The Mildertian 2014
Van Mildert College
The Mildertian
Contents
4 | Alumni
20 | Durham University News
Jack Patterson talks to Sebastian Payne, Online Editor at the Spectator, and we introduce the Mildert Link, a new way to connect alumni and current students to discuss careers.
30 | Trust Information about Van Mildert College Trust, and the work it does promoting College excellence.
24 | Outreach 37 | Destination 12 | Research & Scholarship
Hear from this year’s directors of Van Mildert College’s ive outreach projects about the work they do in the local community and their plans for the future.
2015 In 2015, the College will celebrate it’s 50th anniversary! Find out how you can join us to mark the occasion.
Welcome This may be a familiar title to many reading this, but to some of our current students the Mildertian had faded from view before they began. I hope that this new iteration of Mildert’s favourite magazine is able to highlight to everyone the depth and variety of activity being pursued at the College. It has
been a pleasure designing and editing this testament to the industry and energy of all Mildertians. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I have enjoyed producing it. Jack Patterson, Development Of icer 2013/14.
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The Principal’s Piece I am delighted to introduce this new and reinvigorated issue of the Mildertian. Inside you will ind a unique snapshot of a year in the life of our inclusive and vibrant college community. The accessible contributions draw on all corners of our community. We may not be quite the largest of Durham’s 16 colleges, but with over 50 clubs, committees and societies and an enviable frequency and volume of events, we are the busiest and most dynamic. The high levels of activity are re lected in the news items from all our three common rooms, recipients of College bursaries of various types and participants in our outreach and volunteering projects, the hallmark of our great college. There is also a major focus on our alumni with the launch of the Mildert Link, a new mentoring system for our students, and the Van Mildert Association (VMA) initiated its timely and topical Global Perspectives lecture series with a cutting-edge presentation by
the Norwegian Ambassador to the UK, His Excellency Herr Kim Traavik on ‘The Thawing Arctic: Implications in the Region and Beyond’. The Van Mildert College Trust continues to thrive with some exceptional events, support for two top-class PhD scholars and we look forward to Prof. Richard Fortey’s Trust lecture in November. We stand on the edge of a year of great celebration and signi icance. Our 50th anniversary in 2015 will allow time for some re lection on the past and planning for the future, in the midst of a dense menu of events throughout this golden year in all shapes and sizes. College’s Destination 2015 group have been working intensively to help initiate and manage the wide range of events and reunions planned for this very special year. The high spot undoubtedly will be ‘Opera by the Lake’ scheduled during the VMA’s annual reunion weekend, led by our Chancellor, Sir Thomas Allen. I look forward
to welcoming many of you back to College during the year and keeping you up-to-date with the many exciting developments within the Van Mildert College community. I would like to personally thank all Mildertians (staff and students alike), near and far, who make our community so special, all the contributors who have given freely of their time to help construct this lasting document and especially to Jack Patterson, College’s development of icer for his sterling work, assembling and editing this attractive and informative issue. Our motto is as relevant today as it was nearly 50 years ago, sic vos non vobis.
Prof. David Harper Principal of Van Mildert College
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The Mildertian JCR President, Steve Hook
The year 2013/14 I am happy to say has been a good one for Van Mildert College JCR. Starting as we meant to go on, we introduced 330 1st year students to Durham with everything that they needed to know; how to enjoy a Formal, which way to the Cathedral and how to get stuck into a Disney Princess Bop. That really set the tone for the rest of the year and I’m happy to say that the input of the 1st years getting involved in clubs, committees and societies has been phenomenal. As always, our sports teams have been fantastic and we currently sit 3rd in the college
league tables just behind Collingwood and Hild Bede. Netball (Team of the Year 12/13) have again been successful sitting at the top of the Premier League and being the sole Mildert representatives at the Durham vs York Varsity games in Epiphany Term. After a tough year in Division 1, the Football A Team have been promoted back into the Premier League coming 2nd in their league. Just last week, we won the Festival of Sport! Our Outreach projects have been particularly successful this year, as always, our Young Persons’ Project (YPP) took 60 students from two local secondary schools for a 4 day residential at College which culminated in the emotional leaving ceremonies on the last day. We wish the best of luck to the students who came on the residential and I know that the committee are looking forward to seeing the kids at their reunion next year. Jam by the Lake and Summer
MCR President, Martin Brader In 2013/2014, the MCR has continued to grow and develop, representing a diverse body of full-time, part-time and distance learning postgraduate students. Members of the MCR read for a range of postgraduate degrees, including Masters, MBAs, and PhDs. As a result, the activities of the MCR have continued to
evolve, with a suite of new events and initiatives being launched over the course of the year. The MCR has hosted a number of Postgraduate Research Seminars, with topics ranging from chemistry to school inspection systems. These
Ball have been the highlights of the social calendar as always. The Ball this year was Around the World in 80 Days with the College transformed into various different areas of the globe for the evening. The committee were very lucky to secure King Charles as the main act for the evening and they were suitably impressive. Looking forward, I am excited about the opportunities that will be on offer for undergraduate in the future. The introduction of ‘The Mildert Link’ which will bring together students and alumni will be extremely important in the development of students here especially with College’s 50th Anniversary coming soon. I wanted to take the opportunity as my term is about to end to convey how proud I am of the work students do at this college and I can’t wait to see the development of the next few years. Steve Hook, JCR President 2013/14
Welcome seminars provide an opportunity for postgraduate students to practice for upcoming conference presentations, as well as generating some lively interdisciplinary discussions. In addition to these seminars, postgraduates have presented their research at the second Hill Colleges West Research Forum, this year held in Trevelyan College. This intercollegiate symposium comprised a series of talks and poster presentations from Masters and PhD students from St. Aidan's, St. Mary's, Trevelyan and Van Mildert Colleges. The MCR has also worked in collaboration with the SCR to develop new events with IAS
Fellows, who are resident within the College. Discussion Sessions have been organised to explore the research interests of individual Fellows, with members of the JCR, MCR and SCR bene iting from interactions and debates with world-leading experts. In addition, MCR members have attended a number of Inter-MCR Formal Dinners, including visits to University, Trevelyan and St. Chad's Colleges, as well as a number of social events held in College. One new initiative, Postgraduate Coffee and Cake, has proven particularly popular, offering an opportunity for livers out and part-time students to connect with the MCR on a weekly basis.
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Postgraduate students have also taken part in a number of JCR and SCR activities, including productions, discussion sessions and other social events. Alongside this increase in events, improvements to the MCR Common Room and other postgraduate facilities have continued, providing a welcoming space for all members to relax and socialise, whether resident or not. The MCR has also re-launched its website, which contains further information about the common room, its events and activities (community.dur.ac.uk/vm.mcr). Martin Brader MCR President 2013/14
SCR President, Victoria Brown
Easter term is often seen as a term of two halves. The exam season looms large during sunny May and then with the arrival of June comes post-exam relaxation and, inevitably, rain. It happens every year. However, come rain or shine, the SCR Mildert Day barbeque remains a constant with its trusty team of barbequers and the pro its supporting the work of the community outreach schemes for which Mildert is so well known. While some things stay the same, since the last edition of the Mildertian, the SCR has been moving forward with a number of new projects. Over
the past year this has included the development of the SCR Public Lecture Series, a new website, and a facelift for our termly bulletin. Our programme of events has also diversi ied and we now hold termly outings to the theatre or other local attractions in addition to our termly SCR dinners, lectures and opportunities to support student productions, recitals and other events which showcase the creativity of our student body. Last term we held a whisky tasting and at Christmas attended the Beamish Christmas Experience. We hope to offer something for everyone and always welcome new members, particularly from our alumni community. The SCR offers an opportunity for you to stay in touch with Van Mildert College, attend events, meet like-minded people and remain
actively involved in the College. During Easter term 2014, our calendar has included a trip to see English Touring Opera perform Tippett’s King Priam at the Gala Theatre, Midert Day and our termly dinner with a pre-dinner talk by Prof. Stuart Wilson, a graduate of Van Mildert College and Professor of Pharmacology in the School for Medicine, Pharmacy and Health. We always welcome new members to the SCR. If you are interested in joining, please get in touch by emailing vm.scr@durham.ac.uk. More information can also be found on the SCR website at community.dur.ac.uk/vm.scr. We would be delighted to hear from you! Dr Victoria Brown SCR President 2013/14
Alumni Your connection with Mildert doesn’t end when you graduate. In fact, leaving Durham marks the beginning of your lifelong membership of our vibrant alumni community, with many opportunities for remaining engaged with College.
