magazine - Somerville College - University of Oxford
magazine - Somerville College - University of Oxford
magazine - Somerville College - University of Oxford
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<strong>Somerville</strong> Magzine | 31<br />
The Caldicott Appeal<br />
Help us to continue a tradition<br />
<strong>of</strong> medical excellence at <strong>Somerville</strong><br />
In order to mark our appreciation and admiration for Dame Fiona<br />
Caldicott on the eve <strong>of</strong> her departure from <strong>Somerville</strong>, we would like<br />
to invite you to contribute to a project named in her honour.<br />
This project, which is dear to Fiona’s heart, is a Caldicott Bursary for<br />
the support <strong>of</strong> Clinical Medical Students at <strong>Somerville</strong>.<br />
Medicine has been transformed at <strong>Somerville</strong><br />
since Dame Fiona took up her post in<br />
1996. Whilst <strong>Somerville</strong> has always had a rich<br />
scientific and medical tradition, the last 14 years have<br />
seen a transformation in the way medical students are<br />
selected, taught and trained within a highly stimulating,<br />
pr<strong>of</strong>essional collegiate environment. As a result,<br />
<strong>Somerville</strong> is one <strong>of</strong> the three leading <strong>Oxford</strong> colleges for<br />
medicine and for clinical medicine in particular, as our<br />
outstanding students and recent results testify.<br />
Medicine is a long and demanding course, and in<br />
particular it is financially demanding for all our clinical<br />
students who have already completed undergraduate<br />
degrees. In order to attract the very best students,<br />
irrespective <strong>of</strong> background and financial resources, it is<br />
essential to <strong>of</strong>fer financial support. If we are able to raise<br />
£50,000 for a Caldicott Bursary, this would enable us to<br />
give substantial help to one medical student every year.<br />
Two major developments have allowed <strong>Somerville</strong> to<br />
expand the numbers <strong>of</strong> clinical students in <strong>College</strong> under<br />
Fiona’s leadership – allowing us to retain many <strong>of</strong> our<br />
excellent undergraduates. The first, was the association <strong>of</strong><br />
the new May Pr<strong>of</strong>essorship <strong>of</strong> Medicine with <strong>Somerville</strong>,<br />
and the appointment <strong>of</strong> Pr<strong>of</strong>essor Rajesh Thakker to<br />
this Chair to lead the development <strong>of</strong> clinical medicine<br />
at <strong>Somerville</strong>. The second, was the <strong>College</strong>’s pioneering<br />
commitment to expanding access to medicine to as wide<br />
a range <strong>of</strong> students as possible through the accelerated<br />
4 year graduate entry course which is now in its 8th<br />
very successful year. Dame Fiona has been a vigorous<br />
supporter <strong>of</strong> the fundraising efforts required to sustain<br />
and develop this very active college community which<br />
now numbers some 36 medical students, four Fellows<br />
and numerous preclinical and clinical tutors. There is<br />
no doubt that very little <strong>of</strong> the above could have been<br />
achieved in such a short time without Dame Fiona’s<br />
vision, energy and support.<br />
With the establishment <strong>of</strong> at Caldicott Bursary, we would<br />
like to honor Dame Fiona’s tremendous contributions to<br />
medical education by supporting talented medical students<br />
in financial need. About 50% <strong>of</strong> students applying to<br />
<strong>Somerville</strong> come from state schools and the <strong>College</strong> is<br />
keen to ensure that we can maintain and even increase<br />
this proportion. <strong>Somerville</strong> supports one in four <strong>of</strong> its<br />
students with some form <strong>of</strong> financial aid, making it one<br />
<strong>of</strong> the leading colleges in <strong>Oxford</strong> to <strong>of</strong>fer this level <strong>of</strong> help.<br />
However, the need for bursaries for medical students is<br />
great and there are many more talented applicants in<br />
financial need than we can currently support.<br />
In light <strong>of</strong> the future demands for medical graduates in the<br />
clinical areas we are asking you to support the Caldicott<br />
Bursary Fund. The establishment <strong>of</strong> a Caldicott Bursary<br />
would enable the <strong>College</strong> to continue our visionary strategy<br />
for <strong>of</strong>fering outstanding students access to a world leading<br />
education in clinical medicine on a needs-blind basis.<br />
We are delighted to honour Dame Fiona’s distinguished<br />
medical career in this way and to mark our appreciation<br />
<strong>of</strong> her achievements as she retires as Principal <strong>of</strong><br />
<strong>Somerville</strong> this year. We hope you will help to support<br />
clinical students at <strong>Somerville</strong> by making a gift on the<br />
enclosed gift form. Your gift and the support that it<br />
conveys will be greatly appreciated by all at <strong>Somerville</strong>.<br />
With warm wishes,<br />
Harriet Maunsell (Dawes, 1962, PPE)<br />
Chair, <strong>Somerville</strong> Development Board<br />
Jenny Wright (Allan, 1968, History)<br />
Chair, <strong>Somerville</strong> Medics’ Committee