St Cross College, Oxford
Encyclopedia
St Cross College is one of the constituent colleges
of the University of Oxford
in England. It is an all-graduate college, sharing attractive, traditional-style buildings on a central site in St Giles', just south of Pusey Street
. It aims to match the structure, life and support of undergraduate colleges, with the relaxed atmosphere of an all-graduate college.
On 18 November 2010, it was announced that Sir Mark Ellis Powell Jones, at present Director of the Victoria and Albert Museum
has been elected as the next Master of the College and will take up the post in September 2011.
) College, arose out of pressure on the University, during the early 1960s, to solve the related problems of senior members of the University and of the increasing numbers of graduate students, who needed a college affiliation.
The early location of St Cross was on a site in , immediately south of St Cross Church. The college was able to move from St Cross Road into a site owned by Pusey House in St Giles' Street in 1981.
The Pusey House buildings are mainly the work of the architects Temple and Leslie Moore. Thus, although the appearance is very much Gothic in style, the buildings actually date from the period 1911 to 1926. Discreet internal additions and alterations were made when St Cross moved in, by Geoffrey Beard and the Oxford Architects Partnership. Among these was the conversion of a cloister and store rooms into the Saugman Hall, now the Saugman Common Room, named after Per Saugman
, a former Director of Blackwell Scientific Publications and a former Fellow of the College. The first quadrangle was named the Richard Blackwell Quadrangle in honour of Richard Blackwell (another former Fellow); both Saugman and Blackwell played a crucial part in securing for St Cross the large Blackwell benefaction for the College.
Behind the main buildings to the west, and through the so-called 'Four Colleges Arch' (named after the four colleges, Christ Church, All Souls, Merton and St. John's, which had contributed especially generous capital and recurrent funding to St. Cross), lay a large open garden. This has offered the College the possibility of expanding its buildings and erecting a second quadrangle. Work has, so far, been completed on one new wing, to the south, containing a hall and kitchen, with bar, function room and weights room below, and study bedrooms above. The new wing was opened in 1993.
Unusually for an Oxford College there is a founding tradition of sharing social facilities between Fellows, members of Common Room and students, with no separate high table or Senior Common Room. This gives the college a much more informal atmosphere and makes it an important community of scholars who forge links across a range of subjects.
Although a secular foundation, and having completed the full purchase of the St Giles’ site from Pusey House in 2007, St Cross nevertheless enjoys warm relations with Pusey House, and the Pusey House Chapel is available for the use of all College members.
The college holds a Ball every year. Its themes have included Casablanca, the Oscars and Some Like it Hot.
Colleges of the University of Oxford
The University of Oxford comprises 38 Colleges and 6 Permanent Private Halls of religious foundation. Colleges and PPHs are autonomous self-governing corporations within the university, and all teaching staff and students studying for a degree of the university must belong to one of the colleges...
of the University of Oxford
University of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
in England. It is an all-graduate college, sharing attractive, traditional-style buildings on a central site in St Giles', just south of Pusey Street
Pusey Street
Pusey Street links the wide thoroughfare of St Giles' Street to the east with St John Street to the west in the St John Street area of central Oxford, England. Pusey Street, formerly called Alfred Street, was renamed in honour of Edward Bouverie Pusey in 1926.The street is bordered by two Oxford...
. It aims to match the structure, life and support of undergraduate colleges, with the relaxed atmosphere of an all-graduate college.
On 18 November 2010, it was announced that Sir Mark Ellis Powell Jones, at present Director of the Victoria and Albert Museum
Victoria and Albert Museum
The Victoria and Albert Museum , set in the Brompton district of The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London, England, is the world's largest museum of decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 4.5 million objects...
has been elected as the next Master of the College and will take up the post in September 2011.
History
St Cross was formally set up by the University in 1965; It was to admit its first graduate students (five in number) in the following year. The establishment of the college, together with that of Iffley (now WolfsonWolfson College, Oxford
Wolfson College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Located in north Oxford along the River Cherwell, Wolfson is an all-graduate college with over sixty governing body fellows, in addition to both research and junior research fellows. It caters to a wide range of...
) College, arose out of pressure on the University, during the early 1960s, to solve the related problems of senior members of the University and of the increasing numbers of graduate students, who needed a college affiliation.
