Linacre College, Oxford

Colleges and halls of the University of Oxford Linacre College
College name	Linacre College
Named after	Thomas Linacre
Established	1962
Sister college	Hughes Hall, Cambridge
Principal	Dr. Nick Brown
Undergraduates	None
Graduates	410
Location of Linacre College within central Oxford
Homepage
Boatclub

Linacre College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in the UK whose members comprise fellows and postgraduate students. It is located on St Cross Road at the corner of St Cross Road and South Parks Road, next to the University Parks and opposite the Tinbergen Building, which is shared by the Departments of Zoology and Experimental Psychology.

The college is named after Thomas Linacre (1460–1524), a distinguished Oxford humanist. Linacre was also a medical scientist and a classicist, and the college aims to reflect his multi-disciplinary character.

Linacre College has approximately 400 graduate students studying a broad range of subjects. It was the first of Oxford's colleges to admit female and male students on an equal basis. Most students are from outside the UK and represent more than fifty countries.

The college has a strong environmental ethos and was the first in Oxford to achieve Fairtrade status.

History

Linacre College was founded in 1962 by John Bamborough. It was originally situated on St Aldate's, in what is now the university's Music Department. In 1977, the college moved to its present site at Cherwell Edge, which was formerly a private house, a convent, and a residence for students of other colleges. Principals succeeding John Bamborough were Sir Bryan Cartledge (1988-1996), Paul Slack (1996-2010), and Nick Brown (2010-).

Location, Buildings and Facilities

Linacre's main site is located on the corner of South Parks Road and St Cross Road. In addition to the Main Building (OC Tanner building), there are three accommodation buildings on the main site that house students. The Bamborough, Abraham and Griffiths Buildings were completed in 1986, 1995 and 2008 respectively; raising the total number of student rooms to 91 on the main college site. Linacre also owns and operates a number of buildings off the main site, including properties on Banbury Road, Bradmore Road, Divinity Road, Iffley Road, and Walton Street, which provide a further 79 rooms (including rooms for couples). The college generally offers accommodation to all first-year students (freshers) and the percentage of graduate students housed within college accommodation exceeds the university average. Students typically move into private shared housing in and around Oxford after their first year.

Abraham Building

The Abraham Building is primarily a residential building offering single bedrooms for students. In addition to living facilities bedrooms, the building houses the college's gym and a number of study rooms (private offices) for students. The design and implementation of The Edward & Asbjorg Abraham Building was part of a movement within Linacre to raise environmental awareness and promote sustainable development. The building was named UK Green Building of the Year 1996 and won the BCE Environmental Leadership Award. A photovoltaic system was installed on the roofs of Abraham and Griffiths Buildings in 2011.

Gym

The College gym has four ergometers, a good range of weights, various other gym equipment and space for several classes.

The Rom Harré Garden

The most recent major development at Linacre has been the completion of a garden extension on the main site of the college in 2010. This is a quiet spot with flowers and outdoor seating. Rom Harré is a former Vice-Principal and Emeritus Fellow.

Dining Hall

Linacre has a large dining hall, which is open most weekdays for lunch and evening meal. On Thursdays during term time, there is a formal guest night. Currently, Friday evening meals are meat free. The dining hall has no high table. Short graces are usually read only before marticulation dinners. All the benches were replaced with elegant wooden chairs, with the college crest engraved on the front. These chairs can be "endowed".The development office of the college charges 500£, that goes to the benefit of the coellge, in order to allow the donor to have an inscription of his choice on a circular metal plate on the back of a dining hall chair. Soup is served on lunch time only. The dining hall doesnt offer breakfast and doesnt serve food on Saturdays and Sundays. During the weekdays, there is usually 4-6 hot main courses , with 1-3 being suitable for vegetarians. Beside the salad bar, desserts and juices.

The location of Linacre makes it suitable for those working in the science area nearby to dine in it.

A full meal might cost 5£.

Pool Room

Linacre has a small pool room, which is of international significance because it houses an exquisite 20th century example of Ursine papier-mâché.

Small Common Room

The Small Common Room, dubbed the 'TV Room' due to the sizable flat screen television which it houses, is furnished with large, comfy leather couches and often serves as the venue for movie nights, organised amongst others by the Linacre Intercultural Society and Linacre Film Society.

