is hoped will involve engineers,architects and those interested in theurban environment. It is hoped that itcould start off with £1000 per year, andwill help Girton students or researchteams led by Girtonians develop theirideas. Should the fund grow, Collegehopes that it will be the start of a prize that could lead students andrecent graduates to launch products or companies.

Girton has a number of alumni workingin the ‘clean-tech’ sector. For example,Dr Shaun Fitzgerald (1986) was recentlyfeatured in the Annual Review,showcasing his work on BreathingBuildings, a spin-off company from hisresearch. On the social side ofencouraging sustainable behaviour, Dr Neil Jennings (1999) runs StudentSwitch Off, a national charity givingstudents incentives to be green.

With a growing need for sustainability,financial and environmental in Collegeand the wider world, the prize andfund underline our commitment to a(Girton) greener future.

A Girton green future?

We are pleased to finally announce thepublication of the Girton College RegisterVolume III. This represents the culminationof a research project spanning severalyears and we are very grateful for thesupport of our alumni in providinginformation on their activities sinceGraduation, and for their patience inwaiting to see the finished book. As youknow, The Girton College Registercontains the names and academic detailsof all members for the College sinceGirton’s foundation in 1869. Volume IIIcovers the first admission of men toCollege and contains information onundergraduates, graduates and Fellowswho matriculated during the years 1975-2000. The resulting document is thus ofinterest to both historians and the justplain nosey alike. Register Volume III isavailable in both CD and Book form. It isalso possible to purchase copies ofRegister Volume II.

To buy a copy please [email protected]

Publication of GirtonCollege Register Vol. III

Our undergraduates also understandthat every little helps, and many ofthem have begun donating £5 per yearto the Sports Pavilion Fund, which istremendous support. The sports pavilionwill make a great difference to the well-being of students and the opportunitiesavailable to them.

Of course, the sports pavilion is only oneof our priority projects. Other prioritiesinclude: the Teaching Support Fund,which will match gifts from alumni andother sources at a ratio of one to onefor the long-term endowment ofteaching provision in College; theCollege Endowment Fund, to ensureCollege can operate sustainably in thelong-term; Postgraduate Bursaries andChildcare Bursaries; and the GirtonFutures Fund, to widen access to Girton.If you would like to see moreinformation on our priority funds or tosee the 2011 student callers, please visitwww.girton.cam.ac.uk/telethon/.

College is tremendously grateful for allthe support that alumni have offered to

this campaign, whether it is of a financialnature or volunteering time/support fordifferent projects. All gifts will be spentaccording to the donors’ wishes.

Verity Armstrong, Annual Fund Officer

Molly and Chris enjoyingchatting to OGs

Vince says hello

Friends of The Lawrence RoomInaugural Lecture 2010

The Friends of the Lawrence RoomLecture – the first of its kind –welcomed Christopher Evans, BA MAMIFA FSA, Executive Director of theCambridge Archaeological Unit, as itsfirst speaker. His talk was entitled,'Girton's Cemetery in Context: Theresults of the Northwest CambridgeArchaeological Survey'.

It was an ideal start for the inaugurallecture, as Chris Evans’ talk gave anoverview of what has so far beendiscovered in the area between theoutskirts of town opposite the Collegeacross to the Madingley Road,highlighting some of the archaeologicalfinds and the issue of gravel pits in thearea. His estimate of the high populationlevel in the late Roman period wasimpressive. He also discussed how theNorthwest Cambridge project isproviding an opportunity to undertake avast and systematic archaeological survey

of this large area, which was earlier partof a Roman settlement.

In looking at the Anglo-Saxon gravesthat were discovered in College’sgrounds he suggested that theLawrence Room’s stone lion head mayhave come from a temple since some ofthe later Saxon graves were lined with

cut stone, which appears to have beentaken from a nearby earlier Romanconstruction. Hypotheses for the layoutof Roman roads were also outlined.

At the end of the talk, the speaker leftus with the challenge of finding outwhat other interesting things might be hidden under Girton’s grounds…

Christopher Evans addressing Friends of the Lawrence Room, in theFellows’ Drawing Room, Girton (composite photograph)

The 2010 Friends of the Garden talktook place on the Sunday morning ofthe Roll Weekend and we weredelighted to have Jenny Mercer (OldGirtonian, 1968) as our speaker. Shewas welcomed by a good turnout ofFriends and Old Girtonians.

Jenny’s talk, ‘From the garden to thewild – conservation and communitygardening’ was very engaging andeveryone went away feeling inspired.Jenny talked us through her backgroundand how she became interested inwildlife conservation - from her walksaround Girton’s grounds as a student

through to the fantastic voluntary workshe is now doing with The Berkshire,Buckinghamshire and OxfordshireWildlife Trust and other conservationgroups. She talked about unusual plantsshe had come across and even how sheand her colleagues have been trying toencourage Britain’s dormousepopulation, with very memorable andsomewhat cute illustrations.

