Annual Report 20 09 Clare College Cambridge Contents Master’s Introduction . 3 Teaching and Research . 4–5 Selected Publications by Clare Fellows . 6–7 College Life . 8–9 Financial Report . 10–11 Development . 12–13 Access and Outreach . 14 Captions . 15 2 Master’s Introduction Clare’s primary purpose remains to provide a world-class undergraduate education In today’s competitive global market for the best graduate students, it is reassuring with an emphasis on individual teaching and support. We have this year introduced that Cambridge has finally taken steps to provide successful applicants with timely changes to the tutorial system to provide better cover during term-time and offers accompanied by appropriate funding packages. This is a good example of how vacations. We have also continued to recruit new Fellows to strengthen our teaching the colleges and University can work together to address an issue of fundamental provision in key subjects, and have made appointments to deepen our links with importance to Cambridge’s future. As part of Clare’s commitment to graduate important University institutions such as the Judge Business School and the Fitzwilliam students, detailed plans have been drawn up for an additional accommodation block Museum. The study skills sessions for first-year undergraduates and close attention to on the existing Newnham Road site, which will allow us to create a vibrant our teaching methods which I mentioned last year have transformed the results of community for graduate students close to the main College buildings. our students in less well performing subjects, as the spectacular improvement in This year has already witnessed two major enhancements of the College’s buildings: Economics continues to demonstrate. But the results this summer show that there is the long-awaited refurbishment of Castle End and the completion of Lerner Court. still much to be done. Together with the recent conversion of the Old Court attics and the refurbishment of I have expressed concerns in the past that students at Clare might not be challenged Thirkill Court, these projects comprise the most concentrated improvement of our enough both in the strictly academic sphere but also in the wider world. I am pleased built infrastructure for many decades. Capital expenditure at this level is only made to report that I see signs of greater political and social awareness: in the work of our possible by the generosity of our alumni and the careful stewardship of our historic graduates with the Clare-Bermondsey Trust, teaching music in Palestine, or with endowment. Hence the College’s decision last autumn to borrow £15 million to Afghan refugee women in Germany. I also detect a greater recognition by students of invest over 40 years, which should give us a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to the need to present themselves better to the outside world. But I worry that our increase our endowment significantly. Thanks to the work of the Bursar and the excellent women students are reticent about their achievements, so I am currently Development Office and the support of alumni, Clare is as well-placed financially as a talking to the President of Barnard College, the all-women’s college in New York, medium-sized Cambridge college can be. about the possibility of places on their summer courses on leadership for women. But the task of sustaining a world-class university in the next few years is a challenging Ensuring that the brightest young people from every background are encouraged to one. The mix of state and private funding has up to now protected Cambridge and its apply to Cambridge and Clare remains a major concern. We have launched two colleges from the worst effects of a fall in endowments. But the position of the public important initiatives this year to widen participation. First, we have adopted an additional finances in the next few years means that Clare’s future financial well-being and its ‘link area’, forging relationships with schools in Coventry and Warwickshire on behalf of ability to deliver high quality undergraduate education and student support are likely the University as a whole, to complement our long-standing work in Tower Hamlets. to depend on income from private, rather than government, sources. The talent of Second, we hosted an Alumni Teachers Conference in the Easter vacation, which we the students we admit, the efforts of the Fellowship, and the support of our alumni hope will become an annual event designed to disseminate up-to-date information about give me confidence that we will be able to maintain that quality in the future. the Cambridge admissions process. We are conscious that much more remains to be done to encourage applications from talented students from non-traditional backgrounds. 