Murray Edwards College Cambridge

🌺 Can you tell we’re 70 this year? We celebrated our anniversary with a 1950s-themed garden party for our alumnae.

🌷 We were thrilled to welcome some of our very first generation of students: the ‘Silver Street women’ who studied at New Hall (our founding name) in the College’s first decade. Then, we were based in a borrowed house in Silver Street, Cambridge, before moving to our iconic purpose-built home a short way up the hill in 1964.

🌺 The Silver Street alumnae were photographed with our President Dorothy Byrne and special guest Julie Spence OBE, Lord Lieutenant of Cambridgeshire, in front of a beautiful ‘living sign’ - the number 70 woven through with sweet peas and other climbing flowers.

🌷Other guests arrived in 1950s costume - check out this gorgeous red and white dress! The theme continued with a swing band and high tea and cake in the Dome.

The survivors’ photo! Some of our wonderful student ambassadors, who were still showing visitors round long after we were due to pack up for the day.

We hope all our visitors enjoyed getting to know us – check out our new website for more information on courses, accommodation and more.

It’s a truth universally acknowledged that our Secrets of the Universe tote bags are the most desirable at the

BUT they’re running low, so come and visit us and grab yours, then meet our students and academics, tour our College and our excellent en-suite accommodation and explore our gorgeous gardens 🌿🌺

Day two of the and we are SO busy! All are welcome at Murray Edwards to meet our students, put your questions to our admissions tutors and academics, and tour our College and modern, en-suite accommodation.

Check out our new website too!

So many visitors… so many questions!

Come and visit us at for the - tour our College including our en-suite accommodation and gorgeous gardens, meet our students and chat to our academics and wellbeing staff.

And take a break in Fountain Court for coffee and cake ☕️🍰🥮

👏🎉 Many congratulations to our Fellow Miranda Griffin, promoted to Professor of Medieval French here .

We’re thrilled - Miranda’s appointment, which she takes up in October, reflects the long history of excellence in Modern and Medieval Languages at Murray Edwards.

Thanks to for this beautiful portrait - one of the set taken of our Fellows for our new website (coming soon!).

Students! Here's what you need to know to vote in the General Election on July 4 2024:

1. You can register at home and at your term-time address, but you must only vote in one place on the day of the General Election.

2. You must register to vote before midnight on June 18th.

3. You will need voter ID when you go to vote.

4. You can vote in a UK General Election if you are over 18 and are either a British citizen, a qualifying Commonwealth citizen or a citizen of the Republic of Ireland.

It takes just five minutes to register to vote online! Visit www.gov.uk/register-to-vote to register!

“Art in ordinary spaces can change the way we see the world.”

Harriet Loffler, curator of the Women's Art Collection here at Murray Edwards College, has been featured by in a brilliant new article!

Click the link here to read more about Harriet and the importance of women's art at Murray Edwards: https://www.cam.ac.uk/this-cambridge-life/the-curator-reframing-our-experiences-of-art

📸: Lloyd Mann

University of Cambridge

How it started…

70 years ago, our College opened as the third foundation for women , on a shoestring & with just 16 students.

That first cohort of undergraduates barely had room to squash round a table for dinner, and our first President – the redoubtable Rosemary Murray - not only taught the students but patrolled the building with her screwdriver, carrying out repairs and putting up towel rails.

Nevertheless, the new foundation flourished, and 10 years on moved into iconic purpose-built modernist buildings, designed as a concrete manifesto for women’s education. New Hall gained a reputation as an open, progressive and free thinking place to be, building its own traditions and continuing to value women’s learning.

In 1972, the foundation received its Charter and was finally a full college of the University of Cambridge. Three years later Rosemary Murray became the first woman Vice Chancellor of Cambridge, and, as the college expanded through the 1970s, New Hall fellows campaigned for women’s rights within the university and higher education.

Further expansion followed in the 1980s, and, in another key development, the College hosted the American conceptual artist, Mary Kelly. One of her works, Extase, bought by the College and inspired a wider appeal to women artists to donate works. Their extraordinary act of collective giving formed the basis of what is now The Women’s Art Collection – the largest collection of art by women in Europe.

By the 1990s, the College was struggling financially amid government funding changes. With bankruptcy a real prospect, its future was secured thanks to a generous endowment of £30 million by alumna Ros Smith and her then-husband Steve Edwards: then the largest single gift to a higher education institution. The College was now properly endowed, and was renamed Murray Edwards in recognition of its pathbreaking founding president and the generosity of its donors.