Jenny has also been very involved incommunity gardening in Stony Stafford.The ‘Stony in Bloom’ project has beenvery successful, not only has it won the2010 Britain in Bloom small town

category award for the region, but it hasalso been put forward to the NationalFinals for 2011. So there was a lot offood for thought on how each of uscould make some sort of difference –whether we choose to have a small ‘wild’section in our garden or help our localareas to become better environments.

Friends of the Garden talk

Girtonians win awards atBritish Composer Awards 2010

Homage to Haydn is a set of sixminiatures commissioned by pianistMatthew Schellhorn for the 2009Cambridge Festival. The idea came fromthe project undertaken a hundred yearsago for the Haydn Centenary byDebussy, Ravel, Dukas, d’Indy, Hahn andWidor, each of whom wrote a miniature,later published in La Revue Musicale, forthe Société Internationale de Musique.These pieces were based on the lettersH-A-Y-D-N translated into the musicalnotes B-A-D-D-G (where B = H inGerman, and with D and G supplyingfor otherwise unplayable letters): thistechnique, known as soggetto cavato(literally, ‘carved subject’), was commonlyused in the Renaissance.

We are delighted that two Girtonians have won awards this year at

the British Composer Awards. Sasha Siem (2002) won the Choral

award for her work, ‘Psalm 140: Deliver me, O Lord.’ Matthew

Schellhorn (1995), a professional pianist commissioned a work

‘Homage to Haydn’ that won the Instrumental Solo or Duo category.

The Womenof the FutureGirtonian Kathryn Farmer

(History 2001) was shortlisted

for The Women of the Future

Awards earlier this year.

The Women of the Future Awards is anannual event in celebration of womenin business. According to the website:

“Britain is changing, and young womenare shaping this future. The Women ofthe Future Awards, in association withShell, recognise the sparkling youngergeneration of talent coming through inBritain today.”

Kathryn was nominated by LondonBusiness School for the ‘MBA StarAward’ which captures the ‘vision ,talent and promise’ of women in MBAprogrammes across the UK.

The application process included apersonal resume and several letters ofrecommendation. Following this,Kathryn, who rowed for CambridgeUniversity Lightweights and was atelethon caller whilst at Girton, wasone of six shortlisted and invited tointerview with a panel of judges.

Sadly she did not win the top prize butwe are delighted to have had aGirtonian reach the final stages of sucha prestigious award.

Sasha Siem (2002)

Matthew Schellhorn (1995)


Alumni RelationsDevelopment


Anna came up to Girton in 2007 toread History. She has been a veryfamiliar face around College over thelast three years as Anna has really puther all in to College life. When askedwhat her favourite thing about Girtonis, she says, “It’s definitely the people –the students, the Fellows, the staff –Girton is a community and not just aCollege. It has a great supportivenetwork as a result and the amount ofopportunities it provides students isgreat – you can have a go at whateveryou like”.

As well as working hard, Anna hascertainly tried her hand at many extra-curricular activities – she was Women’sFootball Captain, a player on the Girtonwomen’s hockey and rugby teams, andshe rowed for College. In addition tosport, she was on the 2010 Spring BallCommittee; she was the JCR GreenOfficer and was also the Wolfson CourtRepresentative. “These extra-curricularactivities, in addition to my academicwork, have helped me becomeaccustomed to multi-tasking andmanaging my time effectively, as well as giving me the confidence and self-motivation to have a go atanything,” Anna says. “In particular,playing sports at Girton fostered adifferent skill set to that gained frommy degree. Sports allowed me to bepart of a team, enhance my leadershipskills and meet a variety of people. Forexample in the boat club you can row

with alumni, staff and Fellows, which isa great opportunity to get to know thewider community.”

Both her degree and her extra-curricularactivities have put her in good stead toget a job as a graduate, but it is not aneasy time for graduates in the job marketeven so, “You have to become moreresourceful with how you spend yourtime”. And that is exactly what she isdoing – not only is Anna holding downthree jobs while she is looking into doinga Masters degree, but she is also findingtime to be the Director of a new charity,

Impact Kenya, which has been set-up byAnna and Co-Director, Marianne Brazier.

Impact Kenya is a registered charitydedicated to changing the lives ofthose from impoverished communitiesin Nakuru, Kenya. It is currentlychannelling its funds and energy in thefollowing ways:

• Access to education – arrangingsponsorship for children from theslum areas of the town to ensure theyare attending school and receivingschool meals.

The last year has been a challenging one for many people, with the impacts of the global economic

downturn being felt far and wide. So what does the world look like to someone who has recently

graduated from Girton (July 2010). We thought we would speak to Anna Heaton to see what life has in

store for her as a recent graduate.

The life of a recent graduate

• Access to healthcare – helping peoplewith costs of accessing healthcare(transport and hospital fees) andstriving to ensure that communitiesare informed of their rights tohealthcare, including running a healtheducation programme in some of theslum communities.

• Promoting positive social behaviour –encouraging healthy social behaviourby running a local football team forthe youths in the area. This is helpingto curb anti-social behaviour andencourage academic attendance and achievement.

