CELEBRATING THE PAST INVESTING IN THE FUTURE Somerville College - Report for Donors FOR THE FINANCIAL PERIOD 01.08.11 – 31.07.12 Somerville College Contents CELEBRATING THE PAST From the Principal 3 Development Director’s Report 4 INVESTING The Somerville Campaign 6 IN THE FUTURE • Transforming Lives: Investing in Student Support 8 The Principal and Fellows of • Investing in Academic Excellence: Somerville College extend their Endowing Fellowships 10 most sincere thanks to the • Building for the Future: donors listed in this report for Improving our Facilities 12 their generous support of the The Indira Gandhi Centre College in 2011-12. for Sustainable Development 13 Every gift received makes The Annual Fund 14 a difference – 1,220 of you List of Donors 16 supported Somerville with During the financial period 01.08.11 - 31.07.12 restricted and unrestricted gifts Questions and Answers from 01.08.11 – 31.07.12. with Andrew Parker, Treasurer 22 Somerville College Woodstock Road, Oxford OX2 6HD E: [email protected] T: +44 (0) 1865 270600 (General) T: +44 (0) 1865 280626 (Development Office) www.some.ox.ac.uk/alumni Somerville is a registered charity. Charity Registration number: 1139440 From THE PRINCIPAL Thanks to your generosity, Somerville goes from strength to strength. CELEBRATING THE PAST INVESTING IN THE FUTURE he financial year covered by this report began with our Fellows and colleagues from across the University of a momentous occasion: the opening of our two new Oxford. Vitally important for Somerville’s graduate community, Taccommodation buildings on the University’s Radcliffe the generous grant from the Government of India will endow Observatory Quarter, next door to Somerville. Then the 2011 postgraduate scholarships for Indian students. The new Telethon broke Somerville records by raising a tremendous Oxford Graduate Scholarship Fund has decided to match the £200,000 for the College Annual Fund. The sheer number of donation, which is a wonderful endorsement of Somerville’s you who responded to both those appeals demonstrates the work. Another international success was announced with the strength of the Somerville community. establishment of the Global Ocean Commission at Somerville, in partnership with funding bodies led by the Pew Charitable The year ended on a most encouraging note with some Trusts, Adessium Foundation and Oceans 5. Both are hugely significant donations towards our Philosophy post, which has significant and world-changing initiatives which the College is now been fully endowed in the months following the financial very proud to host. year covered here. Securing support for our Fellowship endowment is paramount to the Somerville Campaign, I would like to take this opportunity to thank our outgoing and I am delighted to report that we are making good Development Director, Julie Hage, for her great efforts to progress towards securing the French Fellowship too. These secure Somerville’s future. The successes reported in this achievements are important not just for those subjects, but for publication owe a great deal to her leadership of the College’s the College as a whole, by freeing up income to protect non- Development Office, and I know that she will be missed by endowed teaching posts in all subjects. It is truly heartening many alumni. We also say goodbye to Somerville’s Treasurer to see the level of commitment that our alumni have for of 10 years, Helen Morton. Helen’s contribution to Somerville their College. Your gifts of all sizes towards our £25 million cannot be overstated: she was instrumental in so many Campaign continue to make a real difference to the lives of transformational projects, including the ROQ accommodation current and future generations of students. buildings, and it is to her credit that they have been awarded so many architectural accolades. I wish her successor, Andrew A new era is beginning to take shape in the College’s Parker, a long, enjoyable and successful tenure in this vitally development strategy. In December 2012, we were delighted important role. to announce the Government of India’s commitment to seed fund a new initiative at the College: the Indira Gandhi With all these changes, and many new projects in the pipeline, Centre for Sustainable Development. Building on Somerville’s it is an exciting time for Somerville. Your generosity enables us international legacy, and honouring one of our world-famous to foster the great ambitions we have for this unique college. alumnae, this new initiative will advance research and teaching Thank you for continuing to help Somerville change lives. in food security and related areas, with significant input from 3 DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR’S REPORT It has been a privilege and an inspiration to work with the Somerville community. hen I joined the Somerville community in 2009, scholars and to the College community as a whole. Strength in the College had just launched the most ambitious numbers continues to be Somerville’s defining feature, and it is Wcampaign in its history. It was with some trepidation wonderful to see our participation rate remain solid at 17%, a that we set out to raise £25 million to help secure the financial good notch above the University average of 15%. foundation for the future. Three years later, it is a pleasure to Following the success of the ROQ appeal in 2010/2011, report on the results achieved with the generous support of the emphasis for this year’s activities has been on securing our alumni and friends all over the world. An impressive 36% Fellowship endowment and strengthening student support. of our alumni have given a gift to the Campaign to help secure In light of the continued reduction in Government funding of Somerville’s excellence in teaching and research. More than Higher Education, it is deeply encouraging that so many alumni £18.4 million had been raised in total for the Campaign by the and friends have decided to support these areas. end of July 2012, and an impressive £1.7 million was raised in the 2011/2012 financial year alone. Securing our Fellowship endowment is a clear priority for the College and as the Principal reveals in her introduction, we The success of the Campaign owes a very great deal to our are delighted that so many of you have decided to support the distinguished Development Board, whose strategic guidance, appeals to endow the Philosophy and French posts. A special munificent support and tireless contributions at all levels opportunity is available to us with the Oxford Teaching Fund: have been vital to our achievements. We are delighted that if we can secure £1.2 million for each of the Fellowships, we new members are joining us too, and we owe all our Board will receive £800,000 per post in matched funding from the Members an immense debt of gratitude for their unwavering Teaching Fund. As we look to the future, it is rewarding that faith in the College. the target for the Philosophy Fellowship has been reached On the following pages you can see how your donation has (following the closure of this financial year) and this will relieve made a genuine difference to the students, to our eminent pressure on teaching costs in other subject areas. Significant 4 progress has been made with the French Fellowship appeal and in India. We are delighted that their tireless efforts have too, and we are hopeful that we shall be able to raise the £1.2 achieved such a significant result and deeply grateful for their million required to attract matched funding from the Fund faith in Somerville’s potential to expand its global reach. before the September 2014 deadline. On a personal note I would like to express a heart-felt thank Your contributions to student support, hardship grants and you to all alumni and friends of the College for offering so scholarships are also deeply appreciated, and we have been much of your insightful guidance and generous support during able to offer more than 30% of our students some sort of my time here. I shall be moving on from Somerville after some financial support this year. This places us in the top echelons very happy years at the College to take up a new challenge in of the Oxford colleges, and continues a noble tradition of the collegiate University. The resourcefulness and creativity securing access for the most talented students, regardless of of our alumni as they help advance our activities have never their financial means. It has been a special pleasure to receive ceased to impress me. Working closely with the Principal and contributions toward the Daphne Park Bursary Fund again this Somerville’s Governing Body, it has also been deeply rewarding year in honour of Lady Park, who always held student support to see again and again that Somerville, and Somervillians, matters very close to her heart. remain true to the pioneering ethos of the College’s founders. My colleagues in the Development Office have worked with As the Principal has outlined in her introduction, Somerville’s tremendous flair to advance both our alumni and Campaign pioneering ethos and international networks have taken our activities, and I hope you will all join me in thanking them for activities into the international arena with the commitment their meaningful contributions. from the Government of India to a significant new initiative: the Indira Gandhi Centre for Sustainable Development (see I would like to express a very sincere thank you to all of you for page 13). This opportunity to build on the College’s intellectual your support and encouragement. I very much hope Somerville strength in sustainability-related research has been facilitated can count on your continued engagement as the College seeks with strategic guidance and help from a group of extraordinarily to advance its ambitious plans for the future.