Wolfson College () is a

constituent college A collegiate university is a university in which functions are divided between a central administration and a number of constituent colleges. Historically, the first collegiate university was the University of Paris and its first college was the C ...

of the

University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...

, England. The majority of students at the college are

postgraduates Postgraduate or graduate education refers to academic or professional degrees, certificates, diplomas, or other qualifications pursued by post-secondary students who have earned an undergraduate (bachelor's) degree. The organization and struc ...

. The college also admits "mature"

undergraduates Undergraduate education is education conducted after secondary education and before postgraduate education. It typically includes all postsecondary programs up to the level of a bachelor's degree. For example, in the United States, an entry-lev ...

(aged 21 and above), with around 15% of students studying undergraduate degree courses at the university. The college was founded in 1965 as "University College", but was refounded as Wolfson College in 1973 in recognition of the benefaction of the

Wolfson Foundation The Wolfson Foundation is a charity that awards grants to support excellence in the fields of science and medicine, health, education and the arts and humanities. Overview The endowment of the Wolfson Foundation is currently some £800 million, ...

. Wolfson is located to the south-west of Cambridge city centre, near the

University Library An academic library is a library that is attached to a higher education institution and serves two complementary purposes: to support the curriculum and the research of the university faculty and students. It is unknown how many academic librar ...

. As one of the more modern colleges in Cambridge, Wolfson does not follow all of the traditions of some of the university's older colleges. For example, since the college's founding there has been no "

High Table The high table is a table for the use of fellows (members of the Senior Common Room) and their guests in large university dining halls in anglo-saxon countries, where the students eat in the main space of the hall at the same time. They remain ...

" reserved for Fellows at

Formal Hall Formal hall or formal meal is a meal held at some of the oldest universities in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland (as well as some other Commonwealth countries) at which students usually dress in formal attire and often gowns to d ...

dinners; students and Fellows mix and dine together, and the tradition of wearing academic gowns to such occasions is encouraged but is not compulsory. Both Fellows and students at the college have access to all the facilities. With students from over 70 countries, Wolfson claims to be one of Cambridge's most cosmopolitan colleges. It was the first college of the university to admit men and women as both students and Fellows. The current President of Wolfson College is scientist Jane Clarke.

History

After the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, the number of graduates of other universities who went to Cambridge to do research increased significantly. The university therefore decided to found University College in 1965 to help accommodate these students. The college was based at Bredon House, a property built in the early twentieth century by

John Stanley Gardiner John Stanley Gardiner (1872–1946) was a British zoologist. Biography Stanley, as he was known, was the younger son of John Jephson Gardiner and Sarah McTier. He was born in Jordanstown (Belfast) in 1872 – two years after his brother Arthur. ...

, who was a Professor of

Zoology Zoology ()The pronunciation of zoology as is usually regarded as nonstandard, though it is not uncommon. is the branch of biology that studies the Animal, animal kingdom, including the anatomy, structure, embryology, evolution, Biological clas ...

at the university from 1909 to 1937. He donated the house, with its long narrow garden running from Barton Road to Selwyn Gardens, to the university upon his death in 1946. The college then purchased further property on its eastern boundary. University College was opened on 30 June 1965 as a college for postgraduate students, with the classicist

John Sinclair Morrison John Sinclair Morrison CBE (1913-2000) was an English classicist whose work led to the reconstruction of an Athenian Trireme, an ancient oared warship. Born in 1913, Morrison was professor of Greek and head of the classics department at the Uni ...

as its first President. At the time, all the undergraduate colleges of the university were single-sex institutions and University College was the first in the university to admit men and women as both students and Fellows. The college, from its outset, set out to be a cosmopolitan and egalitarian institution with distinct differences from the older, more traditional Cambridge colleges, with no Senior Combination Room, no "High Table" reserved for Fellows at formal dinners in the college and no portraits hung in the Dining Hall. The college's founding deed required the college to either find an endowment within 10 years or face dissolution. In 1972, the Wolfson Foundation agreed to provide a capital endowment and help to fund the construction of central buildings around Bredon House and the college's East and West Courts. In recognition of this, the college was renamed Wolfson College on 1 January 1973. The new buildings (designed by the architect Michael Mennim) were opened by