Off-site Accommodation

Banbury Road

Linacre's property on Banbury road, Ursula Hicks house, has a 17 rooms (including some couples accommodation). The house has three kitchens, shared bathroom facilities and a large garden. The garden is the site of the college garden allotment, which is available for all college members to grow fresh vegetables.

Divinity Road

The Beeches is student accommodation located near Cowley Road. It is approximately 30 minutes walk from the main Linacre site and about 10 minutes by bike. It is especially close to Oxford University's Old Road Campus, home to a number of biomedical research institutes.

Social and Sporting Life

Linacre has a substantial social calendar with numerous events during term time. Particular highlights include termly bops, which are among the largest student-run parties in Oxford. Operating across two floors and outside areas, the bops are themed parties open to members of other colleges. The biggest bop of the year is usually the matriculation bop (“sexy sub-fusc” theme) which usually attracts a queue far in excess of the 450 person capacity.

Other social events include smaller college parties, movie nights, cake baking, cheese and wine tasting and lectures. Like all colleges, Linacre has many active sports teams and its members also represent the university in various sports.

Active societies include the Linacre Yoga Society, Linacre Green Society, and Linacre Intercultural Society.

Common Room

Much of the social and sporting life is coordinated through the Common Room, of which all students, fellows and staff are members. The Common Room's elected executive committee oversees activities and works closely with college officials to represent its members' interests.

The Common Room of Linacre college contains it's bar, which is opened daily in the lunch time, as well as the evening time. It offers a wide variety of beers, ciders, wines, cocktails as well as soft drink, and snacks , e.g. chips and chococlate bars.

The CR is also equipped with a dart board,juke box, a flat screen TV for those who are keen to sit in the TV cosy corner, and a collection of board games.

As tea and coffee after meals are usually served in the CR, it become rather easy to get involved in a discussion with one of the 50 members that the CR can accommodate. The location of the CR, where pigeon-holes, library and dining hall are few meters away , makes it more convenient for members of the college to socialize.

Gallery

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  Side view from New college playing fields (before Griffiths building)

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  Linacre entrance

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  OC Tanner building from the quad

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  Griffiths Building from the Rom Harré Garden

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  OC Tanner building blue door entrance

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  View from South Parks road

Notable former students

• Yasmin Alibhai-Brown, Journalist
• Flavio Delbono, Italian economist and politician
• Dr Terry Eagleton, Literary critic and theorist
• Dr Frene Ginwala, South African politician and former journalist
• Dr David Kelly, Biological weapons expert
• Dr Alister McGrath, Christian writer and academic
• Dr Keith Ward, British cleric, philosopher and theologian
• Jake Wetzel, Olympic rower
• Dr Yan Wong, Presenter BBC Bang Goes the Theory
• Michael Hitchcock, BA PhD, author, professor, current dean of faculty of International Hotel Management Institute Switzerland (IMI)
• Dr. Eduardo Lopes Pontes, PHD, Brazilian doctor (gastroenterology) and professor and head member of the Brazilian National Academy of Medicine (Academia Nacional de Medicina, ANM)
• Heather Couper ,C.B.E., Astronomer, television and radio presenter, writer, and film producer. Served as commissioner for the Millennium Commission
• Dr Juan Ossio Acuña, Anthropologist and historian, and the first Peruvian Minister of Culture
• Priscilla Baines, C.B., former Librarian, House of Commons
• Dr Jef McAllister, American journalist, author and lawyer.

Notable former fellows

• Sir Paul Nurse, Nobel Prize winning biochemist
• Dr Chris Dobson, Chemist and structural biologist, and Master of St John's College, Cambridge
• Sir John Hicks, Nobel Prize winning economist
• Professor Rom Harré, Director of the Centre for Philosophy of Natural and Social Science, London School of Economics

Principals

• 1962 - 1988 John Bamborough, founding principal
• 1988 - 1996 Sir Bryan Cartledge
• 1996 - 2010 Prof. Paul Slack
• 2010 - present Dr. Nick Brown

See also

• Thomas Linacre

External links

• Official website
• Common room website
• Virtual Tour of Linacre College (slightly out of date due to new building)