Alumni
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Being reincarnated as an olive: Sebastian Payne, online editor of the Spectator and recipient of the 2014 Lawrence Sterne Fellowship, discusses politics, journalism and the media I sit down with Seb in the quaint top loor of Vennels, the perennial Durham coffee shop. The night before he had been up late with the Durham Union Society, debating whether we live in a woman’s world, with UKIP MEP Godfrey Bloom, against Flo Perry of the Durham University Feminist Society and No More Page 3’s Angela Towers. The irst time I met Seb it was the irst Saturday of Freshers’ week in 2009. He was JCR Vice President and arrived on the scene to help me carry bags all the way to the top loor of Middleton block. I’m very impressed that he remembers—“but these things stick in your memory.” He is now the Online Editor of the Spectator and still only 24. It has been a rapid rise through an industry notoriously dif icult to break into. This is made perhaps more remarkable by the fact that a career in journalism was not always the plan. After the JCR Presidential election in his third year, in which he was “beaten very ably by Tom
Pickard, I reached the point which I think most people do which is ‘What the hell do I do with my life now?’” Having enjoyed working on the Palatinate and Purple Radio, he “wrote to every magazine, every newspaper, everything, and the Guardian eventually came back to me and said ‘do you want a few weeks on media and tech?’ so I did it, and I really enjoyed it.” This, then, seems to be the point at which the touch paper was lit. After the Guardian he took out a career development loan, “joyfully”, and went to City University for a postgraduate quali ication in journalism. “It has been called the ‘Oxbridge of journalism’ which is a disgusting phrase but it gets across the point. It [postgraduate quali ication in journalism] is part of the reason journalism has become very middle class of late, because in this country it very much used to be a blue collar profession whereas in American [it was] a white collar profession.” But, as will become a common theme as Seb
recounts his short career so far, his time at City was “great fun! It’s dif icult because there are 400 people and they all come in wanting to be foreign writer on the Guardian and there’s only about three people who do a job like that. I was lucky when I was at City—again I just wrote to everyone and went to as many places as possible. I did the Newcastle Journal, Newcastle Chronicle, the Telegraph, Spectator. I got three days at the Independent but couldn’t make it because I was snowed in.” It’s here that his genuine passion for his work shines through. His disappointment about the missed opportunity is still authentic, suggesting the experiences were for his own bene it far more than for his CV. And there were some very exciting experiences for a 21-year-old: “I was lucky enough to be at the Telegraph and did work on the Julian Assange WikiLeaks Guantamo Bay story, which was fascinating stuff, a very interesting time to be there. I got in there and was lucky enough to be offered a job and was at the Telegraph a year
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The Mildertian
or so. To get a position on a national paper like that at 21 was extraordinary. I was on the data team and we just worked lots of desks—the news desk, invesitagor’s desk, business desk, producing stuff to help with their stories and doing [our own] stories as well. We got front page bylines, we did loads of FOIs [Freedom of Information requests] and data digging. It was really good fun.” But it was at the Spectator that Seb reached his current heights, redesigning and relaunching the ailing website. “I got a call one day from our editor, Fraser Nelson, saying “everything’s a bit screwed, would you like to come and ix it?” As simple as that? “Since then it’s just been a whirlwind I suppose!” When he started, the company was already midway through a irst relauch but “had made some pretty major mistakes and we eventually had to bin everything and start again—that was what I was for.” When he started, they had about 350,000 unique users “and we’ve just passed 1.2 million”. He is rightly very proud. On the back of this success, he has become the Spectator’s guru on all things digital: “There’s not a digital department: it’s me, I do everything.” But it’s not all technical; Seb is irst and foremost very much a journalist. “I blog for Coffeehouse, our political blog, I write for the magazine.” He ponders for a moment: “I need to do more writing, get more aggressive ideas. I’ve got something at the moment for our UKIP special about young UKIPers which is great fun. I managed to ind a chap who worked in McDonald’s in Accrington and tried to
convince his customers to vote UKIP when they came in to buy a Big Mac. It’s great fun following these people around.” Throughout the interview Seb’s fascination with the UKIP phenomenon is apparent. However, he seems more intrigued by the grassroots of the party than its charismatic leader because there were a lot of people “calling UKIP a racist party, which was the heart-of-Westminster thing to do, whereas the more you speak to these people it is the left behind. All of the young UKIPers I spoke to are that 50% of society that was forgotten. 50% go to university, what about the other 50%? All of those I spoke to fell into that category.” It is something he seems determined to interrogate further: “the more people I speak to the more it’s
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All of the young UKIPers I spoke to are that 50% of society that was forgotten.
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about disenfranchisement and it’s working out why that exists and what can be done about it that interests me. I’m writing a lot about the education reform agenda under this government which has proven, as I think all reforms should be, controversial. People are not very used to radical change.” It may be the ordinary
membership of UKIP that interests him the most, but Seb has had his share of high pro ile subjects. As well as the huge website upgrade, one of the irst things he set up upon arriving at the Spectator was a podcast, “because I’d done Purple Radio and know how cheaply you can produce audio. It’s great, we’ve had Nigel Farage, we’ve had Francis Maude, we’ve had columnists, we’ve had MPs, we’ve had cabinet ministers, we’ve had Boris. We get 100,000 downloads every week.” With all this name dropping, I have to ask. “Oh bloody hell… best interview? Interviewing Boris is always fun. I interviewed him in an alleyway beside Baker Street during his last mayoral campaign. I interviewed AC Grayling recently and he keeps you on your toes. He’s an interesting character, very intelligent and very smart, trying to do something different which I think is to be admired. Education is going to move more towards the real cost, like in America, and he’s just pushing towards that. I interviewed Anthony Adonis recently who is very possibly going to run for Mayor of London and did a Paxman-esque thing and asked about ive times ‘Are you running for Mayor of London?’ and he gave me this brilliant quote which was picked up by quote a few places, which was ‘All I’m doing is contributing to a debate on the policies we are going to need post Boris.’” He doesn’t single out a favourite though, and his licking between subjects—from Boris to education policy to the long-term political landscape of London—is emblematic of the multitude and variety of material that his job entails.