Anna was inspired to set-up the charitywith Marianne after she spent her gapyear working in a slum school andsurrounding community projects inNakuru. Anna was appalled by thequality of life and the lack ofopportunities available to slum childrenand comments, “I was outraged by thecorruption I saw out there and I wantedto find a way to channel all the positiveenergy and funds of volunteers anddonors in a direction which wouldminimise the opportunity for money to go astray. One strength of ImpactKenya is its determination to staytransparent in all its activities to the

extent that you can sponsor anindividual child, and as part of thatsponsorship receive a precisebreakdown of costs, including receiptsfor school fees, uniforms etc. Thispersonal approach means you can seereal life-changing results.”

Impact Kenya is currently sponsoringeight children between the ages of 6-16 to go to school and is takingvolunteers to work in communityprojects over both Easter and Summer.The charity employs a full-timecommunity worker named Jose Kamau,whose role is to report weekly on theprogress of the sponsored children andtheir educational progress. Jose is alocal from the Nakuru community so heis able to determine who has thegreatest need for the charity’s help.

As you can see, Anna is a very busygraduate, and with such passion anddetermination we are sure that she isgoing to make a great difference to theworld over the next few years, like somany Girtonians before her. We lookforward to hearing about the tremendouswork that Impact Kenya does over thecoming years and if you would like tofind out more about the work Anna isdoing through the charity, then Annawould be happy to hear from you. Heremail is [email protected].

Children at a Nakuru community projectAnna Heaton (2007), on left, with co-founder Marianne Brazier

Marianne and Anna at work


Alumni Interviews


Alumni Interviews


Alumni Interviews


Alumni Interviews

Gavin Shuker

Gavin Shuker MP (Labour) was elected to represent Luton South at the

2010 General Election. Born and raised in Luton, he studied Social and

Political Sciences at Girton 2000-2003, he worked for a church in Luton

before being elected to Westminster.

What made you want to go intopolitics?I studied politics at Girton, though Inever had a back of an envelope planto go into politics. When I moved backhome to Luton, I joined the LabourParty. My Labour predecessor wascaught up in the expenses scandal andwas forced to step down - and I choseto step up.

What s it like being a new boy inthe House of Commons?This parliament is packed with new boysand new girls, due to the turnovercaused by the expenses crisis. And on thewhole we all get on very well. There’s noshortage of things to learn!

What do you feel are the mostimportant challenges facing Britain today?The key decision of this parliament wasclearly about how to reduce the deficit.Labour took a more cautious route,while the coalition has taken a risky andradical path. Everything else is noise –and it spins out of this single decision. IfI had to pick a few issues however,funding higher education; who runs theNHS and how we will tackle poverty, notjust benefits, would all be on the list.

Did your time at Girton/Cambridgehave any influence on your politicaloutlook? Were any activities youwere involved with as a studentrelevant to political life?I’m sure my time at Cambridge had animpact on my political outlook, thoughI was forged as a left-winger in therecession of the early 1990s. I saw mycommunity torn apart by the policies ofthe government of the time and cameto conclude that people can’t be simplyleft to sink or swim. Interestinglyhowever, I didn’t get involved instudent politics at all. I’m told Tony Blairtook the same approach!

How would you answer thechallenge of funding UK HigherEducation? (Supplementary: aretuition fees a good thing?)I was opposed to Tuition Fees whenthey were introduced in 1998, andagain when they increased in 2004.Accepting the principle of co-paymenthowever, where the state and thestudent both make a contribution, Ibelieve a Graduate Tax is a vastly moreequitable solution. The Coalition’s plantriples student debt but only serves tofill the black hole caused bygovernment cuts.

Do you think parliament needs to be more representative – if so,how would you get more people of different backgrounds to become MPs? Parliament should be morerepresentative, no question. Althoughthe mix of women and men and ethnicdiversity is important, I actually believeit will only be truly representative whenlocal communities elect genuinely localMPs. I’m a born and bred Lutonian, andI represent the seat I go back home toeach night.

What are your views on reform ofthe electoral system?I’ll be voting ‘No’ in the forthcomingAV referendum. It’s a distraction, only in place to please the Lib Dems –although even Nick Clegg has describedit as a ‘miserable little compromise’. It’s safe to say I’ve finally found a policyarea which unites me and the Tories!

Girton Interviews

Founders’ Memorial LectureBaroness Helena Kennedy, QC gave the 2011 Founders’ MemorialLecture at Girton College on 4 February.

Baroness Kennedy – one of the country'sleading experts in human rights law, civilliberties and constitutional issues – spokeon the subject of power and democracyin a globalised world at the 54thFounders’ Memorial Lecture at Girton.Speaking to a packed Old Hall, with anadditional audience viewing via videolinkin the Stanley Library (the first time thishas taken place for a Founders’ MemorialLecture) she was critical of theinstitutions that emerged in the postCold War world after the fall of theBerlin Wall, both on an international anddomestic level. There was a lively debateafter her talk, centering on how peoplecould empower themselves moreeffectively, and numerous questionscentering on the democracy movementsin the Middle East and the contentiousissue of university tuition fees.

