Page 3 - Mansfield 2019/20

Message from the Principal
Helen Mountfield QC
When I accepted the role of Principal of Mansfield College, I knew I had not taken the easy option, but I could never have imagined I would be leading a college through a global pandemic.
There is so much that has been difficult and challenging about the past year, it barely needs stating. I want to focus instead on the theme of this year’s Mansfield magazine, and what has proved to be so important, so evident, and so sustaining in recent months, and something we have come to value like never before: community.
the financial resilience of Mansfield. This summer’s conference and events income,
so vital to our business model, vanished.
The value of our (modest) endowment is diminished. Student rooms lay empty and unrented for the whole of Trinity term. Our Bursar, Richard Scanlon, has done a truly heroic job of making careful and sensible decisions to keep College afloat, as the world shifted around us, in ways no risk analyst could have predicted. And still we must scan the horizon.
Back in January, in what now seems like entirely different times, the Governing Body of Mansfield came together to build an exciting new strategy for College for the coming 20 years. We are developing a business plan to realise that strategy. Planning our future is not easy, amid the uncertainty of the Covid crisis, but made even more imperative by it.
At the heart of our strategy is a statement of our purpose, our distinctive ethos and our values. You can read this on our website. We value diversity and difference as necessary elements of a vibrant intellectual culture. We want to foster an inclusive and engaged community of people and ideas.
I am proud that Mansfield’s name is becoming well-known for our track record on access; our modern take on nonconformity; and our respect for the dignity and worth
of everyone. This is our community spirit. It
is what students tell me attracted them to apply here. It is what encourages alumni and others to support us. It is what makes my job a joy and an honour.
It is what has seen us through this year.
These times will pass. And I am sure that, with your support, we can put our College on a secure and sustainable footing, so that – when 2020 is history – Mansfield will still be here; to continue to support the fantastic young people who study here: young people who go on to make the world a better place.
In times of crisis and hardship, community is what sees us through. And at Mansfield this year, I have seen community spirit displayed myriad ways: supporting one another, going over and above for the good of the College, forbearance, and kindness.
in
‘ ...when 2020 is history – Mansfield will still be here ’
and imaginatively supported this new way of learning, while still bringing lustre to Mansfield by the distinction of their research (of which more later in this magazine).
Our staff – librarians, IT technicians, administrators, chefs and cleaners – have gone the extra mile to keep our reading lists accessible, our students cared for, and to respond to complicated and repeatedly changing Covid guidelines. Some have worked remotely, juggling family and caring responsibilities; others have worked on the front line to make sure our students stay safe and fed.
And of course, our wonderful global community of alumni, who have rallied to support College in its time of necessity in numerous ways: from generous gifts; to participating in online careers and mentoring events; to kindly giving us expert pro bono technical advice, just when we need it.
Thank you, all.
But there is no getting away from the fact that the Covid crisis has gravely dented
Our current community of Mansfield students have carried on through tough times with incredible good humour. Those who were already here when the pandemic struck lost a precious Oxford summer; but they invented all sorts of activities to keep spirits up as they studied – even took finals, some of them! – at home, often with limited personal space or Wi-Fi. And in spite of it all, they have achieved wonderful academic results: our highest ever number of firsts this year. Our new class of 2020 have arrived to a pared-down world of Perspex screens and physical-distancing rules, but are still studying and rowing and writing and avidly debating ideas; and have still forged strong social bonds within and across their public-health imposed ‘household’ groups.
My wonderful academic colleagues chose Mansfield over bigger, wealthier colleges because they believe in our mission: to give talented and sometimes unexpected people the chance to soar at Oxford. When the first Covid lockdown caused Trinity term to ‘go online’, our Fellows put in many hours of extra work to support students suddenly spread all over the globe. They generously
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