Sancta Sophia College (colloquially as Sancta) is a

residential college A residential college is a division of a university that places academic activity in a community setting of students and faculty, usually at a residence and with shared meals, the college having a degree of autonomy and a federated relationship ...

for undergraduate women and postgraduate men and women at the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD) is a public university, public research university in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in both Australia and Oceania. One of Australia's six sandstone universities, it was one of the ...

. The college has a

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

foundation but admits students of all religions. Fiona Hastings has been the principal of the college since 2018. Main Entrance Sancta

History

Foundation

In 1923, Margaret MacRory opened a house for Catholic women students at the university and the Catholic Archbishop of Sydney, Michael Kelly, and the Bishops of New South Wales issued a letter in support of university education for the Catholic community. The building was organised by Margaret MacRory and she was in charge of the new hall. Sancta Sophia College was founded in 1925 as a hall of residence for Catholic women, and on 16 August 1926, Sancta Sophia Hall was officially blessed and opened by Archbishop Kelly. The first cohort of 23 women moved into the college on 15 March 1926. The 1926 building was designed by the Sydney architectural firm of Wardell and Dennis. Herbert Wardell was the son of

William Wardell William Wilkinson Wardell (1823–1899) was a noted architect who practiced in the second half of the 19th century, and is best known for a series of landmark buildings in Australia in Melbourne and Sydney. Following a successful career in ...

the architect of St John’s College and

St Mary's Cathedral, Sydney The Cathedral Church and Minor Basilica of the Immaculate Mother of God, Help of Christians, locally known as Saint Mary's Cathedral, is a Catholic basilica and the seat of the Archdiocese of Sydney. The cathedral is dedicated to the Blessed Vi ...

. Dennis was a Wesleyan architect who had trained in Melbourne before establishing himself in Sydney. In 1929, an act of parliament raised the hall to the status of a college within the

. In 1964 Ann Margaret Magoffin joined the college council. She was a notable accountant who had restructured the finances of the

Society of the Sacred Heart The Society of the Sacred Heart of Jesus (; ), abbreviated RSCJ, is a Catholic centralized religious institute of consecrated life of pontifical right for women established in France by Madeleine Sophie Barat in 1800. History Madeleine Soph ...

in Australia.

Expansion

The college expanded over time including the East Wing and kitchen in 1961, the Octagon building in 1963, the McDonald Wing in 1970, the Vice Principal's flat in 1990, and the Principal's flat in 1993. SanctaSofiaNettletonTribe-Jan-31-2014-0078-Version-2

SanctaSofiaNettletonTribe-Jan-31-2014-0078-Version-2

The college officially opened the Sancta Sophia Graduate House (often referred to as ''Grad House'') in March 2014 by Governor, Her Excellency

Marie Bashir Dame Marie Roslyn Bashir (born 1 December 1930) is the former and second longest-serving Governor of New South Wales. Born in Narrandera, New South Wales, Bashir graduated from the University of Sydney in 1956 and held various medical positions ...

and blessed by Cardinal

George Pell George Pell (8 June 1941 – 10 January 2023) was an Australian cardinal of the Catholic Church. From 2002, he faced recurring accusations of sexual abuse, although his subsequent sexual abuse conviction was quashed on appeal to the High Cour ...

. This was the largest single expansion in the college's history. The Graduate House consists of 128 ensuite rooms equipped with a microwave oven and mini fridge, whilst the common areas have full kitchens. The rooftop terrace is equipped with a BBQ lounge area. Every resident has meals fully catered for and served in a common dining hall with undergraduates.

Student life

Academic

As a university college, academia is the main focus of Sancta Sophia College. A program of supplementary tutorials exists for undergraduate students and some postgraduate students. These are organised within the college and undergraduate students may attend tutorials at the other colleges. In recent years, the tutorial program has extended to support postgraduate students, particularly in medicine.

Cultural

Sancta competes against other University of Sydney residential colleges in the InterCol Performing Arts Challenge (also known as the Palladian Cup). The Palladian Cup runs year-round and features solo vocal, ensemble vocal, solo instrumental, ensemble instrumental, oration, debating, solo drama, ensemble drama, dance, and art. Since 2017, Sancta has competed in Intramural Arts at the

and provides opportunities in dance,

improv Improv may refer to: *Improvisation, an act of spontaneous invention **Improvisational theatre (includes improvisational comedy) **Musical improvisation Musical improvisation (also known as musical extemporization) is the creative activity of im ...

, debating, and others.

Sporting

Sancta competes in the Sydney University Intercollegiate sporting events, which is the Rosebowl Cup for women and Rawson Cup for men. The Rosebowl Cup events take place throughout the year and include netball, swimming, rowing, hockey, soccer, basketball, tennis, and athletics. Due to the relatively small cohort of men, Sancta only competes in three Rawson Cup events: swimming, rowing, and athletics.

College governance

Council and principal

The council of the college consists of the chairman, the principal and 14 other councillors, of whom 3 must be priests.Sancta Sophia College Incorporation Act 1926 (NSW) The council is responsible for governance of the college. The principal is responsible for the management of the college.

