March 2016

We warmly congratulate Emeritus Fellow Professor Jane Stapleton FBA (1981) on being elected Master of Christ’s College, Cambridge.

Professor Stapleton, who is a distinguished academic lawyer, will be the 38th Master when she takes up her post in September 2016.

Carol Clark, MA, PhD, Fellow 1973−2004 and Emeritus Fellow from 2004, passed away on 20 June 2015. She was the first woman Fellow of any of the ancient Colleges in Oxford and the first Modern Languages Tutor in Balliol, where she taught Renaissance French literature.

A memorial service is being held for Carol on Saturday 11 June, at the Church of St Mary Magdalen, Oxford. The service will be at 2pm and there will be a reception at Balliol afterwards. Those interested in attending should email the Chaplain's Secretary, Catherine Willbery.

The College is delighted to invite all donors over the last year to Balliol’s first Donors’ Day on Saturday 2 July.  This new event is a way for the Fellows, students and staff to thank everyone who supports Balliol through their generous gifts.  Personal invitations will be sent out shortly but please save the date! 

Many congratulations to Tom Rowley (2008) on winning the Young Journalist of the Year category at the Press Awards for 2015.

In their citation the judges praised Tom, who works for The Daily Telegraph, for producing ‘a stunning portfolio beautifully written covering diverse subjects spanning print and digital’. You can see Tom receiving his award on 22 March 2016 in a video here.

Tom, who read History and Politics, beat a Balliol contemporary, Stephen Bush (History, 2008) of The New Statesman, who received a commendation in the same category, for producing ‘a huge scoop worthy of any publication’.

Students have nominated five Balliol people for awards in the 2016 OUSU Student Led Teaching Awards. The nominations are:

• Vicky Neale - Outstanding Tutor, MPLS
• Adrian Kelly - Outstanding Tutor, Humanities; Outstanding Pastoral Support
• Professor David Wallace - Outstanding Tutor, Humanities
• Professor André Lukas - Most Acclaimed Lecturer
• The Rev'd Bruce Kinsey - Best Support Staff

We congratulate Ian Bergson (2005) on being awarded the prestigious Eldon Scholarship for 2016.

The Eldon Scholarship is awarded by the Oxford University Law Faculty to one student each year - usually a recent graduate who is undertaking the Bar Professional Training Course.

Previous scholarship award holders have been: Andrew Thomas (1992) in 1996; Sir David Keene (1959) in 1965; and The Rt Hon the Lord Bingham KG (1954) in 1957.

Someone once said ‘If you’re going to have a boathouse, you should have one out of which athletes want to row’ and as the boathouse construction nears its finish, we think we will have just that. We hope the refurbished boathouse will further the student-athlete experience at Balliol and we look forward to celebrating this with all current and former members of the Balliol College Boat Club, Old Members, and friends of the College. Please book online by Friday 13 May.  

Swedish car maker Volvo is to recruit 100 people to commute to work next year in driverless cars. The University of Oxford is leading the way in developing the software that allows autonomous vehicles to ‘see’.

Professor Paul Newman (1991), Principle Researcher of the Mobile Robotics Group at the Department of Engineering Science, appeared on BBC Radio 4's World at One to discuss the potential uses of the technology. You can listen to the programme here (from 30.39 on the clock).

On a recent trip to meet some of the Balliol alumni community in Australia, the Master, Sir Drummond Bone, took time out of College business to drive in the Shannons Historic Parade at the Australian Grand Prix 2016. Drummond was put in touch with Bob Harborow, owner of the famous Maybach I 1954, who generously offered a seat on his team. Unfortunately the Maybach broke down before the Shannons Historic Parade, but instead the Master was able to drive a Townsend Typhoon owned by Lilo Zircon.

The Master is very grateful to John Wylie (1983), who set the Grand Prix day up, and adds: ‘But the whole College owes John thanks too for putting on a superb reception at the Melbourne Cricket Ground for our alumni, as well as John Pickhaver (2001) and many others who helped arrange alumni events for us in Australia.’

