St John's College Oxford

Alumni Notes

Check below for regular updates from members of our alumni community

If you have news that you would like to be shared here, in TW or in the alumni eNewsletter, email us at alumni@sjc.ox.ac.uk

  • Rob Mayhew (1989, BA Geography): Has been elected as a Fellow of the British Academy.
  • Ervand Abrahamian (1960, BA Modern History^): Ervand Abrahamian (1960), "Oil Crisis in Iran: From Nationalism to Coup d'Etat" (Cambridge University Press, 2021).
  • Wendy Erber (1982, DPhil Clinical Medicine): I was awarded the Alumni Award for Professional Achievement by the University of Sydney in recognition of my work to establish one of the world’s first comprehensive leukaemia diagnostic laboratories.
  • John Gillibrand (1979, BA Modern History^): In March of this year, I launched my new podcast 'The Good Conversation'. I believe that leaders – in the churches where I operate, and wider in society – should be prepared to ask and to answer the most challenging questions. All my guests will be taking part on that basis – and it has led to great conversations, based on courtesy, mutual respect and willingness to learn from each other. You can find the podcast on Spotify, Google and a range of other platforms.
  • Allen Scott (1958, BA Geography): On June 16th 2021, I will be awarded an Honorary Doctorate at the University of Toronto. I am a distinguished research professor in the Department of Geography and the Department of Public Policy at the University of California, Los Angeles. My research interests are focused on issues of urbanization, regional development, and economic geography.

Submissions made before August 2020

  • Hugh Turner (1977, Medicine - Preclinical (3yr)):  I am presently Chair of the Friends of HMS Trincomalee, Secretary of the North East England branch of the Oxford University Society and the Organist at St Mary's Church in Middleton-in-Teesdale. Anyone for croquet when public health permits? I now have a Hurlingham set to try out.
  • Brendan Roche (1983, BA Literae Humaniores - Course 1):  I was appointed Queen’s Counsel on 16th March 2020. I practise in child and family law at 7 Bedford Row Chambers in London.
  • William Mackesy (1978, BA Jurisprudence):  I was due to have an exhibition in London in June 2020 but it has, needless to say, been postponed. I've decided to hold an online exhibition instead which can be viewed at https://www.williammackesy.com/. The show includes my "Lockdown Pictures". Lockdown has been grim and weird, but can have fringe benefits – such as quiet time. So, I’ve been busy, mostly working with cut paper painted in gouache, the form pioneered by Henri Matisse from the early 1940s, but also with oils and drawing. I didn’t have a project to make lockdown-related work, but many of them have unplanned metaphorical links. Considering the dark times, most of them seem surprisingly joyous. But then Matisse was a pain-ridden invalid when he created his superb late cut-outs, so maybe that can come from adversity. To misquote Leonard Cohen misquoting: despite the tough world outside, “cheerfulness keeps breaking through".
  • Jennifer Allen (1998, BFA Fine Art):  I am in the process of preparing for my next show at the Tate Modern under my moniker Quilla Constance. Satirically contrasting opulent interiors from Buckingham Palace, to include people from different and diverse backgrounds as they inhabit the space in new and surprising ways, the installation incisively observes the mixed society that is Britain today through an oil painting at Tate Exchange, Tate Modern. The installation is scheduled for Autumn 2020.
  • John Hayns (1988, BA Engineering Science^):  On 12th May 2020 I was voted in as the Chair of the Magic Circle, the premier magical society in the fascinating world of magic and illusion.