Freshers week
It is always wonderful to welcome our new students to College. Freshers week is always a whirlwind of events and perhaps we all have information overload in that period. I enjoy in particular the Freshers Dinners for both undergraduates and graduates and the new staff induction. We have started our round of drinks parties in the Lodgings too. This year we welcomed 19 new Professors and Lecturers and they are settling in quickly. Of the most recent undergraduate cohort, 94 Freshers are drawn from regions across the UK while 14 are overseas students with 12 nationalities represented.
Long service awards
At the other end of the scale we celebrate those who have been with us for many years. In First Week I paid tribute to seven people who together have been employed by College for a total of 170 years. They are Debbie Hall – Scout 32 years at Brasenose; Lorraine Watkins – Head Chef 32 years; Liz Kay – College Librarian 25 years; John Kinsey – Head of IT 22 years; Kerry O’Callaghan – Assistant Accountant 20 years; Danny English – Groundskeeper 20 years (although longer if you include his casual service) and Izzy (Fakrul) Islam – Servery Assistant 20 years’ service. We salute their service and enthusiasm.
Tim Mitchell
The first Principals Conversation of the New Academic Year was with Tim Mitchell the President of the Royal College of Surgeons and an alum. Tim trained in otolaryngology in Oxford, London, Cambridge and Sydney. He was appointed as Consultant Otolaryngologist in Southampton in 2000 and has a subspecialty interest in cochlear and other auditory implants with the University of Southampton Auditory Implant Service. He is a trustee of ENT UK and an honorary member of the Medical Women's Federation. He was appointed Vice President of the RCS in 2020 and President in 2023.
A packed audience heard him give a comprehensive talk about his career and his views on the health service, including the recent Darzi report on the future of the NHS. I found it an inspiring occasion not least because notwithstanding all the problems in the NHS he clearly loved his profession and encouraged our students to go into it.
Traherne
Sunday of second week saw the launch event in Brasenose Chapel of the Oxford University celebrations for the 350th anniversary of the death of the priest and poet Thomas Traherne (c. 1636–74). Traherne read for his BA at Brasenose between 1652 and 1656. We welcomed Bishop David Thomson, a bishop and historian and chair of the Traherne Association to preach. His homily praised Traherne’s scholarly work and his metaphysical poetry, particularly Traherne’s delight in the created order. He also suggested that Traherne was a person of ambition, which was somewhat curtailed by his early death. Certainly no country parson like George Herbert. It was a well-attended service and a thoughtful address.
Frewin Hall
We have started the work to transform Frewin Hall. The contactors started on site in September and are making good progress. By summer of 2025 we will have a wonderful new student centre in the historic ground floor rooms and the Norman undercroft. This will give our 200 students who live at Frewin new spaces to study and socialise. We are also upgrading the environmental performance so the refurbished hall will require very little energy to heat.