LINACRENEWS the Magazine of Linacre College, Oxford • Issue 54 Autumn 2018
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LINACRENEWS The Magazine of Linacre College, Oxford • Issue 54 Autumn 2018 The Museum Issue First Thoughts 2 Hitachi Chemical Graduates 16 News & People 4 Displaying Ceremonial Objects 18 From High Street to the High Arctic 6 Who would have thought it? 19 Advancing Linacre 8 Sports 20 Past Events 9 Births & Marriages 22 What does a taxonomist do? 12 In Memoriam 23 Collecting the Renaissance 14 Notices and other information 24 First Thoughts Dr Nick Brown James King The Principal Common Room President A day before this summer’s Gaudy I was browsing the As this academic year draws to a close, it’s time to reflect magnificent exhibition of Linacre College’s early history back on a successful year in the Common Room. 2018 saw mounted by Ros Connell. Many of this year’s Gaudy a dedicated team pull together to organise a fabulous ball – participants were members of the founding generation of now an annual occurrence to make sure all Linacrites have the College and knew a great deal about Bamborough’s the opportunity to attend this highlight of the College’s Linacre and the old college building in St Aldate’s. They calendar. The recent sustained warm weather was ideal for were clearly delighted to revive old memories of the Linacre our summer barbecue, with G and D’s ice cream (a company that they helped to create. But, I was pleased to see quite started by Linacre students), a balloon artist, a petting zoo, a few of our current students studying the display intently. and water pistols aplenty! “Wow!” said a student, turning to me. “I never knew that Linacre College had such cool origins.” It reminded me The newly refurbished CR (complete with hammock and how important history, especially archives and collections, revamped sound system) has been hosting an exhibition of can be as the soul of a community, guarding its values and the artwork of Linacre alumnus Benjamin Outram, whose traditions. fascinating macro photography of liquid crystals encapsulates Linacre’s interdisciplinary ethos (while also being very easy This issue of Linacre News has a focus on museums. We have on the eye). We were also delighted to welcome back leading a long association with Oxford’s outstanding museums – and ceramic artist Kazuya Ishida who ran a popular pottery we have counted many Directors and Curators among our workshop – I’d like to thank him personally for his patience Fellows. The size and shape of the collections in our museums with my incompetent throwing… are a powerful testament to the values and interests of the University over the centuries. A major challenge to Linacre students have, as ever, excelled in sports. The CR their present day Curators is to make them responsive to Sports Officer organised a successful dinner in celebration the needs of the modern university. It is not easy to use an of the achievements of our University athletes, including a exhibition of objects to represent cultural or scientific ideas, number of Blues, about whom you can read in the ‘Sporting particularly when those objects may convey contradictory Linacre’ section of this magazine. A particular mention goes to symbolic messages to different audiences. the Linacre Ladies that Lift, seven of whom have qualified for the World Drug Free Powerlifting championships. The club It is exciting to know that when we welcome the new cohort was recently the subject of a short documentary film by Guy of students to Linacre, it will include graduates coming from Loftus. across the globe to study Visual, Material and Museum Anthropology. We are, for example, very lucky to have a It’s always sad to wave goodbye to our graduating friends scholarship from the Agnese Nelms Haury Foundation at this time of year. In particular, I would like to mention my that supports a native North American student. Museum predecessor as CR President, Sophie Debrunner Hall, who Anthropology is one among many areas of study in this great was awarded the Federal Medal of Merit by the German university where scholars grounded in other cultures can government this year – one of only two non-Germans so bring enormous insight. honoured. As we bid a fond farewell to many, we look forward to welcoming our new intake. With diversity at Oxford recently in the news, we’re proud to be a college where 43% of our students identify as BAME. Linacre continues to be a place where people from all over the world find a welcoming community that takes pride in excellence in all its forms. Bring on next year! 2 • Linacre News 54 • Autumn 2018 Advancing Linacre A Day in the Life of the Development Office What do the four of us do all day, pleasure to see alumni messages experience as perfect as possible – every day, up on