News Articles

Selwyn supports students in many ways, and one of these is financially – which is particularly important in these tough economic times. When they experience unforeseen financial problems, our students benefit from the various sources of support that are available centrally to students from all colleges. Generally the way these can be accessed is through your tutor, and sometimes the Senior Tutor, making a case to the relevant university body. The range of grants and funds is extensive.

There is further financial backing available within the college. For example, one of the recent creations at Selwyn is the Elgar Fund, named after Dr Dennis Elgar who left a major benefaction for student support. This now offers:

• An Elgar matriculation book and equipment grant of £100 will be made to all undergraduates in their first term of residence. If you’re on a full Cambridge Bursary, there will be an additional £150 grant in your second term; with £100 paid to partial bursary holders.
• The Elgar vacation residence grant offers the opportunity to stay in Cambridge during the Easter vacation to students for whom financial considerations may be a barrier to doing so. With tutorial support it may also be available for the Christmas vacation.
• The Elgar finalists’ grants: Eligible undergraduates (those receiving bursary support) in their final year of study, along with third year medical and veterinary students, will receive a grant intended to help with such things as application fees, interview travel and other expenses that arise as they consider their next steps and in a year when their student loan diminishes. A grant of £300 will be paid as a credit on their college bill in the Easter term to all eligible third year students in residence and to fourth year students who have returned from a year abroad or intermission.
• Elgar Formal Hall Grants: In order to help ensure that students from less well-off backgrounds do not feel excluded from full participation in college life, this grant is intended to ensure that all students feel that Formal Hall is affordable. Students in receipt of a CBS grant will receive six free tickets per year.

You can read more about our financial support here:

https://www.sel.cam.ac.uk/ughandbook/finance

This section of our website includes information about other opportunities for students, including grants for travel, sport and music. We also have funds that are dedicated to supporting students in particular subjects in academic-related activities or ambitious vacation projects:

https://www.sel.cam.ac.uk/ughandbook/finance/grants-academic-projects-vacation-placements

Selwyn College is pleased to have appointed Jennifer Phillips as its next Bursar.  She will join the college in November, taking over responsibility for finance, estates, hospitality and domestic services from the retiring Bursar, Martin Pierce.

Jennifer joins Selwyn from a background in finance, having trained in accountancy at PricewaterhouseCoopers following graduation from Cambridge in 1999, where she read English and then History and Philosophy of Science, in which she took a first. Her career has spanned financial advisory work in the business recovery sector, tax planning and financial accounting (for the FTSE listed entity now called Synthomer Ltd), and a highly successful nine year stint in a rapid growth, private equity backed, international education business.  Since 2016 she has been the Domestic Bursar at her undergraduate college, Gonville and Caius, with key achievements in recent years including a major refurbishment of catering areas in the heart of the Grade I listed Old Courts, and the navigation of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Roger Mosey, Master of Selwyn, said: “The college is delighted that, after a highly competitive process, Jennifer will be joining us. She combines financial expertise with her experience and excellent track record at Caius, and she impressed the college council with her vision for the future of Selwyn. I will personally hugely look forward to working with her.”  

Jennifer Phillips said “I am thrilled to have been offered the role of Bursar of Selwyn College. Whilst the economic outlook post Covid is tough both nationally and locally, I look forward to working with the excellent and highly experienced Selwyn teams at all levels, to ensure the college gets the best from its new and impressive facilities – a significant opportunity. I look forward to adding my contribution to Selwyn’s 140 year history.”

The college held its first full graduation ceremony with guests since 2019 on the afternoon of July 1st. General Admission took its traditional form with students gathering in Old Court for a commemorative photograph, and then processing to the university Senate House to receive their degrees from the Master in his role as the vice-chancellor’s deputy. We were delighted to be joined by so many family members and friends, and we offer the heartiest congratulations to our new graduates.

You can watch a video of the entire ceremony here (starts 18’30” in):

https://cambridge.graduations-live.co.uk/event/302

There are more photographs, taken by Howard Beaumont, on the college’s Facebook page:

www.facebook.com/Selwyn.College.Cambridge

The college offers its heartiest congratulations to Selwyn academics who have been promoted by the University.