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Returning to the podcast, there is a tangible feeling of accomplishment that it is a success attributable to his efforts and talents—and it seems that he is indeed almost solely responsible. In a sign of the changes in journalism, Seb produces and edits each podcast himself. “Journalism is changing hugely at the moment; journalists are having to do more than ever. It’s such a huge technological revolution going on and I’ve been incredibly lucky to launch my career at such a time.” He read Computer Science when he was at Durham, which I say is a happy coincidence given his previous admission that journalism was not always the target at the end. He is perfectly happy to accept this analysis, but suggests that “because I’d done CompSci and everyone else generally comes from the Arts and Social Sciences and had spent three years writing essays, I knew I would have to work hard at that [writing].” Seb’s analysis of working in the changing journalism industry is to “think of it as walking down a dark alleyway with open razor blades: you don’t know what you’re going to hit or what’s going to happen. No one knows what the future is.” He raises how dif icult it is to run a publication entirely on digital media, citing the Guardian and its ive-year turnaround plan as an example of the scale of experimentation. “Newspaper websites are moving in different ways: the Guardian and [Daily] Mail are the big two in this country. The Guardian is very much a mirror of the paper yet extended and [it] goes for a younger audience as well, which
its with web demographics. The Mail is a completely different prospect to the paper and is very much about celebrity and the infamous ‘sidebar of shame’. And then there’s the Times which is building a community about its core subscribers.” This reference to the Times and its preferred model of making users pay for content (known as a ‘paywall’) rather than having a free website run on advertising revenue prompts me to ask about his own view on this somewhat controversial approach. “It’s an interesting one. We have a paywall, I’m a believer in paywalls. Good writing has never been free and never should be. What’s interesting is the BBC question: all newspapers are competing with the BBC, which has a terri ic news website and huge resources. This will be one of the questions when the BBC charter comes up in ive years. There’s a very good change that the license fee will change because the way technology is moving.” But he is very optimistic, “some things haven’t changed: a good story is a good story. Look at the Maria Miller case—the Telegraph had a great story and they took the scalp of a Cabinet minister. What does change is the medium used to express them.” But he seems pretty upbeat about this too because “more people read what the Spectator has to say than ever before.” He has somewhat beaten me to the punch with his comment about Maria Miller, but I ask him anyway about the future of investigative journalism, which was so heavily scrutinized in the
Leveson Inquiry and then again when the indings of the inquiry were published. “I think Ian Hislop [editor of Private Eye and team captain on the BBC’s long-running current affairs panel show ‘Have I Got News For You’] put it best when he said that if you look at the phone hacking scandal which kicked all this off, if the laws had been enforced properly, then it would not have occurred. There’s no need for any new laws and it was just a knee-jerk reaction. We [the Spectator] will not sign up to any state-backed regulator because at the end of the day once politicians have that power they will never give it up.” So the Leveson inquiry is dismissed, but is there not a sense that news outlets are illing out their pages (online or otherwise) with copious comment and opinion pieces? I site his own publication, and indeed an earlier comment of his that he and his colleagues are iling all the time—“we have a terri ic turnover of content.” He accepts the point but is not perturbed: “If you look at the most notable stories we have had of late that have set the agenda, they could all be classes as investigative. Maria Miller, Patrick Mercer, Edward Snowden, Wikileaks, Jimmy Savile. There is an issue that papers will be less willing to leave reporters to go and do nothing for three months and see what happens. I don’t think it would be fair to say it’s not changing but there are some fantastic writers out there doing some great stuff.” Another result of the digital revolution is the increasing importance of social media for
Alumni journalists. Seb is a voracious tweeter, with over 4000 followers at the time of writing. He irst joined Twitter as a student at Van Mildert but later left “because I was considerably concerned with pissing time away!” However, after just a short spell at the Guardian it became clear that it was essential if he was to be taken seriously in modern journalism. “I try not to tweet my whole life like some people do, but in terms of work stuff I think it’s a very effective medium. One thing I did was, when Nigel Farage was on ‘Question Time’ for the thirteenth time in four years, I’d done an analysis of all major politicians’ [number of appearances] and he was top with Kenneth Clarke so I did a chart and when it came up again I tweeted the chart and linked to the blog and it did the rounds again.” He has a self-satis ied look that perhaps stems from the fact that retweets and favourites on Twitter provide quanti iable evidence that the work he is doing is relevant and contributing directly to a national debate. When I suggest that Twitter is most useful as a form of self-advertisement he defends himself: “I normally try to engage people. I do read comments. Despite what a lot of people would try to have you believe, I think every journalist reads comments but it’s a very trendy thing to say ‘I don’t read comments.’” As his pro ile on Twitter increases, so too his real-life pro ile: Seb has appeared as a commentator on Sky News and describes his irst appearance on national television with a grimace. “The irst one I did I had about three seconds of brain
freeze and it’s of course on YouTube, and if you want it you wouldn’t see it but for me it feels like an eternity because I had thought so carefully about what I wanted to say and then you’re sitting there in a huge TV studio like Sky and it’s deadly silent, and when the presenter starts talking it’s ‘Oh God, this is happening.’ It’s really good fun, and I’m very lucky that the Spectator gives me a platform to say vaguely interesting things.” Working at the Spectator? A platform for saying interesting things to a national audience? This sounds familiar. I mention the well-worn path from the press to politics and from the Spectator in particular came Iain Macleod, Ian Gilmour, Nigel Lawson and, more recently, Boris Johnson. “If one goes into politics very young, it’s very dif icult to forge a career out of that. There are a lot of people who are into politics who will go and work for an MP doing an internship, then go and work for a lobbying irm and there is a question about where it ends.” Seb has been awarded the Lawrence Sterne Fellowship at the Washington Post so his next step maintains his steep trajectory and for now he seems satis ied. “I’ve got this extraordinary opportunity coming up where I’m heading to America. The way the media is looking it’s very dif icult to forecast what everything is going to look like in a few years. I absolutely love my job, I love working for the Spectator. It [the Lawrence Sterne Fellowship] is essentially a position on the national desk. What I’ll be doing I don’t know, we’ll wait and see. But with midterms coming in America, I would love to get
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involved with that.” I attempt his earlier depiction of Paxman-esque interviewing and ask him again about a move into politics. He obliges with a Boris Johnson quote, that there is more chance of him “being reincarnated as an olive.” So we should rule it out then? “No comment!” As our conversation draws to a close, I ask Seb if he has any advice for students or alumni wishing to pursue a similar path. He invokes former Chancellor Bill Bryson’s exhortation that students at Durham “don’t let your degree get in the way of your education!” but then issues his own: “Don’t forget your degree!” He laughs, “but otherwise it’s so easy to get involved in College. Everyone comes in to Mildert as equals so just try stuff and if you like it have fun! We get so many applications for work experience from fantastic candidates. It’s got to be a burning passion that you want to do it. It can’t just be a career choice: it is hard and notoriously not well paid. It is very cut and thrust, you have to push yourself. Stories don’t just come to you.” He continues, “Journalism is about what your unique offering is. What’s your plus one? I’ve been lucky enough to have computer science. More and more employers don’t have time to train you up so you’ve got to work out how you slot in.” It’s good advice and has clearly served him well.
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Staying involved... There are many ways to stay involved with College after graduation. In particular, alumni are in possession of that most mercurial of assets, so sought after by students: experience. This puts our graduates from right across our history in an unparalleled position to make a real difference to current students. In November 2013, we were able to offer our students intending to pursue a career in Law the opportunity to meet with Lord Hughes (1966-69), Justice of the Supreme Court, and fellow Durham alumnus His Honour Judge James Goss QC. Over supper, more than thirty students were able to bene it from the experience of these alumni who were able to pass on valuable advice about their profession. After such a successful evening, we were delighted when Lord Hughes offered his time again in February 2014 for a similarly relaxed afternoon chatting to students.
For alumni living in or around the Durham area, one of the best ways to get involved in College is by becoming a College Mentor. Mentors receive SCR membership, the ideal way to remain part of the College community, but most importantly they provide direct and lasting pastoral support for current students. Below, Caroline Boardman (1978-81) writes about what it means to be a Mentor, while Harry Inman describes his experience of being a mentee. For me a College Mentor means being an “interested other”, a friend, conϔidante, advisor, listening ear, encourager, tea and cake provider, supporter, personal referee, and networker linking students with each other and with people outside their academic ‘world’. It is always a pleasure to get to know your students and to see them develop and grow in conϔidence from the ϔirst few weeks as Freshers, through getting involved in clubs and activities and exploring possibilities for the future, and ϔinally moving on after graduation. It does involve time and effort, but getting to know a lovely group of young people, and feeling you’ve made a difference to someone’s time at Durham, make it worthwhile. Caroline Boardman
The mentor system is a fantastic initiative. The high quality hand-picked mentors frequently give up chunks of their time to host social gatherings, give advice, and provide a pair of ears to listen to your career-based woes and point you in the right direction! My mentor, and by extension the mentor system, has provided an excellent structure around which to seek advice. I thoroughly recommend it! Harry Inman
If you feel able to help current students by offering your time and experience, please contact vm.development@durham.ac.uk for more information. It is a fantastic opportunity for alumni to engage with College and make an invaluable contribution to student life.
Alumni
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Introducing...
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Alumni have it; students need it: Experience. This year, Van Mildert College is stepping up its efforts to connect students and alumni through a new online hub called the Mildert Link that will help bring the extended college community closer together. With the ability to communicate with a limited number of alumni through an easy-to-use messaging system that means no personal details are ever visible, a student will be able to ask about the real nature of an industry or the tricks of the interview process. Alumni will be able to sign-up to offer advice to students from the moment they leave College, and we hope that we are able to build a strong network with a range of experiences across different areas of professional life. From recent graduates who
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just last year went through the gruelling graduate scheme assessment centre process and can offer help for surviving the marathon to those of our alumni who now sit on the other side of the desk; from those who shunned the rat-race and went travelling to those who set up their own businesses; from those in the charity sector to those in government; the Mildert Link will facilitate conversation and guidance as our students prepare to embark on the next stage of their journey. Customisable and lexible, the Mildert Link will be safe and easy to manage. Alumni will be able to control how many students can contact them at any one time and, if they’re too busy to keep in touch but still want to help, there will be an
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option to have a static pro ile that details their career to date and any advice they would give to students aiming to follow in their footsteps. Grey College have had a scheme similar to this running for a few years now and have over 500 alumni signed up to support their current students so naturally we hope to beat this number as soon as possible when we launch the Mildert Link! Plans are afoot for a launch date in September 2014, so watch out for it being advertised by email! Alternatively, email vm.development@durham.ac.uk to register your interest now and we will email you personally to let you know when we are ready to launch.
