Darwin College Cambridge

We're looking forward to welcoming prospective students to Darwin on Monday, 23 September. Come and get to know the College, explore the city, and get a feel for whether you can picture yourself as a Darwinian.

The University’s programme of postgraduate events include a range of webinars and the Virtual Open Days to ensure all your questions are answered.

Sign up here:
https://www.postgraduate.study.cam.ac.uk/openday

Darwin students are halfway through a two-week telephone campaign, calling alumni across the world to reconnect, share news of Darwin life in 2024, and accept a gift in celebration of our 60th anniversary year from those who choose to donate. They would love to hear about your Darwin memories and your post-Darwin pathway, so if you can spare the time to answer their call please do!

Thank you so much to everyone who has already contributed. If you haven't received a call but would like to donate anyway, you can do so here: https://www.darwin.cam.ac.uk/alumni-and-supporters/donate/

Darwin has reached the finals in three categories of the Green Gown Awards (UK & Ireland), reflecting a longstanding commitment to take a sustainable approach to catering and College life more broadly.

Huge congratulations to Ivan, Matt and Meg, and fingers crossed for November!

https://www.darwin.cam.ac.uk/news/darwin-reaches-finals-in-three-categories-of-sustainability-awards/

Darwin's resident heron is preparing to greet new arrivals in College over the next few weeks...as are the rest of the team!

The Welcome Desk will be open in the Old Library every weekday from Monday 9th September to Monday 7th October, and the Porters' Lodge is staffed 24 hours a day should you have any questions. Detailed information for new members is also available here: https://www.darwin.cam.ac.uk/members/new/

We look forward to welcoming you to Darwin!

Good luck to the Darwin College Boat Club, currently in Ulsan, South Korea, to compete in the World Class University Rowing Festival!

https://www.darwin.cam.ac.uk/news/darwin-college-boat-club-takes-to-the-water-in-south-korea/

It has been a pleasure this summer to welcome back so many returning Darwinians from across the world and from throughout our history, and to share our stories with our global community via the Darwinian magazine.

Our connection with our students is lifelong, and we value the continuing relationship we maintain with our alumni long after they leave us. To ensure that we are able to keep you informed about College news, upcoming events, and opportunities to be involved with Darwin, please make sure that the contact information we hold for you is up to date. If you have recently moved, or your details have changed, you can let us know here:

https://my.darwin.cam.ac.uk/contact/update-your-details/darwin-college-survey

We may be in the depths of the lazy, hazy days of summer, and much of our term-time population may have scattered, but Darwin is still the cornerstone of Cambridge life...with thanks to College Fellow Alan Blackwell for capturing today's lunchtime rush.

Keep an ear out for the post...the summer issue of the Darwinian magazine is winging its way around the world. Thank you to everyone who allowed us to share their stories. We hope you enjoy it!

The best way to see Darwin on a day like today is from the river.... (with plenty of sunscreen!)

Darwin was honoured to play host last week to the presentation of the degree of Doctor of Science honoris causa from the University of Bristol to Rosemary Fowler.

The mother of former Darwin Master Professor Mary Fowler, Rosemary graduated with first-class honours after her undergraduate degree in Physics in 1947, and immediately began working towards a PhD. Her identification, the following year, of the kaon, a particle which decayed to three pions rather than two, opened a new era of research, leading to Nobel prizes and critical discoveries on both sides of the Atlantic. Rosemary, however, stepped away from her studies to raise her family.

“Rosemary’s work in particle discovery in the 1940s, as a physicist at Bristol, paved the way for critical discoveries that continue to shape the work of today’s physicists, and our understanding of the universe,” said Professor Sir Paul Nurse, Chancellor of the University of Bristol.

https://www.darwin.cam.ac.uk/news/university-of-bristol-recognises-contribution-to-physics-of-rosemary-fowler/
Photography by David Johnson

The marquee's on the lawn, and while we don't want to jinx it, at the moment the sun is firmly shining. It's looking very much like a summer graduation!

Huge congratulations to all Darwinians graduating tomorrow, and thank you to Arya for sharing her story of how a year at Darwin took her out of her comfort zone in all the best ways.

https://www.darwin.cam.ac.uk/news/graduation-story-arya-sharma/

Congratulations to Darwin alumna Dr Rachel Meller (PhD Neuroscience, 1974), whose book The Box with the Sunflower Clasp was shortlisted for the Royal Society of Literature’s Christopher Bland Prize.

The prize, for which five books were shortlisted, is intended to recognise a debut novelist or non-fiction writer first published in any form aged 50 or over. This year’s prize was judged by Josh Cohen, Niall Griffiths and Shaparak Khorsandi.

The Box with the Sunflower Clasp pieces together the life of Rachel’s aunt, Lisbeth, and her experience as a Jewish refugee in Shanghai, having fled 1930s Vienna. Rachel discussed the book, and how she came to write it, with the Darwinian magazine in January.

https://darwin-college-cambridge.shorthandstories.com/rachelmeller/index.html

Alumni from throughout Darwin’s history returned to the College over the weekend for a joyful celebration of our first 60 years and to look ahead to our future.

Over 400 people engaged with the weekend in some form, with 140 attendees at Saturday evening’s sold-out Family-friendly Formal, giving the children of Darwinians a taste of Cambridge tradition. In an extraordinary feat of efficiency, the catering team had no sooner completed the two-course sitting, than they were welcoming a further 120 diners for a three-course Celebration Dinner, as the sounds of the children’s gong-ringing still echoed in the air.

