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Newswire
August 2022

News

Exclusive Interview: Lord Kim Darroch and Professor Karen O'Brien

Six months into a remarkable journey, our Vice-Chancellor and Warden shares her observations and vision with Lord Kim Darroch (Zoology, Hatfield, 1972-75) in an interview developed especially for our Alumni and Supporter Community.

Watch the video

Welcome Team Zambia!

We were delighted to welcome the Zambian Commonwealth Games team to Durham as they trained and lived on campus in the run up to the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games.

Photo credit: Kateryna Melnykova

Summer Congregation 2022

Across a two-week period, the magnificent Durham Cathedral provided the setting for 34 ceremonies of more than 10,000 students who had successfully completed their studies over the last two years. The sun was shining on the event and our congratulations go to each and every graduate celebrating with their friends and family.

They were joined by eight honorary graduates, each one a role model in their own right. Nominated for their services to a number of fields, they included the founder of one of the UK’s most respected mental health charities and the first female Poet Laureate of Jamaica.

Congratulations to you all and welcome to the Alumni Community!

Chancellor Sir Thomas Allen bows out with final Congregation

Opera star Sir Thomas Allen took his final bow as Chancellor here at Durham University during Summer Congregation. His retirement was announced last year and he said farewell to the University and graduating students as he hosted an extended programme of graduation ceremonies in Durham Cathedral.

Durham achieves consistently high NSS scores

We have maintained our strong position in the National Student Survey (NSS). For the third year in a row, “overall satisfaction” scores placed us in the top 20% of both non-specialist and Russell Group universities.

Piano donation is music to the ears of community groups

We’ve donated 18 pianos to local community groups across County Durham to help spread the joy and benefits of music. The donations follow the completion of a project which saw Durham become the largest All-Steinway School in the UK as the University welcomed several new pianos.
We wanted to ensure that the pianos being replaced went to good homes, where they could benefit the wider community.

Events

Upcoming Events

DunelmOTTAWA Summer BBQ
Saturday 20 August 2022 at 4pm - Ottowa
Durham alumni and friends are invited to attend the DunelmOTTAWA Summer BBQ at the home of A.J. Corner and family in The Glebe, Ottawa. We look forward to gathering outside and to celebrating this annual tradition for the first time since the start of the pandemic.

Durham Inspired: Live - The Life and Work of Sir Arnold Wolfendale
Thursday 1 September 2022 11-5pm (BST) - Durham or online via Zoom
Sir Arnold Wolfendale, the fourteenth Astronomer Royal, was one of the most significant scientific voices of the last 70 years, not only for his contributions in cosmic ray physics but in his leadership of various national and international scientific bodies. Here at Durham he laid the foundations for a Physics department that would go on to develop world-class research not only in cosmic rays, but in also in cosmology and astronomy.

Save the Date – Glasgow Get Together!
Thursday 1 September 2022 - Glasgow
We would love you to join us at this event, meet some of our inspiring alumni, expand your network and catch up on about all things Durham. There will be drinks and snacks provided.
Please save the date in your diaries for now and more information will follow very soon – keep an eye on your inbox for confirmation of the venue.

Scheinman Career Networking: Entrepreneurship, Start-ups and Investing in New York
Tuesday 6 September 2022, 6.30-8.30pm - New York
Durham alumni and friends are invited to join our Scheinman Career Networking Event for entrepreneurial alumni, start-ups and investors.

Memorial Lecture for P. J. Rhodes
Friday 9 September 2022 - Durham
The Department of Classics and Ancient History at Durham will hold a memorial lecture in honour of Professor P J Rhodes on Friday 9 September, 5.30-6.30pm in PG 20 in the Pemberton Rooms on Palace Green. The speaker will be Professor Robin Osborne of Cambridge, with a talk entitled “Do Institutions Matter? The case of Classical Athens”. There will then be a drinks reception at the Prior’s Hall in the Cathedral.
There will also be a dinner in Hotel Indigo, from 8.30pm. Places are limited, so please register for this ASAP. All are welcome, and those planning to attend the reception and/ or the dinner should email classics.opsadmin@durham.ac.uk

Evening Reception in Toronto with Vice-Chancellor and Warden of Durham University, Professor Karen O'Brien
Friday 9 September 2022, from 7pm - Toronto
Durham alumni and friends are invited to meet our new Vice-Chancellor and Warden, Professor Karen O'Brien, in Toronto on Friday 9 September at the Fairmont Royal York in Toronto, ON, Canada. Book your place now.

Alumni After Hours
Saturday 10 September 2022, 6 - 9pm - Boston
Durham alumni and friends are invited to join us for drinks and nibbles at the Merchant, in Boston, USA.

50 Years of Collingwood London Launch Dinner
Saturday 10 September 2022, 7pm - London
Collingwood’s 50th Golden Anniversary will take place over the course of the academic year 2022-23. We will be celebrating the deep and lasting sense of friendship and community that so many of you will recognise and treasure. Join us for the launch of this exciting year on Saturday 10 September at IET, Savoy Place in London. Tickets are £120 each and will include a drinks reception and a three-course meal.

Scheinman Career Networking: Using Data for Good
Monday 12 September 2022, 6.30 - 8.30pm - Washington DC
Durham alumni and friends are invited to join our Scheinman Career Networking event and alumni panel looking at data, data analytics and how this information can be used to 'do good' in the world.

Dunelm Circle Celebration of Legacies Event at the ICAEW
Friday 23 September 2022, 6pm - London
Plans for our next Dunelm Circle Celebration of Legacies event are well underway. We will be featuring special guest speaker Dr Kelly Jakubowski, Assistant Professor in Music Psychology, with more speakers to be confirmed very soon. Please register your interest to join us in London on Friday 23 September from 6pm. Invitations, with more information, will be sent to Dunelm Circle members soon.