Carmen Bugan (2000) will be publishing her third collection of poems 'Releasing the Porcelain Birds' (Shearsman Books, 2016) next month. Carmen Bugan's poems focus on the bleak time under Romanian secret police surveillance, with added excerpts from the secret police files. It removes layer by layer the official history of her family's persecution, and restores the truth of a shared life appropriated by the state.

Professor Edward Dommen (1957) has published 'A Peaceable Economy' (World Council of Churches, 2014) which rethinks the foundational elements of economics, taking a critical look at the basic assumptions about economic life. It offers a hopeful vision of economic possibilities rooted in peace, while critiquing the affinities between economics and war. The book has jointly been awarded the Daniel Colladon Prize for 2015.

Matthew Nimetz (1960) has written an article for Quartz on the migrant issue titled 'The US should take the lead in solving the world’s refugee crisis. It has done it before'. Matthew Nimetz served as Counselor and Under Secretary of State and Acting Coordinator of Refugee Affairs in the US State Department in the late 1970's.

Brian Hodgkinson (1961) has published 'Saviour of the Nation: An Epic Poem of Winston Churchill's Finest Hour' (Shepheard-Walwyn, 2015). This engaging poem depicts Winston Churchill as a hero, in traditional epic style and echoes the works of Homer and Virgil. It has been praised by readers for its exquisite metre, which adds an emotional intensity to the events of 20th century history more usually found within Classical literature.

• A Celebration of Paul Almond’s Life and Work - Friday 8 April, Quebec City, Canada - CBC's Rachelle Solomon will host an evening in honour of the author, filmmaker, and Balliol alumnus, Paul Almond (1949).
• North American Reunion and Pathfinders Anniversary Dinner - Saturday 9 April, Library of Congress, Washington DC
  
• ‘I suppose they thought I was dead’: Shakespeare at Balliol in five acts, Exhibition at Balliol’s Historic Collections Centre - Saturday 9 to Sunday 10 April, St Cross Church
  
• Intercollegiate Golf Tournament - Friday 15 April, Frilford Heath Golf Club - those interested should email Chris Jelley (1962)
• Holywell Manor Festival - Saturday 23 April, Balliol
• Recent Changes to the Tree of Life: Rewriting The Ancestor's Tale - Thursday 28 April, Oxford University Museum of Natural History - Professor Richard Dawkins (1959) and Dr Yan Wong discuss how recent changes to the tree of life influenced their rewriting of their book The Ancestor’s Tale.
  
• Oliver Smithies Lecture - Wednesday 4 May at 5.00pm, Lecture Hall, History Faculty Building, Oxford - ‘1914 and the Enigma of Causal History’ by Professor John Horne
• Deans' Dinner - Friday 6 May, Balliol - by invitation
• Balliol Garden Party - Sunday 8 May, Balliol - discounted tickets for Young Alumni
• Master's Seminar in Rome, 'Britain and Ireland in Europe' - Tuesday 17 May, Balliol
• Boathouse Grand Opening and Summer Eights Dinner - Saturday 28 May, Balliol
• Memorial Service for Carol Clark - Saturday 11 June, St Mary Magdalen, Oxford
• Gaudy for the years 1978-1980 - Saturday 25 June, Balliol

• Donors' Day at Balliol - Saturday 2 July - by invitation to all donors over the last year. Details and invitations to follow
• Balliol Society Weekend - Saturday 1 & Sunday 2 October, Balliol - those who matriculated in 2008 will receive an individual invitation. Make sure to update your contact details so that you don't miss out!
• The Usborne Dinner - Thursday 17 November, Reform Club London - by invitation

Send an email to Ginny Matthews if you have something you would like to share in a future newsletter - You can also tweet us your stories @ballioloxford

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