L I N C O L N C O L L E G E EMAIL NEWS

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Welcome to the Trinity term email newsletter from Lincoln! We hope the Easter break was enjoyable and relaxing for all of our Lincoln alumni, current students and friends of the college. The development office has been busy recently with events including the 1972 year dinner and the 1983-85 Gaudy and the arrangements for upcoming events marking the retirement of the Rector, Professor Paul Langford FBA, FRHistS, at the end of August (further details below).

As always, if you have any questions about the content of this newsletter or require further information, please contact the Development Office on Email: development.office@lincoln.ox.ac.uk or Tel: +44(0)1865 279841. Further information on all events can also be found on the website www.lincoln.ox.ac.uk.

Bishop of Lincoln to preach at College during evensongThe Bishop of Lincoln has agreed to come and preach here at Lincoln for the joint Lincoln-Brasenose evensong on 3 June 2012, at 6pm. We will be hosting the service and meal this year, and it’s a particular delight that Lincoln will be the first College here in Oxford to host him following his ordination as a Bishop.The Venerable Christopher Lowson’s nomination was approved by the Queen and he took up the post in England’s largest diocese in 2011, replacing the Right Reverend Dr John Saxbee who retired in January of the same year.

The Ven Lowson will be the 72nd Bishop of Lincoln, the Church of England announced in April of last year.While undertaking his initial training for the ordained ministry he worked at steelworks in Consett, Co Durham, as a labourer in the coke ovens.The Diocese of Lincoln covers Lincolnshire, North Lincolnshire and North-East Lincolnshire making it the largest diocese in England by area.

Lincoln Cathedral, the Nave arcade (Source: TTaylor 2006)

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Oxford University North American ReunionThe Development Director travelled to the USA in April, for a series of events timed to coincide with Oxford’s North American Reunion in New York. In San Francisco she was joined by Philosophy Fellow, Professor Cécile Fabre FBA, for a reception hosted by alumnus Spencer Fleischer. Prof. Fabre’s talk on the responsibility of soldiers in times of war provoked a very lively discussion among the alumni and friends who attended. Travelling east, she was joined by the Sub-Rector, Professor David Hills, and Dr Susan Brigden, for receptions in Washington DC (hosted by Dick and Pam Sauber) and New York. The Lincoln Alumni dinner in New York was held in the Grolier Club, which proved a perfect setting for Dr Brigden’s pre-dinner talk on friendship in Renaissance times. It was wonderful to see so many alumni, including many recent graduates, at these events, and we hope to return to the US next year.

Crewe Society DinnerThe Crewe Society is open to all alumni and their partners living in the north of England, Scotland and North Wales. The Society meets once a year for a meeting followed by a Dinner which is held at a location in the north of the UK (previous events have taken place in York, Chester, Edinburgh, Manchester and Keele). The 2012 dinner took place at College, to celebrate the Society’s 60th Anniversary, on Friday 30 March. Following a tour of the College and the Society’s AGM, the dinner was addressed by the Sub-Rector. The 2013 meeting and dinner is scheduled for Friday 29th March, venue tbc.

Rector’s Retirement Historians’ Lunch - Sunday 6th MayThe Historians’ lunch will be held on Sunday 6th May, and is open to all those who studied Modern History (or a joint school incorporating History) at Lincoln. This event will take the form of an informal lunch, held in a marquee in Grove Quad. The event starts at 12.30pm, and runs until approx. 3.00pm, with Deep Hall open after the event for those who wish to stay longer. Please see the invitation and booking form here.

Rector’s Retirement Garden Party Reminder - Saturday 26th MayAll alumni and friends of the College are welcome to join us for the Rector’s Retirement Garden Party, which will be held on Saturday 26th May. This is our traditional Eights Week Garden Party, expanded to allow as many alumni and friends as possible to attend. You are welcome to bring a guest. There will be musical offerings from alumni, Fellows and students, and an opportunity to see the refurbished Turl Tavern. Please see the invitation and booking form here.

Year Luncheon for 1952 The 1952 Year Luncheon will be held in College on Thursday 24th May. If you matriculated in this year and have not received your invitation, please contact the Development Office. Lincoln Society LunchThe Lincoln Society Lunch will be held on Sunday 16th September in College. A booking form was sent out with the alumni events card and Record mailing earlier this year. You can also find a booking form here.

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Trinity 2012 3College News Hilary Term at the Boat Club - TorpidsWith five boats on the river in total, Lincoln had quite a presence at this year’s Torpids. By the end of the week, three crews had bumped every day to achieve blades! Congratulations to all our Lincoln rowers, but especially M1, W2 and W1, our blade-winning crews! Follow the boat clubhttps://twitter.com/LincolnBoatClub.

