Wolfson College () is a

constituent college A collegiate university is a university where 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 Col ...

of the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

in England. Wolfson is an all-graduate college, it prides itself on being one of the most international colleges at

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

, with particular strengths in areas like global health, environmental studies, economics, and humanities. With a spacious, green campus located along the

River Cherwell A river is a natural stream of fresh water that flows on land or inside caves towards another body of water at a lower elevation, such as an ocean, lake, or another river. A river may run dry before reaching the end of its course if it ru ...

, it is known for its relaxed atmosphere, modern architecture and beautiful gardens, creating a peaceful environment for a focused academic community. Its motto is "Humani nil alienum," which translates as "Nothing human is alien to me." The historian and philosopher Sir Isaiah Berlin was the college's first president, and was instrumental not only in its founding, but establishing a tradition of academic excellence and egalitarianism. Since then, the college caters to a wide range of subjects, from the humanities to the social and natural sciences, being coeducational since its foundation in 1965. The college houses ''The Isaiah Berlin Literary Trust'' and hosts an annual ''Isaiah Berlin Lecture''. From 2017, the president of the college has been Sir Tim Hitchens. As of 2021, the college had a

financial endowment A financial endowment is a legal structure for managing, and in many cases indefinitely perpetuating, a pool of Financial instrument, financial, real estate, or other investments for a specific purpose according to Donor intent, the will of its fo ...

of £60.3 million, and is registered as a charity. Wolfson's sister college at the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

is Darwin College.

History

Wolfson's first president Sir

Isaiah Berlin Sir Isaiah Berlin (6 June 1909 – 5 November 1997) was a Russian-British social and political theorist, philosopher, and historian of ideas. Although he became increasingly averse to writing for publication, his improvised lectures and talks ...

, the influential

political philosopher Political philosophy studies the theoretical and conceptual foundations of politics. It examines the nature, scope, and legitimacy of political institutions, such as states. This field investigates different forms of government, ranging from de ...

and

historian of ideas Intellectual history (also the history of ideas) is the study of the history of human thought and of intellectuals, people who conceptualization, conceptualize, discuss, write about, and concern themselves with ideas. The investigative premise of ...

, was instrumental in the college's founding in 1965. The college began its existence with the name

Iffley Iffley is a village in a designated Conservation area (United Kingdom), conservation area in Oxfordshire, England. It lies within the boundaries of the city of Oxford, between Cowley, Oxfordshire, Cowley and the estates of Rose Hill, Oxford, Rose ...

College, which offered a new community for graduate students at Oxford, particularly in natural and social sciences. Twelve other colleges of the university provided grants to make the establishment of Iffley possible. As of 1965, the college had neither a president nor a building. Berlin set out to change this, eventually securing support from the

Wolfson Foundation The Wolfson Foundation is a British registered charity that awards grants to support science and medicine, health, education and the arts and humanities. It was established in 1955 and re-registered in 2014. , the endowment of the Wolfson Fo ...

and

Ford Foundation The Ford Foundation is an American private foundation with the stated goal of advancing human welfare. Created in 1936 by Edsel Ford and his father Henry Ford, it was originally funded by a $25,000 (about $550,000 in 2023) gift from Edsel Ford. ...

in 1966 to establish a separate site for the college, which included 'Cherwell', the former residence of J. S. Haldane and his family, as well as new buildings built around it. In recognition of

Isaac Wolfson Sir Isaac Wolfson, 1st Baronet FRS (; 17 September 1897 – 20 June 1991) was a Scottish businessman and philanthropist. He was managing director of Great Universal Stores (G.U.S. or Gussies) 1932–1947 and chairman 1947–1987. He establish ...

's contribution to the foundation of the college, its name was changed to Wolfson College. But Berlin's work as the president of the college was far from over. Formally taking over the reins of the college in 1967, he envisioned Wolfson to be a centre of academic excellence but, unlike many other colleges at Oxford, also bound it to a strong egalitarian and democratic ethos. In Berlin's words, the college would be 'new, untrammelled and unpyramided'. If Berlin was the inspiration and beacon for this most modern of academic institutions, its birth and early shape would not have happened without the tireless backroom work of Berlin's vice-president, Michael Brock, formerly of Corpus Christi College. They were a formidable team and ensured Berlin's ideals were largely achieved. Wolfson is perhaps the most egalitarian college at Oxford, with few barriers between students and fellows. There is no

high table The origin of "High Table" goes back to the physical layout of the dining halls of English colleges at Oxford and Cambridge Universities. The high table is a table for the use of fellows (members of the Senior Common Room) and their guests in ...

