From the Principal

I mean we’ve not made a bad start: The King has visited, but others have followed in his footsteps too, including former Prime Minister Theresa May, Civil Rights icons Rev Jesse Jackson and Rev Al Sharpton, Government review guru Baroness Louise Casey, Baroness Floella Benjiman, and poet Lemn Sissay.

But the real breakthrough has been establishing the building blocks that will hopefully guide the College for the next 20 years.  Asking ourseleves who are we; what makes us distinct from other academic institutions; and what binds us together?

What binds us together with other Cambridge colleges, at least, and I suspect with many other academic institutions, is the pursuit for what we might call ‘academic excellence’; nurturing the brightest souls to reach goals, that they themselves are surprised they could reach.

But at Homerton we want more than that, much more.  In this ‘what is more’, matter I am guided by my superhero Dr Martin Luther King Jr.  When he was not much older than many of our undergraduates he wrote a paper on the meaning of education.  In this visionary piece, almost foreseeing what a unfettered education elite might do without guidance, he stated:  

“Academic intelligence plus character is the goal of true education.  Education which stops with efficiency may prove the greatest menace to society.”

At Homerton we not only want to stand out for being the most diverse and inclusive college in either Oxford or Cambridge, but also one whose culture is values driven, enabling students to acutely be aware of what they might do for the societal good, rather than just for themselves.  This for us is not just a hope, but a guiding ‘north star’.  Something that every aspect of our College lives and breathes.  From wellbeing, to some of the biggest conversations of our day, the Homerton space is where you get to be the best you can be, and where you better understand those issues that society wrestles with, such as AI, sustainability, and global inequity.  

Getting the life balance right here at Homerton also means having fun: sport, dances, societies and glorious walks on our 25 acre estate.  My go-to escape is table tennis aka ping pong … I was unbeaten for a while, until word got out: ‘let’s beat the ping pong Principal!’  

I love that, as I do a card that I received from a student:  

“Thank you for being a source of inspiration and creating spaces where we truly belong”. 

Mic drop!