The early location of St Cross was on a site in , immediately south of St Cross Church. The college was able to move from St Cross Road into a site owned by Pusey House in St Giles' Street in 1981.
The Pusey House buildings are mainly the work of the architects Temple and Leslie Moore. Thus, although the appearance is very much Gothic in style, the buildings actually date from the period 1911 to 1926. Discreet internal additions and alterations were made when St Cross moved in, by Geoffrey Beard and the Oxford Architects Partnership. Among these was the conversion of a cloister and store rooms into the Saugman Hall, now the Saugman Common Room, named after Per Saugman
Per Saugman
Per Saugman was a Director of Blackwell Scientific Publications and a Fellow of St Cross College, Oxford.-External links:* http://books.guardian.co.uk/obituaries/story/0,,1682891,00.html...
, a former Director of Blackwell Scientific Publications and a former Fellow of the College. The first quadrangle was named the Richard Blackwell Quadrangle in honour of Richard Blackwell (another former Fellow); both Saugman and Blackwell played a crucial part in securing for St Cross the large Blackwell benefaction for the College.
Behind the main buildings to the west, and through the so-called 'Four Colleges Arch' (named after the four colleges, Christ Church, All Souls, Merton and St. John's, which had contributed especially generous capital and recurrent funding to St. Cross), lay a large open garden. This has offered the College the possibility of expanding its buildings and erecting a second quadrangle. Work has, so far, been completed on one new wing, to the south, containing a hall and kitchen, with bar, function room and weights room below, and study bedrooms above. The new wing was opened in 1993.
Student life
St Cross has approximately 500 graduate students at any one time, studying for degrees in all subjects. There is a strong emphasis on international diversity, with 67 % of the students from outside the UK. This is reflected in the college motto Ad quattuor cardines mundi ‘to the four corners of the earth’. The Fellowship is similarly diverse and represents a broad range of academic disciplines in the sciences and the arts.Unusually for an Oxford College there is a founding tradition of sharing social facilities between Fellows, members of Common Room and students, with no separate high table or Senior Common Room. This gives the college a much more informal atmosphere and makes it an important community of scholars who forge links across a range of subjects.
Traditions
The college grace is:Although a secular foundation, and having completed the full purchase of the St Giles’ site from Pusey House in 2007, St Cross nevertheless enjoys warm relations with Pusey House, and the Pusey House Chapel is available for the use of all College members.
The college holds a Ball every year. Its themes have included Casablanca, the Oscars and Some Like it Hot.
Notable alumni
- Christian M. M. BradyChristian M. M. BradyChristian M. M. Brady is an American targumist, Jewish studies scholar and academic. He is Dean of the Schreyer Honors College, Penn State University and is an Associate Professor of Classics and Ancient Mediterranean Studies and Jewish Studies...
, scholar and academic - Alan Carter (philosopher)Alan Carter (philosopher)Alan Brian Carter is the Professor of Moral Philosophy at the University of Glasgow.He earned a BA at the University of Kent at Canterbury, an MA at the University of Sussex and a DPhil at St Cross College at the University of Oxford.Carter's first academic position was Lecturer in Political...
, professor and philosopher - Tim FosterTim FosterTimothy "Tim" James Carrington Foster MBE is a British rower. He began rowing at Bedford Modern School and competed in the Junior World Rowing Championships in 1987 and 1988. In the latter he competed in a pair with a Matthew Pinsent. He became the first British rower to win gold medals at two...
, Olympic rowing gold medalist (1997) - Toshiharu FurukawaToshiharu Furukawais a Japanese medical doctor, attorney, and politician of the Liberal Democratic Party. He was trained at Keio University, where he is now a professor. He obtained his MBA at Saïd Business School and St Cross College, Oxford in 2005. He is founder and Chief Executive Officer of GBS Laboratory...
, Japanese politician, professor, and CEO - R. Joseph HoffmannR. Joseph HoffmannR. Joseph Hoffmann is a historian of religion, and was chair of the Committee for the Scientific Examination of Religion, Associate Editor of the journal Free Inquiry from 2003-2009. He was founding editor of CSER's Review, CAESAR: A Journal of Religion and Human Values...
