Dear Members and Friends, Greetings from Christ Church and welcome to this edition of e-Matters. This edition features the five Christ Church alumni who were recognised in the Queen’s Birthday Honours in June to whom we send our wholehearted congratulations. Congratulations also go to two Christ Church academics who have been awarded UKRI Future Leaders Fellowships – read more below. It features the recent Gaudy for 1981-85 and a report on the Choir Tour to Sweden, news on a wonderful gift to Christ Church and much more besides. Looking ahead to events next term, invitations will be going out shortly for the September Gaudy (1986-1989). Members of the Board of Benefactors will be receiving their invitation to the House of Lords reception by email or post imminently. We will also be in touch soon with US alumni about dinners in Washington and New York in October. A new event has been added to next term’s calendar to mark the 100th birthday of Teddy Burn, Law Tutor at Christ Church from 1955 until his retirement in 1990. The lunchtime event will be open at all alumni who studied Law at Christ Church or who are practising Law. Other events for next term are listed below. In the meantime, have a wonderful summer! If you would like at short stay at Christ Church over the ten weeks, please go to https://www.chch.ox.ac.uk/conferences/staying-christ-church. Members of the Development and Alumni Office will be here all summer so please do get in touch to say hello if you are visiting. We’d love to see you. With very best wishes, Philippa Roberts Development Director |
News from the House
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Two Christ Church academics awarded prestigious Future Leaders Fellowships |
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Announcing The Oxford-Christopher Ainsley Graduate Scholarship |
The Scholarship, in Geography and the Environment, has been made possible thanks to the generosity of Christopher’s friends. Their donations have also unlocked matched funding from the University through its Graduate Endowment Matching Scheme (GEMS). The Scholarship will cover both fees and living costs. The first Oxford–Christopher Ainsley Graduate scholar will start at Christ Church in October 2023. We are extremely grateful to Christopher’s friends, including his contemporaries Martin Alderson-Smith and Giles Frampton, for creating an amazing opportunity for future students of Geography, through which Christopher’s name will live on at the House. Christopher was also remembered by friends and family at Christ Church earlier this year with the planting of specimen in trees by The Jubilee Bridge on Christ Church Meadow. |
Christ Church supports IntoUniversity |
IntoUniversity (IU) is a remarkable organisation which works with young people to help break the link between economic disadvantage and educational underachievement. The disruptions to school life and studies caused by the pandemic have brought the need for IntoUniversity’s outreach into even sharper focus. With 35 IU centres across the UK, each serves a local community. Christ Church has partnered with the IntoUniversity hub in Blackbird Leys, Oxford, since 2014. Here, pupils can access a wide range of support: this includes after school sessions to build on their academic learning and personal development. With a mentoring scheme for older students, visits to Christ Church and help with skills such as interviews and CV writing, IntoUniversity has a multi-faceted approach to encouraging participants to aim high, work hard and be the best they can be. IU assesses its impact continually and is able to demonstrate impressive results: 66% of IntoUniversity 2021 alumni progressed to Higher Education, compared to 27% of students from similar backgrounds nationally. (Read the full impact report). Through the generous support of alumni donors and the work of the Access and outreach team here at Christ Church, we are proud of our links with IntoUniversity. We recently had the chance to catch up with some of the IntoUniversity students from Blackbird Leys, both at the centre and when they visited College. Take a look at what they had to say in this video! |
Click here to download IntoUniversity Impact Report 2022. You can find out more at https://intouniversity.org/ and https://www.chch.ox.ac.uk/admissions/intouniversity If you are interested in supporting IntoUniversity through its partnership with the House, please contact Laura Jostins-Dean via laura.jostins-dean@chch.ox.ac.uk or Tel: +44 (0) 1865 286854. |
The American Friends of Christ Church Graduate Scholarship recipients announced |
The American Friends (the association of Christ Church Old Members resident in the U.S.) have generously established a scholarship fund to provide financial assistance for postgraduate students who are currently enrolled at Christ Church. It is intended to offer several scholarships of up to £4,000 each for the 2022-2023 academic year, which will be awarded by the Governing Body of Christ Church, on the basis of academic merit and financial need. The 2022 American Friends of Christ Church Graduate Scholarships have been awarded to:
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Peter Varga, one of the recipients of this year's scholarship, said: "It is a great joy to be back at Christ Church as a postgraduate after first coming up to the House as a visiting undergraduate. I am now reading for the DPhil in Experimental Psychology under the supervision of Christ Church’s own Professor Brian Parkinson. |
“Prior to beginning the DPhil course, I received my MS in Psychological Sciences from William & Mary and graduated summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa as the President's Award recipient and a University Scholar from The Catholic University of America with a BA in Psychology and minors in Neuroscience, Philosophy, and Theology & Religious Studies, earning additional honors in Classical Philosophy, Theology, and Humanities. “Being at Oxford, and Christ Church particularly, has allowed me to pursue what has long been my passion project in music psychology research whilst still being immersed in the practice and performance of music myself. In the coming year, I will serve as choir manager to the College Choir of Christ Church in addition to my ongoing role supporting the Cathedral Choir and Frideswide Voices as Music Trust Development Officer. “The process of cobbling together funding at Oxford can be exceedingly difficult and time-consuming, especially after the first year when most funding sources are no longer available. I am thus especially grateful for the support of the American Friends in the form of this scholarship aimed specifically at continuing postgraduates. It makes a significant difference in allowing me to pursue my intellectual and musical interests and offer novel contributions in my academic field, uninhibited by financial obstacles.” Find out what previous students have done with their scholarships here. These Scholarships are open to applicants who completed their undergraduate degree at an American university and who are already enrolled in graduate study at Christ Church.