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Research and Scholarship at Mildert This year, College was delighted to announce two strategic partnerships with key research clusters within the University. A new partnership with the recently established Climate Impact Research Centre (CIRC), building on the already strong links the College has with Geography and Earth Sciences, was announced late last year. I will serve together with Profs Brian Huntley and Antony Long as Deputy Directors of the Centre led by Prof. Mike Bentley. College will provide a range of meeting facilities and assist in securing postgraduate scholarships and visiting fellows for this exciting, new multidisciplinary centre. In addition the Palaeoecosystems Group, led by Dr Howard Armstrong and myself, in Earth Sciences, will also have a base in College. The group is addressing in some detail changing animal-based ecosystems in deep time against a background of climate and environmental swings during the last 600 million years. Critical is our understanding of key events such as the Cambrian Explosion, Great Ordovician Biodiversi ication Event and the end Ordovician extinction. The postgraduate community
continues to thrive with regular evening presentations of a wide variety of research topics, and the Hill West Research forum, established by College’s MCR and involving St. Aidan’s, St. Mary’s and Trevelyan colleges, is now an annual ixture. The SCR, itself a unique repository of research experience and expertise, has throughout the year provided College with some top-class lectures and great feedback during postgraduate presentations. Grants from ‘The Colleges’ have irstly secured the future of the Annual Bishop William Van Mildert Lecture and second the development of the Lake as a research and teaching resource, with an illustrated key to all the fauna and lora of this unique wildlife reserve. Later in the year, College will publish the
irst in a new series of scholarly proceedings. Quaesitum, will contain a mix of articles and reviews showcasing the wide range of research projects associated with Van Mildert. Finally, College has acquired rooms in Elvet Hill House dedicated to the use of the clusters together with active researchers from the MCR and SCR. Prof Dave Harper, Principal
Photos: Julia Whitty, National Geographic
Academia 13
Principal’s Award The Principal’s Award is a scholarship of £1000 awarded to up to three students per year to help support ieldwork as part of their studies. On this page, this year’s recipients talk about their experiences conducting research made possible with the assistance of this award.
Tom Wardley | MSc Geography In summer 2013, I took part in an expedition to Southern Iceland to study some of the outlet glaciers from the Vatnajokull Ice Cap. The dissertation that I had planned was to investigate the rate of downstream ining in the outlet stream which lows from the glacier snout to the coast. This involved wading into the small stream and measuring its depth, width and the size of 50 clasts from the bed. However, when I arrived I found that the velocity
and discharge were unusually high and it was too dangerous to enter the water. I made the decision to change my dissertation and, with the equipment available, was able to conduct a lichenometric study of Kviarjokull; the next glacier to the east of Holarjokull. This will allow me to reconstruct the retreat of the glacier since the little ice age at the end of the 20th century. All this would not have been possible without the help of the Principal’s Award.
Rachel Bertram | MSc Natural Science I conducted ieldwork on ive beaches across the UK, with the aim of measuring carbon dioxide (CO2) concentrations in the unsaturated zone. This ieldwork formed the basis for my Master’s research project with the Earth Sciences Department.
permeates the whole of the unsaturated zone in fractures, pore and void spaces – as 2-7%. Additionally, I studied variations in ground air caused by sea level luctuations. On geological timescales, ground air stores have important implications for climate change.
Using these results I quanti ied the CO2 concentration of “ground air” – air that
I am hoping to publish this research later this year and will be presenting my results at the
Faculty of Science’s Rising Stars Research Symposium. I would like to thank Van Mildert College for presenting me with this award and thereby aiding my research.
Martin Brader | PhD Geography In Summer 2013, I travelled to northwest Iceland to complete ieldwork associated with my PhD, which focusses on postglacial relative sea-level (RSL) changes and ice loading histories in Iceland. The ieldwork involved coring lake sediments to determine environmental changes at a number of locations, which allowed the generation of new
RSL curves for northwest Iceland. These RSL curves have subsequently been used to test models of ice loading and crustal structure. This ieldwork was supported by the Quarternary Research Association, Royal Geographical Society, British Society for Geomorphology and a Van Mildert College Principal's Award.
Travel Bursaries For students wishing to expand their horizons abroad, Van Mildert College offers travel bursaries to help cover the cost. This support helps our students take advantage of opportunities beyond their usual program of studies and pursue their passions across the globe. Whether the purpose of the trip is charitable or academic, the travel bursaries facilitate our students’ personal development. In 2012-13, the College was able to provide 16 bursaries up to £1000 for students. The recipients are listed here alongside Naiya Raja’s report, which displays the impact of these experiences on our students’ personal development. Included in these 16 bursaries is the Judy Turner Award, given annually to support ieldwork for environmental research.
Martha Betterton India
Constantin Mehmel India
Rachel Brown Iceland
Lisa-Elen Meyering Cambodia
Anna Clarke Romania
Naiya Raja Nepal
Greta Ferloni Nepal
Rebecca Ronayne Cambodia
Rebecca Hawes China
Clare Smith Canada
Alice Huxley Romania
Lucy Ward (Judy Turner Award) Belize
Rebekah Jacques Iceland
Tom Wardley Iceland
Emily Langley Iceland
Nina Wollersberger India
Amy Longhurst India
Katie Zacherek China
Naiya Raja | Nepal Attempting to sleep on any possible surface in the airport terminal waiting rooms: the seats, the loor, and even on each other, clad in matching DUCK expedition stash, hauling around enormous hiking bags; this was to any experienced eye a group of student volunteers. With a full day of traveling, hours spent delayed in Heathrow airport, a lengthy transit stop in Abu-Dhabi and sleep deprived due to the hours of in- light entertainment, thus began our journey to Nepal. Alighting the plane, we had our irst encounter of the thrilling, yet absolutely berserk roads of Kathmandu. The streets were an explosion of colour, motorbikes and people. The scent of incense drifted out from open shops, the friendly faces; “I give you good price, no problem!” at every turn. With vibrant masks and
jewellery, rickshaws cycling past hurriedly and the cacophony of traf ic, shouting vendors and hoots made up the fabric of this kaleidoscopic city. The prospect of spending ive weeks in Nepal electri ied me with excitement.
grazing water buffaloes, the immense valleys and the alwayspresent clouds; trekking through this beautiful landscape with its quiet settlement was one of the most peaceful experiences I have ever had.
