There were capacity audiences for two lectures given in the United States by Selwyn History Fellow, Dr David Smith, on the subject of “Cromwell: Hero or Villain?” The events were arranged by the college in association with Cambridge In America, which represents the university and all the colleges; and they took place in midtown Manhattan on Wednesday July 6th and at the British Embassy in Washington the following night. Alumni from across the university attended the talks, and there were lively question and answer sessions after each lecture. Our photo shows the Washington event in the Embassy’s rotunda.
The Master of Selwyn, Roger Mosey, also spoke in both cities to introduce the lectures. He used the occasion to set out briefly the Cambridge response to the Brexit referendum result. He said:
"We meet here in what is clearly a challenging time back home in the UK. But the university and colleges of Cambridge have had 800 years' experience of dealing with what the world throws at us, and we have a policy of trying to emerge all the stronger.
"So there was a very clear message from a meeting I was at with the Vice-Chancellor and others Heads of House at the start of the month. We remain a global university with international connections that matter enormously to us - and those include, and will continue to include, the continent of Europe. It's business as usual. Cambridge will pursue its collaborations in Europe, in the Americas, in Asia and Africa: right around the world.
"It's particularly important that we help to lead the UK's commitment to science, because the best Cambridge minds can change all our lives for the better with their research. And across all fields, we want the brightest and best to come to us - irrespective of their nationality or background."
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