SCR President’s Report
I hope you all had a great Easter vacation.
Part of the mission of the SCR is to support the academic, cultural and social life of the College. To be frank the SCR is facing a bit of a crisis in trying to deliver this mission. Following discussions at the AGM 2017 and the membership survey, the current executive has provided a full, diverse and often challenging and thought provoking programme of talks and lectures. The traditional offer you may expect from any SCR. Unfortunately, typical attendances at the talk/SCR dinners have been less than 20 often <15; at lectures 30-50. Our best lectures have usually included a significant proportion of graduates and academics from the academic department of the speaker. Attendances at the post-lecture buffets have been mixed. Our SCR lunches are largely sustained by mentor group meetings and a few of the lunches are cancelled each term due to poor uptake.
Yet, our “out of college” social events remain popular. The “Word Sharing Project” has been successful, though not with students, attracting an audience from across the University. Walks and Book Group are still active and popular. The Tuebingen Anniversary, however, has been a dismal failure with multiple cancelled events due to poor uptake. In my discussions with the other SCR President’s from the Hill Colleges and Cuth’s it would appear the problems we are experiencing are not unique and indeed VM-SCR is one of the most active SCRs. We need to address the lack of engagement with our “in College” SCR events.
As part of a wider consultation we would appreciate your help to find out what is going wrong. It may be that in the rapidly changing world of Higher Education with research and teaching excellence as primary career drivers the “traditional offer” made by SCRs is out-dated. Do we need to re-focus our mission to offering more social and “out of College” events? Perhaps there are too many lectures and talks around the University? Do you only attend lectures in your research area? We would appreciate your comments and feedback. All we need is a short email explaining why you think uptake for our “in College” events is poor and what we could do change to encourage you to attend more events ([email protected]).
Being more positive, Richard Hornby is now editing our website; this has now been updated and provides much information. Going forward we will be publishing Executive minutes to keep the membership informed of current work and issues. The website provides further details on the SCR events for the Easter term and sign-up details for formal dinners. Here are a few highlights. On the 16th May, Fiona McDonald, out current COFUND Senior Research Fellow, will be giving a lecture entitled “Ethical considerations of recommending or distributing facemasks for community protection from ambient air pollution event.” Fiona is Co-Director of Australian Centre of Health Law Research and a member of the Faculty of Law, Queensland University of Technology. This event is co-hosted by the SCR and MCR and will be followed by a buffet dinner. The Book Group next meets on the 20th May and Charlotte is working hard on a visit to the Botanical gardens in June. Do not forget “Cake by the Lake.” This is open to all and gives students, in particular, an opportunity to de-stress during their exams. Charlotte will be in touch soon with a request for cakes.
Many of you will be facing a busy and perhaps stressful few weeks and I wish you all the best in your
endeavours. I hope you can find some time out to support the SCR.
Howard Armstrong, SCR President
Principal’s Report
The Easter Term comes in like a lamb and goes out like a lion. I expect this year will be no exception. We have opened more study space than ever before in College exposing the scholarly dimension of our community. But when exams are over on the 7th June, the fun begins with a wide range of events organised by the JCR and MCR, not least the Summer Ball, Jam by the Lake and Mildert Day. The grounds are in great condition, the swan is still with us even if the first cohort of ducklings is not. Moorhen chicks have survived and the trees are in leaf in the anniversary garden.
Epiphany Term, as the name suggests, was a time of great revelations as many of strands of the University’s Strategic Plan were unveiled in detail and the starting pistol fired on its implementation. A new operations’ structure for the maintained colleges, saving costs and introducing some efficiencies, is currently being executed. A new plan for catering, based on healthier menus, is now on the front burner and a review of student development and support will follow.
I returned from a student fieldtrip to southern Spain with 2nd year Earth Science students (see above), to one of the best Sports’ formals I’ve attended as Principal. Behaviour was impeccable and the award winners together with all who have participated in sports this year are to be congratulated. Second place in the Colleges League (behind of course ‘Wood’) is a really fine achievement. Elliot Drewett has performed a magnificent job not only as Sports and Societies Officer but as a great role model for his colleagues in College and indeed across the University. We have the Dinner of Champions (in Mildert for the first time) to look forward to, later in June. During the second week in June, there is the Principal’s Formal, a highlight of the year, when students are recognised for exceptional contributions to the College community in its many strands. In the same week Maureen and I welcome members of College’s clubs, committees and societies to the Principal’s House to thank them, staff and key members of the SCR for their engagement with our great College.
I am looking forward to attending the remaining SCR Lecture of the academic year and can be found most Wednesdays enjoying an SCR Buffet Lunch (I do encourage you to attend). Finally, one event you should not miss is our annual outreach showcase event on Wednesday 19th June, when our students present the wonderful volunteer work our JCR and MCR undertake on six outreach projects, supported by members of the SCR.
