THE TERMLY E-NEWSLETTER FOR EXONIANS LONG VACATION 2014 Welcome... to the latest edition of Exeter Matters, the termly electronic newsletter for Exonians. RECTOR’S NEWS It’s been a fantastic 10 years. As I look back, on my last day as Rector, all sorts of moments flash into my mind. There was the SCR Eight, which included the Bursar, the Chaplain, the Accountant and the Development Director, but capsized dramatically one day, dumping us all into the Thames. There were the evenings when I came out into a wintery Back Quad, to hear the ethereal sound of the choir practising for Evensong in the Chapel. There were the sessions in front of the gas fire in my office with students worrying about FRANCES CAIRNCROSS choosing a career, or alumni visiting to rebuild links with their College past. There was The Walk from Exeter Cathedral to the College to kick off the feast of events through our 700th year. And there has been the 10-day visit this month to the graves and memorials of the Exonians who died on the Western Front in the First World War. This last pilgrimage, made in the company of our Chaplain, Andrew Allen, has brought home to me what an impressive contribution Exonians made in that terrible conflict. It was not just those who paid with their youth and their lives, although that was harrowing, but also three whose fame has survived. They are “Tubby” Clayton, who founded Talbot House (TocH) where men left their rank at the door and could find calm and contemplation; Sir Reginald Blomfield, who designed so many of the cemeteries and memorials we visited, including the profoundly moving Sword THE WALK FROM EXETER TO EXETER of Sacrifice and the great arch of the Menin Gate; and Sir Hubert Parry, who died of Spanish flu in 1918, after composing his “Songs of Farewell”, a rejection of the triumphalism of that dreadful War. All were people who were shaped by the College, and of whom Exeter can be rightly proud. The weekend before I set off to France, I turned 70, and had a splendid birthday party in Oxford Town Hall. We invited all the College staff, and booked a Scottish ceilidh band. Almost everyone managed to dance Strip the Willow, the Dashing White Sergeant and the Gay Gordons. The evening ended with a 60s disco manned by Tom Coombes, our irrepressible Porter. I won’t quickly forget the sight of my daughter persuading the Bursar to jive. EXONIAN WAR GRAVE, DUISANS My last big College event, the grand tea 10 days ago, was a wonderful grand finale. BRITISH CEMETERY It was bittersweet to see so many friendly and familiar faces, who have given me so | 2 LONGMICHAELMAS VACATION TERM 2014 2010 much support and friendship, knowing that our paths will now diverge. I couldn’t quite recognise myself in John Leighfield’s wonderful speech. I will be moving to London, where Hamish and I have lived in the same tall Islington house since 1973 and have decided to stay put – all those stairs will keep us alive! I will keep my email address for the time being. Meanwhile, at 10.30pm tonight, Hamish and I will drive off in my cousin’s 1931 Rolls Royce, which his father acquired in 1956. We want to leave in style! RECTOR’S FAREWELL TEA PARTY It is a big relief and a great pleasure to leave the College in the capable hands of Rick Trainor. He and his wife are already unpacking in the Lodgings and making friends among the alumni. I do hope that they will enjoy their time in this wonderful, welcoming College as much as Hamish and I have done. It’s been unforgettable. Thank you all for making it so. Frances Cairncross As incoming Rector I would like to express heartfelt thanks to my predecessor, Frances Cairncross, not only for all her splendid achievements for Exeter over the past 10 years but also for the extraordinarily warm welcome that she and her husband Hamish McRae have given to SIR RICK TRAINOR me and to my wife Marguerite Dupree as we prepare to live in College. Indeed we have had a very positive reception from all the Exonians that we have met – at the ‘pre-election’ lunch in College in October 2013, at the College’s 700th birthday celebrations on 4 April 2014, in parallel festivities in New York the following weekend, in our various visits to the College during the past year (when we have met a large number of Fellows, students and staff) and as we began to move in to the Rector’s Lodgings earlier this month. We look forward to meeting many more Exonians during the coming months – in College, in London and on visits to destinations such as Canada, the United States, Hong Kong and Singapore. FOUNDER’S DAY CELEBRATIONS Exeter is a great college, with a very promising future as well as seven centuries of ON 4 APRIL 2014 highly substantial accomplishments. It has accelerated its progress in recent years, increasing its