Cyril Ralph Watkins (Pip) The College is sorry to report that Cyril Ralph Watkins (known as Pip), a former Scout passed away on the 17th March. Pip’s funeral took place on Monday 2nd April at Oxford Crematorium, Bayswater Road.

The Garden Building RedevelopmentIn February, the College was granted planning permission to proceed with plans to remodel and refurbish the Garden Building area; these plans were confirmed by the Governing Body at its meeting in March. This much-needed redevelopment will see the demolition of the Lower Lecture Room and its replacement with a two-story addition to the 1906 Garden Building, and a significant remodelling of the Library Passage to give more light and space in the approach. The redevelopment will provide Lincoln with a greatly improved Oakeshott Room for performances and lectures, and an adjoining reception space; a new MCR; a new lecture/seminar room; music practice rooms; and very importantly, there will be elevator access to all levels and improved bathroom facilities. This project is being funded entirely through two especially generous donations, enabling us to improve our facilities without drawing on our endowment. Work will start this summer vacation, and is expected to be completed by the middle of 2014.

Turl Tavern Project and Lincoln House ImprovementsLincoln has owned the Turl Tavern site since 1467 but before work started on its development the ground floor was home to the Turl Tavern pub; athough students from College have lived in accommodation above since the 1960s. Dr Rachel Buxton, the Domestic Bursar, commented that the development ‘brings the Turl Tavern area – a wonderful space right in the heart of Oxford...back into Lincoln College use’ and it also means that Lincoln students no longer have to live above a pub, which often meant noise and disruption. Improvements to the space that is being reclaimed include new teaching and social spaces, a lift that will provide access to the 1st and 2nd floors of the Mitre and the installation of central heating in the student rooms above.

Current students will also benefit from the increased comfort of the improved accommodation as a result of the developments to Lincoln House and staircase 15. This project is being funded primarily by donations from Lincoln alumni to the Annual Fund and Lincoln Alumni will also benefit from the project when they return to visit the College and are accommodated in newly-refurbished, en-suited rooms which will also have gas central heating. Once this project has been completed, 65% of all of undergraduate accommodation will be en-suite, meaning Lincoln accommodation compares even more favourably to other Colleges.

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Development News

A period of change - This is the first newsletter compiled by Bev Cousins, who joined the development office in March. Bev has come to us from a background in academic publishing and has greatly appeciated the warm welcome she has received into the Lincoln community. We have also sadly had to say ‘goodbye’ to Hannah Thomas, who left us in April for an exciting new role as Major Gifts Officer for the Mutiple Sclerosis Society in London.

Living Lincoln Campaign UpdateOur Campaign total has increased by over £1m since my last update in January, and now stands at over £21m. We are particularly grateful to Simon and June Li, who have made a challenge grant of £800,000 to establish the Langford Fellowship in History, in honour of our retiring Rector, Professor Paul Langford FBA FRHistS. This Fellowship is part of the Teaching Fund Scheme, which means that when we reach £1.2m in donations, we will benefit from a further £800k from the scheme to reach the £2m required to fund this Fellowship in perpetuity. Many thanks to all those Historians, and other alumni, who have responded to our recent appeal to join the Li’s in supporting the Langford Fellowship. A full report on the Campaign will appear in the next Commonwealth, our newsletter for donors

Lincolnshire Access InitiativeLincoln College has been maintaining its relationship with state schools in Lincolnshire this term through a pair of Oxford and Cambridge conferences in the county. The conferences – a collaboration with Christ’s College, Cambridge – provided sixth-form students with an opportunity to find out about student life and applications at the two universities, through speaking to tutors, outreach officers and current undergraduates. At the con-ference in Lincoln city, Schools Liaison Officer Ashley Walters was accompanied by Dr Oliver Herford, Derby Fellow in English, and Nathan Akehurst, undergraduate in History and Politics.

The events form the core of our continuing Lincolnshire Access Initiative, with 21 schools sending students. The prospective applicants certainly got a lot out of it – one attending the conference in Market Deeping appreciated meeting ‘students and tutors who really knew what they were talking about and who gave excellent, in-depth answers to every question’.

Annual Appeal NewsThe telethon this year has raised, to date, just over £148,000. The annual appeal is also progressing well, and we are very grateful for all of the contributions we have received, particularly towards the fellowship to commemorate the Rector on his retirement.