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. She was queen ...

and the

Duke of Edinburgh Duke of Edinburgh, named after the city of Edinburgh in Scotland, was a substantive title that has been created three times since 1726 for members of the British royal family. It does not include any territorial landholdings and does not produc ...

in 1977. Though most of the college's buildings are modern, the design of the campus is similar to that of the university's older colleges, with buildings grouped around two main courts. The floor of the entrance hall to the main building is made of thin slices of granite taken from the old

London Bridge Several bridges named London Bridge have spanned the River Thames between the City of London and Southwark, in central London. The current crossing, which opened to traffic in 1973, is a box girder bridge built from concrete and steel. It r ...

(the main section of which was taken to

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

to be rebuilt in the late 1960s). Further building and acquisition of neighbouring properties has continued. In the 1980s, the college purchased the house and garden owned by Sir

Vivian Fuchs Sir Vivian Ernest Fuchs ( ; 11 February 1908 – 11 November 1999) was an English scientist-explorer and expedition organizer. He led the Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition which reached the South Pole overland in 1958. Biography Fuchs ...

on the western side on the college. Plommer House on the northern side of the college was also left to the college in his will by Hugh Plommer, a founding Fellow of the college. The acquisition of property has allowed for the building of a number of new facilities, mainly funded by donations from philanthropic foundations and individuals. Other major benefactions have come from the

Fairleigh Dickinson Fairleigh Dickinson University is a private university with its main campuses in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Founded in 1942, Fairleigh Dickinson University currently offers more than 100 degree programs to its students. In addition to its tw ...

Foundation and the Toda Foundation. In the 1990s, with the help of the

Gatsby Foundation The Gatsby Charitable Foundation is an endowed grant-making trust, based in London, founded by David Sainsbury in 1967. The organisation is one of the Sainsbury Family Charitable Trusts, set up to provide funding for charitable causes. Although the ...

, the college purchased the "western field" on which was built the Chancellor's Centre and further residential blocks.

Buildings and Grounds

The Lee Library

Opened in 1994, the Lee Seng Tee Library (Lee Library) was donated to the college by the Singaporean businessman and philanthropist

Lee Seng Tee Lee Seng Tee (; 16 April 1923 – 29 July 2022) was a Singaporean businessman and philanthropist. Early life and education Born in Singapore in 1923, Lee was the second son of Lee Kong Chian and a maternal grandson of Tan Kah Kee. Lee graduat ...

(whose daughter studied at the college). Lee also donated the funds used to build the Lee Seng Tee Hall. The library was designed by architects Brewer, Smith and Brewer. The ground floor foyer contains a scale model of the

armillary sphere An armillary sphere (variations are known as spherical astrolabe, armilla, or armil) is a model of objects in the sky (on the celestial sphere), consisting of a spherical framework of rings, centered on Earth or the Sun, that represent lines of ...

on the roof of the Peking Observatory. On the first floor is a bust of Lee Kong Chian, father of the benefactor. The library contains over 60 quiet places to work and is open 24 hours a day all year, apart from 25–26 December and 1 January. The college is located a short walk from the

. In February 2018, students at the college were evacuated from the Lee library, and a number of accommodation blocks, after a WWII practice grenade was found in the President's Garden. There were no injuries and it was soon discovered that the device was a practice grenade with no live ammunition.

College Gardens

In the first half of the twentieth century, much of the land on which the college is now situated comprised gardens which belonged to houses in Selwyn Gardens. As the college grew particular natural landmarks, such as the

mulberry tree ''Morus'', a genus of flowering plants in the family Moraceae, consists of diverse species of deciduous trees commonly known as mulberries, growing wild and under cultivation in many temperate world regions. Generally, the genus has 64 identif ...

outside the Porters' lodge, were retained as features. The garden comprises a wide variety of trees, scented shrubs, dwarf conifers, as well as a distinctive range of shrubs with colourful stems. The college's head gardener occasionally provides a guided tour of the gardens to local interested groups. During the summer, Wolfson opens its gardens to the public as part of the

NGS NGS may refer to: Places * NGSO (NGS orbit), non-geostationary orbit * Nagasaki Airport (IATA airport code: NGS) in Omura, Nagasaki, Japan Organisations * National Galleries of Scotland, representing the national art collection of Scotland * Na ...