We would later spend more time in Kathmandu, hours spent exploring and getting lost in the colourful streets. Kicking off the trip, we began our trek. The Annapurna Base Camp (ABC) circuit consisted of 10 days walking, starting from 1645m and ascending to 4120m at ABC. From clambering up hundreds of steps, to trekking through rhododendron and bamboo jungles, to crossing slightly questionable bridges perched above raging rivers, to full-on assaults by leeches, the trek was always interesting! Surrounded by green rice paddies - the farmers’ mountain steppes,
Pokhara was our next destination; a busy, touristy city with a pulse of its own. After 10 days of wearing the same sweaty clothes, we ambushed the launderettes! The next segment of the trip consisted of the Community placements. Having bonded with the rest of the group over the course of the trek, we were then separated into pairs or triplets and sent to different communities. I was sent to Baktapur, a small, rural, farming community, outside of the Kathmandu valley. The family I had been allocated to barely
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spoke any English and thus the language barrier was a daunting prospect at irst. Once having reached we found other means of communication though, and their kindness, chuckling at our terrible pronunciation of words subdued our nervousness. Engaging in housework, I attempted to milk the cows, peel various vegetables and pick corn, all found upon their acreage. 80% of the family’s food was from fruits and vegetables they grew themselves. Immersing ourselves totally into the Nepalese culture, we also experienced and participated in festivals, for example that of ‘Teej’; a day that women would adorn themselves in bright saris of red, henna their hands and dress up beautifully, visiting the temples and praying for the long life of their husbands. Tradition would be to fast all day, and break this fast in the evening with ‘masala milk’ (sweet milk boiled with dried fruit and spices) and fresh fruit. As I fell in love with Nepal, its people, food and culture, so my Nepali vocabulary improved (from
being limited to just words related to food) such that soon I was almost able to have a semi-coherent conversation with my ama (mother). Whilst immersing myself into the tranquil rural life, I also taught at a local government school. The children came from very under-privileged backgrounds, and many were orphans. However, their energy and enthusiasm was infectious, and teaching was always fun! From teaching English, Maths, Sports, Science, Arts and Crafts, to classes from Nursery till class
10, the days were full and vibrant. Baktapur town is old and beautiful, privileged with its historic temples and rich history. I was lucky to be able to visit the oldest temple in Nepal, the ChanguNarayan, as well as the famous Patan Durbar, with its museums and ancient sites. After leaving my host family, (a very emotional separation), our Nepali adventure was beginning to reach its inal, adrenaline- illed days. On the agenda was bungee-jumping and white-water rafting. After a 5-hour bus journey (as the roads were still under-constructionsomething you get used to in Nepal), we reached the Last Resort, near the Tibetan border, where a shaky bridge hung nearly 150m above a fast lowing, rocky river below. The 3rd highest bungee jump in the world, and the highest bungee swing, the experience was absolutely exhilarating! Our inal weekend was spent trying to tame the rapids as we white-water rafted. Surrounded by lush, green valleys, the sun
and the endless stretch of the river in front of us, it was beautiful. As we pumped some iron with our attempts at synchronized paddling, there was the ‘forward teeeam!’ from our guide at regular intervals. Pushing each other in and swimming (or more like loating - with our lifejackets on) in the cool river was one of my favourite moments of the trip. And so, I would really like to thank the Van Mildert Travel Bursary for their very generous donation. From eating mounds of ‘dhal bhat’, to teaching ‘duck-duck-goose’ to tiny little nursery kids, to learning local folk songs, to fending off attacks from leeches (hell-bent on blood) to trekking through the rain, the sun and the clouds, to stunning views, snowy mountain peaks peeping through the clouds, sunrises and sunsets, to jumping off 140 m high bridges (all sense of self-preservation lost), to a hundred different new experiences, the 5 weeks I spent in Nepal were some of the most crazy and adventurous weeks of my life.
Postgraduate Awards Each year, the Van Mildert College gives between ive and six Postgraduate Awards of up to £2000 to support our postgraduate community with their research. The recipients for the 2013-14 year were: Martin Brader (Geography, PhD), who is studying postglacial relative sea level changes of northwest Iceland; Donald MacLennan (Classics, PhD), who is evaluating the assumption that dependent
rulers of the Roman near-East were installed or maintained in order to prepare their regions for annexation;
further endanger lives;
Hannah Bolt (Chemistry, PhD), who is working on the synethesis and development of peptoids for use as pharmaceutical agents;
Teresa Filizzola (Translation Studies, PhD), who is looking at the audiovisual translation of humour and, in particular, the reception and perception of Eddie Izzard’s humour by an Italian audience watching his shows with Italian subtitles;
Victoria Lang (Law, M. Jur), who is exploring the regulations of selling sex in England and Wales, arguing that our current system of regulation serves to
Benjamin Chandler (Geography, MSc), who is studying the recent ice-marginal luctuations in ice caps in southeast Iceland.
Senior Common Room Lectures
This year the SCR has hosted four academic lectures that cover a broad range of issues and topics with the aim of bringing research-based presentations into a forum that is accessible and digestible to all. Staff, students and SCR members alike have bene itted from a cultured and topical series that promises to be even better next year as the SCR looks to turn its lecture series into a celebration of the College’s scholarly activity for the 50th anniversary in 2015. Mr David Williams The Saint and the Princess – Speculation on the meaning of St Cuthbert’s pectoral cross Prof. Richard Gameson The Lindisfarne Gospels: Re lections upon an exhibition Prof. David Harper, Dr. Thomas Servais The Early Palaeozoic World: Mapping life in ancient oceans Dr. Sergio Sepulveda Geohazards in the Andes: The four elements of nature in action
Photos by Van Mildert College Photography Society. Clockwise from top-left: PSP Bop, Jam Night, Jam by the Lake, Jam Comm End of Exams Bop, 48-hour Musical ‘Mary Poppins’.
Durham University News
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Retirement of Professor Chris Higgins as Vice-Chancellor “I will, of course, be very sad at leaving the University I love, and friends and colleagues I admire. However, the timing is right. The University and its Colleges is probably in the best shape it has ever been, academically and inancially, providing a strong platform for my successor to take the University and its Colleges to even greater heights.”
University scoops seven tourism awards, including four for the Lindisfarne Gospels The event, which took place in summer 2013, attracted almost 100,000 visitors from 58 different countries to Durham University’s Palace Green Library to see one of the world’s most important manuscripts. The three-month event generated an estimated £8.3million for the local economy.
Durham University unveils new landmark building Durham University has unveiled plans for a £10 million new building to house its world-renowned Ogden Centre for Fundamental Physics. It coincides with the announcement of two major gifts towards the project; £3.35 million from the Ogden Trust and £1.5 million from the Wolfson Foundation.
All of Durham’s subjects receive a top ten ranking
University receives £10M funding for a new innovation centre
Durham University is the only UK institution to have all its courses ranked in the UK’s top ten, according to the 2015 Complete University Guide. This secures Durham’s position as one of the inest all-round universities in the country, delivering excellence in education and research across all its disciplines.
Durham University has been awarded a £10 million investment from the North East Local Enterprise Partnership to help fund the irst phase of a multi-million pound innovation centre, the Centre for Innovation and Growth.
University partners in biennial Lumiere festival
Durham shares in £11m grant for arts and humanities
In November 2013, over 100,000 visitors experienced the dramatic installations of the second Lumiere festival hosted in Durham, following the irst in 2011. The University was proud to be institutional partner in the biennial Lumiere festival, working closely with the County Council and Artichoke with many of the installations on University grounds including Mountjoy and Palace Green.
Spin out company Kromek raises £15m in lotation Research-based spin out company Applied Graphene Materials raises £11m in lotation Former Durham University spin-out, Ikon GeoPressure, wins Queen’s Award for Enterprise
For more information on any of the stories or to read more news about Durham University please visit www.dur.ac.uk/news.
Top and Left: Summer Ball (Photos: Adam Moss); Right: Mildert Day
Sic vos non vobis Outreach at Mildert
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The motto of Van Mildert College, ‘Sic Vos Non Vobis’ or ‘Thus do ye, not for yourselves’, can be found in many aspects of College life. However, I believe it can be evidenced most clearly in our ive amazing Community Outreach projects. Each week, over 120 students from Van Mildert give up their time and energy to help people, for no reward other than the gratitude of those in need. Whether this is spending time with an elderly couple, running an after-school club, listening to the residents of a Young Offender’s unit, playing games with disabled children or supporting disadvantaged teenagers on a residential, I know that these 120 students give the best of themselves and,
as a result, are changed. The scale and breadth of our Outreach projects is unprecedented amongst Durham’s colleges, and is increasingly a reason why applicants choose Van Mildert as their college of choice. After over ten years of growing support for College Outreach, in 2013 the JCR decided to add an Outreach Of icer to the JCR Executive Committee, to oversee the management of these ive projects. I am very proud to have served as the irst Outreach Of icer and, as I have just inished my term, proud of what we have achieved. Each year, the Outreach projects must cumulatively raise over £15,000 through grant applications and fundraising events, both in and
out of College. Whilst this is never an easy task, this year we were incredibly grateful to receive a substantial anonymous donation towards the running of the Young Persons’ Project (YPP) that will safeguard it for the next ten years. This will allow us to start thinking how we can use this stability to extend or improve the project. There has been a bit of blue-sky thinking regarding setting up a sixth Outreach project with possible suggestions being coaching of local youth sports teams, working with the homeless and even going abroad. This is a very exciting prospect for my successor, Hannah Pittaway. The only thing left for me to say is to thank the ive Project
Outreach 25 Directors (Alex, Chris, Emily, Krysy & Sam) who have put up with me throughout the year; Paul Regan, Maureen McCorry and Dave Harper for their dedication to this vital College asset; and all the many Mildertians (both current students and alumni) for supporting Outreach. Whether it’s volunteering for a project, coming to Outreach Formal or laughing at Mildert’s Got Talent; without you, our local community wouldn’t be in as great a place as it is.
