It is with great sadness that we report the death on January 5th 2019 of Dr Christopher Johnson, Honorary Fellow of the college.

Chris came to the college as an undergraduate in 1950; and, as a talented physicist, he became a Fellow of Selwyn more than 60 years ago. He went on to be a distinguished Bursar here and at St John’s College. It was during his time as Selwyn"s Bursar that Cripps Court was constructed and the larger, modern college became established.

We send our deepest sympathy to his wife June, his family and friends. Dr Christopher Johnson, 1931-2019, RIP.

Our homepage shows the photograph chosen for the college Christmas card: an aerial shot of Selwyn taken by our recent alumnus Laurence Moscrop, who studied engineering here. The image was captured by Laurence, using a drone, on 26 February 2018.



We send season’s greetings to our current students and to alumni, families and friends – with every good wish for 2019. If you’d like some extra festive spirit, you may also enjoy the choir’s Christmas recording which features ‘The Little Road to Bethlehem’.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kh0WkGKexiI

The annual Telephone Campaign is underway, with current students calling alumni and friends to update them on recent developments at Selwyn. We’re also grateful for support for the big challenges facing the college: backing students with bursaries and grants; ensuring we have the best teaching; and providing world-class facilities. There’s more about the plans for a new library and auditorium here: https://www.selwynalumni.com/main-website-pages/library-and-auditorium.


The callers are seen around the Christmas tree in the Master’s Lodge with Roger Mosey. The campaign continues until December 19th, and you can also contact us anytime via development@sel.cam.ac.uk.

The season for Carols began early this year. The first service in Selwyn’s chapel took place on November 29^th; and the Sunday Carol service was actually at the start of Advent.




As has become a tradition, the college choir will now head to London for a service for alumni, families and friends at St James’s Church in Piccadilly. It will be on Thursday December 6^th at 7pm and all are welcome. This year we’re planning a "massed choir anthem" giving you a wonderful opportunity to sing with the choir. Please note that if you’re interested in joining in, you need to be able to arrive early, at 6.20pm, to take part in a 15 minute rehearsal.

Full details of the event can be found at https://www.selwynalumni.com/carol-service.

Planning is well underway for the start of building work on Selwyn’s new library and auditorium – which will be constructed during 2019 and 2020. The project will create a library fit for the digital age, with a mix of communal and individual spaces for students to work; and the auditorium will be a flexible space with tiered seating for lectures and performances. The site is on the corner of Grange Road and West Road, completing the acclaimed Ann’s Court development.

The total cost of the building is expected to be £12.6m, and more than £10m has been raised already. The college is now launching a set of opportunities for alumni and friends to support the project by buying a brick, a chair or a paving stone – with the aim of raising the £2m needed to meet our financial goal.

You can see the plans and make an online donation here:

https://www.selwynalumni.com/main-website-pages/library-and-auditorium

Or for more information, please contact our development team via development@sel.cam.ac.uk or call the Development Office on 01223 767846.

Selwyn will be remembering those who died in conflict with services in the chapel on Sunday November 11^th. There will be a two minutes silence in Old Court at 11am; and later at 6pm the choir will sing Parry’s Songs of Farewell to mark the centenary of the end of the First World War.
  

The college has named a room in honour of Kathleen Lyttelton (1856-1907): campaigner for women’s rights and social justice; journalist; and wife of our first Master.

The room, formerly known as the Tower Room, was opened on Sunday October 14^th by members of the Lyttelton family. Pictured are her three surviving grandchildren – Ned, Lavinia and Kate – with a photograph of Kathleen from the National Portrait Gallery.



Kathleen arrived in Cambridge with her husband Arthur in 1882 when he took up the Mastership of the newly-founded college. She was an early suffragist, and meetings advancing the cause were held at Selwyn from its earliest days. Kathleen went on to have a national role in the campaign for women’s votes; and she became a writer and editor, and gave Virginia Woolf one of her first commissions.

You can read more about Mary Kathleen Lyttelton’s remarkable life in her entry in the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography: http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/10.1093/ref:odnb/9780198614128.001.0001/odnb-9780198614128-e-50712

Our photograph shows Selwyn Fellows and friends gathered with the Lyttelton family at the opening event.

The college is now home to a new generation of graduate students and undergraduates, following matriculation ceremonies on Friday 29 September and Monday 1 October. We’ve been joined this year by a total of more than 200 new students.

Undergraduates were addressed in Hall on Monday morning by the Senior Tutor Dr Mike Sewell and the Praelector Dr Stewart Sage.



They then went into Old Court for the traditional freshers photo where they were joined by the Master Roger Mosey, the Chaplain Hugh Shilson-Thomas and deputy head porter Bob Watson.



We wish our new students happiness and success during their time at Selwyn.

The college admitted its latest Fellow Benefactor at a reunion dinner on Saturday September
22^nd.




Fellow Benefactor status is Selwyn’s highest recognition for philanthropy, marking a gift of
at least £1m. We were delighted to welcome Robin Jeffs to this cohort following his donation to the
college’s new library and auditorium project. Mr Jeffs, who is an alumnus now living in
California, has asked for his contribution to be named in memory of our distinguished former Fellow
Donald Welbourn.

Mr Jeffs becomes the fourth Fellow Benefactor since the creation of the role in 2016. Other holders
of the title are Jim Dickinson, Robert Martin and Katya Speciale. We are extremely grateful to them
for their support for future generations at Selwyn.  

The college is looking forward to welcoming its new undergraduates at the end of September. This year they will total 119: 57 men and 62 women.
Of the UK students, 74% are from state schools. This is up from 71% in 2017, and compares with an official Cambridge University target of 63.4%.
There are 28 international students. The countries represented are Canada, China, Cyprus, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Hungary, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Romania, Singapore, Switzerland and Thailand.
Our photo shows some of the freshers from 2017. Their successors will formally become members of Selwyn on Monday October 1st.