St John's College Alumni eNewsletter - October 2022
October 2022
Professor Ketan Patel, Supernumerary Fellow of St John's and Fellow for Ethnic Minorities, has been appointed Chief Scientist at Cancer Research UK.
Professor Patel (KJ) will provide scientific leadership for the charity’s activities and ambitions, and he joins at an important time following the launch of the organisation’s new long-term strategy earlier this year that puts discovery science at the heart of its work. This includes a key focus on making discoveries that unlock new and better ways to beat cancer and translating scientific discoveries into interventions that benefit everyone.
Professor Patel commented:
'I’m proud to be joining an organisation that is so close to my heart and can’t wait to get started. Cancer Research UK has supported research that I’ve done throughout my career, as well as some of the scientific breakthroughs that I’ve made in my lab, and I’ve always been impressed by the incredibly talented people that work at the organisation.
Cancer Research UK has been at the forefront of key discoveries that have saved lives over the past 120 years and our industry’s understanding of cancer has improved greatly over the past decade alone. Cancer remains one of the world’s greatest health challenges, but with new technologies, global networks, and new ways of thinking about cancer, I’m optimistic about what we can achieve in the future.'
College News
President to deliver Royal Institution's 2022 Christmas Lectures
Professor Dame Sue Black will reveal the secrets of forensic science in this year's Christmas Lectures from the Royal Institution.
Access and Outreach: First Inspire 13 twilight session to launch in October
October will see the launch of the first Inspire Year 13 twilight sessions for the academic year 2023/23, and this first session will focus on interviews.
https://www.sjc.ox.ac.uk/discover/news/first-inspire-13-twilight-session-to-launch-in-october/
Alumni News
Quilla Constance features in video on Richmond Barthe
Quilla Constance, also known as Jennifer Allen (1998, Fine Art), reflects on the Barthé’s influence on her work.
https://www.sjc.ox.ac.uk/discover/news/quilla-constance-features-in-video-on-richmond-barth%C3%A9/
Alice Watson launched podcast with the BBC
Dr Alice Watson (2022, Geography) has launched a new BBC podcast called 'Tales from Call the Midwife'.
College Ball
Current St John's students are pleased to present you all with the opportunity to attend St John's College Commemoration Ball - the first in six years!
On 24 June 2023, you will be welcomed once again into the glorious gardens of College for an unmissable night.
Alumni tickets will be released a little earlier than general release, so make sure to reserve your space quickly!
Save the Date
Alumni Carol Service
Saturday 10 December 2022
Gaudy for the years 1966-1970
Friday 17 March 2023
Gaudy for the years 1992-1993
Saturday 18 March 2023
Gaudy for the years 2000-2001
Friday 24 March 2023
Gaudy for the years 1986-1987
Friday 30 June 2023
Gaudy for the years 1990-1991
Friday 7 July 2023
Gaudy for the years 2004-2005
Friday 14 July 2023
The World's Music at Oxford - Dvi Doli
The World’s Music at Oxford is delighted to let you know about their first concert of the 2022-2023 season with Ukrainian bandura duo, Dvi Doli. Dvi Doli is made up of classically trained professional musicians Julia Kogut-Kalynyuk and Kateryna Trachuk from Lviv, Ukraine. The duo specialises in traditional Ukrainian folk music. They arrived in Oxford in May 2022, after fleeing Russia’s war in Ukraine.
This concert is really exciting not only because it’s the first of this year’s series, but also because it marks their return to in-person events following the COVID-19 pandemic. The event will take place in The Barn on 24th November at 7pm. They will also be streaming the event online.
Find out more information about the event here https://fb.me/e/271lvOX4j or on their website https://theworldsmusicatoxford.com/
Closure of the Online Community
The College has been aware for some time that activity on the online platform has been falling, even during the pandemic when many of us were compelled to replace in-person relationships with virtual ones. This, in turn, has encouraged the College to review carefully what it offers to our alumni in terms of events, whether in-person or virtual, its online presence and also networking opportunities. St John's is not alone in Oxford in reaching the conclusion that we can do more and better by focusing our time and resources differently.
As the College's contract with the Online Community service provider will soon be coming to an end, this seems the right time to close the platform and move towards different methods to build connections between the College and its alumni and, also, facilitate connections between alumni. The platform will therefore be closing at the end of November this year.
Alumni Guest Room Bookings
We have recently changed the way in which alumni can check availability, book and pay for rooms within Alumni House. You can now do this all online, with rooms being confirmed immediately. The new automated system is far more user-friendly and can be found on the Alumni Benefits page of our website.
To make a booking, you will need to enter a promotional code to identify yourself as an alumnus/a and this can be found in the monthly e-newsletter.