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Ben Hodgkiss, JCR Outreach Of icer 2013/14
Carers’ Respite Commitee
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Carers’ Respite Committee is a student-run organisation based at Van Mildert College. The project has been running for 3 years and has provided sessions to many different families, with the aim to support those who have family members with a variety of physical and mental disabilities. We run Happy Saturday activity sessions on fortnightly Saturday mornings, between 10am and 12pm, as well as weekly home visits. The weekly home visits allow the volunteers to give the carers any help within the house or the chance to relax while the volunteers take care of the children. The home visits are a
great way for volunteers to form bonds with the adults and children. The Happy Saturday sessions are run in the Peterlee and Easington area but we welcome families from across Durham County. The sessions involve a huge variety of activities, from fun sporty games to creative arts and crafts. The idea we have is to run the sessions so they suit each family’s individual needs and every child inds something which they enjoy. While the children are enjoying themselves, the sessions give the parents and carers a chance to relax, stay for coffee and chat to the volunteers and other parents. The sessions have a great community feel to them
and it is a fantastic way for the children to interact with others. All of the student volunteers have built great relationships with both the adults and children and we wish to continue the supportive work which the committee has already achieved.
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Krysy Pomeroy, CRC Director 2013/14
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Young Persons’ Project
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Young Persons’ Project (YPP) has been running for over ten years now, and this year was quite possible the best ever for Mildert’s lagship outreach scheme, with two incredible new large-scale fundraising events, completely new ideas for the school activity sessions and an action-packed residential!
The project works with Year 10 pupils at St Hild’s school in Hartlepool and Academy 360 in Sunderland, with YPP’s team of 30 student volunteers inspiring the pupils’ self-con idence and ambition through a series of weekly school activity sessions and a four-day residential in college in the Easter break. This year, the school sessions were completely reinvented by Rebecca Palliser, who did a fantastic job bringing originality, enthusiasm and fun to the sessions, which gave a great taster of the residential and really engaged the pupils from both schools. Sessions included public speaking exercises, a charity fashion show, and an I’m A Celebrity themed gameshow!
The residential, organised by Tom Wardley, proved a major hit as the pupils from the two schools met for the irst time and joined into teams to compete against each other in a series of tasks. The six teams took on the fearsome billionaires of the Dragons Den, put their brains to work to solve a Murder Mystery, had a fun- illed day out at Beamish Wild, enjoyed a formal dinner and even had a silent disco!
YPP 2014 was a monumental success, with each and every one of the 30 volunteers doing a fantastic job, inspiring dozens of students from underachieving schools and making a signi icant, lasting impression on the youngsters’ lives. Having also received an extremely sizeable anonymous donation this year, the project has managed to secure its long-term future, meaning YPP’s prospects currently look better than ever.
None of this could have been achieved without the fantastic efforts of Bethany Clarke and Richard Dennis in orchestrating the team’s fundraising, which raised an unprecedented amount. The successful inaugural Race Night Formal and Fun Run, in addition to the popular Take Me Out event, altogether raised thousands of pounds for the project. Treasurer Andy Below helped keep the project on track inancially and ensured that YPP turned a healthy pro it, guaranteeing next year’s project an extremely solid inancial foundation.
The project is sadly over for this year but the volunteers are looking forward to the annual reunion in November to see all of the wonderful pupils from the two schools again, before the committee puts on another great project next year. It’s been a brilliant year for YPP and an absolute pleasure for me personally to oversee as Director. I wish next year’s committee the very best of luck in running YPP 2015!
Alex Denby, YPP Director 2013/14
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Community Visiting Scheme
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Community Visiting Scheme (CVS) is an Outreach project which visits the elderly around Durham. We aim to help remedy the problem of loneliness; an issue that can have a serious impact upon a person's wellbeing. We have found that just a cup of tea and a chat can really help brighten someone's week.
This year we have 22 students who, in groups of 2-3, visit an elderly person or couple in either their home or care home each week. Most CVS visitors continue to visit until graduation and many even stay in touch afterwards.
included: helping run the Outreach (Halloween) Formal, a bar quiz, selling mince pies at the Christmas bar party and a Mildert Day stall.
Emily Crisp, CVS Director 2013/14 CVS Visitors are also encouraged to attend the monthly coffee mornings at St. Oswald's Institute. We also hold our own coffee mornings throughout the year, usually during Michaelmas and Epiphany term, in the St. Oswald's Institute, which help to promote the scheme and provide a great excuse to eat lots of cake and play bingo! Last year, we also had an end of year afternoon tea at Brambles Coffee Shop in Shincliffe with all the visitors and friends of the Scheme.
We also try to do some fundraising to make extra activities like the afternoon tea a possibility. Last year these
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Primary School Project
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The project provides ive local schools and local children with the opportunity to partake in free extra-curricular activities that they otherwise wouldn't be able to experience. Volunteers travel by bus to the schools once a week in pairs and prepare, run and develop extracurricular activities to children aged between 4 and 11. This year we are running Arts & Crafts and Cookery Clubs but there is potential to develop this to encompass things such as languages and drama. The clubs have been found to be very popular, with high numbers participating each week and glowing reports have been received back from the school.
We also send a number of volunteers individually into the schools as teaching assistants who spend a morning or afternoon with the same class each week. This help has also been found to be very gratefully received, with volunteers leading group work, supporting both high and low ability groups, creating display boards and generally supporting the class teacher in any way possible. Volunteers are repaid for bus tickets and any other costs they incur, meaning that we are able to buy equipment for clubs - for example Nature Club were able to grow sun lowers with their children last year. An hour a week for a club or an afternoon a week as a teaching assistant makes a surprising
amount of difference and the children we work with appreciate it no end. Equally, it is not a hugely time-consuming commitment and is a great way of getting involved in the non-academic side to college life without feeling swamped. Volunteers will come away with real-world experience of what it is like to work in a primary school and be depended upon, along with life skills they would perhaps not otherwise encounter, such as child protection and group leadership. Sam Bailey, PSP Director 2013/14
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Van Mildert Prison Project
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Van Mildert Prison Project offers students the chance to visit young people in a youth prison. We visit a nearby Secure Training Centre to meet young people between the ages of twelve to seventeen. (Hassock ield Secure Training Centre, near Consett). After a rigorous selection and training process, visits take place on Wednesday afternoons where mentors (Van Mildert
students) chat, socialise and play games with a group of young offenders. These sessions on the house blocks serve to break up the young people’s day, and provide a group of friendly, new faces. If a speci ic young person does not receive regular family visits, then he or she can see a particular mentor on Sunday evenings when ‘one to one’ visits may take place. Here the mentor can play cards, board games or just chat with the young person.
Transport is provided by the students themselves. Normally every year, there are 2 or 3 students who own a car and are happy to drive their fellow mentors to the STC. We also have use of the new college mini bus for when larger groups attend the centre.
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Chris Morling, VMPP Director 2013/14
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Van Mildert College Trust The Van Mildert College Trust exists to promote excellence at Van Mildert College. Its primary aim is to enhance postgraduate research at the College and to that end it currently supports two PhD students, Joe Schultz (Music) and Maria Luisa Sanchez Montes (Geography), on full doctoral scholarships as well as providing a conference attendance fund available to any postgraduate student at Van Mildert College. As well as funding postgraduate research, the Trust is also committed to enriching College life. Its irst project was the refurbishment of the College’s
Bechstein grand piano and this year the instrument featured in the recital for Norwegian Ambassador His Excellency Kim Traavik and the Durham University Palatinate Orchestra concert, conducted by Joe Schultz, which illed the Ann Dobson Hall.
The Trustees:
The Trust continues its commitment to student study environments in College through its support for the refurbishment of the College computer room, building on its previous project refurbishing the Library.
Mr David Ellery Chairman of the VMA
Professor David Harper Principal, Chair Mrs Abbie Bennington Van Mildert College 1995-98 Mrs Paula Dawson Bursar
Dr David Ellis Van Mildert College 1973-77 Alderman Alison Gowman Van Mildert College 1974-77 Professor Brian Tanner Chair of College Council
Annual Lecture 2013 In 2013, the Trust welcomed Lord Peter Hennessy, historian, author and broadcaster, to give the fourth Trust Annual Lecture. Lord Peter, who is a former Professor of Rhetoric at Gresham College, London, is currently the Attlee Professor of Contemporary History at Queen Mary and West ield College, University of London. Starting as a journalist at The Times, The Economist and The Financial Times, Lord Peter is also the author of several books, including the award-winning Never Again: Britain 1945-51 and Having It So Good: Britain in the Fifties. The talk, given to a packed audience of students, alumni and friends in the Ann Dobson Hall, ranged from the decline of
the British Empire to the problems facing modern society today in an expansive exploration of ‘Britain’s Place in the World’. The talk proved highly relevant and the question-and-answer session that followed re lected this pertinence.
