St John's College Alumni eNewsletter - November 2025
College News
Celebrating Excellence in Teaching
The College is proud to celebrate two St John’s Fellows, Professor Kate Nation and Professor Laurence Hunt (both Department of Psychology), who have recently been recognised by the University with Excellent Teacher Awards. Professor Kate Nation was chosen for her exceptional teaching across undergraduate and postgraduate levels, and Professor Laurence Hunt has been recognised with the Early Career Excellent Teacher Award. These achievements highlight the extraordinary quality of teaching and mentorship that defines life at St John’s.
St John's College Tie Featured on Australian TV Series The Twelve
Earlier this month, the President encountered one of the most unusual questions of her tenure: why is a fictional barrister on Australian television wearing a St John’s College tie? After weeks of investigation, the Head of Production for The Twelve has informed us that the accessory was a deliberate costuming choice and an important part of Brett Colby SC’s (played by Sam Neill) characterisation. Having decided that Brett was an Oxford alumnus, the production team apparently left it to Sam Neill and his team to select a college. Happily for us, he selected St John’s! Brett Colby now joins Inspector Morse on our list of fictional alumni.
The Austens at Oxford
Join us at St John's in December for a special exhibition celebrating the 250th anniversary of Jane Austen's birth, together with a screening of Lady Susan. This exhibition of eighteenth-century archival materials reveals how the city and University helped shape one of Britain’s most beloved writers, curated by Dr Timothy Manningmore, lecturer in eighteenth and nineteenth-century literature and culture at Regent's Park, Oxford, and Michael Riordan, Archivist at St John's. The exhibition is free and open to the public between 3-8 December, but advance registration is essential for the guided tours and screening. Find out more about the exhibition here.
Save the Date: St John’s is Coming to North America!
We’re delighted to announce the President, Professor Lady Sue Black, Baroness Black of Strome, will be visiting North America in Spring 2026. Sue would like to meet up with as many alumni as possible while she’s there – whether you’re from the area or not!
San Francisco
Sunday 22 March to Tuesday 24 March 2026
Palo Alto
Wednesday 25 March 2026
Los Angeles
Thursday 26 March to Friday 27 March 2026
The Interim Director of Development, Kristina McClendon, will be visiting:
New York City
Wednesday 8 April to Friday 10 April 2026
There will be events and meetings held in each location – details to follow shortly. In the meantime, please email alumni@sjc.ox.ac.uk if you would like to meet with Sue and/or Kristina or have any questions about the visit.
Alumni News and Publications
Theatres of Time: Glory, Decay, and Imagination in Piranesi's Rome
From the collection of Robert Wilson (1962, English Language & Literature), this exhibition held in the Kendrew Barn Gallery considers Giovanni Battista Piranesi’s fantastical etchings of the Eternal City through the lens of his Venetian heritage. A prolific printmaker, architect, designer, proto-archaeologist, and polemicist, Piranesi created over a thousand etchings of Rome and its monuments, transforming the Eternal City into a vast theatre of imagination. On display until 29 November, the exhibition will be open daily from 12-6pm. All are welcome to explore the works during these opening hours.
Honorary Fellow announced as new Chair of Creative UK
St John's Honorary Fellow Catherine Mallyon CBE (1981, History) has been announced as incoming Chair of Creative UK: the national membership body for the Cultural and Creative Industries. The body exists to champion creativity in its widest form. Catherine also holds an Honorary Doctor of Letters from the University of Warwick and was awarded a CBE in the Queens Platinum Jubilee Birthday Honours list (2022), for services to theatre and the arts. She gave the St John's College Founder's Lecture in 2024, reflecting on executive leadership within the creative arts. Watch that lecture here.
Remembering Tony Billington
It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of alumnus Tony Billington (1964, Agriculture), who died in his beloved garden in September. Tony was Chairman and then Senior President of the Oxford University Lawn Tennis Club (OULTC). During his time at St John's, Tony captained Oxford in 1968 and was a member of the victorious Oxford/Cambridge Prentice Cup teams in 1966 and 1968. Tony supported sports dinners at St John’s for many years and continued to emphasize the beneficial effects of sport on mental health amongst students and Fellows. Jeff Hunter, Chair of the OULTC, has written a tribute to Tony, which can be read here.
The Conscience of Care: Navigating Health in the Culture Wars
Dr Dov Fox (2004, Politics) is the author of a new book which uncovers the lopsided law of medical conscience. In the book, Fox argues that ceding the moral vocabulary of conscience to refusers alone drives vulnerable patients underground, selectively burdens providers, and impoverishes the dynamic pluralism of medicine. He develops novel, principled workarounds for healthcare institutions to make space for employees to exercise conscience while distancing themselves from practices they oppose. The Conscience of Care (Harvard University Press, 2025) will be released on 2 December.