, only one

common room A common room is a type of shared lounge, most often found in halls of residence or dormitories, at (for example) universities, colleges, military bases, hospitals, rest homes, hostels, and even minimum-security prisons. They are generall ...

for all the members of the college, and

gowns A gown, from the Latin word, ''gunna'', is a usually loose outer garment from knee-to-full-length worn by people of both sexes in Europe from the Early Middle Ages to the 17th century, and continuing today in certain professions; later, the t ...

are worn only on special occasions. Graduate students serve on the college's governing body and participate in General Meetings. Berlin's reputation and presence in the early years also helped shape the intellectual character of the college, attracting many distinguished fellows like

Niko Tinbergen Nikolaas "Niko" Tinbergen ( , ; 15 April 1907 – 21 December 1988) was a Dutch biologist and ornithologist who shared the 1973 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine with Karl von Frisch and Konrad Lorenz for their discoveries concerning th ...

, who won a Nobel Prize for his studies in animal behaviour in 1973. Berlin's own prominence in the humanities helped attract many graduate students like

Henry Hardy Henry Robert Dugdale Hardy (born 15 March 1949) is a British academic, author and editor. Career Hardy was born in London in 1949 and educated at Lancing College, where his contemporaries included Christopher Hampton and Tim Rice. He went ...

, interested in

political philosophy Political philosophy studies the theoretical and conceptual foundations of politics. It examines the nature, scope, and Political legitimacy, legitimacy of political institutions, such as State (polity), states. This field investigates different ...

and the

history of ideas Intellectual history (also the history of ideas) is the study of the history of human thought and of intellectuals, people who conceptualize, discuss, write about, and concern themselves with ideas. The investigative premise of intellectual hist ...

Buildings and grounds

The main building of the college, designed by Powell and Moya Architects and completed in 1974, is one of the most modern main buildings of all Oxford colleges. It has three quadrangles: the central quadrangle named the Berlin Quad after

, the Tree Quad built around established trees, and the River Quad into which the

has been diverted to form a punt harbour. The main building and footbridge across the river were

grade II listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, H ...

in June 2011. The college has student accommodation in the main college building, in three child-friendly courtyards surrounded by family housing, and also has similar accommodation in a scattering of purpose-built blocks, including the

Robin Gandy Robin Oliver Gandy (22 September 1919 – 20 November 1995) was a British mathematician and logician. He was a friend, student, and associate of Alan Turing, having been supervised by Turing during his PhD at the University of Cambridge, where ...

Buildings, and in existing houses on Linton Road, Chadlington Road and Garford Road. The college also owns an adjacent house and orchard that was occupied by the

Bishop of Oxford The Bishop of Oxford is the diocesan bishop of the Church of England Diocese of Oxford in the Province of Canterbury; his seat is at Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford. The current bishop is Steven Croft (bishop), Steven Croft, following the Confirm ...

until 2014. Wolfson College aims to cut its emissions and plans to be

carbon neutral Global net-zero emissions is reached when greenhouse gas emissions and Greenhouse gas removal, removals due to human activities are in balance. It is often called simply net zero. ''Emissions'' can refer to all greenhouse gases or only carbon diox ...

by 2030.

Library

The college library, which occupies both floors of one wing of the college's main building, is open to members of the college. The main library is on the first floor, approachable from the side of the dining hall and the lodge, and two other collections, called the Floersheimer Room and the Hornik Memorial Room are on the ground floor. A mezzanine floor in the main library has books as well as carrels for individual use by graduate students of the college. The library has an extensive collection of books and journals.

Common room and hall

The college has one common room for fellows and graduate students. The common room has two floors: the upper common room, with an attached terrace overlooking the punting harbour, which has a bar and a coffee counter, and the lower common room, which has magazines and newspapers. The college's hall is one of the few in the university to have a common table. The ' Haldane Room', a hall adjacent to the dining hall proper, is where formal meals, especially the

convocation A convocation (from the Latin ''wikt:convocare, convocare'' meaning "to call/come together", a translation of the Ancient Greek, Greek wikt:ἐκκλησία, ἐκκλησία ''ekklēsia'') is a group of people formally assembled for a specia ...

lunch, are held.

Gardens

The college owns grounds on both sides of the river, including two meadows on the opposite side, towards Marston. It has a small but well-maintained garden with mature trees behind its main building, and beside the river. The garden is landscaped well on the riverbank, with a flight of steps leading up to a green-house and a sundial. The college also has a smaller garden beside the Robin Gandy building, which stands on the banks of the river.

Sports and punting harbour

The college has its own squash court and croquet lawn, and takes part in many university sporting events, including cricket, football, and the yearly rowing competition. It is one of the few in Oxford with its own punting harbour, with a fleet of punts for use by all members of the college. The Wolfson College Boat Club is on the ground floor of 'C' Block.