Today, the College is thriving, and we celebrate our 7 decades with a new free exhibition drawing on material from our archives to tell our story. Join us for the opening tonight at 6pm - or visit any time over the rest of the year.

Don't miss this wonderful 'Music and Words' concert, happening this Sunday!

Music & Words is Murray Edwards' secular answer to the Cambridge tradition of Choral Evensong.

Inter Alios - the joint choir of Churchill and Murray Edwards colleges - curates an event of choral music and poetry, themed around a talk. This Sunday, developmental psychologist Dr Susan Imrie, who is also Head of Wellbeing at Murray Edwards, will deliver her talk on 'The Importance of Rest.'

The importance of rest is a topic of general interest, but also has a special significance during this time of University and school exams.

Please do come along to support all the members of our college community who are performing at this event!

Sunday 19th May, 5:45pm
Murray Edwards College, The Dome

All of us in the Murray Edwards community would like to extend our warmest thanks to the many generous alumnae who supported the college as part of our 2024 Telephone Campaign!

The campaign, which aimed to raise funds for student support, exceeded all its targets and forged new relationships between past and present students.

To read our post-campaign round up, please click here: https://www.murrayedwards.cam.ac.uk/news/fundraising-campaign-attracts-generous-donations-student-support

Seventy years ago this year, 16 young women (most of them pictured here on Matriculation day) became the very first students ’s third foundation for women, then called New Hall.

As part of our anniversary celebrations, we’re launching an exhibition using material for our archives to present the highlights of our first seven decades, including our name change in 2008 following a landmark £30 million gift from alumna Ros Edwards and her family.

We will tell the story of our pioneering founders, who fought opposition and indifference as they battled for greater representation of women at Cambridge, and landmarks such as our incorporation as a college and the creation of - now the largest collection of art by women in Europe.

That’s also a chance to find out what happened when a group of Cambridge infamous night climbers spotted up the roof of our iconic Dome dining hall.

Join us for the official opening on 17th May (link in bio for free tickets) or come and visit any time during the year – we’re open daily and admission is free.

Last week, we marked the tragic anniversary of the murder of Stephen Lawrence.

On May 2, we are hosting a free in-conversation event with Stephen’s mother, Baroness Doreen Lawrence, Honorary Fellow of Murray Edwards College.

We encourage you to attend to honour Stephen's life and legacy, and to learn more about Baroness Lawrence's ongoing work to address corruption and discrimination.

To register your interest, please click the link:

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/in-conversation-with-baroness-lawrence-tickets-885634736337

Thank you.

And that's a wrap on the Telephone Campaign 2024!

Thank you, to everyone who has answered the phone, and chosen to support our college. Your donations will make such a difference in our students' lives.

We asked our student callers about some of their favourite moments from the campaign. As you can see, the opportunity to speak to alumnae has helped them in so many ways - from calming their nerves about the future, to celebrating shared passions and experiences.

Thank you, to our whole college community, for making this campaign so special.

We are delighted to be partnering with The Centre for American Art on a symposium to accompany 'The Goddess, the Deity and the Cyborg' exhibition.

Co-convened by our Curator, Harriet Loffler and art historian and academic Catherine McCormack, the symposium aims to both ‘sit with the trouble’ of goddess feminism and its antagonistic historiography; as well as explore its resonances and revisions that are discernible in twenty-first century contemporary art practice and criticism.

Presentations will be given by artists and academics that engage with a broad terrain of twentieth and twenty-first century art, and visual and material culture associated with goddess feminism and feminist spirituality.

To get your tickets, click the link:

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-goddess-the-deity-and-the-cyborg-symposium-tickets-871650850157

Join us tomorrow (April 23) for a fascinating discussion about contraception and women's health, led by Kate Muir.

Kate Muir is a women’s health campaigner, investigative journalist and documentary maker. Aside from creating two ground-breaking Channel 4 films on the menopause, she recently produced the acclaimed documentary "Davina McCall: Pill Revolution".

Kate is a campaigning speaker, and a founder member of The Menopause Charity. She is also a published author, with titles including:

- Everything You Need to Know About the Menopause (but were too afraid to ask)

- Everything You Need to Know About the Pill (but were too afraid to ask)

This event will be followed by a panel discussion with Dr Madeline Lameris and Dr Louise Newson.

Reserve your ticket by clicking the link in our bio!

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We are halfway through the Telephone Campaign 2024!
Thank you to everyone who has supported our college, and the campaign so far.
We have been blown away by the incredible response from our alumnae, and we are so grateful for their ongoing generosity and support.