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Save the Date! Forthcoming Events in 2022 |
We were delighted to have held a number of events in the first six months of 2022, having welcomed back over 1,000 members back to the House and having met dozens of them in cities outside of Oxford. Please see below dates for your diaries for events happening in the second half of the year. All will be advertised in more detail in the next months, and specific invitations sent where relevant. All bookings will be taken via Christ Church Connections. We do encourage you to sign up if you have not already done so. It only takes a few minutes to set up your profile. Click here to sign up to Christ Church Connections. If in doubt please contact development.office@chch.ox.ac.uk |
September:
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A warm welcome back to the House – 1981-1985 Gaudy |
The event included a lecture by Professor Chris Breward, an evensong, a drinks reception in Tom Quad, dinner in Hall, and the chance to reminisce after dinner in the Buttery. Pictures from the event can be found here. If you have more photos you would like to share, please email development.office@chch.ox.ac.uk A great debt of gratitude is owed to all who enable these events to happen; many behind the scenes. Of course, our greatest thanks go to all of you for helping to create such a thriving Christ Church community. The Autumn Gaudy will take place on 30th September and we look forward to welcoming back 1986-1989 matriculands soon. The invitation will be sent by late July. If you have recently changed your address, please do let us know by emailing development.office@chch.ox.ac.uk so we can make sure your invitation reaches you.
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The 'Mike Rosewell' Boat Naming |
On 25th June, the 'Mike Rosewell' was christened and rowed for the first time. |
We learnt with great sadness of the death of Mike Rosewell in August last year at the age of 84. Mike was known to many as Christ Church Chief Coach from 1978-1990, or as the Rowing Coach and Economics Teacher at St Edward’s School, Oxford. Beyond that Mike made a huge contribution to the sport of rowing as The Times’ Rowing Correspondent, a member of the ARA Council and as coach of GB Junior Squad, OULRC and OUWBC. |
It is with thanks to the Men’s First Summer Eight crews from 1984 and 1985 (which Mike had taken to second and head of the river) for their generous donation towards the Empacher racing 8. It was wonderful to see so many alumni returning to celebrate Mike and his contribution to the ChChBC. We hope to see many of you at the Boat house again next summer, as both W1 and M1 seek to take the headship. Our thanks also go to Anna Betteridge (Boat Club President), James Bracey (Head Coach), and Tom Stewardson (Boatman). |
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Consultation on Christ Church Developments |
Alumni and friends may be interested in reading the consultation materials relating to developments on Christ Church land around Oxford. Both sites have been allocated for housing and facilities to address Oxford’s unmet housing need. Consultations are now open until late July. Please see further information in the links below. |
News from Alumni
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Other News |
Language Classes for alumni |
Susan Isaacs is offering online language classes at discounted rates to Christ Church alumni. Fully Interactive Language Classes Online conducted by Susan Isaac via Zoom are starting Tuesday September 27th. French, Italian, Spanish, German, and Portuguese from beginner through to advanced. The classes are for 10 weeks and are 45 minutes long. Small friendly classes with lots of individual attention. All are welcome. Students come from firms including Linklaters, Norton RoseFulbright, HSBC, the Bank of England, EY and PWC and Anthony Gold. Susan has been running language courses in Oxford for the past thirty years. For more information, contact Susan Isaac on Susanelizabethisaacs@icloud.com Find out more on www.languages2000.co.uk |