A video of the talk be found at www.dur.ac.uk/van-mildert.college
along with more information about previous Annual Lectures from Professor John Barrow, Lord Melvyn Bragg and Dame Uta Frith.
Annual Lecture 2014
Professor Richard Fortey FRS Saturday, 22nd November 2014
This year, we look forward to welcoming writer, broadcaster and researcher Richard Fortey FRS for a talk entitled “Survivors: the animals & plants that time has left behind. � The Annual Lecture is free and open to all; more details, including how to sign up, will follow nearer the time.
An evening with Bishop Van Mildert St Mary-le-Bow Church, London In September 2013, the Trust held an evening of talks in St Mary-le-Bow Church, London. Given by the Reverend Dr Elizabeth Varley and the Right Revered Robert Paterson, Bishop of Sodor and Man, to a gathering of alumni and friends, the talks explored and re lected upon the life of the College’s namesake, Bishop William Van
Mildert, a founder of Durham University. The location, at St Mary-le-Bow Church, was chosen deliberately and is signi icant because it was here, as a parish priest in the centre of London, that Van Mildert irst made his name.
their talks to be printed in a booklet documenting the event published by College. To acquire a free copy of this booklet, please contact vm.development@durham.ac.uk or access a digital version online at www.dur.ac.uk/van-mildert.college.
Both speakers have very generously given permission for
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Van Mildert’s spectacular career, although largely built on his own merits, did owe its ϔirst steps to family interest. His sister’s husband Cornelius Ives presented him to his ϔirst beneϔice, the Ives family living in rural Northamptonshire. Being Rector of Bradden enabled him to marry his ϔiancée Jane Douglas, the daughter of an impecunious retired General, whom he had met and courted during his third curacy; but it hardly made his
“
Van Mildert College is named after a bishop, and I wake up some mornings surprised to be one of those creatures. John Fane, Lord Westmoreland, a contemporary of William Van Mildert, commented on whether the bishops of his day were appointed on merit: “Merit indeed! We are come to a pretty pass if they talk of merit for a bishopric.” As bishops, William Van Mildert and I were and are caught in the
fortune. Rebuilding the parsonage cost him more than his entire beneϔice income during his short tenure as Rector. Van Mildert’s mother’s brother served him rather better. William Hill was a prosperous Vauxhall merchant who had inϔluence with the Worshipful Company of Grocers. In 1796 he was able to secure for his nephew not only a chaplaincy to the Company, but also the important London living of St. Mary-le-Bow, to which the Grocers had right of presentation. Here Van Mildert
was able to establish himself as a respected preacher and theologian, a conscientious parish priest and an able and valued member of the High Church reforming group known as the Hackney Phalanx. However it took a notorious Press feeding frenzy to make him a household name.
establishment web: if you don’t believe me, you should hear a diocesan bishop of the Church of England ‘paying homage’ to Her Majesty the Queen. I doubt whether Van Mildert would agree with Bishop Gore that the Church of England is “a church uniquely designed to frustrate the purposes for which it was created”.
The Trust would like to thank Alderman Alison Gowman (1974-77) and Mr Graham Barker (1977-80) for initiating such a successful and enjoyable evening; the Rector of St-Mary-le-Bow Church, the Reverend George Bush, for allowing us to use the historic and beautiful space; and the two speakers, Reverend Dr Elizabeth Varley and the Right Reverend Robert Patterson, Bishop of Sodor and Man, who gave engaging and enlightening presentations.
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- The Right Reverend Robert Patterson, Bishop of Sodor and Man.
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- Reverend Dr Elizabeth Varley
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Updates from the Trust Scholars Maria Luisa Sanchez Montes
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During the irst year of my PhD, I have been undertaking research for a literature review on climate change over the last 2.7 Ma and in particular, sea surface temperature reconstructions. I have learnt the biomarker extraction method and completed some laboratory method test analyses, to quantify the errors to which my research may be exposed. In addition, I have also elaborated a work plan for the next 3 years. Furthermore, I have been enrolled in some teaching duties, such as tutoring irst year undergraduate students in “Physical Geography” and demonstrating to level 3 students in “Oceans Past and Present” and “Sea Level Change and Coastal Evolution”. This year I started to present scienti ic work and network among the Quaternary scienti ic community: In November, I gave a talk presenting the outline of my research at Durham University as part of the Trust Scholar’s Speaking Evening at Van Mildert College. In January, I attended the 40th Anniversary of the Quaternary Research
Association (QRA) Annual Discussion Meeting at The Royal Geographical Society in London. During the conference, which focussed on “Quaternary Revolutions”, I presented a poster under the theme “Measuring and Understanding Climate Change”. The poster was titled "δ18O, δD and δ13C spatial variation through the Pyrenees during the beginning of Spring 2013" and was a product of my MSc research at The University of Shef ield. At the conclusion of the conference, the poster was announced as being “highly commended”. In February, I presented a poster to the Norwegian Ambassador to the UK, His Excellency Kim Traavik which was focussed on my PhD project. The poster, titled "Ice-Ocean-Climate interactions from offshore the Gulf of Alaska during the last 2.7 Ma", was part of the “Climate change: from pole to pole” event held at Van Mildert College, which preceded the Ambassador’s lecture as part of the VMA’s Global Perspectives Lecture Series. In March, I presented the above posters in the “Hill Colleges East” and “Hill College West” Research Forums at Butler and Trevelyan Colleges. This April, two posters about my current research in Durham will be presented at the European Geoscience Union (EGU) General Assembly 2014 in Vienna, (Austria): one with the title “Climate-ice sheet interactions through the Pliocene-Pleistocene: Preliminary results from
Expedition 341 (Gulf of Alaska)” and another titled “Biomarker based reconstruction of Pleistocene climate and environmental conditions in the Gulf of Alaska: Preliminary results obtained from IODP Expedition 341 sediments” in partnership with Visiting Fellow to Durham’s Geography Department Dr Juliane Müller. Alongside this, I am working with Paul Bachem to develop a collaborative project. In the coming months, I intend to expand my research at University of Otago (New Zealand). My supervisor Dr Erin McClymont and I have been funded by the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) to visit Dr Christopher Moy in the Geology Department. Both Durham and Otago Universities are members of the Matariki Network, a select international group of universities with aims including the sharing of best practice in research and education. At Otago, stable Carbon and Nitrogen isotope ratio analyses will give insights into both nutrient supply and utilisation of the Gulf of Alaska to investigate our understanding of the drivers of and responses to past marine productivity. These analyses will assist me in the interpretation of my own data.
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Alumni
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Joseph Schultz
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This year I have been focusing largely on an in-depth appraisal of the Khachaturian symphonic cycle and the
overarching position it holds in his oeuvre as a whole. This has involved detailed analytical approaches, in order to determine how the three works are constructed musically, along with close reading of source material to understand their contemporary and current reception. In addition, I have also begun teaching and marking in the department. I have been assisting Dr Zuk with the Russian/Soviet music module, taking group seminars and
feedback tutorials, as well as marking formative assignments. I also gave a lecture on the St Petersburg composers in the St Petersburg module of the Russian department. Finally, I have spoken at two conferences, one organised within the Department of Music, and the other in St Petersburg, where I gave a paper on extra-musical interpretations of Khachaturian's Third Symphony.
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Support Van Mildert College Trust
You can support the Trust online at www.dunelm.org.uk/van-mildert-college or email vm.development@durham.ac.uk to request a Giving Form. Post can be sent to:
Van Mildert College Trust | Durham University | Freepost DH157 | PO Box 43 | Durham | DH1 3BR
Clockwise from top-left: SCR Reception before the 48-Hour Musical (Photo: VM Photography); 48-Hour Musical ‘Mary Poppins’ (Photo: VM Photography); Freshers’ Bop (Photo: Andy Below); Freshers’ Formal (Photo: Andy Below); Freshers’ Bop (Photo: Andy Below).
