St John's College Alumni eNewsletter - March 2025

College and Alumni News for March 2025

The College is very sad to announce the death of Dr William Hayes, Honorary Fellow and former President, on 16 March 2025. He arrived at St John's in 1955 to read for a DPhil in Physics with Brebis Bleaney and continued as Official Fellow and Tutor in Physics (1960–87), Principal Bursar (1977–87) and finally as President (1987–2001). St John's flourished under Bill's bursarship and presidency with new buildings (the Garden Quadrangle, Middle Common Room and development of 14 and 15 St Giles) and arrangements for research fellowships of many kinds, including the launch of the St John's Research Centre. Further details of Dr Hayes' memorial will be confirmed in due course. Alumni are invited to leave their condolences for Bill Hayes here.

Professor Ioan James FRS

The College is sad to announce the death of Professor Ioan James FRS, Honorary Fellow, on 21 February 2025. Ioan James was a Senior Research Fellow, Tutor and Lecturer in Pure Mathematics at St John’s (1959–69) and the Savilian Professor of Geometry at Oxford (1970–95). He was an Honorary Fellow both of St John’s and of New College. Professor James was a generous benefactor of the College, funding the Ioan & Rosemary James Scholarships in memory of his late wife.

Shurui Miao wins ISIS Springboard Award

We congratulate Dr Shurui Miao, a St John's College Career Development Research Fellow, on winning a prestigious three-year Springboard Award from the ISIS Neutron and Muon Source. This is a world-leading centre for research at the STFC Rutherford Appleton Laboratory in Harwell, Oxfordshire.

St John's College Library Presents its Inaugural Guest Exhibition

'Ink and Illumination: Colour in Medieval Manuscripts and Beyond' is the Library's first guest exhibition. It was curated by Victoria Kinne, a third-year History of Art undergraduate at St Catherine's College, during a Michaelmas 2023 student placement at St John's. The exhibition brochure can be found here.

St John’s Elects Eight New Career Development Research Fellows

In 2024, St John’s established a Career Development Research Fellowship (CDRF) programme, offering early-career academics an outstanding opportunity to build a research profile within a collegiate community. In February, St John's Governing Body elected eight new CDRFs for the 2025/26 academic year, the names of which can be found here.

Daria Martin at the Tate Modern

In the Palace (2000) is a 16 mm film shot by Professor Daria Martin for her MFA thesis at the University of California, Los Angeles. It is on display in 'The Tanks' at the Tate Modern, London, until 30 November 2025. The film shows four performers holding poses within a cage-like structure and the set is a large-scale reproduction of artist Alberto Giacometti’s sculpture The Palace at 4 a.m. from 1932.

St John's Hosts International Piano Series

The prestigious SJE Arts International Piano Series will find a new home at St John’s College, Oxford from Autumn 2025 as the St John’s International Piano Series. This marks an exciting new chapter for classical music in the city and aligns with St John’s College’s growing reputation as a dynamic hub for the arts, reinforcing its commitment to world-class musical performances alongside its established The World’s Music at Oxford series.

Alumni News and Publications

St John's alumnus joins Channel 4's Countdown team

Congratulations to alumnus Dr Tom Crawford (Mathematics, 2008) who covers for Rachael Riley MBE on the game show Countdown. Dr Tom Crawford is a Fellow by Special Election at St Edmund Hall, Oxford, and a Lecturer in Applied Mathematics at Robinson College, Cambridge. Tom is also the Public Engagement Lead at the University of Oxford's Department for Continuing Education.

Alumna hosts first solo exhibition at the Pembroke Art Gallery

Susan Kellaway's (Fine Art, 2021) exhibition 'They Meet Between Me' showcased 'wobbly bodies, amalgamations of plump, jelly-like forms which are set against cinematic backdrops'. During her time at St John's, Susan recieved the Mapleton-Bree Prize, which is awarded annually for a piece of creative work by any Junior Member of St John's. You can view Susan's portfolio here.

Meet the Team: Tom Childs

Associate Development Director

I’m delighted to be joining the Development and Alumni Relations team at St John's College after ten years at Saïd Business School, Oxford.

I grew up in Dorset and studied for my bachelors’ in Communication at Bournemouth University in the 1990s. After moving to Norwich to study for a masters’ degrees in Modern Literature at the University of East Anglia, I lived briefly in London before coming to Oxford to take up a position at Blackwell’s. I switched to the charity sector in 2000, fundraising for 14 years at Oxfam, before moving into higher education in 2014.

I continue to be actively involved in several charities: I’m a trustee of two Oxfordshire-based charities – Age UK Oxfordshire and Cecily’s Fund. Outside of work, I’m married with three children, and have run a book group in Oxford since 1999.

Please do get in touch via email at tom.childs@sjc.ox.ac.uk to introduce yourself. I look forward to meeting many of you in due course.