College Record 2014

Alumni Relations and Development 2013–14
A message from Bill Conner, the Development Director
Last year was our first year without builders for some time. The Wolfson community
was able to enjoy the benefits of all the work of the past few years and in particular
the newly-opened Leonard Wolfson Auditorium. It has been a marvellous addition
to our resources, bringing together more people than ever around the College’s
extensive programme of lectures, seminars and other academic and cultural events
across a broad range of subjects and interests. The academic clusters and the activity
they generate continue to contribute significantly to Wolfson’s public profile.
The College’s expanded outreach has continued with more events offered to
alumni. Most events, described elsewhere in the Record, are available to everyone,
and we encourage your participation. In London, the 2013 Christmas drinks party
took place at Waterstones on Piccadilly. The 2014 London Lecture took place at
the Museum of London. This year Dr Hein de Haas addressed a full auditorium
on ‘Human migration: Myths, Hysteria and Facts’. In April, the President and I
attended the University’s reunion in New York City where we hosted two events:
a dinner for academic friends and partners of the College at the Penn Club, and an
alumni reception at the Waldorf Astoria. As we get closer to the fiftieth anniversary,
I hope we will continue to engage more alumni and old friends of the College in
our various activities.
Our international community continues to grow, and the activities and interests
of the greater Wolfson family are breath-taking in their scope. We have invested
successfully over the last five years in communications and data systems that
help us stay connected, and will continue to exploit new technology and better
communications to knit our global family together. In 2014 our efforts to bring
alumni together with students was focused on ‘Wolfson Innovate’. A number of
alumni acted as judges, mentors and advisors to some of our aspiring entrepreneurs.
Wolfson Innovate was deemed a success and a useful window onto the world of
entrepreneurship for students wanting to take their ideas forward commercially or
as a social investment. One student said to me ‘it beats going to work for a bank’.
Our sixth successive year of growth in donor numbers continues to prove to me
that alumni support of the College can matter. The annual phone campaign is
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