If you have made a pledge to the telethon or annual appeal this year and have not yet made your gift, it is not too late: you can do so by downloading one of our donation forms here or online at www.giving.ox.ac.uk/lincoln

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Alumni News

Books Published by Lincoln Alumni: The Etymologicon: A circular stroll through the hidden connections of the English language by Mark Forsyth and A Visitor’s Companion to Tudor England by Susannah Lipscomb.

Jack Fairweather’s book ‘A War of Choice’ has been shortlisted for the British Army Military Book of the Year Award, the top prize for military history.

Dr Philipp Hildebrand joins BSGOxford University’s Blavatnik School of Government has announced that Dr Philipp Hildebrand will be joining the School as a Senior Visiting Fellow. Dr Hildebrand had previously served as Chairman of the Governing Board of the Swiss National Bank, Director of the Bank for International Settlements in Basel and Vice-Chairman of the Financial Stability Board. He is a member of the Group of Thirty. He has a DPhil in International Relations from the University of Oxford and is an Honorary Fellow of Lincoln College.

David Cornwell (John le Carré)Congratulation to David Cornwell (John le Carré) on being awarded an Honorary Degree (D. Litt) by the Uni-versity at Encaenia this year. This great honour is in recognition of his status as a world renowned author of espionage novels. The ceremony will take place at the Sheldonian on the 20th June. Eve Best stars in The Duchess of MalfiLincoln alumna Eve Best has been described by the Guardian as the ‘star’ of the latest adaptation of John Webster’s tragedy The Duchess of Malfi, directed by Jamie Lloyd at the Old Vic, London and running from the 17th March - 9th June 2012. Michael Bil-lington reports that ‘Eve Best gives a compelling performance that measures up to such past duchesses as Helen Mirren and Harriet Walter.’

Debut Album - Gregg RobinsLincoln alumnus Gregg Robins has recently released a debut music album that has been met with critical acclaim. Find out more about Gregg’s music on his website http://greggrobins.com/

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Imprint 2012: Send Us Your News! During Trinity term we will be putting together the 2012 edition of Imprint magazine. We are very keen to gather material for the ‘Alumni News’ section, so if you have anything you would like to share with the Lincoln alumni community (for example, books or articles published, appointments, honours, births, marriages, mountains climbed, marathons run et cetera) we would love to hear from you! Accompanying photographs are also welcome.Please send any entries to the Alumni and Communications Officer, clearly indicating that your news is intended for publication in Imprint, by 1st June 2012.

Other Oxford Alumni events (click on titles for links to further info)

23rd May - Professional Networking Event: Careers in TransitionThis is for all alumni interested in taking their career in a new direction. We’ll hear from the Careers Service, the College of Law, and four recent graduates who have changed their careers.

26th May – Dublin Study Day: Art and LiteratureThe event opens with a welcome from Thomas Hardiman, Chairman of the Chester Beatty Library, followed by lectures, a panel discussion and poetry readings all led by Oxonians. We’ll be hearing about artistic and literary themes, from Irish Twitterature to the Book of Kells, with time for guests to explore the museum. Plentiful tea and coffee, plus lunch, are included.

14th June – Professional Networking Event: Starting a BusinessA relaxed evening to discuss how to set up a business. We’ll hope to share tips and pitfalls, plus wine and tapas!

19th July – Olympics Reception: The Ethics of ProstheticsA reception with a panel discussion, to explore the distinctions made between the Olympic and Paralympics, together with their participants. This will address the recent controversies surrounding athletes like Oscar Pistorius, the South African ‘blade runner’ who has qualified for the 400m sprint at the 2012 Olympics.

Lincoln College Alumni founder of high growth ICT CompanyAccelero Digital Solutions Ltd., a software development company based in South Wales, has moved to modern offices at the Bridgend Business Centre, Bridgend Industrial Estate in order to gear up for further growth. The company, formed in 2006, has increased revenues by over 100% during the last three years and has laid down am-bitious plans to double its revenue within eighteen months. To accommodate this growth the company is trebling the floor space it has occupied and is looking to double its workforce to twenty staff by June 2013.

Douglas McWilliams appointed Gresham Professor of CommerceThe Mercers’ School Memorial Professor of Commerce chair was created in 1985 on the 25th anniversary of the closing of the Mercers’ School after over 500 years of existence. The chair was chosen in commerce because the discipline was seen as “the most appropriate for the City and a worthy tribute to the genius of Sir Thomas.”Lincoln alumnus Douglas McWilliams (1969) is the Chief Executive of cebr, the highly regarded economics con-sultancy firm which he founded in 1993.