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resource. In the year ahead the Colleges are moving forward much more as academic communities and we can expect more scholarly activities that will arouse curiosity adding a further dimension to the famous Durham Difference. On a more serious note the College has been set ambitious targets in terms of the reduced use of utilities, increased recycling and of course as always increased fundraising. Van Mildert has a good track record in many of these areas and that will continue! BURSAR Mrs Paula Dawson Congratulations to Brian Gillett from Catering on servicing Van Mildert College for the last 40 years a fantastic achievement! Im also delighted to announced the appointment of a new Operations Manager, Paul Metcalfe. Paul will strengthen the operations team and be responsible for the facilities management of the college working closely with Ian Jackson, Assistant Ops Manager and alongside Lesley Peak (Operations Manager housekeeping and reception). I am responsible for the overall operational management of the college, including the finance, catering, housekeeping, reception, maintenance and I am the licensee for the College Bar. You can find my office on the upper floor of the main building or running up to St Aidans College where I am also the Bursar. CHAPLAIN Rev. Dr. Paul Regan WELCOME The Mildert Messenger is an informative medium to disperse reports on College activities and events together with occasionally, policy and strategy. In this issue, my colleagues from Student Support (the Senior Tutors and Chaplain), Operations (the Bursar, our Environment Champion, Catering and Head of Housekeeping) and the Library have joined forces with the common rooms to provide their take on contemporary College life. These are complemented by the views of our Chair of College Council and useful information about the Alumni Association and the Trust. We hope this will develop and evolve into the dynamic voice of College. PRINCIPAL Prof. Dave Harper Michaelmas Term is already in full swing with a cohort of enthusiastic freshers joining our unique College Community. Our freshers reps were quite outstanding, inducting our new arrivals into the Mildert way of life. Formals have come and gone and the many clubs, committees and societies are being populated. Many of you are entering an exciting new world and possibly some of the best years of your life. Our staff are exceptional and here to help. But please remember they too are human and please help them when you can. Much has been achieved over the summer vacation, Wear Block was fully refurbished although some teething problems continue, and a number of the other blocks were given a much-needed facelift. Shortly part of the Lake will be cleared, the living edge revitalized and whole estate promoted as a recreational and scientific Greetings to everyone at Van Mildert at the start of the new academic year. Like last term, I plan to organise a college coach trip but the details have yet to be finalised - look out for that. I also hope to hold a weekly communion service in the Trevelyan Barn on Elvet Hill Road. If you want to come or be part of the chaplaincy group, just get in touch. Otherwise, see you all at the College Carol Service. SENIOR TUTORS Petra Karen Catherine Points Wesson Paine (Mon-Wed) (Wed-Fri) (Mon-Fri, mornings only) We hope you have settled into college and are enjoying your studies and all the extra-curricular opportunities that being a member of Van Mildert College offers you. While we want you to make the most of your time at Durham you should also be planning your career after leaving university. Graduate jobs require more than just a good degree, recruiters are looking for well-rounded individuals with relevant experience. The Careers Workshop on 24 th November will help you with this process. We have alumni from ITV News, Civil Service, NHS, Network Rail, IBM, Police and many other graduate sectors coming to run mock interviews, CV checks and to tell us about their own career paths. Watch out for the emails from the JCR to sign up for this fantastic opportunity. Van Mildert College Newsletter Michaelmas Term 2012 MILDERT MESSENGER *NEW GROUP ON FACEBOOK* VAN MILDERT COLLEGE NEWS SIGN UP TO THE GROUP NOW FOR UPDATED COLLEGE NEWS

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SCR PRESIDENT Miss Vicky Ridley The SCR has welcomed many new members over recent months, including members of staff from within the University and from the local community. Members are enjoying a full programme of events and activities this term, often involving supporting wider College events and activities, including the JCR production of Cabaret in November, Music Recitals and a variety of talks and lectures. The SCR Annual General Meeting will be held on Thursday 15 th November at 6pm in the Ustinov Room and all members of the SCR are invited to attend. The SCR can be contacted by email at vm.scr@durham.ac.uk.vm.scr@durham.ac.uk VAN MILDERT ASSOCIATION Mr. David Ellery Chair The Van Mildert Association is the membership association for Van Mildert alumni. It exists to maintain links between the college and former staff and students. The VMA is an opportunity for members to keep in touch with old friends and attend social events, to support the associations work as part of the college providing careers advice and bursaries to students, fundraising for new projects and supporting schemes like the Van Mildert Young Persons Project and annual Careers Dialogue. Van Mildert College Newsletter Michaelmas Term 2012 JCR PRESIDENT Mr. Ali Adam The JCR is the undergraduate body of students within the College, encompassing just under a thousand students. As an organisation our activities involve sports, the arts, outreach, a wide