A video of the Founders’ MemorialLecture is available on the College website and a full report will appear in theAnnual Review.

Baroness Kennedy QC

On the left, Baroness Kennedy pictured with the Mistress (right) and above,pictured with Law Fellow Dr Stephanie Palmer (right) and Hilary Clark (left).

Lecture


Alumni Interviews



Books


Books

Books

Room by Emma DonoghueReviewed by Frances Gandy

Emma Donoghue’s latest novel, Room,published in summer 2010, was one ofthe best-selling books on the Man-Booker short list. Although it was finallypipped at the post for the prize byHoward Jacobson, when the paperbackedition came out in January 2011 itwent straight into the bestseller list atnumber 3, and the following week ittopped Waterstones’ list of paperbacknovel sales. This success with thereading public must be a source ofhuge satisfaction to its author.

The novel has a brave agenda in severalrespects. First of all, the idea for it wastriggered by news of the Josef Fritzlcase, in which it emerged that Fritzlhad locked his daughter in a basementfor 24 years, had raped her repeatedlyand fathered seven children on her,three of whom remained imprisonedwith her. That fact in itself wouldappear to offer a potentially harrowingnarrative, and it also brought pre-publication accusations that the novelmight be both lurid and voyeuristic.However the novel is not harrowing, orat least not in the way one mightexpect, and it is certainly neither luridnor voyeuristic. This is becauseDonoghue’s main focus is on therelationship between mother (Ma) andchild (Jack), and of how Ma pourseverything into constructing a secureand imaginative world for this child,who was born in a room eleven foot byeleven foot, and for whom that room isall he has ever known.

Ma was captured, imprisoned andraped by her captor, and Jack is theresult. Mother and son continue to liveconfined in the same small space, andthe book opens as Jack is about tomark his fifth birthday The story is toldthrough Jack’s eyes, and in Jack’slanguage, and thus we learn how aworld and the language of that worldmay be constructed or moulded byothers. In an interview with TheGuardian Donoghue says, “Thenewspaper reports of Felix Fritzl, aged

five, emerging into a world he didn’tknow about, put the idea into myhead. That notion of the wide-eyedchild emerging into the world like aMartian coming to Earth: it seized me”.Ma has focussed on making Jack feelsafe and secure and in preventing himfrom realising that he is a captive. To doso she has to convey the sense that theroom is the world, that there is nooutside and inside, that the world of‘Room’ is all that is the case. She hasdedicated herself to an educative andimaginative regime which imbues everycorner and every object in their spacewith special significance - from‘Meltedy Spoon’ to ‘Rug’ - this world isfull of characters and events. Clearlyhowever, as Jack becomes more aware,such maternal control of perceptionand experience will not be sustainable,and the novel moves to a point of crisisin which drastic action must be taken.

Through Jack’s eyes we also catchglimpses of the sinister and terrifyingaspects of the life that he and Mashare, but of which he is scarcelyaware. As readers, our growingawareness of the gap between hisinnocent narrative and the actuality ofhis mother’s shocking experienceexercises a powerful poignancy as theplot unfolds. For Jack, ‘Room’ is hishome, and every object in it is loved forits domestic familiarity. But whilst Mamust reinforce that idea so as to ensureJack’s sense of security, the room is infact her prison, and every object is

loathsome to her as a symbol of thatimprisonment. As the plot develops thisdichotomy between their twoperspectives becomes more critical. Inthe same interview with The Guardian(above) Donoghue says, “I knew thatby sticking to the child’s-eye perspectivethere’d be nothing voyeuristic about it.Ma has managed to keep Jack almostoblivious to the sexual side of things –the creaking bed makes him edgy, butlots of other things, green beans, forinstance, make him edgier still”.

She continues, “The idea was to focuson the primal drama of parenthood:the way from moment to moment youswing from comforter to tormentor, justas kids simultaneously light up our livesand drive us nuts. I was trying tocapture that strange, bi-polar quality ofparenthood”. Sustaining the child viewand the child language throughout is achallenging proposition for both writerand reader, but Emma Donoghuesucceeds in making this entirelyconvincing, creating a world ofdiscovery for the reader as well as forJack. In an article in The Irish TimesDonoghue comments that writers avoidchild point-of view fiction for adults,and that readers tend to shy away fromit. “Perhaps they fear the experience ofreading such a novel will resemblebeing locked in a room with a smallchild…”. She continues, “Luckily for mypurposes in writing Room, theseoccasional moments of claustrophobiasuit the book, helping readers toimagine Ma’s situation, never morethan a few feet away from a boy sheadores but cannot escape. (I defy anyparent to tell me they’ve never hadthose feelings.)”

This is a page-turning, exciting novelwith a powerful and dynamic plot. Butit is also a deeply thought-provokingwork in the way it explores how wemay construct our worlds, or havethem constructed for us, and how wecan survive under the pressure of

extreme circumstances. Above all, itpersuasively describes the extraordinaryrelationship between mother and child.