A varied programme throughout the weekend offered treasure hunts, garden games, colouring competitions and watercolour workshops; tours of the gardens and buildings from horticultural, ornithological, architectural and historical perspectives; a chance to consider the ways in which research and higher education can respond to global challenges from climate change to health in a fascinatingly engaging panel discussion; and musical contributions from the College choir as well as a viola and harpsichord recital.

Thank you to everyone whose contributions of time, effort and expertise made the weekend possible, as well as all those who braved the weather to come and be part of it.

We're still spinning from the whirl of activities, memories and reconnections established at yesterday's celebration. From panel discussions to party games, history to horticulture, and two back to back Formal Halls including a packed out family-friendly dinner, it was a glorious celebration of all things Darwinian.

And it's not over! Join us today for bird walks, garden and building tours, punting, painting and afternoon tea. What's the point in a birthday if you can't spin it out...

Umbrellas may have been sadly more prevalent than sunhats, but spirits were undampened at last night's Celebration Dinner, which saw alumni from throughout Darwin's history brought together to mark our first 60 years. Outgoing DCSA President Niamh Hartley unveiled a new board to honour her predecessors, some of whose stories are shared here: https://www.darwin.cam.ac.uk/60th/

If you're joining us today, fear not, we have plenty of indoor activities planned, and look forward to Darwin being brightened by your company!

Absolutely joyful to kick off our weekend of 60th Anniversary celebrations by welcoming back some of the first students to ever call themselves Darwinians. Alumni from 1964-1974 joined us for lunch, laughter and a trip down memory lane today, as we begin our three days of reflecting on Darwin's first six decades and looking ahead to its future.

As a Roman Catholic priest, a Canadian, and a PhD student at Trinity College, Bill Shea already had a firm set of identities and affiliations when he was invited to become one of the first 12 Darwin students in 1964. But 60 years on, ‘Darwinian’ is still key to how he sees himself.

“It was marvellous, absolutely delightful,” he recalls now. “All the colleagues had been chosen by one of the new Fellows, so it was not at random. There was a great feeling of enthusiasm, and a small group dedicated to making it work.”

https://www.darwin.cam.ac.uk/60th/anniversary/article/bill-shea-dcsa-president-1968-68/

It's a beautiful morning, we're bedecked in bunting, the gardens are looking spectacular and we can't wait to celebrate our birthday with alumni and friends from all over the world.

Ahead of this weekend's 60th Anniversary celebrations, Darwin's first DCSA President, physicist Professor John Clarke, talked to us about accepting Frank Young's personal invitation to join the College, and his pride in the fact that a discovery he made at Darwin has had applications in everything from medicine to astrophysics.

“I lived in College for the entire two and a half years in this wonderful room in the Old Granary," he recalled.

"Outside there was a balcony overlooking the Mill Pond. Darwin had a plentiful supply of punts, and I remember punting along the River Cam many times. It was just a great life.”

https://www.darwin.cam.ac.uk/60th/anniversary/article/john-clarke-dcsa-president-1966-67/

University of California, Berkeley

Hot on the heels of the May Ball, Friday provided an opportunity for Darwin's staff, Fellows and researchers to celebrate the close of the academic year at the annual Master's Garden Party.

Our celebratory mode will ramp up this weekend, as alumni from throughout the six decades of our history return to College for three days of festivities to mark Darwin's 60th Anniversary. We look forward to welcoming you back!

Congratulations to newly qualified Darwin PGCE student Cressida McKay-Frith, who has been awarded the Charles Fox Prize 2024 by the Faculty of Education, University of Cambridge.

The award recognises the perception of her supervisors that “from the first day of the PGCE course, Cressida has impressed us with her strong desire to be the best teacher she can be”, as well her child-centred approach to teaching, her organisation, dedication and commitment.

https://www.darwin.cam.ac.uk/news/putting-music-at-the-centre-of-primary-teaching/

That staple of Darwin summer life - pausing on the bridge during a sunny stroll around the garden to eavesdrop on and fact-check the punt guides. This one passed!

It's a balmy Midsummer's Night, and a Shakespeare-infused Darwin May Ball is about to unfold! Wishing everyone a wonderful evening.

'Stir up the Athenian youth to merriments.
Awake the pert and nimble spirit of mirth.'

Thank you so much to everyone who contributed to this extraordinary total - £1000 per year of Darwin's history!

https://www.darwin.cam.ac.uk/news/60th-anniversary-giving-day-raises-over-60000/

Congratulations to PhD student in Physics Joshua Bickler, who has been elected as President of the Darwin College Students Association (DCSA) 2024-25.

https://www.darwin.cam.ac.uk/news/joshua-bickler-elected-as-dcsa-president/

https://darwin.hubbub.net/

"I increasingly realise how central Darwin College has been to the transformation of my life."

Wow, what a powerful statement. Thank you so much to everyone who has supported our Giving Day so far, and to all those who have taken the trouble to tell us why you're giving.

Just four hours to go!

https://darwin.hubbub.net/donor-wall/

Our running total has just surpassed £50,000, thanks to incredible support from all over the world. There are just six hours to go, so whatever your reason for choosing Darwin, let us know!

https://darwin.hubbub.net/