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Greetings from my living room:
A message from Professor Jane Clarke
Ring True is hitting your virtual doormat at a challenging time. I send my best wishes to you all and thank you for the continuing flow of thoughtful messages that are coming our way.
But being confined doesn’t mean that life at Wolfson, and for the worldwide members of Wolfson, is not busy. We still have over 100 residents on site and are maintaining a skeleton staff to ensure their well-being. Life for our staff is not 'normal'. Spare a thought for our new Domestic Bursar, Darren Smith; we keep reassuring him that life is not always like this! Of course our Porters are always on duty – even when they have only ducks for company. Meanwhile our students and Fellows are continuing to learn and to do research remotely.
The library, Directors of Studies, Supervisors and Tutors are all on hand for support for learning and research from a distance. We even carried out interviews for admissions to our undergraduate students virtually. We hope that when they arrive they will find themselves in a College that is humming and vibrant once again.
I would like to remind you of our Mission: Wolfson College will offer every member of its international community of scholars the opportunity to fulfil their potential and transform society for the good of all.
Many of our community are using their skills to benefit society now and are involved in battling the coronavirus first hand. I especially want to thank them. I salute our alumni who are health care workers, in particular our newly qualified doctors whom we congratulate as they head to their new responsibilities.
We also have Wolfson researchers using their skills in virology, genetics or epidemiology for research and to advise the health service and government. Wolfson members of the engineering department are involved in projects helping Addenbrooke's Hospital with the logistics of managing services.
They say that every cloud has a silver lining. I hope that when this crisis is over we will no longer hear members of the Government disparaging 'experts', and perhaps both education and research will be better valued. I know that we will be able to call on our donors and supporters to help us through.
I wish you good health, and promise that here at Wolfson we will continue to Ring True.
PLEASE DONATE TODAY
Our financial resources will be severely strained by this crisis. Your donation will help Wolfson respond. A gift of any size will help the College to continue to provide the best possible support for our students and research community in these unprecedented times.
WOLFSON GOES ONLINE
Tutor Dr Ana Toribio, Admissions Tutor Dr Lesley MacVinish, and Director of Studies Dr Andrea Greve at last summer's Graduation.
The virtual Tutorial Office
Spring has come to Cambridge, but most students—following the announcement of the University's closure on 18 March—have left Cambridge. Most staff are working from home and many are furloughed. Whilst offices are dark and all social spaces are closed, the College is coming up with creative ways to reach prospective and current students.
P'Lodge life: a post-COVID-19 nightshift
Louise Wilson, alumna and Porter at Wolfson College, describes how her work days (and nights) have changed since the onset of the COVID-19 outbreak.
Self-isolation in X Block
Once the rules for houseold isolation came into effect, Jonas Wilcks (BA, HSPS) and his entire staircase had to enter in precautionary household isolation. He shared his keep-fit tips, creative cooking combinations, thieving wildlife and keeping faith.
RESEARCHERS ON THE HOME FRONT
Professor James WoodFellow Professor James Wood, Head of the Department of Veterinary Medicine, was due to give a talk at Wolfson for the Cambridge Festival of Science entitled, 'Diseases without Borders–Emerging infectious diseases in Africa' on 20 March. That event was of course cancelled. Now he's working from home along with colleagues from around the University. Follow him on Twitter @jw132. |
Professor Gordon DouganRetired Fellow Professor Gordon Dougan, a world authority on vaccines, genomics and the epidemiology of infectious diseases, argues that the developed world needs to remember the threat of epidemics. He says, "I hope this article puts a global perspective on our current challenges. Wolfson College can play a key role in reshaping the global health agenda in the future". Follow him on Twitter @GordonDougan1. |
Dr Giles Yeo
Giles Yeo, Fellow of Wolfson, Tutor, and author of the recent book, Gene Eating, has been keeping up with his research, tutoring and social media whilst working from home.
Follow Giles on Twitter or Instagram for news about the genetics of obesity, current research — and some wonderful recipes too!
Professor Sir Richard Evans
The former President of Wolfson College has been widely interviewed in the media for his historical perspective on the current COVID-19 pandemic, with a renewed focus on his 1987 book on the 1892 cholera pandemic
NEWS FROM THE COMMUNITY
Alumna Churen Li dedicated a performance of her work 'Butterfly' to artists and musicians affected by the pandemic.
- Subscribe to Professor John Naughton's excellent blog on tech, media and the current crisis.
- Fellow Dr Debbie Pullinger is also writing a blog and shares a poem for Corona Times.
- First year History student (and quiz champ) Boyang Hou is blogging from Singapore about quizzing and missing Cambridge.
It was a rare pink moon over College this week and these gorgeous photos were taken by the talented Karam Alkatlabe (MPhil Architecture and Urban Studies). Follow him on Instagram @ka_arc_photography.
A MESSAGE FROM THE WCSA PRESIDENT
Before catching a plane back to his home town of Jerusalem, WCSA President Benji Remez penned a heartfelt message to the Wolfson community.
"It seems very fitting that this year Wolfson explores Borders; with our friends scattered across the globe, our family now transcends national borders."
A MESSAGE FROM THE DEVELOPMENT AND ALUMNI RELATIONS OFFICE
The importance of the Wolfson community cannot be overemphasised and we are thinking about all our alumni community in these unprecedented times. Thank you to everyone who has been in touch.
Alumni and donor events will be rescheduled when the picture becomes clearer, so watch out for information either direct to your in box or on the events section of the website. This is an opportunity to try out something different. From virtual get-togethers to sharing on-line news and stories on social media, please keep in touch as we explore together new ways to connect over the coming months. Photos of all our events are regularly posted on Flickr.
You can drop us a line in the Development Office and we will get back to you though it might take a little longer than usual to respond. Please let us know if your details change by updating them online. And be sure to send your news and stories to the Development & Alumni Relations Team.
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