Emma Donoghue researched her PhD inEnglish at Girton between 1990 and1994. Room is her seventh novel, andshe has also written collections of shortstories, works of literary history andplays for stage, screen and radio. Shenow lives in Canada with her partnerChris Roulston and their two children.

Room is published by Picador inhardback, paperback, Audio CD and Kindle.

Frances Gandy is Librarian andCurator at Girton, and GraduateTutor (Sciences).

Emma Donoghue

In 2010 Girton was delighted to see somany alumni return to the College overthe course of the year. The now regularprogramme of alumni reunions beganwith the Geographical Society Dinner,the last before Dr Roland Randall, whoinstigated these dinners, retires. TheGeographical Society would like tothank Geographical magazine, Heifersbookshop, Lush, the Fudge Kitchen,Breeze gift shop and the President’sfamily for their kind donations of raffleprizes. During the Easter vacation,Vice-Mistress Dr Julia Riley presidedover a lively reunion dinner for thosewho matriculated in 2000 and 1995and we were also delighted to welcomeback so many recent graduates to thisyear’s MA Dinner. In the Easter Term,the College hosted a workshop on ‘Life After Your Main Career’. Featuringprominent keynote speakers and manybreak-out sessions, the workshopfacilitated plenty of discussions on theissues surrounding this life transitionpoint. At the annual Roll Buffet Lunchalumni were interested to hear from MsRachel Lomax (Salmon 1963), formerDeputy Governor, Monetary Stability, atthe Bank of England and a member ofthe Monetary Policy Committee, whogave a fascinating talk titled,‘Reflections on the Financial Crisis’. In September, alumni who matriculatedin 1975, 1980, 1985 and 1990 wereinvited back to dine in Hall, it waswonderful to see old friends reunitingand to hear about their time at Girton.At this year’s Roll Dinner the Mistresswelcomed back 1960 and 1970matriculants and Dr Simon Cohn (1984)gave a thought-provoking talk, titled

'The extraordinary experiences ofhaving an ordinary illness'. Septemberalso saw the first GASA NetworkingLunch held in London (with thanks toAdam Tyrer (1988) for all his efforts).We plan to hold another such lunch inthe New Year.

The new academic year started withthe termly Alumni Formal Hall whichwas quickly followed by the secondStudents and Parents Dinner. The guestspeakers, who both spoke on ‘Life afterGirton’, were Ms Christina Koning,(1971) novelist and short story writer,who has reviewed extensively for theUK national press; and Dr Neil Jennings(1999), Assistant Editor for the journal‘Global Environmental Change’ andcreator of the ‘Student Switch Off’ – anot-for-profit initiative encouragingenergy-efficient behaviour in Halls ofResidence at over thirty UK universities.

The final event of the year was theAlumni Sports Day. Unfortunately theplanned rugby, football and netballmatches were called off due to the cold weather. However, many alumnistill joined the students in the bar towatch the England vs South Africarugby test match and attended theSports Dinner in the evening.

2011 is set to be just as busy; with the Geographical Society Dinner inFebruary; the MA Congregation Dinnerin March; 1996 & 2001 Reunion and aMedics Dinner in April; 1976, 1981,1986 & 1991 Reunions in September.We will also be inviting those whomatriculated in 1951, 1961 and 1971to attend the Roll Dinner in September.Please see the back page for dates orcontact the Alumni Officer, EmmaCornwall [email protected],01223 338901 for further details.

Alumni events in 2010

Alumni Events


In March 2010, the College held anevening drinks reception forLawyers at Inner Temple. It was anexcellent opportunity to networkwith other Girton lawyers and theirguests, meet the College's group ofoutstanding Law Fellows, and tohear more about the College.

A number of Girton’s highly-distinguished alumnae were present,including Mrs Justice Gloster, who had

kindly facilitated the evening; and theCollege’s Visitor, Baroness Hale ofRichmond, who spoke on the topic ofthe newly-formed Supreme Court. Wewere particularly pleased that 100Girton lawyers and their guests wereable to attend.

The College is extremely grateful to TheHon Mrs Justice Gloster and The Rt Honthe Baroness Hale of Richmond for theirinvaluable assistance in organising this

event, and also to Slaughter and MayLLP for their generous sponsorship ofthe evening.

In March 2011, we are expanding thisinto a “Girton Law & City Finance”drinks party for anyone working in Law,Finance, or any related area, to be heldon Wednesday 16 March 2011 atSlaughter and May’s London Offices. For full details, please contact theDevelopment Office.

Law Reception

Roland Randall supervised Girtonundergraduates from 1972 when hereturned to Cambridge, and he wasone of the first male Fellows to joinGirton in 1977, and was Lecturer inGeography. Roland worked in Barbadoson coastal vegetation before returningto UK to study shingle vegetation bothin Britain and abroad. He edited theEcology and Geomorphology of CoastalShingle in 2001.