Open Gardens network.

Student life

The college is known for its entertainment events and performances, which attract visitors from many other colleges of the university. These activities include formal dinners, concerts, dancing nights and music displays. The Club Room, at the heart of the college, includes the college bar and a dance floor space, and is a café during the day. It is the main communal space for students, and is the venue for many entertainment events. The Wolfson College Boat Club is a popular society, and Wolfson is one of the strongest graduate rowing colleges in Cambridge. The college is also a constituent member of the All Greys, the Cambridge mature college rugby side.

People associated with Wolfson

Notable alumni

Fellows

* Sir Leszek Borysiewicz – Vice-Chancellor of Cambridge University *

Duncan Maskell Duncan John Maskell, (born 30 May 1961) is a British biochemist and academic, who specialises in molecular microbiology and bacterial infectious diseases. Since 2018, he has been Vice-Chancellor of the University of Melbourne, Australia. He prev ...

– Senior Pro-Vice-Chancellor of Cambridge University * Lawson Soulsby *

Timothy Winter Abdal Hakim Murad (born: Timothy John Winter; 15 May 1960) is an English academic, theologian and Islamic scholar who is a proponent of Islamic neo-traditionalism. His work includes publications on Islamic theology, modernity, and Anglo-Muslim ...

Hilary Wayment Hilary Godwin Wayment OBE, FSA (1912–2005) was a British author and historian of stained glass. Early life Wayment was born in Woolwich, east London on 23 April 1912, the son of Alfred Wayment, headmaster of the local church school. His ...

Nicholas de Lange Nicholas Robert Michael de Lange (born 7 August 1944) is a British Reform rabbi and historian. He is Professor of Hebrew and Jewish Studies at the University of Cambridge. Academic and literary career Nicholas de Lange is an emeritus fellow at ...

- Professor of Hebrew and Jewish Studies *

Roger Needham Roger Michael Needham (9 February 1935 – 1 March 2003) was a British computer scientist. Early life and education Needham was born in Birmingham, England, the only child of Phyllis Mary, ''née'' Baker (''c''.1904–1976) and Leonard Wi ...

- computer scientist and Founding Fellow of the College *

Karen Spärck Jones Karen Sparck Jones is a computer science researcher and innovator who pioneered the search engine algorithm known as inverse document frequency (IDF). While many early information scientists and computer engineers were focused on developing progr ...

- computer scientist and Fellow from 1966 to 2002. *

Rex Walford Rex Ashley Walford, (14 February 1934 – 2 January 2011) was a British scholar, educator, and former journalist, who in later life specialised in teaching others to teach geography. Education Walford was a strong supporter of lifelong learning ...

– geographer and educator

Presidents

The head of Wolfson College is called the

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

. * 1966 to 1980:

* 1980 to 1992: Sir David Williams * 1993:

Sir John Tusa Sir John Tusa (born 2 March 1936) is a British arts administrator, and radio and television journalist. He is co-chairman of the European Union Youth Orchestra from 2014. chairman, British Architecture Trust Board, RIBA, from 2014. From 1980 to 1 ...

; January to October * 1993 to 2010: Gordon Johnson * 2010 to 2017:

Sir Richard Evans Sir Richard Harry Evans (also known as Dick Evans), (born 1942, Blackpool)''Who's Who (UK), Who's Who'' is a British businessperson who is chairman of the Kazakh state holding company Samruk-Kazyna. He is formerly chairman of the British arms ...

* 2017 to present: Jane Clarke; from 1 October to present

Notes

References

External links

Official websiteWolfson College Students' Association
{{Authority control Colleges of the University of Cambridge Educational institutions established in 1965 1965 establishments in England