Selwyn Remembers
Posted: November 8, 2019
The college will be marking Remembrance – and honouring the dead of recent conflicts – on November 10th and 11th.
The main event on Sunday will be a service in chapel at 6pm. The introduction in the printed programme says:
“We gather as a community of all faiths and none to reflect on the human cost of conflict and to honour the fallen. This is an opportunity to remember those who died fighting in the First and Second World Wars, and all those who have suffered because of those wars. It is also an opportunity to remember those who have died in war or as a result of conflicts before and since. As well as a service of remembrance, it is a time to reflect on the ways in which war and violence continue to tear apart lives, communities, and countries. It is also a service of hope; hope that a future without violence, hatred, fear, and misunderstanding can be possible. The service will consist of anthems sung by the choir, accompanied by a series of readings. In addition, the names of those listed on the college’s war memorials will be read out, and we will hear a brief reflection on what it is to remember.”
To reflect the faiths within Selwyn, there will be readings of Jewish and Muslim texts – in Hebrew and Arabic respectively – as well as from Christianity.
The traditional two minutes of silence is being observed in chapel at 11am on Sunday morning and again on Monday morning at 11am – representing the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month, when the First World War ended.
Academic ambition
Posted: October 26, 2019Selwyn continues to attract new Fellows to the college to ensure that its teaching and its ambitions remain as strong as possible.
Eight men and women were welcomed to the Fellowship for the 2019-20 academic year. They are, from left to right:
Dr Emily Hancox (Law), Professor Leonardo Felli (Economics), Dr Lotte Reinbold (English), Dr Mathias Nowak (Astrophysics), Dr Jörg Haustein (Divinity), Dr Ronita Bardhan (Architecture), Mr Martin Pierce (Bursar-elect) and Dr Tom Smith (History).
They add to the international diversity of Selwyn. Professor Felli is Italian; Dr Nowak is French; Dr Haustein comes from Germany; and Dr Bardhan is from India. We will be joined in January by an American historian: Dr Robert Lee.
The full list of senior members of our Governing Body can be found here: http://www.sel.cam.ac.uk/life-selwyn/the-fellowship/
Our 2019 Freshers
Posted: October 7, 2019Undergraduate matriculation took place on Monday October 7th. Students formally became members of the college and of Cambridge University at a short ceremony in Hall; and then the traditional photograph was taken in Old Court, accompanied this year by a little light rain. We welcome all our new students, and wish them the very best for their new life here.
New Graduate Students
Posted: October 4, 2019Our new graduate students officially became members of the college and of Cambridge University on Friday October 4th.
Those students who are new to Cambridge took part in a matriculation ceremony in the Chadwick Room, and then moved outside into Old Court for the traditional ‘team photo’ with the Master, Senior Tutor, Chaplain and Praelector. Everyone joining the MCR – the Middle Combination Room which represents graduate students – was also invited to a dinner in Hall.
We warmly welcome all who are joining us at Selwyn for this new academic year, and wish them every success in this latest phase of their academic careers.
Who’s moving in?
Posted: September 3, 2019We’re looking forward to welcoming our new undergraduates, who’ll be joining the college – and moving into Cripps Court (below) – in October.
Here’s what we know about them statistically. There are 117 students expected: 57 men and 60 women. Of the home students, 74.7% are from state schools – compared with 73.9% last year, and a Cambridge University target of 64%.
21 of the new undergraduates are based abroad: 8 from the EU, and 13 from the rest of the world. The countries represented in addition to the UK are Belgium, China, France, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, South Korea, Malaysia, Poland and Singapore.
A lot of attention is rightly paid to increasing the social diversity of our students, and Selwyn has exceeded all of the Cambridge University widening participation targets:
· low participation neighbourhood 18.2%; University target 13.0%
· output area classification 22.2%; University target 13.1%
· index of multiple deprivation 17.2%, University target 8.5%
For the first time Cambridge participated in UCAS adjustment and this was successful: four students came to us via this route.