In 1994, when Jean Grove (1927-2001)retired, Roland took over as Director ofStudies and continued the tradition ofencouraging Girton Geographers to dotheir dissertation research in far-flungcorners of the world. Roland gavelectures on biogeography in theGeography Department for over 20years but his main interest is in giving agood grounding in physical geographyto first year undergraduates, a role he

continued to undertake until retirement.

Over his time at Girton, Roland has alsoheld the posts of undergraduate tutor,graduate tutor, Director of Studies ineducation, health and safety officer,praelector, acting senior tutor andacting chaplain as well as sitting on alarge number of College committees.

Geography Dinner 2010Last year’s geography society dinner marked the end of an era when Dr Roland Randall, Director of Studies in Geographyretired from his full-time post at Girton. Many of Dr Randall’s students from far and wide came to wish him all the best ashe continues as a Life Fellow of the College.

Left to right, Annette Lanaghan (Hamilton-Russell), Nicola King (Cowell), Harriet Allen, Roland Randall,Hilary May (West), Simi Kamal (Niazi), and Sally Cunis (Adshead), all Geographers of the class of 1977.

Alumni Events


Alumni EventsAlumni Events

Spring 2011 | Girton NewsletterGirton Newsletter | Spring 2011 2524

10th Anniversary of the

Peoples’ PortraitsThe People’s Portraits exhibition

celebrated its 10th anniversary

in 2010. For its birthday bash,

many friends of the collection

gathered at the Mall Galleries

on 6th May 2010 for an

anniversary reception.

Amidst the excitement of the generalelection, we had our own element ofmystery, with the imminent unveiling ofthree new additions to the collection.Who better to solve such a mystery andunveil the additions than HonoraryFellow and Guest of Honour, The RightHon the Baroness James of HollandPark, otherwise known as best-sellingauthor, P.D. James. We were delightedto hear Lady James’ thoughts on thePeople’s Portraits. We also heard fromthe Mistress and the President of theRoyal Society of Portrait Painters,Alastair Adams PRP.

12 of the newest People’s Portraitswere showcased within the RoyalSociety of Portrait Painters’ AnnualExhibition at the Mall Galleries, whichwas open to the public from 6th to21st May. The three new additions tothe People’s Portraits collectioncontinue the tradition of portraying theextraordinary in the ordinary, andinclude ‘Joy’ by Robin-Lee Hall RP,which won the 2010 Ondaatje Prize forPortraiture, ‘Marc Crank’ by AlastairAdams PRP, and ‘Fishsale: portrait ofElaine Lorys’ by Simon Davis RP.

‘Joy’, depicted in Robin-Lee’stremendous portrait, has worked as acleaner and dinner lady at several

schools in Lewisham, south London.Hall says of Joy: “She’s incredibly downto earth, takes things as they come,likes cakes and never complains. Shehas got up at 5am for work every

weekday for 30 years.” The secondportrait, ‘Marc Crank’, shows Marc whois the Chief Executive of HenshawsNorth West. Adams says, “As well asmanaging a charity that supports blind

The Mistress and guests at the Mall Galleries

and partially-sighted people, Marcregularly speaks about his experience ofliving with a facial disfigurement.” Thefinal portrait portrays Elaine Lorys, whois a fishmonger in a Cornish port.

To continue the anniversary festivities,during the September Roll Weekend,we had a slightly different format forthe annual People’s Portraits Reception.This time, as the three additions hadbeen unveiled earlier in the year, weheld a discussion for alumni and friendscalled ‘Finding Beauty’. Alastair Adams,the current President of the RoyalSociety of Portrait Painters, and DaphneTodd, the previous President, discussedtheir choice of subject matter andapproach to painting portraits.

Daphne's painting titled ‘Last Portrait ofMother’, the 2010 winner of the BPPortrait Award, and Alastair's portrait ofsitter ‘Marc Crank’, one of threeportraits donated to the People’sPortraits collection this year, openlyengage with uncompromising subjectmatter. For both artists painting andworking from life is essential, howeverwithin these similarities lie manydifferences of approach. For instance,Alastair explained how he often likes touse photographs to paint his portraitstoo, whereas Daphne never usesphotographs for her paintings. Not onlydid the audience get a remarkable

insight into the artists’ methodologiesand the thoughts behind their selectedportraits, but the audience had chanceto ask their own questions.

Alastair Adams (PRP), left, and Marc Crank

Final preparations at the Mall Galleries before 10th anniversarycelebration of People’s Portraits begins

Last Portraitof Mother,by DaphneTodd OBE PPRP

Paintings left to right: Joy by Robin-Lee Hall RP, Marc Crank by Alastair Adams PRP, Fishsale: portrait ofElaine Lorys by Simon Davis RP


Sport

SportThe Prometheans I unofficially launched

Thanks to the support of alumni and friends responding to a request for funds from the GirtonCollege Boat Club (GCBC) President, Steven Wait, it was possible to purchase a new boat for thefirst women. The boat has been named ‘Prometheans I’ as requested by the donors who gave thelargest gift, of £4000, for its purchase.

Prometheans I was unofficially launchedin November 2010, and will see actionin this year’s Lent and May Bumps(unfortunately due to the river beingfrozen, Fairbairns 2010 was cancelled).

