Green Templeton College, Oxford

Green Templeton College
File:Green Templeton College Coat of Arms.jpg
Established	2008
Named for	Dr Cecil Howard Green and Sir John Templeton
Colours
Sister college	St Edmund's College, Cambridge
Principal	Professor Colin Bundy
Postgraduates	500
Website	Homepage
Boat club	Green Templeton Boat Club

Green Templeton College (GTC) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It is the university's newest college having come into existence on 1 October 2008 from the merger of Green College and Templeton College. The college is located on the previous Green College site on Woodstock Road in North Oxford and is centred around the architecturally splendid Radcliffe Observatory, an 18th century building, which is modelled after the ancient Tower of the Winds in Athens.

About Green Templeton College

Green Templeton was formed by the merging of Oxford's Green and Templeton Colleges.

Though set within the traditional, grand buildings of Oxford, Green Templeton's friendly and informal atmosphere makes it more of a contemporary college. As an all-postgraduate college, Green Templeton has a single common room for its students and Fellows, to encourage their interaction.

The merger between Green College and Templeton College was the first in the University's modern history. After being approved by the University Council and the Governing Bodies of both colleges, it was formally announced in July 2007. Green Templeton College (GTC) was officially opened on 1 October 2008.

Building on the already established strengths of the Green and Templeton Colleges, GTC focuses on a variety of subjects, especially those in the medical and life sciences, the management sciences, and a range of social sciences.

History

Though by Oxford standards both Green College and Templeton College were relatively young colleges, they each had their own individual history and established culture. Neither College was formed as a 'traditional' Oxford college.

History of Green College

Established in 1979, Green College was one of the youngest colleges of the university, and was named after its main benefactors: Dr Cecil H. Green and his wife Dr Ida Green. Dr Green was a founder of Texas Instruments. Green College, Oxford was one of two colleges established due to his generosity, the other being Green College, University of British Columbia.

Green College was dedicated to human welfare in contemporary society. This was interpreted as an academic focus on medicine. Related disciplines, such as education, the environment and social sciences, however, were also covered.

30% of the students studied in the field of medicine. About 20% were engaged in medical research on a post-graduate level. Social Work, environmental change and educational studies were other strongholds of the college.

History of Templeton College

Templeton College was founded when the late Sir John Templeton gave an endowment to the Oxford Centre for Management Studies to raise professional standards in British management. The endowment was one of the largest endowments ever made to a British educational establishment, and the Centre was renamed Templeton College after him.

Templeton College emphasised a commitment to life-long individual development. The College aimed to bring together leaders from various fields to explore key issues in management and related policy areas.

The College was based at Egrove Park in Kennington village. Its buildings were opened in 1969, and were awarded listed status in 1999.

GTC Coat of Arms

The GTC coat of arms marries elements of both Green and Templeton's former coats of arms, capturing the spirit of each of College's history and character.

The shield contains two primary symbols: the Rod of Aesculapius and the Nautilus shell.

The Rod of Aesculapius was central to the Green College coat of arms. In Greek mythology, Aesculapius, the son of Apollo, was a medical practitioner. The serpent coiled around his staff symbolises the healing arts.

The Nautilus shell was chosen by Sir John Templeton, as symbolising evolution and renewal, and was adopted by Templeton College in 1984.

The new GTC coat of arms also features a crest containing a heraldic representation of the sun behind the astronomical symbol for Venus(♀), acknowledging the historic transit of Venus across the sun in 1761, the astronomical event which resulted in the creation of the Radcliffe Observatory.

The Radcliffe Observatory

Situated at the heart of the College campus, and emblematic of GTC, the Radcliffe Observatory is Green Templeton College's best-known building.

The Observatory was built because of a lack of facilities in Britain to observe the cosmological event of the 1761 transit of Venus.

The astronomer Dr Thomas Hornsby, who observed the transit of Venus across the sun in 1769, suggested the building of an Observatory. Building began in 1772 as planned by the architect Henry Keene, and financed by the estate of Dr John Radcliffe (1652–1714).

However, Keene died in 1776, before the Observatory was completed. After his death, the Observatory was completed by James Wyatt (1746–1813). Wyatt based his design on the Tower of the Winds in Athens.

Atop the Observatory rests the Tower of Winds. Beneath the Tower are three levels, with rooms on each level. The ground floor is today used as the College dining room. The first floor was originally the library, but is now the College's student-fellow Common Room. The third floor is an octagonal observing room, which is now empty except for some of the original furniture.

The Observatory was a functioning observatory from 1773 until its owners, the Radcliffe Trustees, sold it in 1934 to Lord Nuffield, who then presented it to the Radcliffe Hospital. In 1936 Lord Nuffield established the Nuffield Institute for Medical Research there. In 1979 the Nuffield Institute relocated to the John Radcliffe Hospital, and the Observatory was taken over by Green College.

Future Developments

In the next phase of development, the area to the North-East of the College is to be developed, allowing for the extension of the College's academic departments and residential accommodation.

Furthermore, the University is also focused on redeveloping the adjoining old Radcliffe Infirmary site – to be known as the Radcliffe Observatory Quarter.

The Norham Gardens Site

Sir William Osler.

A short walk from the main Green Templeton buildings, 13 Norham Gardens is a part of GTC.