Convocation - Combined In-Person and Virtual Event
Thursday 13 October 2022, 5.30pm - London & Online
Convocation is the annual meeting of alumni. We hear from the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Karen O'Brien, on the past year and a view to the future along with the opportunity to ask your questions. Everyone is welcome to join and this year you can join us in person or online so you can participate from wherever you are in the world.

Dunelm Society Annual Dinner
Thursday 13 October 2022, 7pm - London
This year’s venue for the Dunelm Society Dinner in London is a spectacular eighteenth-century hidden gem in the City. Built in 1735, Armoury House is the headquarters of the Honourable Artillery Company Regiment. We will dine in the magnificent Long Room, which is hung with an array of portraits and flags on beautiful wood-panelled walls.

50 Years of Collingwood Reunion Dinners
November 2022 – April 2023 - Various
Collingwood’s 50th Golden Anniversary will take place over the course of the academic year 2022-23. We will be celebrating the deep and lasting sense of friendship and community that so many of you will recognise and treasure. Each Class is invited to join us for a reunion dinner in college between November 2022 and April 2023. Tickets are £40 each and include a drinks reception and a three-course meal.

View all upcoming events

Check our events pages regularly for all the upcoming alumni events across the world.

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Alumni

Circle of Excellence Success

The Durham Alumni Supporter and Engagement Team are celebrating a Grand Gold Award in the CASE Circle of Excellence Awards for the Feisty 50 Fitness Challenge, an inspirational challenge that motivated and brought our Alumni Community together during the pandemic lockdown. This is the third award that the team have received in just three years – a great team effort!!

Class Notes

Margarita Díaz-Andreu (Lecturer/Reader, Department of Archaeology 1996-2011) has been presented with the prestigious National Award 2021 for the Humanities by the King of Spain. This is only one of 10 awards given to Spanish-based scientists in Spain every year.

Stephen Murphy (Institute of European Studies, University College, 1975-76) had his novel ‘Abiding Conviction’ published by Oceanview Publishing on 5 July 2022. The novel is the third in the series of legal thrillers about lawyer, Dutch Francis.

Dr Paul Severn (BA Combined Arts and MA Maths, University College, 1985-90) had his text 'The Roman Catholic bishops of Hexham and Newcastle' published in April by Sacristy Press.

Colleges

Stephenson College

Congratulations to all graduates from Summer Congregation. Keep in touch!

On 7 July, we held the MCR Astonish the World Conference, which opened with an all-female panel discussion and included talks from research students and staff and two workshops on equality, diversity and inclusion and mental health.

Our London alumni event at the Counting House on the hottest day on record was a great success. We look forward to catching up with many more alumni at our next event in November. Further details to come soon.

St Cuthbert’s Society

Congratulations to Cuth’s graduates.

Many recent graduates enjoyed our evening drinks receptions and graduation dinners, and we were delighted to welcome Cuth’s alumnus Simon Meacham (Computer Science, St Cuthbert's Society, 1991-96) and his family as our special guests.

During summer congregation Cuth’s alumnus Simon Croft (Zoology, St Cuthbert's Society, 1968-71), Professor of Parasitology at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, was awarded an honorary degree of Doctor of Science on Wednesday 29 June.

Keep in touch!

St John’s College

We are delighted that St John’s College alumnus and SCR President, Richard Roberts (Law & Politics, St John's College, 1976-79), has pledged a foundation gift towards a new scholarship fund to support St John’s Law students with the purchase of textbooks. Read more news from St John’s below.

Trevelyan College

Our college Officers enjoyed celebrating graduation while attending the congregation ceremonies with our graduating students.

We are excited to welcome our graduates to join and extend our alumni community at Trevelyan, and we are always delighted to hear from our alumni – especially to share news and achievements.

Keep in touch – Trevelyan College will always be your home.

Ustinov College

Summer has settled on Sheraton Park and Ustinov celebrates in style… after a beautiful Spring in Durham, we were thrilled to see the arrival of the summer sunshine. Here at Ustinov College, we have celebrated with the Summer Ball, which was organised by the GCR and held at Ramside Hall.

Departments

Department of Music

Durham student becomes Canadian Music Laureate. PhD Music student Rita Ueda has been awarded the prestigious title of 2022 Laureate for the Azrieli Commission for Canadian Music, offered by the Azrieli Foundation – the most coveted title for composers in Canada. The accolade secures a prize package valued at $200,000 CAD which includes a world-premiere performance by the Orchestre Métropolitain in Montréal, two subsequent international performances and a professional recording of her prize-winning work.

Law School

Great success for inaugural Summer Course on International Arbitration! Durham Law School welcomed back its alumni last week to deliver a very successful Summer Course. The program offered three modules, each lasting two days, covering the fundamentals of commercial arbitration, the fundamentals of treaty-based arbitration, and practical arbitration skills. The Dean of the Law School, Volker Roeben, invited the attendees to a dinner at Durham Castle and several other networking events took place throughout the week.

Research and Innovation Services

A new research Institute dedicated to finding and supporting the next Isaac Newton and future Nobel Prize winners of science in the United Kingdom has been officially opened. The Durham Institute of Research, Development, and Invention (DIRDI) is a scientific research institute established by double Queen’s Award winner Coltraco Ultrasonics in partnership with Durham University and based at ORBIT NETPark, Durham, co-located with the Centre for Underwater Acoustic Analysis.

Retail

Gifts from Durham University Retail Office

Here at the Retail Office, we strive to provide staff, students and alumni with the best possible merchandise, to commemorate their time here at Durham. With stock ranging from stationery and jewellery to clothing and glassware, there is sure to be something that will take your fancy.

Visit the Shop

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