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MESSAGESIn the 2008 New Year’s Honours list, Professor John Savill(1975, Physiological Sciences), Head of the College ofMedicine and Veterinary Medicine and a Vice-Principal ofthe University of Edinburgh, was knighted for services toClinical Science. Jeremy Greenwood (1961, Zoology), untilrecently Director of the British Trust for Ornithology,received a CBE for services to Conservation.I am sorry to have to report the deaths that haveoccurred amongst our membership. From the Fellowship,Lloyd Stocken, Austin Bide and Benazir Bhutto; amongstour distinguished alumni, William Woodruff, Eric Silver,Robin McCleery, Denis Cosgrove and Clive Barnes. Weremember them with great affection.There are many significant new initiatives within thecollegiate University in which our Fellows play pivotalroles, and I give a perspective here of two of them –the tip of the iceberg. The Oxford Law Faculty’s newPostgraduate Diploma in Intellectual Property (IP) Lawand Practice has been orchestrated by Dr Justine Pila, andshe becomes the Diploma’s Founding Director. A centralpart of the University’s bid, won against competitionfrom eight other UK universities, was that the Diplomabe based at Catz from 2009. The College has also beenchosen as the new home for the Oxford International IPMoot, again overseen by Dr Pila in her capacity as InterimDirector of the Oxford IP Research Centre.On the mathematical side of the equation, I am delightedto report that Professor John Ockendon has become thefounding director of the Oxford Centre for CollaborativeApplied Mathematics (OCCAM) which is financed by a $25There aremanysignificantnew initiativeswithin thecollegiateUniversityin which ourFellows playpivotal roles ...million grant from the King Abdullah University of Scienceand Technology in Saudi Arabia. John, together withDr Hilary Ockendon and the late Professor Alan Tayler,has been a pioneer in bringing the tools of appliedmathematics to the service of industry, and it is greatlypleasing that the quality of his work has been so publiclyrecognised and rewarded. Initiatives such as these arepivotal in supporting the academic mission of College.Colleagues also work extremely hard to generatedirect financial support through the activities of ourDevelopment Office, our Conference and AccommodationOffice and through initiatives such as OXIP (OxfordInvestment Partnership). Our conference work, byproviding an agreeable, professional ambience in whichto meet, adds greatly to the public profile of the work ofthe College and, of course, brings a valuable income withit – this year £2.1 million, greater than that of any othercollege. Like all things in a college, team effort is vital,but the role of two key players, Caroline Carpenter andTim Kelsey, must be particularly applauded. Carolinebrings in the business better than anyone else in Oxford,and Tim the Chef makes sure they keep coming back.Our vision for the future is that we should continuein the provision of a high-quality, well-resourcededucation. All students who demonstrate need should begiven the financial support they require to be successfulin their studies. At the same time, the University shouldbe financially self-sustaining. It is vital we retain ourcompetitive position in attracting the right staff and inmaking sure we appeal to students with the rightpotential, and that we have appropriately good facilitiesto back this up. The tutorial system plays a major part in4 /A MESSAGE FROM THE MASTER