Professor David Harper, Principal of Van Mildert College
JCR President’s Report
Easter Term comprises of, as ever, the most dichotomous months of life at Van Mildert, and no doubt across Durham. While the first six weeks are dominated by the much dreaded exams season, what follows is altogether different. Right up until the first week of June there will be hard-working students filling up the Ustinov Room, the Turner Room, the Library, the Kent Room, and even the Ann Dobson, day and night! It is at times like this that you realise just how committed the students are to their studies, and to academic success. In any case, they are certainly earning the cornucopia of celebrations that will soon follow.
Highlights of the post-exam frivolities include our Summer Ball, which for the second year running will be attended by a thousand people, and which will again be the cheapest summer ball in Durham, remaining true to our core values of openness and inclusivity. There is, of course, the annual Mildert Day, along with what we hope to be a reinvigorated Jam by the Lake, which has suffered in recent years due to inclement weather. The 48 Hour Musical, a unique staple of Mildert life, will be taking place again, along with Summer Shakespeare, the Mentors’ Barbeque, and a new fixture in our calendar- the Dinner of Champions. Students, despite the spectre of examinations looming over them, have been working closely with staff to prepare for all these events, and again Mildert has proven itself to be the fulcrum of a diverse, committed, imaginative, and brilliant community.
The most important upcoming change to which I should draw your attention is something which I am sure is already apparent to you: the University’s Ops Review. Without wanting to take up too much of your time, I’d recommend that you read the Palatinate’s coverage of this issue, which does a good job of explaining the potentially damaging consequences of slimming down Ops Teams. Indeed, a recent petition received over 4,000 signatures, urging the University to reconsider their changes.
The students have, I think, shown considerable solidary with the staff, and I would urge all members of the SCR to look into this review and the proposed changes, and should they feel strongly enough on the matter, to make their feelings known to the University.
Sheehan Quirke, JCR President
MCR President’s Report
Welcome back to another term at Van Mildert!
The MCR enjoyed a successful Epiphany term with a variety of events and talks held throughout. In February and March, we hosted two research seminars that included fascinating talks from the College’s undergraduate and postgraduate community. The talks covered a range of topics from the ‘Geographies of Concussion’ to a discussion of ethics during fieldwork in Nepal, and it was great to see many SCR members attend! In addition, the MCR committee also hosted a Chinese New Year celebration evening, and a MCR social dinner in Durham City Centre for postgraduate students living out of College. We ended the term with an inter-MCR charity fundraiser in the Lakeside Room and a fantastic trip to Inflataspace’, a local indoor trampoline park!
This term we are looking forward to organising more events for our common room, with a hiking day and another dinner in the City Centre planned. In June, we are also looking forward to another of our postgraduate research seminars and our MCR awards evening where we will celebrate the achievements of MCR members over the past year, a great way to end the term! Please feel free to contact us via Facebook, Twitter or by emailing [email protected]
Seamus Matlack, MCR President
Development Officer
I hope you all had a wonderful Easter!
Epiphany term saw the continuation of an exciting programme of events, including an explosive Guest Night celebration evening, thank you to all who attended! We also heard from many engaging speakers, from the Dean of Durham, The Very Reverend Andrew Tremlettwho gave an interesting talk as part of the Van Mildert College Trust annual lectures, to local MP Maura McKeon’s discussion of women in politics as part of the College’s International
Women’s Day celebrations. This term, there is a lot to look forward to with the Principal’s Formal, End of Year BBQ and Summer Shakespeare to name just a few, I hope to see many of you at these events!
In addition, I am excited to be involved with the College’s first Art Competition! Open to all members of the College community, the theme of the art competition is ‘Climate Change and the Environment’ and we welcome applications from those who wish to deploy their creativity to motivate change and inspire meaningful conversations about tackling climate change. More details, including terms and conditions, can be found on the College‘s what’s on webpage or by emailing [email protected].
Easter term also means the end of the academic year is nearly upon us and a new group of graduating Mildertians will soon join the College’s thriving alumni community! The annual VMA Reunion Alumni Weekend will take place this year from 12 – 14 July. This weekend is a fantastic opportunity to reconnect with fellow Mildertians and celebrate the achievements of both current students and alumni! We have an exciting weekend of events and activities planned, join us for the whole weekend or just come along for the Reunion Dinner! To sign up, please visit
www.dunelm.org.uk/Van-Mildert-College If you have any queries about any of the events mentioned above, or could like to contribute to the next Bulletin, please contact me at [email protected]
Liz Ryder, Development Officer