Master's Report

 The Old Court Campaign has been widened to all alumni and is now just £3m from target. We were delighted that our student-operated telephone campaign raised £278,000 for Old Court, alongside other significant donations.  Huge thanks go to everyone who has given what they can, whether that’s £100 or £1m. Every gift is hugely appreciated and it’s not too late to count yourself in to this crucial project.

 This year, we have marked the 50^th anniversary of co-education at Clare.  We have enjoyed stimulating lectures from distinguished alumnae, who along the way remembered their experience of being among the first female cohorts: the provision of sewing rooms for new female undergraduates was apparently deemed important in 1972!  The College has published online fascinating stories of women who have graduated from Clare over the past 50 years, while in Lent term the Chapel saw a rich array of music and sermons written and delivered by women.  The contributions of women Fellows have been highlighted through photos in the Forbes Mellon Library, and Hommage, a wonderful sculpture by Helaine Blumenfeld, has provoked admiration and discussion in Ashby Court.  Particularly memorable was the sight and sound of some 120 Clare singers and musicians performing works from Thomas Tallis to John Rutter in the West Road concert hall to mark 50 years of co-educational music-making at Clare. 

 Although COVID has receded, its long term effects continue, and supporting students to manage their own mental health remains a high priority. We are particularly thankful to our Senior Tutor, Jackie Tasioulas, and the whole tutorial team, to our nurses, to the Dean and indeed to the porters for their watchful attention to the wellbeing of our students.  

 There have been other challenges, too. Employment disputes affecting the whole university have caused anxiety among our community, not least for students. The Colleges and University are having to address new tools for research and information gathering, in the form of newly available apps, such as ChatGPT, harnessing AI to synthesise resources and even to write essays.  As the Bursar will report, conferencing has made a welcome return, but inflation has soared, for us as for others: our energy costs, for example, have risen hugely in the past year.  We are pleased to have Lizzy Conder on board as Bursar and to support her determination to steer and manage our finances successfully.  Some tough decisions will need to be faced in the coming years, especially as we consider how to make meaningful progress towards Net Zero carbon emissions.

 Fortunately, despite all these headwinds, much progress has been made and we continue to look forward. What kind of institution do we want to be in our eighth century? We have harnessed the views of all stakeholders within the College, and the engagement with this process has been heartening: over 2000 of our 8000+ alumni responded to our questionnaire.  We will draw the strands together to present a draft strategic plan to the College community in the autumn of 2023.

 On a personal note, Christopher and I are so pleased now to be resident in the Master’s Lodge.  It has allowed us to draw more people together as we re-establish a sense of community and fellowship after the enforced distances created by Covid.  We have been delighted to welcome large numbers of Fellows, students, staff and alumni to the Master’s Lodge since we moved in at Christmas, for receptions, talks and wonderful student music recitals as well as meetings.  The lights are back on in the Lodge. Contacts are being revived and nurtured with alumni overseas, too, after Toby Wilkinson, Christopher and I visited the USA in May and were warmly received. This was the first of many such visits, we hope, as we get to know more of the wider Clare family.

 I should note, too, the personal sadness in seeing the passing of people who have contributed much to the life of our College: Anne Brewin, much loved Vice President of the Boat Club and alumnus Chris Cooper who was a stalwart member of the board of the Nicholas Hammond Foundation. Others are thankfully very much alive but have left us for pastures new: we wish all of them well and thank them for their service to the College. On a happier note, we have been pleased to welcome to the Fellowship several new Fellows during the past year, colleagues who are already making a contribution to our collegiate life. We have also taken great pride in the achievements of our longstanding Fellows, many of whom gained awards and academic promotion this year.

 Lady Clare articulated a vision in her statutes of a Master, Fellows and Scholars all living and learning and working together in a College community.  As we anticipate and work actively towards celebrating our 700^th anniversary in 2026, that vision retains power and authenticity to help guide us through the challenges of 2023 and beyond.  I am enormously grateful to those who contribute so much to make our collegiate life productive, stimulating and convivial. Special thanks go to President of the Fellowship, Simon Franklin, whose wise counsel has been invaluable throughout.  I look forward both with confidence and with realism to the pleasures and challenges of 2023-24.