Celebrating 100 profiles

This week marked the 100th profile on Univ’s website, exploring the lives of students, OMs, staff and Fellows at Univ. The project began as a celebration of 40 years of women at Univ, back in 2019 with Ruqayah Juyel (2017, Law), JCR Women’s Rep, as the first-ever profile.

Over the past three years, the profiles have documented the breadth and depth of Univ’s community, from award-winning architect Jack Diamond (1956, PPE) to bestselling novelist Rebecca Kuang (2019, MSc Contemporary Chinese Studies). Professor Ruth Chang, Professorial Fellow at Univ, Chair and Professor of Jurisprudence, discussed the challenges she has faced as a woman of colour in law and academia, while Dr Rajendra Chitnis, Ivana and Pavel Tykač Supernumerary Fellow in Czech, Fellow for Anti-Racism and Associate Professor of Czech, recommended some excellent places to start when it comes to Czech and Slovak literature. Alex Wowra, Housekeeping Manager, discussed life during the pandemic and juggling work and home life, with Angela Unsworth, Domestic Bursar, writing about coming from the RAF to Univ.

Elizabeth Adams, College Librarian, revealed her letterpress printing hobby, and Paul Armstrong (1984, PPE) talked about his time working on Match of the Day. Holly James Johnston (2019, MSt English (1900 – Present Day)) wrote about starting drag and working on videos with Tate Britain, Gauri Pillai (2017, DPhil Law), Rhodes Scholar, explored her work on reproductive rights and Dag Yosief (2019, PPE) spoke about his experience being JCR President during the pandemic. These are just a few of the many extraordinary profiles that members of the Univ community from around the world have contributed to the project. Thank you so much to everyone who has taken part or taken the time to read the profiles.

Baroness Valerie Amos, the Master, said, “The Univ Profile Project began when we celebrated the important milestone of 40 years of women at Univ. It’s been a wonderful project for Univ celebrating the depth and diversity of our community: students, OMs, staff and Fellows. Univ balances history and tradition with a forward-looking perspective and our members reflect that. The profiles are a fantastic opportunity to celebrate them in all their glory.”

Nelli Chamings-Manley, Undergraduate Admissions and Access Manager, explained, “What makes Univ so special is not our old architecture or beautiful gardens; it is the diverse group of individuals who all bring something unique to the College community just by being themselves. Since the website profiles began as one way of marking 40 years of women at Univ, they have done a vital job in allowing us to take a step back and celebrate the people who make up this amazing College community. I hope they also show any prospective applicant to the College that there is no ideal type of Oxford student – we welcome applications from students of all backgrounds.”

Our thanks also to Ariane Laurent-Smith, Communications Assistant, who has run the project from its inception. Ariane commented, “It is an absolute privilege to work on the profile project. I am so grateful to Univ’s community for always coming up with such honest, insightful and thought-provoking responses.”

Explore our first 100 Profiles by clicking the gallery below.