Two Selwynites have discovered a new species of fossil that will shed light on early animal ecosystems.

Dr Tom Harvey, a Selwyn alumnus now at Leicester's Department of Geology, together with our Fellow Professor Nick Butterfield, discovered the new species while conducting a survey of microfossils in mudstones from western Canada.

Here Nick sets out four reasons why the discovery matters:

College members have been supporting Time to Talk Day, which aims to get the nation talking about mental health. The organisers’ website is at http://www.time-to-change.org.uk/timetotalkday.

 
One of the highlights in 2017 will be the Selwyn choir’s visit to California, where they will performing in San Francisco’s Grace Cathedral. The concert there will be on Saturday July 15^th, and we’ll be releasing more details of other venues soon.

This year's team of student volunteers for our telephone campaign are pictured in the Master's Lodge with Roger Mosey. Between now and the start of the Lent term they will be speaking to a wide range of alumni and friends about life at Selwyn and the college's ambitions.

Selwyn’s annual London Carol service for alumni and friends takes place at 7pm on Tuesday December 6^th at St James’s Piccadilly. This is the second year we’ve been at the church, by invitation of its rector Lucy Winkett (SE 1987). There will be the traditional readings and Carols for all, along with performances by the Choir. The service ends with the church lit entirely by candlelight, which is always a magical moment in the run-up to Christmas.

Some of Selwyn’s best-known and longest-serving staff were praised in the House of Commons by Labour MP – and Selwyn alumnus – Wes Streeting. He was speaking in a debate about the Higher Education Bill, and he argued that non-academic staff were sometimes undervalued in terms of their representation within the university sector. He cited his own time at Selwyn as an example of the role staff can play:

Selwyn has hosted an alumni reception and taken part in outreach activity in India . as part of an
initiative shared with the wider University. Our senior tutor Mike Sewell went to a school in
Mumbai with Cambridge’s director of undergraduate recruitment Jon Beard, who.s a Selwyn bye-fellow.
They’re pictured at the Aditya Birla World Academy in Mumbai having lunch with students and staff.