Somerville College Ë Report for Donors

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Investing in Academic Excellence: Endowing Fellowships Somerville believes in the power of education to transform lives, through the education we provide and the impact our students then make in the world. The tutorial system is at the heart of everything we do, enabling students to reach their highest potential. Lesley Brown (right) at her celebration lunch, with Susan Scholefield (1973). Lesley retired in September 2011 after 42 years of teaching Philosophy at Somerville. 10
Fundraising target £8M The international distinction of our academic fellowship not only helps students to question and to seek answers for themselves during their tutorials, but engages them directly in world-class research. At present, we are only able meet the annual cost of 60% of our teaching posts. The Campaign aims to raise £8 million for fellowships as a first important step towards creating a secure future for our academic posts. Our long term goal is to endow all our fellowships in perpetuity, and thereby free up resources to support the future development of the College. How your gifts have helped secure the tutorial system Just over half of our £8 million target has been raised to date, a total of £4.7 million. This includes Daphne Osborne’s unprecedented £4.5 million legacy, and additional donations have provided funding for teaching costs in other subject areas, such as our Italian and Classics Fellowships. Daphne Osborne Fellowship Professor Daphne Osborne was a distinguished plant scientist and Senior Research Fellow of Somerville College. Professor Osborne died in 2006 at the age of 81, leaving a legacy to Somerville for the endowment of fellowships in the physical and biological sciences. Professor Sarah Gurr is the first Daphne Osborne Tutorial Fellow at Somerville College. A world leading plant biologist, she specialises in the design of novel disease resistance strategies in crops and is the first woman President of the British Society for Plant Pathology. “Daphne Osborne was an eminent plant physiologist. Indeed, her obituary records her scientific achievements as being "legendary" (The Times, July 2006). Her most notable contribution was to describe the role of the plant hormone ethylene in the regulation of aging and abscission (shedding of fruit and leaves). Daphne was always interested in our endeavours and on the impact of plant disease on our major crops - we shared a passion for plants and for intellectual ‘style’, and it is an honour to tutor in her name the scientists of the future.” “As a Chemistry graduate, I might not be a typical donor to the Philosophy Fellowship appeal. But it struck a chord with me – my best friend read philosophy at university. On top of that, I myself have been reading more and more books on philosophy in recent years, and realised how important and relevant it is to today’s society. I wanted to ensure that Somerville remained a centre for scholarship in philosophy that future generations could benefit from.” Paddy Crossley (Earnshaw, 1956) Il Circolo As part of its objective to promote Italian culture in this UK, the Il Circolo Italian Cultural Association has supported the teaching of Italian at Somerville by helping to fund Dr Manuele Gragnolati’s post for the last eight years. We are extremely grateful for this continued support as we face one of the most challenging financial situations for the study of modern languages. For more information about Il Circolo, please visit: www.ilcircolo.org.uk Looking to the future: investing in academic excellence • Endowing French and Philosophy Fellowships: We are increasing our efforts to attract funding for fellowships which are at risk. Working with the University of Oxford Teaching Fund, we aim to secure two humanities fellowships for the College, in Philosophy and French. As soon as we raise £1.2 million, the University will ‘top up’ the endowment to the £2 million needed to endow each fellowship permanently. We have therefore set an ambitious target to raise £2.4 million by 2013 and unlock this unique opportunity. Since the end of the 2010-11 financial year, generous alumni have pledged £500,000 toward the Philosophy fellowship, and a number of significant legacy pledges have been earmarked for the French fellowship. The challenge of completing the appeals remains significant and we will reach out to our alumni and friends in the coming months and years to build a secure future for tutorial teaching at Somerville. • Advancing global research: From the urgent problems of the declining ocean environment to questions of re-imagined democracy, our scholars are leaders in their fields. Tackling challenges of international importance, the work carried out by Somerville scholars is extraordinary. We seek to partner with alumni and international philanthropic organisations to secure the advancement of this pioneering research base. Find out more: www.some.ox.ac.uk/fellowships 11
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Page 3 and 4: From the Principal This was a very
Page 5 and 6: The Somerville College Development
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Page 13 and 14: Fundraising target £13M Dr Trudy W
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Page 17 and 18: Legacies Legacies are the most impo
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Page 21 and 22: Ms Katy Smawfield (Pittman) 1995 Dr
Page 23 and 24: Funding sources in 2010-11 Expendit

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