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Annual Review
2010/11
18
Reaching out to Old
Members across the globe
O
f UK alumni, 65% live within a few hours of
Oxford, and therefore Keble-based events feature
prominently in the College calendar. This year the 1967-
71s came back in June, and 1972-76s in September for
their once-every-five-year Reunion Weekend. These
weekends attract good numbers including some Old
Members who travel great distances to meet up
and spend time with contemporaries. The
50th Anniversary Lunch, held at the end
of September, is a firm fixture of the
Events Calendar. For the first time
this year we introduced a 25th
anniversary event and invited the
1986s back to join the Summer
Dinner in July. The Summer
Dinner continues to be the one
opportunity every year for Old
Members of all matriculation years
to bring guests to dine in Hall, and
stay in College if they wish.
Since over 57% of UK alumni live or
work within commutable distance of
London, we introduced termly London
Lectures in 2010, sponsored by Jonathan
Mills (1987), which provide intellectual stimulation and the
opportunity to network with other alumni and their guests.
The lectures were given by Fellows of the College, this year,
on the topics of business management, the impact of climate
change and radio-carbon dating.
Reaching out to the 2,000 alumni who live in all corners of
the globe is more challenging. In his first year of office the
Warden has endeavoured to meet as many Old Members
as possible within the constraints of having to be in College
during term time. He and Jenny Tudge, the Director of
Development, undertook a formidable schedule of global
travel to reach the locations with the most alumni. In March,
they visited Singapore, Hong Kong and Beijing. Then they
continued to the West Coast of the United States to dovetail
with the University’s North American Office programme of
events on the Western Seaboard. It was the first time a
Warden of the College had visited that part of the world and
new links were forged with alumni. Keble dinners were held in
Los Angeles and San Francisco, with much appreciated help
from Ryan Millsap (1995) in LA and Julia Bergman (1990) in
San Francisco. In Vancouver, Keble was strongly represented
at the University reunion with over 30 alumni in attendance
thanks to the hard work of Russell Smith (1978) and Sholto
Hebenton (1957).
In July Jonathan and Jenny were back in the air - this time for
the East Coast of the USA to accompany the Chapel Choir
Tour to Boston, New York and Washington, and to meet Old
Members. The Choir sang at the alumni receptions held in
the Harvard Faculty Club in Cambridge, MA with thanks to
Roderick MacFarquhar (1950), and The Metropolitan Club in
Washington hosted by Bruce Kennedy (1998).
The College is in touch with 8,116 Old Members around the world. The 2,000
(24%) or so who live abroad are spread throughout 99 countries, from Andorra
to Zimbabwe, evidence of a truly global Keble community.
Kam Lam (1977), James Atkinson (2002) and Fiona
Mitchell (2002) at the Chinese Club in Hong Kong