Dear Alumna,

Today marks 71 days until our Virtual Festival of Arts Science & Ideas, a notable number as Newnham was, of course, founded in 1871. Do save the dates Saturday 10 and Sunday 11 July - our exciting programme of events will be announced in June.

April started with Honorary Fellows Sandi Toksvig and Marin Alsop 'In Conversation'. You can catch up with this sparkling conversation between kindred spirits below, covering women's representation, what lockdown taught them and their musical origins.

Of course, a highlight of this month has been the fantastic double victory on the River Ouse for CUBC, with three of our students ably securing the nail-biting Light Blue victory in the Women's Boat Race. You can read more about them here, and how we're celebrating Newnham's stunning double headship below. 

There was sadness in April. We lost a vibrant member of our community, Erica Segre who had been a part of Newnham for over twenty years. We paid our respects to Honorary Fellow Baroness Shirley Williams (1930-2021) and invite anyone with memories of her to get in touch. We paid tribute to HRH Prince Phillip, the Duke of Edinburgh - you can read about his visits to Newnham and see photographs celebrating his special connection here.

With best wishes, 

- The Roll & Development Office

A new spotlight on Dr Sam Lucy, archaeologist, gives an insight into Cambridgeshire and the Dark Ages. | Newnham Fellow Dr Tina Potter will shortly be awarded a Pilkington Teaching Prize. | Newnham welcomed nearly 100 sixth formers for the 2021 Rosalind Franklin Conference - this year's theme was bioelectronics. | Our Conferencing Manager, Mel Searle, discusses what you do as an events manager in a year without events? | Newnham's Gardening Club have begun work on a Food Forest Permaculture Garden. | Senior Member Dr Emma Pomeroy was nominated in the Researcher of the Year category in the Cambridge Independent #SciTechAwards. |  Muslim students spending Ramadaan at Newnham have been breaking the fast together in Hall. Newnham Akhawaat Society is bringing the Ramadaan experience to Newnham whilst staying safe. | The Easter Bunny visited Newnham, and there were eggs aplenty for egg-hunters. Later this month, tulips have begun joyfully emerging. | Alumnae in reunion years gathered online for a Virtual Reunion and Commemoration. Prof Mary Garson tweeted "Using Zoom for #Newnham150 made it possible to join in the morning events from Oz. Thank you NC! 50 years on, we celebrate the privilege of having been the 100th intake into college."

Alumnae will be greatly saddened to learn of the untimely death of Erica Segre after a long illness. 

Erica was affiliated to Newnham for over twenty years alongside her Fellowship at Trinity College. She was a specialist in Latin American visual arts and literature and a celebrated translator of Italian literature and science, together with her husband Simon Carnell. Her former students will remember her vibrant passion for her subject and the rich connections she made between visual culture and words in many languages. She will be greatly missed.

Colleagues have been sharing memories of Erica on the Trinity College website, and Newnham will be sharing our own tribute on the College website. We would be grateful for memories from alumnae for publication there. These should be sent to Dr Sheila Watts (sw271@cam.ac.uk) and Dr Jenny Mander (jsm15@cam.ac.uk).

Friday 7 May, 18:00 BST : Professor Ruth Padel will deliver the Jane Harrison Memorial Lecture on 'Divinity, Hormones and Forest'.

Looking back at her own debt to Jane Harrison’s work on religion and the Greek psyche, Ruth Padel explores ways of understanding the ancient Greeks’ relations with their gods suggested by discoveries in physiology, archaeology, psychology and biology, made at the time Harrison was writing. 

She will bring together different strands of her work - on tragedy and Greek religion, poetry and Charles Darwin, science, nature, and wildlife conservation - to ask how we respond to the destruction of wilderness today. Read more and please book here.

Newnham's glorious architecture featured on the front cover of Country Life magazine this week, the April 28 issue. Alumna Kathryn Ferry (NC 1995) wrote a stunning article on the architecture and history of Newnham, accompanied by photographs showing Newnham at its best. Available in newsagents near you! 

At the end of March a new blade, donated by NCBC Gryphen Michelle Beretvas Mittelsteadt (First Boat Captain 1992), was installed above the entrance to the Buttery to celebrate Newnham's double headship (see above). The blade took an unusual journey across Cambridge by bike, briefly glimpsing the landmarks before arriving 'home' (see below). 

Shortly afterwards, The Boat Race saw a double victory for Cambridge, with three Newnham students securing the victory in Women's Race. Read about Adriana, Caoimhe and Sarah - our fantastic Newnham students who rowed the nail-biting April 4 race on the River Ouse - here. 

Congratulations also to the Blondie crew, and particularly to Newnham MCR student Kasia Pilch, who rowed to a decisive victory over the Oxford reserve boat. The reserve races were run as a closed event on the River Great Ouse in Ely.

In celebration of Newnham's 150 years, NCBC is looking to put together 150 memories of the boat club from current students and alumnae. Please send any memories or photos, to ncbc.captain@gmail.com by 31st May. When they have 150 memories, they will send them out so that all members of NCBC, past and present, can read about what NCBC means to its members.

Erika Tan, the artist appointed for the Anniversary Art Commission, is asking for nominations of less well-known women in Newnham's history - she explains:

These could be women who lived, worked, studied in Newnham over the last 150 years. We are particularly exploring lesser-known histories, by this we mean individuals whose lives may have had less relevance or seeming significance to Britain, America, Europe and possibly more of a global or international significance, or localised importance 'elsewhere'. The terminology is intentionally left a little vague, we'd like to hear your thoughts and suggestions around how this project shapes up and who we might find.

If there is a woman in Newnham's history who you would like to nominate please send your suggestions to Newnham’s Curator laura.dennis@newn.cam.ac.uk by the end of May 2021. Read more about the call for nominations and the updated list of nominees so far here.

A message from Jo Burch: 

As the newly-retired Roll Committee President, I would like to say an enormous thank-you to everyone at Newnham for their support and enthusiasm for the various Roll Committee initiatives we have promoted during my presidency. I hand over with absolute confidence to Annette Spencer, with her team of Vice Presidents, Libby Richards and Ruth Shin, and I look forward to watching from the sidelines as the engagement between College and its alumnae continues to flourish.

With my warmest regards to you all

Jo Burch

Above, Julia Segal (NC 1968) discusses finding purpose in volunteering as a counsellor for NHS staff. Read more here.

Above, Jane Salvage (NC 1972) describes some of the questions that arose as she put her nursing skills to use, volunteering at her local food-bank. Read more here.

NEWNHAM FRIENDS REFLECT ON THEIR MEMORIES FOR THE 150TH ANNIVERSARY

Thank you very much for those of you who replied to our electronic personal information questionnaire in the last couple of weeks. We are delighted that the response was very high. Your continued support means the world to Newnham and keeps us all connected.

If you would like to contact the Roll & Development Office you can always email the Roll & Development Office at roll@newn.cam.ac.uk, and follow us on our Twitter and Instagram pages. We love to hear of news, big or small, from our alumnae, so please send your updates our way!

Our Development Director, Sarah Carthew, is happy to speak to alumnae and can be reached directly by phone at 07464203246.