All your latest news and events

Newswire
October 2019

News

Welcome from the Director

A short welcome from our recently-confirmed Director with some comments on this last year of working with our alumni and aspirations for the year ahead.

The Difference You Made - Supporting Opportunities for Students

Established in 1994, the Student Opportunities Fund remains our most popular fund. Over the years thousands of you have supported Durham students. See the difference you have made to our most recent recipients:

A New Home for the Archive of ‘Radical Jack’

Durham University is now the new home to the archives of John George Lambton, first Earl of Durham - a political firebrand, a radical reformist and a leading society figure.

Why Humans Take So Long to Grow Up

Why do our children take so long to grow up, compared to other animals? We all know that humans have big brains. In common with apes, we grow relatively slowly and generally have long lives. Our anthropologists may have found a different answer...

Events

New York Gala - Tickets Now On Sale!

This year we will be gathering on the evening of Thursday, December 5 at the Prince George Ballroom in New York. This black-tie event is growing in popularity year on year, attracting some 150 alumni and guests and is fast becoming the signature event of the calendar for our esteemed alumni community in the US. Last chance for Early Bird tickets this week - ends Monday, September 30.

Book now

Recent Grads Social

Recently moved to London and want to make new friends and catch-up with old ones?

Join your Durham Ambassadors Dan Bird (PPE, St Aidan's College, 2013) and Hamish Inglis (PPE, Van Mildert College, 2017) at The Club Room at Waterhouse Square for our recent grads autumn social.

Book now

Dunelm Society Advent Carol Service

This year’s Advent Carol Service will take place at Temple Church,
London, on Wednesday 4 December.

The event will begin at 4pm. A festive buffet will be served before going on to the Service.

Book now

Dunelm Days - all over the world!

2019 marks the 5th anniversary of bringing everyone together and is a fantastic way to make new connections, catch up with old friends and renew your Durham pride! A list of all events can be found here. If you can't see one near you, why not organise your own with our full support? To find out more, please get in touch.

The Big Match - Durham vs Bath

Friday 4 October

Rosslyn Park Rugby Club, London
KO 7.30pm - Ground and bar open from 5.30pm

Tickets: £10 in advance (£20 on the gate)

Book now

Durham Union Society

The Durham Union Alumni Weekend will take place in Durham from Friday 21 to Sunday 23 February 2020. There will be a series of exciting events open to both alumni and members to share our memories, experiences and ideas.

McKinsey Weekend in London

A great chance for Russian speakers to find out about career opportunities at McKinsey Moscow. Meet the team and take part in their team case competition.

View all upcoming events

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

View Now

Alumni

Above and Below Exhibition

Phil Entwistle (Physics, Van Mildert, 1971-74) has his first solo exhibition coming up in Cumbria in November.

Breakwater Film

Watch Emma Askew's (Geography, Hatfield, 2015-18) short film, Breakwater - a campaign against marine litter, and advocating for the importance of local-scale ocean conservation:

Watch now

Shout Out to Alumni in Leuven, Belgium

Two Durham alumni Hector and Lydia Patmore have just moved to Leuven and are interested in getting to know other alumni in the area. If you would like to get in touch, please email the alumni office.

Class Notes

Professor Gabrielle Finn (Health Studies, Ustinov College, 2007-11) wins the most prestigious award for teaching and learning excellence a National Teaching Fellowship.

Lisa Firth (English Literature, Collingwood College, 2000-03) has this month published her sixth romantic comedy novel under the pen name Mary Jayne Baker, A Question of Us. In August she also published her first novel as Lisa Swift, When You Were Mine.

Felicia Fricke (Archaeology, University College, 2007-10) has received media attention in the Caribbean islands of Curaçao and St Maarten for the research she undertook for her thesis entitled The Lifeways of Enslaved People in Curaçao, St Eustatius, and St Maarten/St Martin: A Thematic Analysis of Archaeological, Osteological, and Oral Historical Data.

Political thriller, Official Secrets tells the real-life story of Katharine Gun (Chinese with Japanese, St Mary's College, 1993-97) who leaked top-secret information to the press and exposed illegal activities by the USA in their campaign to invade Iraq in 2003.

Melinda Hill (English Literature, St Mary's College, 1993-96) has written two successful non-fiction books under the name Milli Hill. The Positive Birth Book and Give Birth Like a Feminist.

Katharine McMahon (Education, Graduate Society, 1979-80) is the author of 10 novels and has recently had The Hour of Separation published.

Sharon Ney (Philosophy, St Aidan's College, 1985-88) has published a SF/Fantasy book Entrapment In Oestragar (Oslac's Odyssey Book 1).

Pasquale Pazienza (Economics, St Mary's College, 2007-15) has recently been made the president of the National Park of Gargano.

Alison Rose (History, St Aidan's College, 1988-91) has been confirmed as Chief Executive of RBS, the first woman to lead one of the UK's big four banks.

Gabriela Styf Sjöman (Business Administration, 1999-04) has been appointed as Nokia’s chief strategy officer.

Colleges

Collingwood College

Join us in London for an informal drinks event on Friday 11 October. All alumni welcome; this event is very popular with recent graduates.

Book now

Hatfield College

The Lioness Sculpture has arrived at Hatfield College and we are thrilled to welcome her to our historic grounds.

John Snow College

Keep an eye out for the date release of Snow’s next Alumni Reunion, due to be in Newcastle in November!

St Aidan's College

Save the date for the annual Aidan's Alumni Association AGM and the JCR Recent Graduates Weekend, which this year coincides with Lumiere 2019 – Saturday 16 November. Details coming soon.

St Cuthbert's Society

Save the date for dinner and fabulous company on Saturday 26 October to celebrate the founding of St. Cuthbert's Society. The Society was founded on 25 October 1888, and we look forward to the future of our Society as well as reflecting on our shared heritage at the annual Founders' Dinner.

St John's College

September has seen over 100 alumni return to St John’s for reunions - from Johnians who matriculated in 1962 to Johnians who graduated in 2014!

St Mary's College

An excellent SMCS Reunion has just past and it was a great success with over 100 alumni from all generations attending the weekend event and the Grand Reunion Formal. We also had the honour in this event to welcome back past principals and staff members and welcome in our new Principal – Prof. Maggi Dawn.

Ustinov College

It’s been a busy month at Ustinov College as we welcome our new members to Durham!

Van Mildert College

Van Mildert College is looking forward to an action-packed year ahead, kicking off with another fantastic Induction Week, as we welcome a new cohort of Mildertians to the College. We have a host of events for alumni to get involved with this term, including a London Pub Crawl, the Van Mildert College Trust Lecture and Carols in the Bar in Manchester!

Departments

Durham Energy Institute

2019 marks 10 years since Durham Energy Institute was created. A lot of research, activity, outreach and collaboration has been achieved in that time. We are celebrating these successes through a new series of podcasts, DEI Perspectives articles and a special issue of our Magazine.

Business School

Starting on Monday 28 October, our Leading and Managing People-Centred Change course is all about how to ensure people-centred change in your organisation stays on track.

School of Modern Languages and Cultures

The Zurbarán Centre for Spanish and Latin American Art is delighted to welcome Dr Luis Vives-Ferrándiz Sánchez as this academic year’s first Zurbarán Fellow. He will give his Zurbarán lecture on Tuesday 26 November.

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