All your latest news and events

Newswire
November 2021

News

Alumna Alison Rose, Banking Pioneer and Green Business Leader to be Honoured

Our graduates go on to enjoy inspiring careers and make a significant, lasting impact around the globe. We’re very pleased to be honouring Alison Rose (History, St Aidan's College, 1988-91) as she makes her way to Glasgow for COP26.

Countdown to COP26 – Working with Nature to Address the Climate Crisis

We are home to world-leading research into how we can all work with nature to find ways to address the climate crisis.

£1million Donation Helps North East Students Succeed at Durham University

An additional £1 million donation from the Race family will support scholarships for low-income students from North East England, bringing us even closer to our £4 million target for the fund.

University Signs Esports Partnership with LDN UTD in UK University First

We have become the first UK University to form a collaboration with social purpose driven esports org LDN UTD. Working with the leading esports organisation, the partnership will bring the benefits of esports to students as well as the wider Durham community.

Tackling the ‘Moothane’ Problem - Cutting Greenhouse Gas from Livestock

Did you know that methane released by animals such as cows accounts for about 50 per cent of agricultural greenhouse gas emissions, and that one third of this is released indoors, in barns and sheds?

University Encourages Volunteering for all with New Online Platform

Durham University Volunteering and Outreach (DUVO) has launched a new online platform, created to make it even easier for staff and students to volunteer with any of the 80+ projects currently in action.

Pioneering Research of First Published African American Doctor Revealed

Evidence of the first known research paper to be published in a British medical journal by an African American has been discovered by Durham researchers.

Infrared Light Therapy might Aid Dementia Patients

We’re working on a new infrared light therapy that might have the potential to help people with dementia.

Events

Upcoming Events

Entreprenuership and the Green Economy
Monday 1 November 2021, 10.30pm (GMT)
On the opening day of COP26, alumna and NatWest Group CEO, Alison Rose (History, St Aidan's College, 1991) will be receiving an honorary Doctor of Civil Law from Durham University for her outstanding contribution to banking, entrepreneurship, climate change, and public life. As part of her visit to Durham, Alison will deliver a special guest lecture at Durham University Business School. Please submit any questions that you have to alumni.office@durham.ac.uk

Convocation
Thursday 4 November, 5.30pm (GMT)
Convocation is the annual meeting of alumni. We hear from Acting Vice-Chancellor and Provost, Professor Antony Long, on the past year and a view to the future along with the opportunity to ask your questions.

Developing Internships in Asia for Durham Students
Tuesday 9 November 2021, 11am (GMT) / 7pm (Beijing Standard Time)
Attention Durham alumni in Asia! Can you help us? We are aiming to develop bespoke internships in Asia for our students on the Chinese Studies programme. Join us for an informal information session with Global Internships Manager, Dr Dave Morland to learn more about the programme and how you might be able to support it.

Student Art Prize 2021/22 Launch Party
Oriental Museum, Durham University
Tuesday 9 November, 5.30pm (GMT)
Want to know more about the University’s annual art prize? Join us at this informal event to see works by previous winners, meet other artists, find out more about our ‘Art Prize Art School’ programme and most importantly, find out how to apply!

Lumiere 2021 - Behind the Scenes with Daksha Patel
Friday 19 November 2021, 12 noon (GMT)
Durham alumni, friends and supporters are invited to join us for a virtual behind the scene look at The Fossilised Sea by UK artist, Daksha Patel. This event will take place on Zoom on Friday 19 November from 12pm -1pm.

You can find out more information on the full programme for Lumiere 2021 here.

Global Lecture Series: Extinction and survival in the history of animal life: Lessons from deep time
Thursday 27 January 2022, 6pm (GMT)
Life has been evolving on our planet for at least 4 billion years yet animals appeared relatively recently, only within the last 600 million years. During this interval animal life has massively diversified but was retarded by five major extinctions events, the end Permian (250 million years ago) being the most spectacular and devastating. Join Professor David Harper as he looks back on the history of animal life.

Dunelm Days has been an annual event in the diary for the past five years, with alumni and supporters from all around the world coming together to celebrate their shared lifelong connection with Durham University and meet fellow graduates. Usually held in November, Dunelm Days have been celebrated around the globe through fun social gatherings organised and hosted locally by members of the alumni and supporter community. We are looking forward to celebrating Dunelm Days in-person again when it is safe to do so for all of our Durham family around the world. In the meantime, we hope you can still celebrate your connection to Durham next month and beyond! Thank you to everyone who has supported Dunelm Days over the years and continues to do so today.

View all upcoming events

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

View Now

Alumni

Class Notes

Keith McCoy (Business Administration, Van Mildert College, 2017-19) latest novel The Jude Crew is now available.

John Schwab (English Literature, College of St Hild and St Bede, 1993-96) has co-founded Curtain Call a platform designed to help those in the theatre and live events sector find creative work.

Hannah Scott (Modern Languages, Hatfield College, 2001-05) has released a new album Drawn To Darkness, following the feature of her song “No Gravity” in hit US TV series, Grey’s Anatomy.

Nick Thorley (Theology, St Chad’s College, 1997-2000) is a blind charity worker who ran a 120-mile ultra-marathon over two days to raise money to promote peace.

Elaine Thornton née Newnham (Russian, St Aidan’s College, 1973-76) first biography, Giacomo Meyerbeer and his Family: Between Two Worlds was published by Vallentine Mitchell earlier this year.

