Floreat Domus 2012
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ISSUE NO.18 MAY 2012 Floreat Domus BALLIOL COLLEGE NEWS Special Feature: Matthew Lynn Balliol’s Crime writers of Balliol on the Euro and 750th Three successful crime writers talk about their motives writing thrillers Anniversary Contents Welcome to the 2012 Annual Record: edition of Floreat Domus. news and notes Please fill in and return the ‘News CONTENTS and Notes’ card enclosed in this issue of Floreat PAGE 1 College news PAGE 26 Pass it on Domus by 17 July to How three Old Members PAGE 7 College success be included in this inspire young minds year’s Annual Record. PAGE 9 Student news Pages 18-19 PAGE 28 An Interview PAGE 11 Student success with Matthew Lynn Financial journalist, Matt Lynn, on PAGE 13 College features the Euro and writing thrillers Special feature Pages 30-32 Pages 24–25 PAGE 13 Balliol’s PAGE 30 Special feature: outreach initiatives Crime writers of Balliol PAGE 15 Nick Trefethen’s Three successful crime writers index cards talk about their motives PAGE 33 Bookshelf Features A selection of books published PAGE 16 Balliol Olympians by Old Members Balliol’s part in the greatest sporting competition on earth Development PAGE 18 Global Balliol News Old Members tell us why Singapore is a great place to live and work PAGE 35 Balliol’s 750th anniversary – celebrating PAGE 20 Modern Day Explorer a remarkable point in the An alternative lifestyle – how College’s history Robert Twigger makes it work Page 7 Pages 20–21 PAGE 36 The Annual Fund: PAGE 22 Right of Reply another record year Letters regarding an article printed in the 2011 issue of Floreat Domus PAGE 37 Classics at Balliol; Balliol Economics and PAGE 24 Big Society Capital Andrew Graham Is it possible to combine social investment with financial returns? PAGE 38 Benefactors to Balliol our special feature about the uncanny number Publication details Editorial of Balliol crime writers (page 30). We’ve also given space to strongly-felt reaction to an article Editor: Sophie Petrou, Welcome to the latest issue of Floreat Domus. printed last year. There is a lot to celebrate in the year of 2012: Publications & Web Officer Ideas for articles come to me via many Design: RBDA Studio Professor Sir Drummond Bone joining the College channels: some as suggestions of Fellows and Print: Hunts as the new Master (page 1), more female faces Old Members – such as the article on Balliol’s Editorial advisory board: Nicola Trott, on the Fellows pages (page 4), and the much- outreach initiatives (page 13); some are Seamus Perry, Adam Swift anticipated 2012 Olympics, in honour of which developed from the suggestions of the Senior we have our own Balliol Olympians article on page 16. As always, we had a great response from Tutor, Nicola Trott, such as the new series of Contact details students and Old Members who were not only Global Balliol articles, the first of which is on willing but happy to write articles for this issue. page 18; and others are based on news we receive Balliol College, With any luck this is reflected in the variety of regarding Balliol alumni. I am very grateful to Broad Street, content, which ranges from financial articles, such these sources and I am always interested to hear Oxford OX1 3BJ as the interview with Matthew Lynn (financial from Old Members and Current Members alike, Telephone: +44(0)1865 277768 journalist and thriller writer) and the article on who are working on interesting or inspiring Email: [email protected] Big Society Capital, to pieces about education – projects. I look forward to hearing from you and, Website: www.balliol.ox.ac.uk the organisation Teach First and Robert Peston’s in the meantime, I hope you enjoy this issue. Cover picture: Speakers for Schools initiative (on page 26) – and Sophie Petrou, Editor Balliol College at night by Ian Taylor FLOREAT DOMUS BALLIOL COLLEGE NEWS COLLEGE NEWS From the Master BY DRUMMOND BONE My first piece for Floreat Domus is being written early in the New Year, and the beginning of my second term as Master does not feel quite so strange as the beginning of my first, only three months ago – in fact, it already feels like home. Coming back to your College as Master may be ‘coming back’ indeed, but it is still a pretty odd feeling, all but 40 years on, and a career lifetime including four other Universities in-between. Has the College changed much? Not, I think, in its essentials, its commitment to the highest intellectual quality in its teaching and research, the next couple of years they will be, which is the country, so that it will be actually less and its equal commitment to a broad social good news, even if the transitional period from expensive to study in Oxford than in most other responsibility. We have both men and women late 2013 on is going to be a little difficult. universities, particularly for those who come here now of course, but at least in the 60s there One of the reasons behind my return – the from less fortunate backgrounds. Rather, our always seemed to be women about in any case, main reason of course is simply: ‘who could pressing need is to be able to fund more Fellows, so not much sense of difference there – and turn down such a possibility?’ – was to come to ensure, as University funding falls, that we indeed we could do with more women at both closer again to a genuine academic community, as a College can maintain the tutorial system, undergraduate level and on the Fellowship. The having for many years as a Vice-Chancellor and and maintain our presence in those subjects graduate body has grown considerably – in my President of Universities UK been essentially our students want to take. Our £30 million day the MCR was one tiny room off the JCR, a business manager or politician, at least in so campaign associated with our 750th painted by our own hands in a truly ferocious far as my day-to-day activities went, inevitably Anniversary in 2013 now stands at yellow I recall – now it represents half of the in a large organisation at some remove from £25.1 million, but there is still a long way student body, while Holywell Manor no longer teaching and research (though I had continued to go, and even that target represents probably feels like an outpost, but is an integral part to do just enough of both to be able to look at about half of what would be needed to be of the College. This is a real change driven myself in the mirror of a morning). And I’m comfortable. We are of course very grateful for by a number of factors both intellectual and pleased to say that that seems to be developing, all the support alumni have already shown us. economic, and unlikely to be reversed. The partly just in the immensely friendly and We have been struggling a little in the buildings in the garden quad, which were new in collegiate atmosphere, but specifically in having Norrington table over the last three years, and the sixties, are – to put it politely – not new now, been asked to give academic seminars in both while statistically this particular league table is although interestingly in my meetings with first Broad Street and Holywell, and even, shortly, certainly no more reliable than many others, year students (these meetings and handshaking to give some undergraduate tutorials. The close and while First Class degrees are not the only continue much as you will remember) they do integration of all aspects of academic life seems measure of a student’s worth, we cannot be not receive the brickbats one might expect. To to me to be one of the qualities which make satisfied with 18th position, or thereby. The say the College kitchens are not new would be Oxford so distinctive, while the level of attention Fellowship has been looking very seriously at another euphemistic turn of phrase, but within paid to individual undergraduates is still what might have been happening, and we will frankly staggering – and, of course, staggeringly do our best to change what needs to be changed expensive to provide. and can be changed (there is an apparent Andrew Graham gave generously of his time relationship at least between resources and during the handover, and there is no doubt that success). But in student satisfaction we have he handed over a College in very sound shape. continued to perform strongly – according to Financially the position is reasonable, thanks to the National Student Survey 2012, while 93% increasingly entrepreneurial use of our buildings of final year students at Oxford agreed that for conferences, summer schools and the like, ‘Overall, I am satisfied with the quality of my but ‘reasonable’ is not enough, except in the course’, the equivalent figure for Balliol was 96%. ‘going-concern’ sense. The College must And recent data for graduate destinations show increase its endowment pretty dramatically if some 38.1% of all students pursuing further it is to stay at the forefront in the range and study, 46.2% going in to full-time work, and quality of education it can offer. Perhaps, only 3.8% unemployed (a figure that rises in counterintuitively, the immediate problem is not some colleges to 10 or even 11%). Planning for Drummond undergraduate student bursaries – not only is 2013 is now beginning to pick up serious speed and Vivian Bone Balliol already a leader in Oxford in financial – and by then I will no longer be ‘new’.