Past principals

* (1930–1931) Mother Margaret MacRory * (1931–1943) Mother Helen Boydell * (1943–1957) Mother Juanita Macrae * (1952) Mother Hoare (Acting Principal) * (1958–1972) Mother Yvonne Swift * (1972–1975) Sr Mary Brennan * (1975–1978) Sr Mary d'Apice * (1979–1983) Sr Patricia Toohey * (1983–1992) Sr Mary Shanahan * (1992–2000) Janice Raggio * (2000–2005) Barbara Walsh * (2005–2007) Dr Elizabeth Hepburn * (2008–2017) Dr Marie Leech * (2018–present) Fiona Hastings

Student committees

All undergraduate students of the college are members of the Sancta Sophia Students' Association. The Students' Association is run by a student-elected House Committee. The House Committee is responsible for planning activities on behalf of the undergraduate students. It is also responsible for liaising with the other colleges and carrying out general activities and business of the Students' Association. The members of the House Committee convene each week to discuss student matters of the college. All postgraduate students of the college are members of the Senior Common Room, which is run by the elected executive. The Senior Common Room is responsible for the organisation of events and activities specific to postgraduate students. The members of the Senior Common Room convene every month to discuss postgraduate matters of the college and often involve negotiations with the House Committee.

Notable alumni and community members

Politics and law

Jacqueline Gleeson Jacqueline Sarah Gleeson (born 7 March 1966) is an Australian judge. She has been a Justice of the High Court of Australia since 1 March 2021, and was a judge of the Federal Court of Australia, based in Sydney, from April 2014 to February 2021. ...

– Justice of the

High Court of Australia The High Court of Australia is the apex court of the Australian legal system. It exercises original and appellate jurisdiction on matters specified in the Constitution of Australia and supplementary legislation. The High Court was establi ...

* Natalie Adams – Judge of the

Supreme Court of New South Wales The Supreme Court of New South Wales is the highest state court of the Australian States and territories of Australia, State of New South Wales. It has unlimited jurisdiction within the state in civil law (common law), civil matters, and hears ...

Clover Moore Clover Margaret Moore (née Collins, born 22 October 1945) is an Australian politician. She has been the Lord Mayor of the City of Sydney since 2004 and is currently the longest serving Lord Mayor of Sydney since the creation of the City of Sy ...

– Lord Mayor of Sydney and Member of NSW Legislative Assembly *

Ella Stack Ellen Mary Stack (4 May 1929 – 19 May 2023) was an Australian medical doctor and the first female Lord Mayor of an Australian capital city. She was the mayor of the City of Darwin, Northern Territory, from 1975 to 1979, and lord mayor from 1 ...

– First Lord Mayor of Darwin * Trixie Gardner, Baroness Gardner of Parkes , , – Dentist and

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

member of the British

House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...

* Anne Conlon – Australian feminist, public servant and labour activist.

Academia and medicine

Wirginia Maixner Wirginia June Maixner (born 1963) is an Australian neurosurgeon and the director of neurosurgery at the Royal Children's Hospital in Melbourne, Australia. She is known for having performed the first auditory brainstem implant on a child in Austr ...

– Neurosurgeon and director of neurosurgery, Royal Children's Hospital, Melbourne * Sheila Cassidy – Doctor, former medical director of St Luke's

Hospice Hospice care is a type of health care that focuses on the palliation of a terminally ill patient's pain and symptoms and attending to their emotional and spiritual needs at the end of life. Hospice care prioritizes comfort and quality of life b ...

Plymouth Plymouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Devon, South West England. It is located on Devon's south coast between the rivers River Plym, Plym and River Tamar, Tamar, about southwest of Exeter and ...

, torture survivor * Gwen Fleming – Doctor and major in the

Royal Australian Army Medical Corps The Royal Australian Army Medical Corps (RAAMC) is the branch of the Australian Army responsible for providing medical care to Army personnel. The AAMC was formed in 1902 through the amalgamation of medical units of the various Australian colon ...

Business

* Louise Walsh – CEO of Future Generation Investment Company, former CEO of Philanthropy Australia * Helena Carr – Businesswoman and wife of former

premier Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier. A premier will normally be a head of govern ...

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

, and former

senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or Legislative chamber, chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the Ancient Rome, ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior ...

and former Foreign Minister,

Bob Carr Robert John Carr (born 28 September 1947) is an Australian retired politician and journalist who served as the 39th Premier of New South Wales from 1995 to 2005, as the leader of the New South Wales Labor Party, New South Wales branch of the A ...

Sir ''Sir'' is a formal honorific address in English for men, derived from Sire in the High Middle Ages. Both are derived from the old French "" (Lord), brought to England by the French-speaking Normans, and which now exist in French only as part ...

Michael Hintze Michael Hintze, Baron Hintze, (born 27 July 1953) is an Australian-British businessman and philanthropist, based in the United Kingdom. Early life After his grandparents fled from Russia following the 1917 Bolshevik revolution, he was born in ...

– founder & CEO of Hedge Fund CQS, Economics Tutor at College

Arts and humanities

* Miranda Devine – Journalist and political commentator * Lee Lewis – Australian Theatre director

Publications

Journals

The Anser

* The Anser, Volume 1, 2018 * The Anser Volume 2, 2020

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sancta Sophia College, University Of Sydney Residential colleges of the University of Sydney Universities and colleges established in 1925 1925 establishments in Australia Sacred Heart universities and colleges Camperdown, New South Wales