the 3rd floor of the pinging into our inboxes, or to engage aiming for excellence in pastoral and O C Tanner Building, sandwiched on social media. Messages to us may academic support, accommodation, between the Bursary below, and the be about forthcoming events, requests social activities, work and leisure IT Department “up in the gods”? And to contact friends from the past, facilities, great meals which are a given how does what we do enrich Linacre? news of career development, articles at Linacre thanks to our wonderful commissioned for Linacre News, notice kitchen staff – and in a solid, warm Unlike some Development Offices of gifts for our funds, announcements community. No gifts are ever taken which are basically former student of marriages, births, promotions or for granted; we know you have made bedrooms rather unsuccessfully awards, or continuation of previous a conscious decision to allot those masquerading as business facilities, conversations. A few alumni like funds to Linacre, and we’re warmly at Linacre we’re fortunate to have to send their favourite jokes… and appreciative. beautiful purpose-built offices. much correspondence is proactive Up in the mid-1990s extension to on our part, issuing invitations, Alongside our screen work are O C Tanner, we beaver away on either sending congratulations, requesting meetings in College, other colleges, side of our private corridor, which also information, thanking, and frequently or at the University, our all-important houses the Carolyn Tanner Irish Room, welcoming alumni who have got back alumni events and, as much as is a useful 20-seater meeting room for in touch. feasible, visits to alumni. Back in all Linacre members. our offices – although the Linacre Really uplifting days in the Linacre tradition is not to have daily coffee In brief, our ever-stimulating role is to Development Office are those when breaks – occasionally all work ceases interact constantly with you, our alumni Old Members and Friends call in to mid-morning, when someone working and friends constituting thousands see us. They come from far and wide, in College celebrates a birthday. This of largely invisible Linacre members sometimes unexpectedly. It’s always can bring out some competitive juices. globally, across a range of professional a great pleasure to see any of you Linacre baking skills are at times scary; roles, nationalities, age groups, who are able to see us when revisiting we have some excellent cake-makers. and time zones. Within College the Oxford. Of course, when gifts come in, On the other hand, we all reap the gregarious interactions in the Dining we are also delighted – whether £10 benefits, and love indulging in mouth- Hall, conversational clusters in the or more – and our gratitude is reflected watering delicacies on these special Common Room, diligent researchers in that delight. Studying at Oxford as occasions. in the Library, massed ranks in that a Linacre member is extremely annual matriculation photo, hundreds special. Our aim is to help make that This is a small window onto our work who populate Linacre’s legendary on the 3rd floor. It’s a never-ending bops, all reflect a very small part source of wonder to us that the whole of the holistic Linacre community. world seems to congregate in this Current members don’t often see small Linacre-shaped area in central this iceberg-equivalent 90%, but Oxford and then, invigorated, even many of our worldwide Linacre transformed by this significant “family” are deeply connected to university, spreads out again the College, and we do our best to all corners of the globe, and to enhance this relationship. in so many ways has a major At the core of what we do transformative effect across is “Once a Linacre member, the cosmos. always a Linacre member”, not meant as a threat! Much We are privileged to be part of of our work involves electronic this process. conversations; with former students spread across more than Anne Keene 130 countries, this is our main means of communication. It’s always a great Linacre News 54 • Autumn 2018 • 3 News & People L-R: Lisa Smårs, Antonella Di Marzio, Liz Welsh, Ros Connell Dr Ian Mills Thea Teasdale, Alex Wooten, and Simon Hill New Linacre Staff With Warm Thanks Fellows’ News Lisa Smårs is our new Alumni Relations At the beginning of July, we were sorry The College has said goodbye to Officer and Editor of this very to say “Good-bye” to Ros Connell, Governing Body Fellow Professor publication. Originally from Sweden, who as Development Officer has Laura Peers who has moved back she has worked at Oxford University served the College faithfully for nine to Canada. Professor Peers, who Press, the Ashmolean, and in publishing years through her dedicated work was a Fellow for 20 years, served as recruitment. In her spare time, she with alumni.