DunelmOTTAWA Reunion

In September, DunelmOTTAWA held its latest knees up on the lawns of Tavern on the Hill, a spectacular location overlooking Canada’s Parliament Buildings. Also invited along was the weather forecaster, who delivered nicely. The group are looking forward to meeting up again soon.

Get Involved!

Durham Venture School has a range of initiatives you can get involved in. Gaurav Kalyani and Eleanor Booty are cohort members of this year’s Durham Venture School, and are working together on an idea of diversifying history education through digital tech. They have designed a survey to broaden our understanding of our potential customer segments. The link to complete the survey can be found here.

A member of the Durham Venture School is also building something exciting (top-secret!) and is keen to speak to a wide-range of potential end-users. Azira Ahimsa is looking for volunteers to be interviewed in order to understand the needs of consumers and to tailor a solution to their needs. Come and be a part of something big. For those between 20 and 28 years old, please email Azira at: putiazira.ahimsa@gmail.com to connect about interview opportunities for this top-secret project.

Colleges

Collingwood College

Thanks to the generosity of alumnus Rory Lonergan (Economics & Politics, Collingwood College, 2018-21), we are delighted to announce the creation of brand-new scholarships for eligible first year undergraduates joining Collingwood College. The Sports Road Scholarships will invite applications from students from low-income backgrounds with a strong track record of sporting achievement, and the potential to contribute significantly to Collingwood’s sporting success by competing at the highest levels within college sport, and/or at a University level.

Hatfield College

As we enter our 175th Anniversary year, we are launching a range of initiatives to celebrate our beloved College. From 175 Good Deeds, to the 175 Scholarship, student clubs and societies, 175 activities and now our 175 Landscaping Group. A group from the Hatfield Community will be landscaping Hatfield’s ‘back garden’ to bring it back to life! We would love for more members of our community to get involved or share their memories of the ‘back garden’- photographs for top marks! If you’re interested in sharing or joining, email us at hatfield.development@durham.ac.uk

Stephenson College

Following on from our successful Stephenson Ideas talks in October with research scientist Dr John Topping and Carol Botten, CEO of VONNE, we will be hosting guest speaker Stephan Roman CMG on Monday 1 November. Stephan’s lecture will explore “Russia and Britain - two countries doomed by history always to mistrust each other?” On Wednesday 3 November, we are delighted to announce that Sir James Bevan, Chief Executive of the UK Environment Agency, will give our keynote COP 26 lecture. If you are interested in being a guest speaker at one of our Stephenson Ideas talks, do get in touch with Katie Stobbs, Vice-Principal 21/22 on stephenson.vp@durham.ac.uk. We would love to hear from you!

St Cuthbert's Society

As part of the Fellow's Lecture Series, alumnus Gavin O'Malley (Psychology, St Cuthbert's Society, 1992-95) Prison Group Director, Long Term High Security Prisons will be giving a public lecture entitled Trapped in Safety – Reflections on offender rehabilitation on Friday 12 November at 6pm.

St John's College

We're excited for Lumiere in November and invite any Johnians visiting the festival on Saturday to join us for some refreshments!

Trevelyan College

Trevelyan College have a lot to report. From appointing Dr Hannah Martin as Assistant Principal to holding our first Languages Café event.

Departments

Centre for Catholic Studies

All are invited to our online conference on Lived Catholicism – investigating how Catholicism is actually lived in the real world. From 15-16 November.

Durham Energy Institute

DEI Director Professor Jon Gluyas has written two essays as part of ‘Net Zero Exchanges: Connecting Policy and Research for Climate Action’ published by the think tank Policy Connect and the UK’s All-Party Parliamentary Climate Change Group ahead of COP26. One with Cherilyn Mackrory, MP for Truro and Falmouth, Cornwall, setting out the ‘win-win’ from tapping into geothermal energy and the second Theo Clarke, MP for Stafford, arguing CCS can reliably make an invaluable contribution to net zero.

Geography

The Department of Geography is delighted to announce the second in our series of lectures from current members of staff, showcasing some of the exciting research that is happening within the department. The talks will last approximately 1 hour, with time for questions and discussion, and will be delivered online. They will also be recorded, so if you can’t make the live event, you can catch up at your leisure. Our next lecture takes place on Wednesday 3 November at 7pm (GMT) where Professor Erin McClymont will be talking about her research on how Antarctic ice ecosystems respond to climate change.

Law School

The Durham Law Society is looking for mentors to help students, studying both law and non-law, to enter the legal profession. Mentoring does not have to be a large commitment and our scheme is very flexible, allowing mentors to choose how many mentees they would like to take on and how regularly they meet with them. Additionally, we are open to mentors from all sectors, including those who are working or have worked abroad, since our mentees have a wide range of interests. If you are interested in this opportunity or would like to find out more, please email alumni.volunteer@durham.ac.uk by Thursday 4 November 2021.

Merchandise

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.

Shop now

Stay Connected

Have we got your correct details? Update your address and email for news of events near you, alumni benefits and the latest developments from Durham.

Keep in Touch

If you would like to unsubscribe or change your email preferences, please contact us;

+44 191 334 6305

alumni.office@durham.ac.uk

Durham University, Development & Alumni Relations Office, Palatine Centre, Stockton Road, Durham. DH1 3LE

Privacy Notice | Email Preferences