Law Corner, a pro bono legal advice organisation founded by alumnus Nabil Khabirpour (Law, 2008), has entered into an exciting partnership with the Cambridge Law Faculty. The partnership will make a vital impact on ensuring access to the legal system is more widely available, while enabling current students to gain invaluable pro bono work experience.
Congratulations to alumnus Ben Glassberg (Music, 2012) who has been appointed as Music Director of the Volksoper Orchestra, Vienna. Ben will begin his new role in January 2024.
Our stunning College Chapel Choir's albums occupy not one, but TWO spots in the Naxos Top Ten chart in Sweden!
Girton Bye-Fellow and co-leader of the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, Professor Margaret Faultless, has been made an Honorary Fellow at Clare College, Cambridge.
Enterprise Fellow, Dr Sabesan Sithamparanathan, has been elected as a Fellow to the Royal Academy of Engineering. Dr Sithamparanathan is the founder and president of PervasID who have just launched their ground-breaking TrackMaster technology which enables retailers to track the location of goods in their retail stores or warehouses, with an exceptionally high degree of accuracy, using RFID tags and replacing costly manual handheld scanning.
Honorary Fellow and alumna, Sandi Toksvig, is set to return to Cambridge after being awarded the inaugural Qantabrigian Fellowship for 2023–24, by the LGBTQ+ research programme in Cambridge University’s Department of Sociology.
Beneath our Feet: Archaeology of the Cambridge Region, the Cambridge Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology's wonderful exhibition, includes objects from Girton's museum, the Lawrence Room, and fascinating research by Girton Fellow, Dr Emma Brownlee. The exhibition runs until 24 April 2024 so do visit!
Girton's Secretary to Council, Dr Caroline Shenton, has been appointed to The Reviewing Committee on the Export of Works of Art and Objects of Cultural Interest. The committee advises the Secretary of State for the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) whether a cultural object intended for export is a national treasure.
Dr Claire White, the Brenda Stacey Fellow in Modern and Medieval Languages, is a contributor to the newly-published volume accompanying the current exhibition on Edgar Degas at The Cleveland Museum of Art. The exhibition runs from 8 October 2023 to January 14 2024.
Ain Bailey, the 2022–23 Cavendish Arts Science Fellow at Girton, features in a podcast talking with Gemma Bale, assistant professor of Medical Therapeutics at the University of Cambridge and head of the Neuro Optics Lab about the intersection of sound, science and music.
Professor Carenza Lewis (Archaeology and Anthropology, 1982), alumna and distinguished archaeologists, has been awarded the British Academy Landscape Archaeology Medal 2023 in recognition of her contribution to the field and her lasting impact on social sciences.
Cevanne Horrocks-Hopayian (Music, 2004), alumna and Mary Amelia Cummins Harvey Visiting Fellow Commoner 2019–20, has been nominated for an Ivor Novello Award. The nomination is for a multi-media project Cevanne contributed to, as part of a duo Crewsdon and Cevanne, which included an installation, EP and augmented-reality book inspired by folklore and the waterways of Coventry.
Books Galore!
Okechukwu Nzelu (English, 2007) and Seán Hewitt (English, 2009) have both been shortlisted for a Polari Book Prize this year. Seán has been nominated for his captivating memoir on love and loss, All Down Darkness Wide. Okechukwu has been nominated for his second novel Here Again Now, a spellbinding story about lovers, fathers and sons. The Polari Prize is the UK and Ireland’s only dedicated LGBTQ+ book prize, founded by author and activist, Paul Burston.
Wendy Holden (English, 1983) has published a the final book in her Windsor Women trilogy. The Princess is a moving new novel about the young Diana.
Pulitzer Prize-winning author and Mary Amelia Cummins Harvey Visiting Fellow Commoner 2008, Hisham Matar is set to publish his new novel, My Friends, in January 2024. It is described as 'A masterful, intensely moving novel about three friends living in political exile and the emotional homeland that deep friendships can provide.'
John Marks Fellow in Medicine and Praelector, Rev'd Dr Charlie Bell's latest book is titled Light to those in Darkness: ‘Total Pain’ and the Body of Christ. As a clinician and theologian Dr Bell reflects on the ways that the doctrine of ‘the communion of saints’, might be used to help the church understand how it can address “total pain” within individuals, and collective trauma within the wider community.
Juliet Campbell, former Mistress of Girton and distinguished diplomat, launched her fascinating memoir this term. Playing Britannia: How I Became Her Excellency is an absorbing account of Juliet's early life and her pioneering career in the British Diplomatic Service.
A stunning new coffee table book, Girton Time, is now available. It is a conversation in artwork and poems about Girton College. The book features stunning artwork by Dr Carol Adlam, Mary Amelia Cummins Harvey Visiting Fellow Commoner 2021–22, and beautiful poems by Dr James Wade, Jane Elizabeth Martin Fellow in English, and Dr Adam Crothers (English, 2002).
And Finally...
In case you missed it – in 2017 the Mistress, Dr Elisabeth Kendall spoke to the BBC's Alex Marshall about why she became a jihadist poetry critic.
Professor Dame Lesley Regan, former Fellow and the first Women’s Health Ambassador for England, joined presenter Lauren Laverne on a recent edition of BBC Radio 4's Desert Island Discs. We are delighted that Professor Regan is due to be admitted as an Honorary Fellow at Girton in the New Year. 