range of support services and extra curricular societies, as well as an active body involved in running the JCR and engaging in student politics. Looking forward to the rest of the term we have organised a wide range of Christmas festivities; including our Michaelmas Ball, the JCR Panto, Carols in the Bar and the Christmas Formal. Enjoy the rest of the term! MCR PRESIDENT Mr. Martin Brader For those new to the College, the MCR is the community of postgraduate students within Van Mildert. Our members study for a variety of degrees, ranging from PGCEs and Masters to MBAs and PhDs. The Middle Common Room is located on the ground floor of Deerness Block, where postgraduates are able both to relax and study, whether living in or out of the College. This term, a series of events has been organised to welcome our new members and we are looking forward to taking part in various upcoming College activities. LIBRARIAN Miss Carissa Bussard (Acting Librarian) Welcome to College and Welcome to the Library! Our catalogue includes a large majority of course textbooks, as well as careers and wellbeing resources. There are FREE DVDs to borrow and a separate fiction/reading library in the Kent Room directly across from the Library. The library room itself is open 24 hours a day, but borrowing books is limited so please see the times listed on the door or behind reception. If you ever have any questions, or suggestions for additions to our stock, please stop by the library office or leave a note with the duty librarian. Hope you find your way to us soon! CHAIR OF COLLEGE COUNCIL New Chair of College Council (Prof. Liz Burd) I have the unenviable job of following on as Chair of College Council from Prof. Brian Tanner who completed his term of office last year. Just to introduce myself I work in the School of Education where my research is in Technology Enhanced Education. As Chair of your Council I will be working closely with the Principal and other members of the College executive to ensure that the College continues to thrive. Van Mildert has a really exciting and thriving community and Im so looking forward to being part of it. MILDERT MESSENGER

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HOUSEKEEPING Mrs. Lynn Turnbull Welcome to you all, I hope you are all settling into your new home for the coming year. It has been such a busy summer for the housekeeping staff and they have worked very hard to get the rooms all ready for your arrival back at College. Can I just remind you of our cleaning times. We start on the blocks at 08.30 and aim to finish at 14:30, for when your room gets cleaned please have a look in your College handbook, if you want any confirmation please pop into see me. Remember that I am here, along with my staff, to make your stay at Mildert as comfy as possible. If ever you have any questions or requests about your room no matter how trivial come along and see me, or speak to the staff on the blocks and we will try our hardest to help. Good luck with the coming term. CATERING Kate Harper (Food & Beverages Manager) and Alistair Maxwell (Head Chef) Welcome to Van Mildert College. The Catering team pride ourselves on offering students a variety of good quality fresh food with choices that will cater for all tastes. All of the team are very experienced and can answer any questions you may have. The Servery opening times are as follows: breakfast 8.00-10.00, Lunch 12.00-1.45 and Dinner 5.15 7.00. As well as day-to- day student catering, we also have formal dinners which are great college events and an opportunity for those Van Mildert College Newsletter Michaelmas Term 2012 COLLEGE DEVELOPMENT/ TRUST Miss Victoria Brown (Sabbatical Development Officer) The Trust continues to promote college excellence, and recently celebrated the achievements of Mark Spofforth (JCR President 1977-78), and Prof. Brian Tanner (College Fellow) at the Caledonian Club, London. The Trust is keen to support projects to mark the colleges 50 th anniversary in 2015. However, the provision of Postgraduate research scholarships remains its primary objective. This term we offer the first Trust Scholar, Megan Wainwright, our best wishes as she prepares to submit her thesis, and welcome two new scholars; Sren Bock (Chemistry) and Joe Schultz (Music), to commence doctoral research. ! Drinks with the Principal in London 14 th November 2012 from 7 pm The Alexandra Bar Clapham Common, 14 Clapham Common South Side, London. SW4 7AA Come and meet the Principal, Prof Dave Harper, catch up with fellow Mildertians and find out about what is happening at Mildert! Newsletter created and edited by Sharon Swainston, College Secretary MILDERT MESSENGER Van Mildert College Trust Annual Lecture Friday 23 rd November 2012 5.30 pm Van Mildert College Prof. Uta Frith will be speaking about What makes us social? Contact: vm.development@durham.ac.uk for more information Mr. Ian Jackson Environment Champion Welcome back to some and a first hello to others, I hope that over the summer break you have all kept well and enjoyed the time away from your studies. What ever you did, I am sure you did it as Environmentally friendly as possible. So many improvements have been happening over the vacation to improve our energy consumption, from solar energy to improved heating systems. This coming year you will hear about the University Campaign BEAT the BASELOAD. Please read the flyer in your room or within your Fresher packs for all the details. For more info on Environmental matters have a peek at our noticeboard, just by the mail list. MILDERT CLASSIFIEDS who live out to come and sample what we have to offer. If any students have any dietary requirements or feedback you can speak to myself, Kate, or the head chef, Alistair Maxwell, to discuss them further. ENVIRONMENT