Academic profile

Wolfson had approximately 800 graduate students, many of whom were

DPhil A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

students. The remainder were studying for

MPhil A Master of Philosophy (MPhil or PhM; Latin ' or ') is a postgraduate degree. The name of the degree is most often abbreviated MPhil (or, at times, as PhM in other countries). MPhil are awarded to postgraduate students after completing at least ...

, MSc, MSc by Research, MSt, MSt by Research,

MBA A Master of Business Administration (MBA) is a professional degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration; elective courses may allow further study in a particular a ...

, EMBA, MLitt, MLitt by Research,

BPhil Bachelor of Philosophy (BPhil, BPh, or PhB; or or ) is the title of an academic degree in philosophy that usually involves considerable research, either through a thesis or supervised research projects. Unlike many other bachelor's degrees, the ...

, and Cert degrees. The college also accepts MJur and BCL candidates. Wolfson is home to a number of research clusters: * Ancient World Research Cluster (AWRC) * Wolfson College Digital Research Cluster * The Oxford Centre for Life Writing (OCLW) * Law in Societies * South Asia Research Cluster (SARC) * Earth Emergency Research Cluster * Tibetan and Himalayan Studies Centre * Quantum Foundations Research Cluster * The Quantum Hub It has also been home to the Centre for Socio-Legal Studies, which has now moved to an independent location in Oxford. The Foundation for Law, Justice and Society, which is affiliated with the college and the Centre for Socio-Legal Studies, was based there between 2005 and 2021.

Notable people associated with Wolfson College

Wolfson is associated with a number of prominent individuals. These include former students, Fellows of the college and past presidents including two

Nobel Prize The Nobel Prizes ( ; ; ) are awards administered by the Nobel Foundation and granted in accordance with the principle of "for the greatest benefit to humankind". The prizes were first awarded in 1901, marking the fifth anniversary of Alfred N ...

winners. As Wolfson is a graduate-only college, most students will have been associated with another college or institution, before coming to study at Wolfson College for a Masters or DPhil degree.

Notable alumni

File:Kay_Davies_portrait_2008.jpg, Kay Davies File:Professor_Artur_Ekert_FRS.jpg,

Artur Ekert Artur Konrad Ekert (born 19 September 1961) is a British / Polish professor of quantum physics at the Mathematical Institute, University of Oxford, professorial fellow in quantum physics and cryptography at Merton College, Oxford, Lee Kong Chi ...

File:Richard_Ellis-49_copy.jpg, Richard Salisbury Ellis File:Alison_Gopnik_Photo.jpg, Alison Gopnik File:Nigel_Hitchin_2004.jpg, Nigel Hitchin File:Reid_Hoffman.jpg,

Reid Hoffman Reid Garrett Hoffman (born August 5, 1967) is an American internet entrepreneur, venture capitalist, podcaster, and author. Hoffman is the co-founder and former executive chairman of LinkedIn, a business-oriented social network used primarily ...

File:Eric_Lander_(cropped).jpg,

Eric Lander Eric Steven Lander (born February 3, 1957) is an American mathematician and geneticist who is a professor of biology at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and a professor of systems biology at Harvard Medical School. Eric Lander is ...

File:Wes Moore Official Governor Portrait.jpg,

Wes Moore Westley Watende Omari Moore (born October 15, 1978) is an American politician, businessman, author, and former U.S. Army officer serving as the 63rd governor of Maryland since 2023. Moore was born in Maryland and raised primarily in New York. ...

File:Iain Pears 2015.JPG,

Iain Pears Iain George Pears (born 8 August 1955) is an English art historian, novelist and journalist. Personal life Pears was born on 8 August 1955 in Coventry, England. He was educated at Warwick School, an all-boys public school in Warwick. He st ...

File:Rezek2006.jpg, Francisco Rezek File:S960_-_Chris_Whitty_-_Chief_Scientific_Adviser_(cropped).png,

Chris Whitty Sir Christopher John MacRae Whitty (born 21 April 1966) is a British epidemiologist, serving as Chief Medical Officer for England and Chief Medical Adviser to the UK Government since 2019. Whitty was Chief Scientific Adviser to the Department ...

In the sciences, alumni of the college include the human geneticist Dame Kay Davies, the astronomer and

Caltech The California Institute of Technology (branded as Caltech) is a private university, private research university in Pasadena, California, United States. The university is responsible for many modern scientific advancements and is among a small g ...

professor Richard Ellis, theoretical physicist

David Deutsch David Elieser Deutsch ( ; ; born 18 May 1953) is a British physicist at the University of Oxford, often described as the "father of quantum computing". He is a visiting professor in the Department of Atomic and Laser Physics at the Centre for ...