Admission standards remained very high: incoming students averaged 2.3 A* in the arts, 3.1 A* in the sciences – and 2.7 A* per incoming student overall. The adjustment students averaged better than three A*.
Congratulations to all those who are joining us.
Expanding the team
Posted: August 16, 2019At least eight new Fellows will be joining Selwyn during the next academic year. They come from all over the world – including the United States, France, Germany and India – and represent a range of subjects from architecture to astrophysics.
Among them will be Dr Lotte Reinbold, an existing bye-Fellow of the college, who takes on a college teaching post in English and a full Fellowship. Dr Reinbold’s research includes dream poetry, from the late Middle Ages to the late Early Modern period. She is also interested in Chaucerian afterlives and reception, medievalism, and the children’s fantasy writer Diana Wynne Jones.
We will introduce more of our new Fellows in the coming weeks.
Degrees of success
Posted: July 22, 2019A number of higher degrees were awarded at a Congregation in the university Senate House on Saturday July 20th. The largest contingents of Selwyn members were those receiving PhDs, MPhils and Masters of Studies. After the ceremony, the new graduates and their families and guests were entertained to drinks in the Master’s garden and then to lunch in the college. We congratulate everyone on their achievements.
It was a warm day, so refreshments were certainly needed – and the college’s catering team was on hand with plentiful supplies.
New bursar appointed
Posted: July 16, 2019Selwyn College is pleased to announce that its next bursar will be Martin Pierce. He will join the college in late November, and will take responsibility for its finances, domestic staff and estate.
Martin has had a distinguished career in business, most recently as Business Services Director for Hastings Direct insurance, where he was a member of the executive committee with responsibility for IT and change, property services, quality assurance and suppliers. Previously he worked in a variety of senior management roles at Barclays Bank; and subsequently ran his own consultancy during which time he helped lead the restructuring of Northern Rock following the financial crisis of 2008 and nationalisation. He is a graduate of Jesus College, Cambridge, where he studied history.
Roger Mosey, Master of Selwyn, said: “We’re delighted that Martin is taking on this vital role. We involved the college staff and students in the appointments process, as well as the Fellows, and everyone was extremely impressed by him. Our outgoing bursar Nick Downer is leaving the college in very good shape, and we’re looking forward to Martin helping us to continue this success.”
Martin Pierce said “It’s both a privilege and a challenge to be invited to be the next bursar of Selwyn and I’m hugely excited at the prospect. I am fortunate to be joining a great team which is ambitious for the future and am very much looking forward to playing a part in the next steps of the college’s story.”
Our 2019 graduates
Posted: June 29, 2019Selwyn students received their degrees at the Senate House on Friday, June 28th as part of the University’s General Admission. They assembled in Old Court, watched by families and friends, for the traditional ‘team photo’ of the graduands taken outside Chapel. Then they set off to the centre of the city for the official ceremony, led by head porter Helen Stephens along with the Master and Praelector.
We offer our heartiest congratulations to all our new graduates.
Selwyn’s building site
Posted: June 16, 2019Work is intensifying on the site of Selwyn’s new library and auditorium. A piling rig has been installed, and a crane will soon follow. The photo, taken from the roof of Cripps Court, shows where construction is underway on the corner of Grange Road and West Road.
The building will complete Ann’s Court, and it’s hoped it will be finished by the end of 2020. In the initial phase a concrete box will be formed in the ground. Then, towards the end of this year, the ground floor slab will be cast; and we anticipate the erection of the steel frame and floors before the Christmas break. You can follow what’s happening via our webcam: http://www.sel.cam.ac.uk/includes/phase3/current.jpg
There’s more information about the project here https://www.selwynalumni.com/main-website-pages/library-and-auditorium including details on how to buy a brick or paving stone or chair to help us reach our financial target of £12.6m.
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