August 2008

Welcome to the August edition of the e-bulletin from the Cambridge Alumni Relations Office. For more information on news items and alumni activities, events and services please click on the links below.

The e-bulletin is sent out every two months to more than 53,000 alumni worldwide. If you are in touch with any Cambridge alumni who do not receive it, please encourage them to subscribe.

The Office of Communications provides daily updates on news and events at the University, including news audio and video clips.

You can also view an online version of the What's On calendar. If you would like to receive a paper copy of the What's On guide please email events@admin.cam.ac.uk.

Please find a selection of recent stories below

Booking for this year's Alumni Weekend has now closed. Almost 1,100 people will join us in September for the event and this year sees the highest-ever number of overseas attendees with alumni coming from over 16 countries around the world. Registration packs will be mailed to all those who have booked at the beginning of September and all important documents needed for the weekend will also be available to download from our website.

Video recordings of some of the main lectures from the Saturday programme will also be available online in October.

Engineers attending Alumni Weekend might wish to note that the Department of Engineering is presenting a series of lectures on Saturday entitled Cities of the Future (Streets Ahead, 9.30am; Sustainable Cities, 11.15 am and Powering Our Cities in the 21st Century at 1.45pm), followed by an open morning on Sunday from 10am – 12 noon. For further information see the full programme on the website.

A Literary Day at the British Library, London - Saturday 17 January
Join Dr David Starkey, Dr Robert Macfarlane, Dr Michèle Mendelssohn and Martin Rowson alongside fellow alumni for the first alumni event of the University's 800th anniversary year.
Enjoy a day of lectures at the British Library, London and explore the many and varied aspects of the literary world.

The Endellion String Quartet, Wigmore Hall, London - Tuesday 20 January
The Endellion String Quartet has been 'Quartet in Residence' at the University since 1992. In 2009, the Quartet celebrates its 30th anniversary and we are delighted to be able to offer alumni a special opportunity to pre-book the best seats for the Quartet's Anniversary Concert at the Wigmore Hall and attend an exclusive reception.

King's College Choir at St David's Hall, Cardiff - Friday 20 March
Our first alumni event in Wales will take place at St David's Hall in Cardiff. Alumni and guests are invited to attend a concert by King's College Choir as they join forces with Florilegium, one of the most flamboyant and sought-after period instrument ensembles. The music ranges from the splendour of Handel's Zadok the Priest, through the majesty of Bach, to the vivacious energy of Vivaldi.

Imperial War Museum, Duxford - Saturday 18 April
Following the success of this year's event at Duxford, alumni are invited to join Professor Richard Evans and Professor Richard Holmes in 2009 at the Imperial War Museum, Duxford, Europe's premier aviation museum. This famous heritage site began as an airfield in the First World War and also played a vital role in the Second World War, firstly as an RAF fighter station and later as an American fighter base.

To book for these events please contact the Alumni Office or telephone +44 (0)1223 332288. Places are limited and early booking is advised.

Trek through the Himalayan Mountains in Nepal with Cambridge anthropologist Dr Mark Turin, cruise through the dramatic landscape of the Highlands and Islands of Scotland accompanied by Humphrey Burton and Professor Paul Mellars, or meander along windmill-lined rivers to the spectacular flower auction in Aalsmeer in Holland. For further information on these and the many other scholarly holidays available please see the new Alumni Travel Programme for 2009 or email the Alumni Office to receive a printed copy.

There are over 250 Cambridge alumni groups around the world, running events, activities and reunions and providing an ideal way of staying in touch. The 2008/9 Worldwide Directory, containing complete listings of all the current groups, was mailed to all alumni with the Easter edition of CAM. It can also be viewed online, or for a hard copy contact the Alumni Office.

Contact details can also be found on the alumni website, and see the online notice board for the most up-to-date event listings and details of new groups, including a newly-formed online group in Lebanon and new groups in Syria, Northern Ireland and Afghanistan.