Autocrats vs. Democrats: China, Russia, America and the New Global Disorder
Written by Professor Michael McFaul (1986, Politics and International Relations), Autocrats vs. Democrats (Harper Collins, 2025) traces how shifts in power have shaped U.S. relations with Russia and China, and explains the ideological contest defining global politics today. The book offers a strategy for how the U.S. and other democracies can prevail in a new era of great-power competition.
Licensed Detection Agents: The Case for Financial Crime Bounty Hunters
Miles Kellerman (2013, International Relations) has recently had a paper accepted by Berkeley Business Law Journal, which puts forward a novel policy proposal for detecting financial crime. The paper advocates for a new program in which Licensed Detection Agents (LDAs) are rewarded for reporting suspicious activity to regulators.
A Welcome to Our New Alumni
We warmly welcome our recent graduates to the alumni community!
As part of the St John’s family, alumni have access to a number of benefits and services provided by the College, including dining in Hall and accommodation, which can be viewed here. We recommend that you keep your details up-to-date to be informed about the latest news and events, and join our LinkedIn group to keep in touch with other SJC alumni.
If you have any questions, please get in touch. We wish you all the best for this new chapter of life after St John's!
Click here for questions regarding academic transcripts and degrees.
Friends of the Fifties Lunch
For more than two decades a group of alumni who matriculated in the 1950s have met each year for a lunch in London.
This year, on 19 November, a cold winter’s day, fourteen such alumni were joined by a former President of St John’s, Sir Michael Scholar, for lunch at the Savile Club in Brook Street.
This convivial occasion enables alumni to continue friendships from their College days, and it is hoped the event will continue into the future.
Those attending this year were: Sir Michael Scholar (President, 2001-2012), Colin Bagnall (1957, English Language and Literature), Graham Laurie (1958, English Language and Literature), Stephen Orr (1958, PPE), Sir Michael Partridge (1956, Literae Humaniores), Denis Finning (1958, Modern Languages), David Mortimer (1957, Modern History), Eric Coates (1957, Literae Humaniores), His Honour Robert Taylor (1957, Jurisprudence), Judge Crawford Lindsay KC (1957, Jurisprudence), John Spurling (1957, Jurisprudence), Dr Keith Corless (1956, Mathematics), Colin Paskins (1958, Chemistry), Sandy Leckie (1957, Modern Languages) and organiser Henry Amar (1957, PPE).
Alumni Survey - Share your thoughts!
We are delighted to report back that 1,200 of you completed our alumni survey. Thank you to each and every one of you for this valuable contribution to our strategic thinking. We are now analysing the results and will report back in detail in the New Year.
If you have any questions in the meantime, please email Tom Childs, Associate Development Director: tom.childs@sjc.ox.ac.uk.
Alumni Events
Saturday 13 December 2025
Friday 13 March 2026
Triennial Russell Society Dinner
Saturday 14 March 2026
Friday 20 March 2026
Friday 27 March 2026
Tuesday 14 April 2026
Friday 17 April 2026
Founder's Lecture
Thursday 14 May 2026 - Save the Date!
President's Lunch
Tuesday 16 June 2026 - Save the Date!
Gaudy for the Years 1978-1980
Friday 3 July 2026 - Save the Date!
Gaudy for the Years 2018-2019
Friday 10 July 2026 - Save the Date!
College Events
Theatres of Time: Glory, Decay, and Imagination in Piranesi's Rome
19 November - 29 November 2025
Exhibition: the Austens in Oxford
3 December - 8 December 2025
Screening: Jane Austen's Lady Susan
Friday 5 December 2025
International Piano Series: Vadym Kholodenko
Sunday 7 December 2025
International Piano Series: Angela Hewitt
Sunday 25 January 2026
International Piano Series: Junyan Chen
Friday 27 February 2026
International Piano Series: Mishka Rushdie Momen
Thursday 7 May 2026
The World's Music at Oxford: She'koyokh
Sunday 10 May 2026
St John's College Commemoration Ball 2026: 'Wish You Were Here’
Saturday 27 June 2026
Alumni Guest Room Bookings
Alumni are welcome to book Alumni House rooms online. The booking system can be found on the Alumni Benefits page of our website where you can check availability and pay.
To make a booking, you will need to enter a promotional code to identify yourself as an alumnus/a and this can be found below:
Promotional Code for 2025: 1555SJC
Promotional Code for 2026: sjc15552026
FAQ’s
Please click here to find answers to frequently asked questions, along with further details about the Alumni Guest Rooms. Any further questions please email us and include the date of booking in the subject.
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