Fellowship farewells and retirements

St Catharine’s wishes a fond farewell to three of our Fellows who are leaving to pursue new roles at St John’s College, the University of Oxford and the University of Cambridge, respectively. In addition, two longstanding Fellows have announced their retirement and have been elected Fellows Emeriti by the College’s Governing Body.

Professor Sir Mark Welland (2016), Master of St Catharine’s, commented:

“As perfectly demonstrated by these five colleagues, the Fellowship supports not only the world-class teaching and research environment here, but also gives significant time and expertise to advancing initiatives that benefit current and future generations, such as student welfare and environmental sustainability. On behalf of everyone at St Catharine’s, I want to thank them for their contributions and support, and wish them the very best of luck in their future endeavours.”

Farewells

Dr Vasileios Kotsidis (2019) was the Bibby College Assistant Professor and Director of Studies in Economics at St Catharine’s until August. He is joining the Fellowship of St John’s College, Cambridge, where he will continue to investigate the properties and formal representations of individual preferences in strategic settings, as well as the emergence, scope, and dynamics of social norms.

He said, “St Catharine is, first and foremost, a wonderful community of students, staff and Fellows. It has been a pleasure and a privilege to have been a part of it. Interacting with students and colleagues from a wide variety of disciplines has had a profound impact on me as a student and researcher, one that i will strive to carry forward to the best of my ability. The College has afforded me a great deal of freedom in forming my own ideas and i am looking forward to exploring them further in my new role. Farewell, I wish you all the best!”

Dr Fergus McGhee (2020) completed his term as the Haworth-Campbell Junior Research Fellow this summer. From October he will be Departmental Lecturer in English at the University of Oxford, and Tutor in English at Corpus Christi College, Oxford. While at St Catharine’s, he published essays on Walter Pater and Arthur Hugh Clough, and was awarded the Richard D. Gooder Prize for his article on the painter-poet Dante Gabriel Rossetti. Together with a colleague in Classics, he founded the Cambridge Lyric Network, an interdisciplinary seminar which attracted speakers from across the country to St Catharine’s to discuss new thinking about lyric poetry.

He commented, “My time at Catz gave me a precious opportunity to read and think without constraint, to chase compelling questions, take intellectual risks, and develop new interests. I will miss the wit and warmth of colleagues, who made the College such a stimulating place in which to write and teach.”

Professor Bill Sutherland CBE (2008) has been the Miriam Rothschild Professor of Conservation Biology and will be moving to become Director of Research in the Department of Zoology from 1 October 2023. Over the last year he produced 24 papers, two books, was elected to the Fellowship of the Royal Society, received the International Ecology Institute’s 2023 prize, and the University’s film on his research (featuring Sir David Attenborough) won an award from the Council for Advancement and Support of Education. He was until this summer the College’s Environment Fellow, chairing our Green Working Group as it finalised the roadmap for achieving net zero emissions by 2040.

He commented, “I much enjoyed contributing to the St Catharine’s community especially in being Environment Fellow and helping mould the strategy, campaign and 550^th anniversary celebrations. Leading BioRISC (Biosecurity Research Initiative at St Catharine’s) has been very satisfying: as well as the 79 publications so far, one of the many highlights has been the Parliament Environmental Audit Committee holding an evidence session in the McGrath Centre (the first meeting outside Parliament).”

New Fellows Emeriti

Fellows Emeriti are former or retired Fellows of St Catharine's who have completed at least 17 years of service to the College. Many are still active academics, either within the University of Cambridge or elsewhere.

Professor Anthony Davenport (1995) has been elected as an Emeritus Fellow from 1 October 2023. He is retiring from his post as Professor of Cardiovascular Pharmacology, but  will continue his research at the Department of Medicine at Addenbrooke’s Hospital to discover new medicines to treat cardiovascular disease and cancer, as well as serving on the University Council. When he was elected to the Fellowship in 1995, he was the first Fellow to teach pharmacology for 300 years since John Addenbrooke originally lectured on ‘materia medica’ (the precursor to modern pharmacology).

He said, “It has been very enjoyable and a great privilege to be part of such a remarkable community of Fellows, staff and students. St Catharine’s is one of the most popular for admissions and continues to attract undergraduates and postgraduates from a wide range of backgrounds, who have been a pleasure to teach. During my time, the College has made great progress in securing its future, particularly with increased support for students and the transformation of our buildings, aided by the outstanding generosity of our alumni.”

Dr Sergei Taraskin (2002) is retiring from his role as Sir Harvey McGrath College Lecturer and has also been elected an Emeritus Fellow from 1 October 2023. He has supported St Catharine’s students as our Director of Studies in three subjects (Computer Science, Mathematics for Natural Scientists and Physical Natural Sciences). He has also held the posts of IT Fellow and Tutor.

He reflected, “I will always fondly remember the last 21 years as a Fellow at St Catharine’s and look forward to hearing how the College continues to flourish in the years to come. It has been a source of great pride to support so many students to pursue their interests and develop academically. I particularly want to thank alumnus Sir Harvey McGrath (1971, Geography) for his generosity and encouragement for teaching at St Catharine’s.”