The GCBC Millennium Fund, the JaneMarks Memorial Fund, and the InfidelBoat Club funds also assisted with thepurchase of the boat, and all donorswill be invited to an official launchevent to take place in June 2011 –the date will be confirmed shortly.

The boat club has had a large number ofboats competing this year, with fourmen’s and three women’s boats set tocompete in the Lent Bumps. The Collegeis also delighted that Samuel Hayes(2007) and Samuel Blackwell (2010) havebeen selected to represent CambridgeUniversity Lightweights, with JonathanFuhrmann (2007) one of the reserve pair.

GCBC would also like to thank itssponsors, PricewaterhouseCoopers forongoing support of College rowing.

Members of the first women’s crew pictured with the new boat

The Infidels BC raced the first men’s boat last May. Both crews are pictured here.

Megan Conway, GCBC Women’sCaptain, Steve Wait, GCBC President(centre) and Sam Hayes GCBC Men’s Captain.

The Mistress was delighted to have theopportunity of meeting many alumni andfriends of Girton in Singapore and HongKong last April. She attended a receptionhosted by HE British High Commissioner,Paul Madden in Singapore and met manyGirtonians of all generations there. In

Hong Kong, alumnus Kevin Chan kindlyhosted an event at the China Club, which20 Girtonians attended.

The Mistress will be visiting Singapore,Hong Kong and Shanghai this year, inApril – please watch out for emails from

the Development team. If College doesnot have your email address please sendthis to [email protected] keep up to date with the latestGirton and Cambridge University eventsin your region.

Mistress’ visit to Singapore and Hong Kong

Hammond Prize for Science Communication

Girton was delighted to host the fourthHammond Prize for ScienceCommunication, at College. The prizehas been funded by alumnus Dr PhilHammond, who came up to Girton in1982 to read pre-clinical medicine. He iswell-known for being Private Eye’smedical correspondent and for appearingon numerous radio programmes.

The Hammond Prize aims to encouragestudents to communicate scientific ideasin terms that non-scientists would findeasy to understand. The format of theannual competition is that studentssubmit abstracts to a panel of judges, andfinallists are selected to present to judgesand an audience. The panel was made up of Dr Phil Hammond, the Mistress, Dr Julia Riley, Dr Ruth Warren, Dr VeronicaBennett and Dr Kamiar Mohaddes.

This year there was a broad andinteresting array of topics, on the themeof ‘Risk’. This ranged from a study of‘RISK: Social Psychology pragmatics, andyour face’ by Emily Darley (MML) , to‘The Tulip-breaking virus and risk in theDutch 17th century flower market’ byHilary Roberts (History of Art). Thestandard of entries was very high.

The winning presentation was anentertaining talk by Susanne Mesoy (BioNat.Sci), entitled ‘Michelson, Mitchell andMe’ about two scientists who bothpersevered with their research – often tobe ridiculed for it, but with very differentoutcomes. Susanne also won theaudience prize for the most entertainingtalk. Joint second prizes were awarded toCameron Stocks (Medicine) for his talkon HIV high-risk groups in Africa, and to

Hilary Roberts for his talk on ‘The Tulip-breaking virus and risk in the Dutch 17thcentury flower market’ and the thirdprize to Jonathan Fuhrmann(Geography). The abstract prize wasawarded to Nathaniel Wand (PhysicalNat.Sci) for his talk on ‘Science Research:is it worth the risk?’.

Dr Phil Hammond pictured with the Hammond ScienceCommunication prize winner,Susanne Mesoy

Back row, left to right: Patricia Chiu, Joo-Ho Lee,Catherine Chan, Franklin Heng, Alex Aitken, Jin-Song Chen, Martin Ye, Yang Yang, Derek Kwan.Front row, left to right: Fran Malarée, Henry Chan,Kevin Chan, the Mistress, Jean Wong, Nick Cook

Left to right: Professor Sanjib Panda, Fran Malarée,Professor Susan Smith, May Ho, Yong-Nang Tan.

Alumni Events



Sport

On 16 March 2010, GirtonAlumni Sporting Associationwas launched with a drinksreception in the incomparablesetting of the Long Room atLord’s Cricket Ground.

Over 100 Girtonians and their guestsattended, and speeches were given bythe Mistress, Dr John Marks, and GASACo-Chairs Seb Fox and Caroline Hamilton.

Girton Alumni Sporting Association(GASA for short) has been set up topromote sporting networks betweenalumni and students, and to recogniseand encourage the qualities ofteamwork, organisational capability andmental and physical wellbeing that arederived from sport. GASA is also doingmuch to promote the sports pavilionproject, with the hope that buildingwork can commence soon!

The event was also dedicated to thememory of MG Jones – a notablehistorian, Vice-Mistress of Girton, and international hockey player – thusemphasising the importance of the links between academic achievementand sport.