We would love to invite you to be a part of this campaign. It’s not too late to book a call, or to support us directly in any capacity you can. Every contribution makes a difference.

This year, we are proud to celebrate our 70th Anniversary as a Cambridge College for women. Our success and longevity has been made possible through the collective power of our alumnae.

Thank you for your support.

The Telephone Campaign 2024 is officially underway!

Symrah and Fasia (pictured) are amongst the excited group of student callers who will be reaching out to alumnae and friends of the college over the next two weeks.

We can’t wait to hear from our college community, and to learn more about their vision for the college’s future!

If you’d like to get involved with the Telephone Campaign - it’s not too late! Simply click the link to find out more about booking your call, or supporting us directly!

bit.ly/Tel2024

One week to go until our 2024 Telephone Campaign!

The Telephone Campaign is an invaluable opportunity for current students to speak personally to our alumnae.

It is always so rewarding to hear about the shared experiences, and hopes for the future, that connect different generations of our college community.

Over the coming days we will introduce some of our student callers, who want to share why they are so excited to be taking part in the Telephone Campaign this year!

Every penny of your donations will go to students through the Rosemary Murray Fund for Student Support, named in honour of our founder, Dame Rosemary Murray. We are very grateful for anything you choose to give.

If you would like to find out more about the campaign, or sign up to receive a call, you can do so by clicking the link below:

https://bit.ly/Tel2024

Ramadan Mubarak!🌙

Wishing a wonderful Ramadan to our students, staff, alumnae and wider community. We hope this special month brings peace and joy to all 🌙

📷 shows the interior of the glorious

Thank you University of Cambridge for writing this fascinating article!
A real must-read for those with an interest in the experience of women at Cambridge, and the history of Murray Edwards College!

It was so exciting to welcome so many Future Physicists to Murray Edwards College today!

As part of the Cambridge Physics Experience, Murray Edwards hosted a group of brilliant Year 12 students with a passion for physics. Students were treated to an original, undergraduate level, lecture delivered by CERN Particle Physicist, and Murray Edwards Fellow, Dr Sarah Williams. As well as receiving specialised advice about the Cambridge Natural Sciences course, students were taken on a tour of the college, and had lunch in the Murray Edwards Dome.

Thank you to all the wonderful young women who joined us today - we look forward to seeing you again soon at our next She Talks Science event!
If you’re a Year 12 student with an interest in any STEM subject, click the link in our bio to check out our She Talks Science programme, and sign up for our upcoming events!

There are always incredible pieces of art on display at Murray Edwards College, but what a wonderful treat it was to see our alumna, Joy Richardson, actually creating art onsite! Joy attended the college from 1967-70, and returned today with her Urban Sketching Group to capture the striking lines of our Orchard Court accommodation.

Congratulations to the successful applicants who have received offers to study at Murray Edwards College, Cambridge. We look forward to welcoming you as you embark on your undergraduate courses in October!

Senior Tutor, Andrew Rudd, offers “huge congratulations to all our offer-holders”. Director of Admissions, Stuart Palmer, adds “best of luck to those of you sitting exams in the coming months. All of us at Murray Edwards College are excited to meet you soon.”

Murray Edwards exists proudly as a Cambridge College for women. Founded in 1954, the college celebrates its diverse community, honouring our legacy as a radical player in the fight for women’s education by continuing to invite the most academically outstanding young women, from all backgrounds, to study at the University of Cambridge.

Want to find out more about Murray Edwards? Whether you are an offer holder, parent, teacher, or future applicant, we encourage you to come and see the college for yourself. Keep an eye out for information about our upcoming Offer Holder Open Days, and our college Open Days on 4 and 5 July.

You can also get to know the college online! Follow our TikTok to hear current students share their top preparation tips for your undergraduate course and A Level exams.

Hero, man of destiny - or traitor? Sultan Muhammad XI was the last Muslim emir of Granada, whose overthrow marked the fall of the Islamic empire in the west.

Discover the extraordinary story of the last Emir at a free public talk by Murray Edwards Fellow Dr Elizabeth Drayson (who also painted this powerful portrait of Sultan Mohammed; the second painting is titled ‘The Moor’s Last Sigh’). Link in bio.

📆 Thursday 25 January 2024

⏰ 5-6.45pm

📍Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies, University of Cambridge, Sidgwick Avenue, CB3 9DA

Wishing all our community, alumnae & friends a very happy 2024!

This year we celebrate our 70th anniversary as ’s third foundation for women, with a focus on the bonds between generations.

📸 features Lorna, 92, and Miranda, 18, our oldest alumna & our youngest student.