History

In 1905 Sir William Osler was appointed to the Regius Professorship of Medicine at Oxford. In 1907, Sir Osler acquired 13 Norham Gardens, one of the finest houses in Oxford at the time. During the fourteen years of his Regius Professorship, Osler made Norham Gardens a meeting place for academics from all over the world. It became a favourite of medical students, physicians, and scientists, even receiving the label of 'The Open Arms' for the warmth it exuded.

After Osler, 13 Norham Gardens was occupied by another Regius Professor, Sir George Pickering and after him, the Regius Professor Sir Richard Doll, who was the last Regius Professor to live there.

13 Norham Gardens was then acquired by Green College.

Today

Today, Norham Gardens houses the Osler-McGovern Centre.

The Centre has two functions:

Firstly, it follows in Sir Osler’s footsteps by uniting scholars, lecturers and academics. The Centre promotes the art and science of medicine through its workshops, conferences, visiting scholars and post-doctoral Fellows.

Secondly, 13 Norham Gardens is also home to the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism (RISJ), established in 2006, and based at Green Templeton College.

College Communications and Publications

The College publishes a newsletter every term, called "In Transit", as well as an annual GTC Alumni magazine.

Additionally, the "Grapevine", a weekly e-newsletter is sent out by the College GCR. The GTC Facebook group is also a quick and easy way to get information about lectures, bops and events happening around the college.

College Life

Green Templeton offers a wide variety of activities to its students. The various GTC clubs and societies include the Boat Club, the Book Club, Choir, Golf Society, LGBT Society, Medical Anthropology Society, Music Society, Richard Doll Society, and the Music Society. College events include the annual college Garden Party, the Summer Ball, the Human Welfare Conference, "Welfare and Wine", formals, and themed "bops", held throughout the year. Lecture series are routinely held for those interested, including the Green Templeton Lectures and those held by the Reuter's Institute.

The College is also active in various sports, especially rowing. Other sports at the College include badminton, basketball, cricket, football, golf, netball, rugby, running, squash and tennis. The College also has on-site tennis and squash courts.

The College has its own bar, known as the "Stables Bar", which is open for drinks in the evenings, and a general place to watch television during the day.

Green Templeton also provides laundry facilities, a lecture theatre, a computer room. There are two libraries on-campus: a Management Library and a Medical/Social Science Library.

Green Templeton is actively involved in charity work. The College charities supports a local and an overseas charity every year. Both the GCR and the College Charity Committee organise numerous events throughout the year, both at GTC and in Oxford.

Osler House is the University's club for medical students. It is open to students and fellows involved in research in a range of topics related to human health and welfare. GTC's strong ties with the clinical medicine community are fostered through its affiliation with Osler House. The friendly and comfortable ambience of Osler House is focused around a games room which has pool and table football facilities. There is also a bar, lunch, tea and coffee, and television facilities.

GCR

The Graduate Common Room Committee offers a range of activities and events, including four Bops a term, free Sunday brunches as well as exchange and welfare dinners amongst many other things. Elections are held in Michaelmas Term and the Committee meets every two weeks. GCR-members also represent the student body's interest on various College Committees, including the Governing Body, Its current members are:

• President: Melanie Bunce
• Vice-President of Welfare: Aaron Krolikowski
• Vice-President of Entertainments: Phillip Pymm
• Treasurer: Joseph Feyertag
• Female Welfare Officer: Sheila Lumley
• Male Welfare Officer: Avinash Sharma
• Environmental Officer: Andrew Nobrega
• Charities and Development Officer: Serini Murugasen
• International Students Officer: John Ganle Kuumuori
• External Entertainments Officer: Leila Huston
• Internal Entertainments Officer: Kathryn Gillams
• Sports Officer: Laurel Gabler
• Publicity Officer: Josephine Scoble
• Webmaster: Yasser Bhatti
• Co-Bar Manager: Claudia Contreras
• Co-Bar Manager: Burcu Özdemir

Gallery

• 
  Top of Radcliffe Observatory, Green Templeton College, Oxford.
• 
  Observers House, Green Templeton College, Oxford.
• 
  A view of the gardens, Green Templeton College, Oxford.
• 
  Lankester Quad, Green Templeton College, Oxford.
• 
  The Radcliffe Observatory, Green Templeton College, Oxford.
• 
  Green Templeton College in the snow, Oxford.

People Associated with Green Templeton College

Kunal Basu, author

Dame Valerie Beral, epidemiologist

Colin Bundy, First Principal of Green Templeton College

Rory Collins, epidemiologist

E. David Cook, theologian

Richard Cuthbertson, Senior Research Fellow, Saïd Business School

Sarah Darby, epidemiologist

Sir Richard Doll, epidemiologist, first Warden of Green College

Michael Earl, Pro-Vice Chancellor of the University of Oxford

Sanjaya Lall, economist

Peter Friend, surgeon

Jason Galanis, banker

Derrick Gosselin, engineer and economist

Dr Cecil Green, founder of Texas Instruments, founder of Green College

John Lennox, mathematician

Sir Richard Peto, epidemiologist

Stein Ringen, sociologist

Rosemary Stewart, business theorist

Sir Crispin Tickell, diplomat and environmentalist, third Warden of Green College

Michael von Clemm, businessman, restaurateur, anthropologist, former President of Templeton College

Lord Walton of Detchant, politician, second Warden of Green College

Steve Woolgar, sociologist

• Alumni of Green Templeton College
• Fellows of Green Templeton College

External links

• Green Templeton College website