News Articles

We welcomed back members of the 1989 and 1999 year groups for a reunion on July 13^th. There were visits for alumni to the new library and auditorium, and a catch-up session with the master, before dinner in Hall – which included a speech by 1989 representative Francis Simons.

Photo credit: Mel Cousins

This is part of a packed programme of events across the year for alumni. We have already welcomed members back for their 40^th and 50^th anniversary reunions, and then in September we will have four gatherings:

• On September 5^th, a reunion lunch for 1964 and 1969 year groups – marking the 60^th and 55^th anniversaries of their arrival at Selwyn
• On September 12^th, a lunch for those who matriculated in 1959 or earlier
• On September 14^th, dinner for the 1994 and 2004 year groups
• On September 28^th, Cambridge alumni day for all – and a 10^th anniversary reunion for the 2014 year group

Photo credit: Thisath Ranawaka

For more details, and to book, please click here: https://www.sel.cam.ac.uk/events

Photo credit: Mel Cousins

A Selwyn student has received one of the vice-chancellor’s awards for social impact. The awards, organised by Cambridge Hub and sponsored by the vice-chancellor’s Office, recognise and celebrate achievement in contributing to society. 

Clara Ma, a Gates Cambridge scholar at Selwyn, has received the  Sustainability Award for her contributions to food sustainability programmes at the University of Cambridge. 

Clara is a PhD student at the Cambridge centre for environment, energy and natural resource governance. She assists departments, colleges, and organisations across the university in transitioning to more sustainable food procurement. 

The vice-chancellor Professor Debbie Prentice (in the red jacket) is seen with Clara and other award winners from across Cambridge.

Roger Mosey, master of Selwyn since 2013, will step down from the role in September 2025 in line with the college’s statutory retirement age. 

Roger is now the longest-serving head of house in Cambridge. During his time at Selwyn he oversaw the construction of the Bartlam Library and the Quarry Whitehouse auditorium, marking the completion of Ann’s Court. The college’s students have consistently been among the university’s highest achievers for good honours, and Selwyn has seen a record number of applications in recent years. 

Roger additionally undertakes a number of University of Cambridge roles, including serving on the Prevent and freedom of speech committee; the equality, diversity and inclusion committee; and as an advisor to successive vice-chancellors on communications. He is also a syndic of the Fitzwilliam Museum, a member of the sports committee and chairs the Centre for Family Research.

Janet O’Sullivan, vice-master, said: “Roger has been a wonderful master and will be sorely missed by Selwyn staff, students and fellows alike. He has presided over a highly successful period in the college’s history with wisdom, good humour and energy. His central role in the university has also been a great asset in college governance. We all wish him every happiness in the future and look forward to welcoming him back as an emeritus fellow.”

 Roger Mosey said: “Being at Selwyn has been a terrific experience, but by the autumn of next year I’ll be ready to leave Cambridge and I’m keen to have more time for my other interests. I’m deeply proud of everything the students, fellowship and staff have achieved at Selwyn in recent years, and I hope to have a long, continuing relationship with the college.”

 Selwyn will begin the search for a new master this summer, and hopes to appoint by early 2025.

Selwyn congratulates all the students who took part in the University of Cambridge’s General Admission on Friday June 28th and were awarded degrees at the end of their undergraduate studies.

The day took the traditional form, with family and friends gathering in Old Court to watch the graduands having their photograph taken. Then the student procession made its way to the Senate House for the degree ceremony, before the return to Selwyn for celebratory food and drink. There is a large collection of photographs of the events on our Facebook page www.facebook.com/Selwyn.College.Cambridge and you can also find more on Instagram and X where we post as @selwyn1882.

The college is very pleased to see three of its fellows receive promotions from the University of Cambridge.

• A professorship grade 11 goes to Dr Jörg Haustein in the faculty of Divinity
  

• Dr Kirsty McDougall is appointed to a university associate professorship grade 10 in the department of theoretical and applied Linguistics
  

• And there’s an unestablished associate teaching professorship grade 10 for Dr Elena Filimonova, a Russian specialist in MMLL
  

We congratulate them on their success. You can see the full list of Selwyn’s fellows here: https://www.sel.cam.ac.uk/list-of-fellows

The author and broadcaster Nick Bryant gave Selwyn’s Ramsay Murray lecture on Friday May 10th. This is our annual flagship event at which previous speakers have ranged from Niall Ferguson to Bridget Kendall and from Trevor Phillips to Amanda Vickery.

Dr Bryant argued that the current crisis in American politics is nothing new. Indeed, the divisions in the republic go back to its foundations; and Donald Trump is part of an historical tradition rather than an unprecedented phenomenon. His talk, followed by questions and answers with the audience in the Quarry Whitehouse auditorium, can be viewed here:  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Q1rEKfGha4

Selwyn’s high-profile events from this Spring, and earlier, are available to view online.

We began the recent series with the visit by the Swedish foreign minister Tobias Billström on April 16th. Mr Billström, a Selwyn alumnus, explained why Sweden had joined NATO. The video of the session can be viewed here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pbQLytbja1M

Then on April 24th we hosted one of the Cambridge University vice-chancellor’s dialogues, which are designed to foster free speech and help us to disagree constructively with views we find controversial. The topic was one of the most important of our times: “Is democracy dying?” It featured David Goodhart, Nabila Ramdani and Helen Thompson under the chairmanship of master Roger Mosey – and there were questions from the audience packed in to the Quarry Whitehouse auditorium. The event, introduced by Professor Debbie Prentice, is online here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7XCV_pf4yhE

The next night we explored a lighter theme. The Traitors is a major hit for the BBC and for other broadcasters worldwide – so what are the secrets of its success, and what does it tell us about the future of television? Former contestant Paul Gorton was one of the panellists, along with two senior BBC executives responsible for the show. Click here to watch:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dEWkhQE8b00

You may also like to browse our YouTube channel for more talks and discussions on a multitude of subjects: https://www.youtube.com/@selwyn1882. We have had well over one million views for our content, and our archive will continue to be built up.

Sweden’s foreign minister Tobias Billström gave a talk at Selwyn on April 16th about why his country has joined NATO. He warned that the world is going through a dangerous phase: not just the Russian attack on Ukraine, but also China’s intentions and the current crisis in the Middle East. These changing circumstances were why Sweden decided to relinquish the neutrality that it has held for more than two centuries.

Mr Billström is a Selwyn alumnus who studied history at the college, and was also president of the MCR representing our graduate students. In his address to current members, he emphasised the strengths of the links between Sweden and the United Kingdom – and said that Sweden’s decision on NATO could be seen as the logical conclusion to the co-operation between the two countries and other allies. However, it had been Russian aggression in Ukraine and elsewhere – and the threat to other countries in the Baltic region – which had been the key driver of the decision formally to join NATO.

You can watch the minister’s speech in full, with questions from the audience, here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pbQLytbja1M

An MA graduation ceremony was held in the university Senate House on Saturday April 6th. Selwyn’s graduands gathered in Old Court on a warm, windy Spring day and then made the journey into the centre of the city via West Bye Lane and King’s College.

This is the 2017 year group which didn’t have the usual BA graduation ceremony in 2020 because of the pandemic - it was delayed by more than a year - so we were particularly pleased to welcome back so many students with their guests. There was a celebratory dinner in Hall, which was preceded by drinks in the master’s garden.

We congratulate all our students on joining the Cambridge MA community.