The College flag flies at half-mast today in honour of Francis Lamport, who died peacefully on Tuesday. Emeritus Fellow of the College, Francis was Fellow and Tutor in German from 1966 to 2001. When we are able, we will hold an event in memory of a wonderful colleague, brilliant linguist, much-loved teacher, and dear friend.
Professor Kate Tunstall
Interim Provost
Many members of our college community and beyond have expressed their concern for the potential impact of yesterday’s A Level results on this year’s incoming students. At Worcester we made offers in 2020 to our most diverse cohort ever, and in response to the uncertainties surrounding this year’s assessment, we have confirmed the places of all our UK offer-holders, irrespective of their A-level results.
The Governing Body of Worcester College is delighted to announce that it has elected a new Provost. David Isaac will take up the post on 1st July 2021.
David is currently Chair of the Equality and Human Rights Commission, a senior partner at the law firm, Pinsent Masons, and Chair of Governors at the University of the Arts London.
This morning, the University of Oxford released their Annual Admissions Statistical Report. The report in full can be found here. The below is a response to this report from the College's Tutor for Admissions and Tinsley Outreach Fellow.
The College Flag flies at half-mast today in honour of Rob Dennis, Head Chef 1995-2019, who died at home on the weekend, surrounded by his family. Our thoughts are with them.
Rob joined Worcester as Sous-Chef in 1993 and was promoted to Head Chef in 1995. He played a major role in the refurbishment of the College kitchen, his pride and joy. He retired on grounds of ill health early last year.
Professor Heather Viles has been awarded the Royal Geographical Society's prestigious Founder's Medal for her excellence in establishing the field of biogeomorphology.
Message from the Interim Provost
I write now with two pieces of news that are wholly unrelated to the virus.
The first is that, after 26 years, Coleen Day will be retiring at the end of September. You all know far better than I do what an absolutely extraordinary job she has done in that time, and I am delighted to say that she will remain a member of College: Governing Body has elected her to an Emeritus Fellowship. I look forward to a moment when we can thank her and celebrate her fabulous achievements in the style they deserve.
On behalf of College and the Governing Body in these times of distress and worry, I send my very warmest wishes to the Worcester community – to our students, staff, Fellows, alumni and donors; to the school and sixth-form students involved in our outreach activities, and to our offer-holders for next academic year; to our local neighbours, and to our friends, near and far. I hope that you and your loved ones are well, and that if any of you are ill, you make a full and swift recovery.
Researchers from the University of Oxford have received a generous philanthropic gift from Honorary Fellow and Old Member Ben Delo (2002) to conduct a UK cross-sectional survey study to determine the level of community-based infection of COVID-19.
The current global COVID-19 pandemic is rapidly increasing in scale and there is an urgent need to determine the background rate of infection in the UK to inform the public health response.
Current student, and former RAF helicopter and weapons engineer, Chantal Edwardes (2019, Graduate Entry Medicine) is the Project Manager at OxVent, a multidisciplinary team of engineers and medics at the University of Oxford and King’s College London, working to develop a rapidly deployable ventilator for COVID-19 patients.
OxVent is working in an open-source environment from pre-existing technology. This approach facilitates a model that integrates into our current NHS systems and components as efficiently as possible so that more patients can be treated faster.