, mathematician and geneticist

and mathematician James R. Norris. Entrepreneurs include

, who was the co-founder and executive chairman of

LinkedIn LinkedIn () is an American business and employment-oriented Social networking service, social network. It was launched on May 5, 2003 by Reid Hoffman and Eric Ly. Since December 2016, LinkedIn has been a wholly owned subsidiary of Microsoft. ...

. In law and public policy, alumni include Chief Medical Adviser to the UK Government

, former Minister of External Relations of Brazil and Supreme Court Justice Francisco Rezek, chief prosecutor of the

International Criminal Court The International Criminal Court (ICC) is an intergovernmental organization and International court, international tribunal seated in The Hague, Netherlands. It is the first and only permanent international court with jurisdiction to prosecute ...

Karim Ahmad Khan Karim Asad Ahmad Khan (born 30 March 1970) is a British lawyer who has served as Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court since 2021. He specialises in international criminal law and international human rights law. After his appointme ...

. Sigmundur Davíð Gunnlaugsson, the youngest serving Prime Minister of Iceland, studied at the College.

Presidents

File:IsaiahBerlin1983.jpg,

File:Bill Hoffenberg speaking at a conference Wellcome L0075320.jpg, Raymond Hoffenberg File:Tim Hitchens (by UK in Japan- FCO).jpg, Tim Hitchens

Fellows

File:Abramsky_Samson.jpg,

Samson Abramsky Samson Abramsky (born 12 March 1953) is a British computer scientist who is a Professor of Computer Science at University College London. He was previously the Christopher Strachey Professor of Computing at Wolfson College, Oxford, from 2000 t ...

File:Jerome Bruner 1936.png,

Jerome Bruner Jerome Seymour Bruner (October 1, 1915 – June 5, 2016) was an American psychologist who made significant contributions to human cognitive psychology and cognitive learning theory (education), learning theory in educational psychology. Bruner was ...

File:Sir_Tony_Hoare_IMG_5125.jpg,

Tony Hoare Sir Charles Antony Richard Hoare (; born 11 January 1934), also known as C. A. R. Hoare, is a British computer scientist who has made foundational contributions to programming languages, algorithms, operating systems, formal verification, and ...

File:Dorothy_Hodgkin_Nobel.jpg,

Dorothy Hodgkin Dorothy Mary Crowfoot Hodgkin (née Crowfoot; 12 May 1910 – 29 July 1994) was a Nobel Prize-winning English chemist who advanced the technique of X-ray crystallography to determine the structure of biomolecules, which became essential for ...

File:Nikolaas_Tinbergen_1978.jpg,

Nikolaas Tinbergen Nikolaas "Niko" Tinbergen ( , ; 15 April 1907 – 21 December 1988) was a Dutch biologist and ornithologist who shared the 1973 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine with Karl von Frisch and Konrad Lorenz for their discoveries concerning the ...

Notable current and former fellows of the college include: Jiyuan Yu, a moral philosopher noted for his work on virtue ethics. William Bradshaw, Baron Bradshaw, Member of the

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 ...

. Anthony Epstein, discoverer of the

Epstein–Barr virus The Epstein–Barr virus (EBV), also known as human herpesvirus 4 (HHV-4), is one of the nine known Herpesviridae#Human herpesvirus types, human herpesvirus types in the Herpesviridae, herpes family, and is one of the most common viruses in ...

. Steven Schwartz, Vice Chancellor of

Macquarie University Macquarie University ( ) is a Public university, public research university in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Founded in 1964 by the New South Wales Government, it was the third university to be established in the Sydney metropolitan area. ...

in Sydney, Australia. Denis Mack Smith, historian at Oxford.

, Dutch ethologist and recipient of the

Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine () is awarded yearly by the Nobel Assembly at the Karolinska Institute for outstanding discoveries in physiology or medicine. The Nobel Prize is not a single prize, but five separate prizes that, acco ...

, winner of the

Nobel Prize in Chemistry The Nobel Prize in Chemistry () is awarded annually by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences to scientists in the various fields of chemistry. It is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Alfred Nobel in 1895, awarded for outst ...

References

Bibliography

* * *

External links

Wolfson College website

Virtual Tour of the College
{{authority control Educational institutions established in 1965 Colleges of the University of Oxford Buildings and structures of the University of Oxford 1965 establishments in England Grade II listed buildings in Oxford Postgraduate schools in the United Kingdom Himalayan studies Postgraduate colleges in British universities