Find GASA on facebook:www.facebook.com/girtonsports

If you are interested in joining the Infidels’ mailing list (ofinterest to rowers) or finding out about GASA please emaildevelopment @girton.cam.ac.uk

Girton Alumni Sporting Association

Dr Malcolm Guite (left) and Mrs Linda Scott at Lords.

Selena Hedley-Lewis, Katherine Bingham, Penny McLaren and Ed Owles (all 1999 alumni)

Nick Jones and John Bee (both 1999)


Sport

Pictures from the rescheduledalumni football and rugby matcheswhich took place on 12 March 2011.For the first time in recent years, analumnae v. Girton netball matchwas also played.

The results were as follows: Rugby:Girton won 32-12 against thealumni. Football: Alumni wonagainst Girton on penalties aftermatch was drawn 3-3. Netball:alumnae won against Girton 14-11.This year the fixtures will be playedat the usual time of year, onSaturday 26 November – pleasecontact the development office tobe added to the sports mailing lists.

If you have similar photos of interest forour archives, please do send originals,copies or scans in. This is part of theinitiative to fill in gaps in College’ssporting history, led by Girton AlumniSports Assocation (GASA).

1947 Cambridge University Women’s Boat Club

These pictures, kindly sent in by Mrs Margaret Ruxton (Snaith 1944) are of the CambridgeUniversity women’s boat and taken in March 1947. In those days, the boat was made up of womenfrom Girton and Newnham as of course they were the only colleges for women, but we are pleasedto see that the majority of the 1947 boat consisted of Girtonians.

Back row: P.P.Philp, B.E.Champion,M.E. Charles, M. Ebben. Front row:M. Snaith, A. Godwin (Newnham),P.R.O Wood (coach: college notknown), D.M. Kent, M.Mence(Newnham), E.M. Murray (seated)


Sport

Saturday 26 MarchMA Congregation and Dinnerin College

Saturday 26 MarchOxford Region eventMeet the Mistress, watch the Boat Race,Oxford High School, Oxford

Saturday 2 April15 year Reunion Dinnerfor those who matriculated in 1996, in College

Saturday 2 April10 year Reunion Dinnerfor those who matriculated in 2001, in College

Saturday 30 AprilMedics’ Reunion Dinnerin College

Thursday 19 MayAlumni Formal Hallin College

Saturday 18 JuneAlumni Family Garden Party11am, College

Saturday 18 JuneGCBC May Bumps MarqueeFen Ditton, Cambridge

Friday 24 June Foundation Dinner (by invitation only) for supporters of Girton, in College

Saturday 2 JulyBoat Club DinnerLeander Club, Henley-on-Thames

Saturday 9 JulyRoll Buffet Lunch, and AGMCollege. Speaker: Karen Pierce (1978) ForeignSecretary’s Special Representative onAfghanistan and Pakistan.1968 Reunion

Saturday 9 JulyFriends of the Library Talkin College

Saturday 10 September35 Year Reunion Dinnerfor those who matriculated in 1976, in College




Saturday 24 SeptemberRoll Dinner (including reunions for those who matriculatedin 1951, 1961 and 1971), in College

Saturday 24 SeptemberFriends of the Lawrence Room Lecturein College

Saturday 24 SeptemberFriends of the People’s Portraits Annual Receptionin College

Sunday 25 SeptemberFriends of the Gardens Talkin College

Saturday 19 NovemberInfidels’ Anniversary DinnerOxford and Cambidge Club, London

Saturday 26 NovemberAlumni Football, Rugby and Netball matchesfollowed by tea and dinner, College

Events Calendar 2011 Old GirtoniansHonoursCongratulations to thefollowing Girtonians, whohave been honoured in recent Honours Lists:

2010 Queen’s Birthday Honours:

DBEProfessor Athene Donald FRS, (Griffith1971), Deputy Head of the Department of Physics at the University of Cambridge,& Director of the University's Women inScience, Engineering and TechnologyInitiative, for services to Physics.

CBEProfessor Veronica van Heyningen FRS(Daniel 1965), President of the GeneticsSociety, for services to Science.

2011 New Year Honours:

DBEProfessor Caroline Humphrey, (Waddington1962), Professor of CollaborativeAnthropology, University of Cambridge, for services to scholarship.

CBEDr Sheila Shribman (Norval 1969), NationalClinical Director for Children, YoungPeople and Maternity, at the Departmentof Health, for services to Medicine.

OBEMrs Margaret Owen (Baron 1950),Director, Widows for Peace throughDemocracy, for services to Human Rights,particularly Widows Overseas.

Dr Dillian Rosalind Gordon, (1967),formerly a curator at the National Gallery,for services to Early Italian Painting.

Dr Allison Streetly (1978), National director,NHS Sickle Cell and Thalassaemia ScreeningProgramme, for services to healthcare.

Girton College Cambridge

Development OfficeGirton College FREEPOST ANG6880 Cambridge CB3 0YE

+44 (0)1223 766672/338901 [email protected]

www.girton.cam.ac.uk

Details of all events are available by emailing [email protected] visiting the Development section of the website www.girton.cam.ac.uk

Spring 2011 Newsletter

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