3 Teaching and Research Undergraduate numbers 2008–09 Undergraduates by country/region of origin Subject Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Years 5-7 Total Anglo-Saxon, Norse & Celtic 121 4 Archaeology & Anthropology 411 6 Architecture 232 7 UK Asian & Middle Eastern Studie s * 4232 11 EU Chemical Engineering 34 7 Asia Classics 6341 14 Other Computer Science 423 9 Economics 565 16 Engineering 8678 29 English 899 26 Geography 222 6 Examination results 2009 History 10 11 10 31 In the 2009 Tripos examinations, 79% of all Clare students gained Firsts or 2.1s, compared History of Art 11 2 with 81% last year. Among the finalists, 88% of students in Arts subjects achieved Firsts or 2.1s. Land Economy 11 2 Overall, 20% of all Arts students and 22% of Science students gained Firsts, together Law 3631 13 representing 21% of all Clare students (compared to 25% last year). Management Studies 33 Manufacturing Engineering 11 2 In the arts and humanities, five out of seven students reading Philosophy gained Firsts, as did half the Mathematics 9785 29 students at Theological and Religious Studies Part IIB and four out of nine students at English Part II. Medicine (including Clinical Medicine) 14 11 11 7 17 60 Three out of five students at Economics Part IIB gained Firsts. In the sciences, Biochemistry showed Modern & Medieval Languages 11 89 9 37 an excellent set of results for the third year in succession, with four out of five students at Part III Music 8451 18 gaining Firsts. Both students reading Part II Plant Sciences and three out of five students at Zoology Natural Sciences (Biological) 10 12 13 5 40 Part II also gained Firsts, while four out of seven students at Mathematics Part III gained distinctions. Natural Sciences (Physical) 19 18 16 15 68 Philosophy 412 7 Seven Clare students were awarded Firsts with distinction: Yvonne Bristow in Anglo-Saxon, Social & Political Sciences 342 9 Norse and Celtic Part I; Qinkan Wu in Engineering Part IIB; David Belius, Hans Johansson, Ailsa Theology 366 15 Keating and Nicholas Sofroniew in Mathematics Part III; and Oliver Topping in Modern & Veterinary Science 43238 20 Medieval Languages Part II. Mr Topping’s performance was also recognised by the University with the award of the Mrs Claude Beddington Prize, the Whalley Prize, and the Olga Youhotsky and Catherine Matthews Prize. Giles Smith won the University’s David Roberts Total 144 131 130 61 25 491 4 Memorial Prize for the highest dissertation mark in the Architecture Tripos, while Katie Armitage won the Roger Morris Award for Medicine and Surgery. * formerly known as Oriental Studies Clare stands this year 18th (compared to 12th last year) among the Cambridge colleges in the PhD theses successfully defended by Clare graduate students Baxter Table measuring all Tripos results. Clare finalists were ranked 6th and Arts finalists 5th. Economists continued to perform well, with Clare ranked 3rd overall (up from 4th in 2008), Alexis, D. A comparative and developmental analysis of future planning while the College was 4th overall in English. Astley, M.R. Surface-acoustic-wave-defined dynamic quantum dots Cawthorn, W.P. Molecular mechanisms of anti-adipogenesis by tumour necrosis factor-alpha Andrew Thomason, Professor of Combinatorial Mathematics in the Faculty of Mathematics, and Cluett, T.J. The mechanism of mammalian mitochondrial DNA replication the late Michael Majerus, Professor of Evolution in the Department of Genetics, were awarded Cragin, R.K. Palestinian resistance through the eyes of Hamas two of the University’s prestigious Pilkington Prizes for Teaching. They bring to nine the number of Clare Fellows to win a Pilkington Prize in the last eight years. This is a singular achievement by Findlay, A.D. Total synthesis and structural assignment of antimitotic polyketides one college and reflects Clare’s commitment to providing a world class undergraduate education. Helme, A.E. Convergent evolution of intelligence in corvids and apes: implications for animal welfare Houghton, M. Gain in terahertz quantum cascade lasers Hubbard, K.E. Identification of calcium signalling elements in the Arabidopsis circadian network Graduate student numbers 2008–09 Jin, S. Dynamics of Galactic gas streams and satellites Kipps, C.M. Insights into frontotemporal dementia: an imaging and neuropsychological study PhD 222 Klein, A.M. The laws of cell fate in epidermal maintenance Masters courses (MPhil, MEd, etc.) 54 Mellad, J.A. Novel Nesprin-1 isoforms participate in mRNA regulatory pathways PGCE 0 Owens, G.A. Using systemising to facilitate social competence in autism: an evaluation of The Transporters DVD and Other 2 LEGO® therapy Total 278 Petrozza, A. Optoelectronic processes at organic semiconductor interfaces Sanders, R.A. The social lives of elite Philadelphian women, ca. 1760–1800 Seach, G.J. Wholly attending: theological thinking after Dietrich Bonhoeffer and D. H. Lawrence Graduate students by Sexton, T.I. Genome-wide detection of preferential associations between genes within transcriptional networks country/region of origin Sharkey, J.