They are:
• Sarah Meer (professorship, grade 11; English)
• James Moultrie (professorship, grade 11; Engineering)
• Chander Velu (professorship, grade 11; Engineering)
• Ronita Bardhan (associate professorship, grade 10; Architecture)
• Jörg Haustein (associate professorship, grade 10; Divinity)
• Bryan Cameron (associate professorship, grade 10; MML)

The full list of promotions announced by Cambridge on June 15 can be found here: https://www.admin.cam.ac.uk/reporter/2021-22/weekly/6662/

We welcome Lucy Turnell who has now taken over as college Nurse and Welfare Officer.

This represents a further expansion in the nursing and welfare provision within the college. Until relatively recently, the nurse was a part-time role and during term only; and it has become full time and year-round. This is possible because of the generous benefaction of Peter and Christina Dawson.

We also have, thanks to them, the Dawson Fund which provides support for students and specialist expertise on mental health.

There is more information about the college nursing service here: https://www.sel.cam.ac.uk/ughandbook/health-welfare-safety/health

The college has elected James Helm as a fellow. James is the new director of external affairs and communications for the University of Cambridge, and he is taking on responsibility for all of Cambridge’s external and internal communications, public affairs and public engagement.

James, a Cambridge alumnus, is a former BBC correspondent and he was previously director of communications for the Metropolitan Police. He has also worked in Whitehall. On his appointment he said: “I’m extremely pleased and honoured to be taking up this post, and I am really looking forward to working with colleagues and helping this world-leading university to tell its brilliant story.”  

James was elected a fellow at Selwyn in early May, and he will officially be installed in June. He joins Jessica Gardner, the University Librarian, as members of the fellowship with a key role in the university.     

The college has admitted Peter and Christina Dawson as Fellow Benefactors. This is in recognition of their generosity to the college in establishing the Dawson Fund for mental health and more recently in funding the expansion of our nursing support within Selwyn.

Mr and Mrs Dawson were welcomed as Fellow Benefactors and formally admitted to the role in a short ceremony in the Master’s Lodge on Thursday April 7th, and they were then entertained to dinner in Hall with fellows, students and staff representatives. The Dawson Fund means that current Selwyn members can be given immediate and specialist help on a range of mental health issues; and the expanded role of nurse has resulted in advice being available full-time and year-round as against provision which had formerly been part-time and term-only.

The role of Fellow Benefactor was created by Selwyn in 2016 to mark exceptional philanthropy. The Dawsons join a distinguished list:

·         Jim Dickinson

·         Robert Martin

·         Katya Speciale

·         Robin Jeffs (who sadly died in 2021)

·         Tom Bartlam

·         Gareth Quarry

·         Jill Whitehouse

We are enormously grateful to them, and to everyone who supports the college and its students.

After the inevitable disruption caused by the pandemic, our school outreach programme is now back in top gear. For the first time at Selwyn, we have two school liaison officers: Amelia Grigg based in Cambridge, and Joe Stanley based in Yorkshire. This reflects our commitment to finding students from all across the United Kingdom, and paying attention to areas where there might have been under-representation.

Joe reports on his early weeks in his new post:    

“My first weeks as the Northern SLO at Selwyn have been fantastic. I’ve been out and about in West Yorkshire delivering sessions to Heckmondwike Grammar School, Dixon’s Unity Academy, and Prince Henry’s Grammar School in Otley, and I’ve booked several school visits to Selwyn in June and July.  I am working with my mentor, Sian, the Queens’ College SLO for Bradford, and I’m visiting several schools to ‘Introduce Cambridge’ to Year 9s and Y10s. I’ve had several virtual meetings with teachers at schools and colleges in West Yorkshire about how I can best support their students who are considering a Cambridge application and I’ve already met some really talented young people who would thrive at Cambridge. All in all it’s been an exciting time.”

To read more, and to find the contact details for our team, please click here: https://www.sel.cam.ac.uk/ug-study/outreach-and-admissions