prominence, opening itself ever more to the world beyond Oxford, achieving record-breaking proportions of alumni giving and undertaking the innovative Walton Street project. I believe that in the years ahead, with the help of the whole of Exeter’s exceptionally harmonious family, we can achieve even more, enhancing Exeter’s standing as one of Oxford’s, and the world’s, leading academic institutions. There can be no doubt that whatever Exeter achieves over the next several years will owe a great deal to Frances Cairncross. Like all Exonians, Marguerite and I wish her and Hamish very well in the years ahead and hope that they will remain actively engaged with the College to which they have contributed so much. FESTIVITIES IN NEW YORK, APRIL 2014 Sir Rick Trainor | 3 LONGMICHAELMAS VACATION TERM 2014 2010 DEVELOPMENT OFFICE NEWS Exeter’s Annual Fund beats all previous records The College’s 700th anniversary year ended on a high note, with 45% of all alumni making a gift to Exeter within the 2013-14 financial year, and almost 50% of all undergraduate alumni donating at some level. The Annual Fund raised £899,588 in unrestricted income in 2013-14, more than ever before. The income will provide vital support for students who require financial assistance, much needed funding for the Walton Street development and crucial subsidising of our outstanding tutorial system. Thank you to all donors for your support! Rector-elect visits alumni in Canada Exeter College’s next Rector, Sir Rick Trainor, visited alumni and friends of the College in Canada earlier this month. On 16 September Sir Rick met with alumni and friends of the College in Saskatoon where they celebrated Exeter College’s close and long-standing connection to Saskatchewan through the Canada Rhodes Scholarships. The following day Sir Rick met a second group of alumni and friends in Toronto to toast the College as it enters its eighth century. Exeter holds entrepreneurs event On 25 September alumni, current students and friends of the College met for the third Exepreneurs gathering, a networking event designed to showcase and celebrate Exeter entrepreneurship. Nigel Glen (1977, Zoology), Isla Finney (1994, Mathematics) and Julia Colegate-Stone (1998, English) spoke about their entrepreneurial careers to date, the challenges faced and the successes they have enjoyed. They offered advice to budding entrepreneurs and sparked a lively discussion on building one’s own business in the current economic climate. Call for feedback on Exeter’s plans for gaudies After a successful series of alumni events during Exeter’s 700th anniversary year, the College is now considering how best to provide reunion opportunities for alumni at gaudies, with a ‘grand gaudy’ and a smaller ‘reunion dinner’ generally at intervals of every five years. We would like to receive feedback from alumni to ensure these events meet your preferences. To view the proposed reunion schedule and to offer feedback please click here. 2014 edition of Exon magazine published The 2014 edition of Exeter College’s magazine for alumni and current members of the College, Exon, is now available to read online. To mark Exeter’s 700th anniversary, this year the magazine is on the themes of celebration and commemoration. Feature articles include Sir Roger Bannister (1946, Physiological Sciences) 60 years on from breaking the four-minute mile and winning Empire Games gold, Imogen Stubbs (1979, English) reflecting on 35 years of mixed education at Exeter, Peter Auger (Stipendiary Lecturer in English Literature) commemorating 450 years since the birth of Shakespeare, and Charles Outhwaite (1984, Modern History) on celebrating with Champagne. If you have news to share with Exeter’s community, including news of publications, honours, prizes, births, marriages or deaths, please email [email protected]. North America Travel Scholar reports on memorable trip Aideen Carroll, the 2014 North America Travel Scholar, spent the summer exploring mental health law and provision of services in North America. Here she reports on the trip – one of her favourite experiences as an Oxford student to date. | 4 LONG VACATION 2014 Emily Watson leaves Development Office After eight and a half years at Exeter (four years as a student reading Literae Humaniores then four and a half years as Development Manager running the Annual Fund, with a break in Paris in between) Emily Watson is leaving the College to pursue a career in international development. She is joining an organisation that creates social enterprises in East Africa with the aim of alleviating poverty by improving smallholder agriculture and access to markets. Although she is sad to be leaving such a wonderful College, she hopes to stay an active part of the Exeter community as an Old Member.