SFOU dinner with John Bowers KC Principal, Brasenose College, Oxford Zurich, 12th September 2023
To: Members and Friends of SFOU,
John Bowers KC, distinguished jurist and principal of Brasenose College, Oxford, will be coming to Switzerland at the end of the summer and he has agreed to speak at a private dinner for SFOU members in Zurich, on the evening of Tuesday, 12th September 2023 at 19:00, at the Baur au Lac Club and will talk on the subject of “Free Speech on Campus”.
Please note the date in your diary and hopefully you can join us. An official invitation will follow.
In the meantime, I wish you a wonderful summer season.
In November 2022 we had two stunning dinner events with our fabulous guest of honour Professor Dr Christopher McKenna who presented the case study “Family Business, Corporate Reputation, and the Evolution of the English Wine Trade”.
on 23rd November 2022 in Zurichon 24th November 2022 in Geneva
The Chancellor of Oxford University, Lord Patten of Barnes, who chaired the Nominating Committee, said: ‘Irene Tracey was born in Oxford and educated at a local comprehensive and Oxford University, for which she has now been proposed as the next Vice-Chancellor. It is an extraordinary story of personal achievement, social mobility and academic excellence. I doubt whether anyone knows more about the University and all its aspects than today’s Warden of Merton. She also, as an internationally recognised scientist, has considerable experience at home and abroad. I am sure she will build successfully on the outstanding achievements of Louise Richardson and lead Oxford in coping with the big challenges which lie ahead.’
‘What the college stands for is very important to me. Excellence and equality have been significant driving motivations throughout my career.’
Professor Dame Sarah Springman was awarded a DBE for services to engineering and services to international sports administration in the 2022 New Year Honours. Exactly a month later she formally took up her post as the new Principal of St Hilda’s.
Swiss Friends of Oxford (SFOU) has successfully completed its fourth full year of operation. During 2021 SFOU has reached some significant milestones. It has already facilitated over CHF 4,500,000 in donations to Oxford University, its colleges and departments and distributed over CHF 5,000 in scholarship funds to Swiss-based students applying to Oxford. SFOU has grown its membership to 64 and has expanded its board by appointing Maria Mavridoglou and Anne Kriken Mann.
President of the Association Howard Rosen said: ‘It’s an important part of our mission that 50% of our membership fees are allocated to support Swiss-based students studying at Oxford. Switzerland is one of the philanthropic centres of the world and has detailed rules on the establishment and purposes of tax-exempt organisations. As such, SFOU permits Oxford University alumni and others based in Switzerland to make gifts and leave legacies in a tax efficient way as charitable donations to Oxford.’
Board member Guy Spier noted: ‘We now have a platform from which to give back to Oxford University, which has made such a difference to all our lives. As we look to the future, there will be many more opportunities to increase awareness of Oxford and help the next generation experience the same opportunities that we enjoyed.’
‘The most satisfying part of being a member of SFOU,’ said board member John Rolley, ’is the support we can give directly to students. Working with Oxford we have already identified students who are candidates for financial support, and the numbers we award scholarships to will only grow as we spread the word.’
A spokesperson from Oxford University, said: ‘SFOU is a wonderful model for other nonprofits, started by alumni with the objective of giving back to their university. Colleagues across the University and colleges were impressed when they started the association and are even more impressed that it has become a success, in spite of the pandemic. We are enormously grateful to the membership of SFOU for all their hard work and dedication.’
As I am sure you may know, it is 6th week here at Oxford and we have broken the back of Michaelmas Term and can now start contemplating the Christmas break.
This has been an extraordinary time and I would like to thank each and every one of you for all you have done to support our University and for your continued active participation in the alumni community – it means a great deal to all of us after the prolonged disruption of the pandemic.
I also wanted to let you know that it is being announced today that I have been appointed the 13th President of the Carnegie Corporation of New York. I will take up my post on 1 January 2023 at the conclusion of my seven year term here at Oxford at the end of December 2022. As many of you know, the Carnegie Corporation is a Foundation dedicated to promoting education, strengthening democracy and advancing international peace.
The process of choosing my successor is already well-advanced. A committee charged with nominating the next Vice-Chancellor, led by the Chancellor, began work in July this year. It is expected to submit a name to the University’s Congregation for approval in summer 2022.
My years at Oxford have been the highlight of my career and I have treasured my opportunities to engage with this remarkable alumni community. But it is too early for perorations. I fully intend to dedicate the next year to working as hard as ever, together with you, to advance the mission of this great university. At Carnegie I will be leading a Foundation dedicated to my twin passions of education and peace, but Oxford will never be far from my thoughts.
With warm wishes, Professor Louise Richardson Vice-Chancellor
On 17th March 2021 SFOU hosted a fascinating (virtual) evening with Sir Nigel Shadbolt, FREng FRS, Principal of Jesus College, and Professorial Research Fellow in the Department of Computer Science, University of Oxford, and Chairman of the Open Data Institute. Sir Nigel spoke brilliantly on “The Digital Ape: Being Human in the Age of AI”. A lively Q&A and discussion followed. Hopefully we can welcome Sir Nigel to Switzerland in person in the near future.
On 23rd October 2020 a discussion with Niklaus Nuspliger (Political Correspondent for the Swiss daily Neue Zürcher Zeitung (NZZ) based in London), Prof. Kalypso Nicolaïdis (Universitx of Oxford), and Alexis Lautenberg (former Ambassador of Switzerland to the EU) took place. If you were not able to follow this please click on the link below:
The breakfast during the Meeting Minds weekend which was to have been hosted by John Bowers, QC, Principal, Brasenose College at the College has now been changed into a virtual breakfast, on 13th September, from 9:30 until 10:45 (UK Time). Prof Chris McKenna will also be participating as a guest speaker, talking on “Putting COVID-19 in context – its long-term impact on capitalism”. The talk will be followed by a general discussion and questions.
The breakfast is open to all SFOU members and
partners/guests and Swiss students currently studying in Oxford. To register,
please email Bobby Holtzer at info@oxfordfriends.ch
and you will be sent joining details in due course.
Of course we should all still be eating breakfast together!
And a breakfast is not Swiss without Birchermuesli. So please also e-mail your
favourite Birchermuesli recipe to us at info@oxfordfriends.ch and we will upload a selection of the best ones
closer to the time.