, historian (1980) - Hermione LeeHermione LeeHermione Lee, CBE is President of Wolfson College, Oxford and was lately Goldsmiths' Professor of English Literature in the University of Oxford and Professorial Fellow of New College. She is a Fellow of the British Academy and of the Royal Society of Literature.-Biography:Hermione Lee grew up in...
, critic, writer, biographer, and lecturer (1970) - David Digby Rendel, British politician
- Richard RudgleyRichard RudgleyRichard Rudgley is a British author and television presenter. He specializes on the topics of the usage of hallucinogens and intoxicants in society. He has also written about the Stone Age and about Paganism....
, anthropologist, author, and television presenter - Mihai Răzvan UngureanuMihai Razvan UngureanuMihai Răzvan Ungureanu is a Romanian historian, diplomat and politician. He was the foreign minister of Romania from December 28, 2004 to March 12, 2007...
, Foreign Minister of Romania, diplomat, and politician (1993) - Kenneth R. ValpeyKenneth R. ValpeyKenneth R. Valpey is a Gaudiya Vaishnava Theologian who studied at Oxford University, St Cross College . While there, he conducted his research at the Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies. He has a D.Phil. from Oxford University, where his dissertation was on Chaitanya Vaishnava murti-seva...
, professor and Gaudiya Vaishnava theologian
Fellows of St Cross
(not an exhaustive list)- Nick BostromNick BostromNick Bostrom is a Swedish philosopher at the University of Oxford known for his work on existential risk and the anthropic principle. He holds a PhD from the London School of Economics...
- George Malcolm BrownGeorge Malcolm BrownSir George Malcolm Brown, FRS was one of the most respected geologists of the second half of the Twentieth century...
- Luciano FloridiLuciano FloridiLuciano Floridi currently holds the Research Chair in philosophy of information and the UNESCO Chair in Information and Computer Ethics, both at the University of Hertfordshire, Department of Philosophy...
- Andrew Goudie
- Dan HicksDan Hicks (archaeologist)Dr Dan Hicks FSA, MIfA is a British archaeologist and anthropologist based at the University of Oxford. Hicks was educated at Bishop Vesey's Grammar School, Birmingham, where he was taught by R. F. Langley. He read Archaeology and Anthropology at St John's College, Oxford, gaining a first class...
- Robert MacCarthyRobert MacCarthyThe Very Revd Dr Robert MacCarthy is Dean of Saint Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin.Born in 1940, Dean MacCarthy was educated at St. Columba's College in Rathfarnham, Dublin. He continued his studies in Trinity College Dublin, St John's College Cambridge, Trinity College, Oxford and Cuddesdon...
- Diarmaid MacCullochDiarmaid MacCullochDiarmaid Ninian John MacCulloch FBA, FSA, FR Hist S is Professor of the History of the Church at the University of Oxford and Fellow of St Cross College, Oxford...
- Farhan NizamiFarhan NizamiFarhan Nizami CBE, is the Prince of Wales Fellow in the study of the Islamic World, Magdalen College, Oxford and the Founder Director of the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies. He read Modern History at Wadham College. From 1983 he has been a Fellow of St Cross College: Rothman’s Fellow in Muslim...
- E. Peter RaynesE. Peter RaynesEdward Peter Raynes MA , C. Phys, FInstP, FRS is Professor of Optoelectronic Engineering at the University of Oxford . He was, and continues to be, an early developer and advocate of liquid crystal displays ....
- Per SaugmanPer SaugmanPer Saugman was a Director of Blackwell Scientific Publications and a Fellow of St Cross College, Oxford.-External links:* http://books.guardian.co.uk/obituaries/story/0,,1682891,00.html...
- Julian SavulescuJulian SavulescuJulian Savulescu is a Romanian-Australian philosopher and bioethicist. He is Uehiro Professor of Practical Ethics at the University of Oxford, Fellow of St Cross College, Oxford, Director of the Oxford Uehiro Centre for Practical Ethics, and Head of the Melbourne–Oxford Stem Cell Collaboration,...
- Godfrey StaffordGodfrey StaffordDr Godfrey Harry Stafford CBE, MA FInstP, FRS is a British physicist and directed the Rutherford Appleton Laboratories from 1969 to 1981. He went on to be a master at St Cross College, in Oxford and president of the Institute of Physics. In 1950 Dr. Stafford married Helen Goldthorp Clark, an...
External links
- St Cross College official website