Somerville College Report 09|10 - University of Oxford

12 | Principal’s Report
to the individual, and they certainly contribute in a lively and stimulating way to the
Senior Common Room. Many progress to academic appointments. Destinations this
year include Cambridge (Mediaeval Spanish), King’s College, London (Psychology)
and Wellesley College in the US (Italian). There will be twenty Junior Research
Fellows at Somerville next year.
The number of women and men studying at Somerville, totalling almost 500,
continues to be balanced in both Common Rooms, which I think contributes
to the warm and friendly atmosphere that they generate. As the reports from
the Presidents of the MCR and the JCR show, junior members have also engaged in
many activities in the last year, and they organised a very successful May Ball with
Jesus College at Somerville (with much assistance from the Domestic Bursar).
The work on our new student buildings on the former Radcliffe Infirmary site
has proceeded steadily since I last wrote. Progress is described on the college’s
website and we look forward to the buildings appearing above ground level
when the infrastructure, going in as I write, is completed. The purpose of the new
accommodation is to provide our students with the opportunity to live in college
throughout their course. This is much cheaper than living in rented accommodation
in the city, and avoids the not infrequent hazard of irresponsible landlords. (One
rented house this year has been infested with rats throughout.) We do not plan to
increase the number of undergraduates at Somerville (usually around 390), but are
thinking about a small increase in the graduate numbers, as we have fewer than most
colleges, and that is where the university would like to see a small expansion.
Thanks to the generosity of more than 700 alumni and friends of the college,
fundraising for the new buildings is going well, and £1.1 million towards our target
of £2m has been contributed since we set that target last year. The project has clearly
captured the imagination of many of you, not least with the recent Make Your Mark
appeal, and there is much interest in helping the current generation of students to live
as economically as possible, in college, while they study for their degree here.
The telethon conducted in September raised £127,000, exceeding the target of
£114,000, and the college’s Campaign to raise £25 million has passed its half-way
mark. Members of the Development Board have made a huge contribution to this