Golden Jubilee 37
Destination 2015 In 2015, Van Mildert College will celebtrate it’s 50th anniversary. Professor Brian Tanner, Chair of College Council and Fellow of Van Mildert College, provides an introduction to some of the events and iniatives that will mark this special occasion.
The 50th anniversary of the foundation of Van Mildert College in 1965 provides unique opportunities for members, past and present, to celebrate the College’s successes, to re lect on its future direction and to commit support for the enhancement of the experience of future members. To meet these objectives, the College Council approved a three dimensional framework of events and actions under the banner of Destination 2015. The irst dimension is celebration. This includes the International Lecture Series, run though the VMA, in which Ambassadors of various countries will deliver papers on key international issues. The irst has already been given by the Norwegian Ambassador. Of great importance are the
micro-reunions of members of individual college teams and societies. These will be organised by current students, under the coordination of the JCR VM50 Events Of icer, Fiona Williams. If you were a member of a sports team or college society, please let Jack Patterson (vm.development@dur.ac.uk) know so that you can be put in touch with our current students and renew your connection with College. Central to the VMA Jubilee Reunion weekend will be Opera by the Lake with the University Chancellor Sir Thomas Allen, the New Tyneside Orchestra and a (non-acting!) chorus including any alumni who wish to join on the day. The day is July 11th 2015. Make a note. The second dimension is development, particularly of the College’s intellectual life. The MCR will hold a one-day conference on February 21st 2015 to showcase the research excellence of Van Mildert College students in a variety of disciplines and spheres of life. We will build on the existing Careers Dialogue in the context of the University-wide Business Angels scheme, making it bigger and even more effective. A conference on Climate Change Impact is planned for the
Epiphany Term 2015, and links to our most ambitious jubilee project. The University’s Climate Impact Research Centre will be based in the new VMC Postgraduate Research Centre through which we aim to increase our number of research postgraduates in all disciplines. This development is entirely in line with the wider strategic objectives of the University. The third dimension is fundraising. To support the Postgraduate Research Centre we need to raise about £10M over a ive year period from, for example, Research Councils, the European Commission, Charities, Educational Foundations, companies and philanthropic donations. It is a signi icant challenge, but one that the University Development Of ice assures us is achievable. We will be appealing to all alumni over the next few years to help us in whatever ways you can, be this in provision of expert advice and skills, development assistance or inancial support for studentships. All such contributions will be of huge value to the future of the College. Professor Brian Tanner, Chair of College Council.
Meet the JCR’s VM50 Of icer
As VM50 Of icer, my role for 2015 is to encourage alumni to return and re-engage with the JCR committees, societies and sports teams of which they were a part during their time in College.
The biggest aspect of my role will be to coordinate the VM50 reunions; these events will be run by sports teams and committees and will give alumni the opportunity to relive their University years alongside current students. There will be a range of activities organised to suit every age so we would love to see graduates from all across the life of College. There will be chances to have another go at the sports you used to play, hear about new developments, and pass on some wisdom to your successors. A full list of the dates for the reunions appears at the back of this section. Like Van Mildert Alumni and the Van Mildert Association on Facebook (www.facebook.com/vanmildert association) to keep up with what’s going on, or send me an email (VM50@mildert.co.uk)
and I’ll make sure that you are sent any relevant event information. Planning is also ongoing for a VM50 weekend during Easter term 2015. This will be an extension of Mildert day, with various activities and sports events taking place over three days. This will be one not to miss, so be sure to keep an eye out for more information. If you have any questions or ideas about my plans, or would like to help, please don’t hesitate to get in touch; I would be happy to discuss any of the above with you. Fiona Williams, JCR VM50 Of icer
Van Mildert Association Global Perspectives In February 2014, the VMA launched its contribution to the 50th anniversary celebrations. Beginning the crescendo to the celebrations of 2015, the ‘Global Perspectives’ lecture series brings speakers of great international standing to the College community. Scheduled to take place throughout the run-up and The irst event saw His Excellency Kim Traavik, the Norwegian Ambassador to the UK, visit Van Mildert College for a fascinating insight into the political and diplomatic situation in the Arctic Circle. His lecture, entitled ‘The Thawing Arctic: Implications in the Region and Beyond,’ was complemented by a music recital of Norwegian and English music organized by Trust Scholar Joe Schultz and a scienti ic poster symposium addressing ‘Climate Science from Pole to Pole’ organized jointly by the MCR and SCR, as well as an opportunity to meet Norwegian staff and students at the University. In discussing the Arctic, Mr Traavik delivered a highly relevant talk in the context of climate change and energy sources—particularly given Norway’s role as a major energy supplier to Britain.
the anniversary, these exciting cultural exchanges add weight to the momentum of the College’s golden jubilee. In February, the Norwegian Ambassador to the UK gave the inaugural lecture of the series. Unfortunately, due to unforseen circumstances out of our control, the
second lecture in the series, provisionally scheduled for June 2014, had to be cancelled. However, we are very hopeful that the busy and sometimes unpredictable world of international relations will not marr what promises to be a prestigious addition to the College’s celebrations.
Opera by the Lake
Sir Thomas Allen
Saturday 11 July 2015 Drawing inspiration from the JCR’s inimitable annual music festival Jam by the Lake, ‘Opera by the Lake’ promises to be one of the highlights of the 50th anniversary celebrations. Accompanied by the New Tyneside Orchestra, Durham University Chancellor and world-renowned opera singer Sir Thomas Allen will entertain Van Mildert College alumni and students in an outdoor spectacle that will be remembered for years to come. More information will be released nearer the time, including details of how to book.
VMA Reunion 2014
Mildert Memories
All our alumni are cordially invited back to College on the weekend of 19th - 21st September 2014 for the VMA’s annual reunion weekend. The annual dinner will take place on Saturday 20th September. To book your visit, including accommodation and menu choices, please visit www.dunelm.org.uk. For more information, please email vm.development@durham.ac.uk.
Maureen McCorry and Ruth Tanner (a member of the SCR since 1973, tutor, Librarian, and for a short while Senior Tutor) of Van Mildert SCR are at present tidying up the College Archives. They have also been asked to work towards producing a 50th Anniversary publication for the celebrations in 2015. We would like to hear from members of College, both former and current students, senior members and staff of Van Mildert with memories and anecdotes from their years in College and would appreciate any photographs, as well as documents (student production programmes/tickets, of icial letters, etc), that you may have.
Con irmed Dates of 2015 Reunions: 24th - 25th January: Cheerleading and Dance Soc. 31st January - 1st February: Women's Football and Welfare 21st - 22nd February: Rowing 28th February - 1st March: Carers Respite Committee and Community Visiting Scheme 7th - 8th March: Exec. For more information about these events, and to ind out when other reunions which at the time of writing have not been con irmed will be, please contact Fiona Williams at VM50@mildert.ac.uk.
Personal Research Journeys Calling all postgraduate alumni! On February 21st 2015, the MCR will hold a one-day poster conference to showcase the research of our postgraduate community. Alumni are invited to come along with a poster of their current work or a poster that describes how their time as a postgraduate has impacted their subsequent career. It should be a great opportunity to meet up with old friends, as well as bearing witness to the impressive output and vibrant community of the MCR.
• • • •
What made Van Mildert special for you? What stands out? How have things changed over the years? Who do you remember- who made it tick?
These are just a few ideas to get you thinking. The inal shape that any publication/exhibition takes will depend upon the contributions we receive. This won’t be a dry-as-dust history. It will be a compilation of your thoughts, your words, your memories. It won’t happen without you! Please pen, or tap, a few lines and send them to: roo.tanner@gmail.com and mccorry.maureen@gmail.com or via The College Secretary, Van Mildert College, Mill Hill Lane, Durham, DH1 3LH.
Van Mildert College Mill Hill Lane Durham DH1 3LH 0191 334 7100
Principal: Professor David A.T. Harper Email: david.harper@durham.ac.uk
Alumni and Development Ofﾏ進ce Martin Brader (2014-15) Email: vm.development@durham.ac.uk 0191 334 7163
Van Mildert College Alumni and Van Mildert Association @VM_Alumni Van Mildert College, subgroup of Durham University Web:
www.durham.ac.uk/van-mildert.college/
Cover Photo: Adam Moss