The Alumni Relations Office recently held its first Insider Day in Cambridge, bringing together group leaders from around the world. A day of discussion and information-sharing, which included lunch with the Vice-Chancellor, was rounded-off by an enthralling lecture from Dr David Starkey.

Cambridge in America

There are exciting plans for the remainder of 2008 and for the start of the 800th Anniversary year. Among the forthcoming opportunities for alumni to get together this autumn are receptions in Miami, Florida and Washington DC; while the publication of Charles Darwin's Beagle Letters will be marked by a launch in November in New York City, attended by Janet Browne, Alison Pearn and Jim Secord from the Darwin Correspondence Project. Full information on all regional events can be found at www.cantab.org, along with details for upcoming College dinners. If you wish to post an event or have a suggestion please contact Cambridge in America at mail@cantab.org

Highlights from this summer have included a reception in July in Charlottesville, VA, attended by alumni from thirteen different Colleges, with matriculation years ranging from 1941 through to 2004; a picnic and evening at Chicago's Millennium Park with the Grant Park Symphony; and a clambake in Bristol, Rhode Island along with friends from Oxford and Yale. In addition, seventy-five Cambridge alumni and guests gathered at the New York Athletic Club for a cocktail reception and performance by the Fitzwilliam String Quartet, hosted by Cantab NYC. A number of guests joined the Quartet for a dinner following the performance. CantabNYC wishes to thank two alumni from Newnham and Fitzwilliam for helping underwrite the programme.

CAM is mailed three times a year during the Michaelmas, Lent and Easter terms to all alumni. The current edition, CAM No 54, is available online and CAM No 55 will be published in early November. If you have not yet received your copy of CAM No 54 please contact the Alumni Office.

The winning image in the alumni photography competition, recently held at the Department of Engineering, was taken by Edith Lagendijk, who graduated in 1994. It can be seen online along with some of the other excellent entries.

The Centre for Gender Studies has now been formally established within the University, thanks to a substantial donation from Peter and Jessica Frankopan. The first Frankopan Director of Gender Studies, Dr Jude Browne, takes up the post in October, and a new multi-disciplinary MPhil is being developed.

Cambridge University Rugby Union Football Club The 2008 Lehman Brothers Varsity Match will kick off at Twickenham at 2pm on Thursday 11 December. The U21 match will revert to an 11.30 am kick off.

If you are in Cambridge in October, look out for the Festival of Ideas, a new festival of free and interactive events for all age groups in the arts, humanities and social sciences, organised by the University. Confirmed speakers include Professor John Carey and BBC Radio 4 Today presenter Evan Davis.

Can you help us? We have received enquiries about a number of alumni and unfortunately do not hold any current contact details for them. If you know any alumni on the list, please encourage them to contact the Alumni Office.

Cambridge University United Nations Association

We have received an enquiry from Dr Kai Yuen Wong (Fitzwilliam 2002) who established the Cambridge University United Nations Association (CUUNA) in 2006 and has since discovered that CUUNA has actually been in existence in some form since the 1950s. He is interested in making contact with any members of the original Association, as he is planning an event next year. Please email him on kaiyuen.wong@cantab.net or see the website.

The University of Cambridge - an 800th Anniversary Portrait
Thank you to everyone who subscribed to this beautiful new hardback volume – we hope you enjoy the book on publication.

Published in September 2008 – and to be launched at the opening ceremony of the Alumni Weekend – The University of Cambridge – an 800th Anniversary Portrait features expert, informative and entertaining contributions from leading Cambridge figures of every generation. Inside you will find a vivid picture of the past, present and future of the University as a living community.

While the date for having your name included in the book has now passed, it is still possible to order before publication and save 15% on the published price. To preview sample pages and view a slideshow of images from the book, please visit the publisher's website where you can also pre-order securely online at the special discount price.

Plans for 2009

The University will mark its 800th Anniversary throughout 2009 with a wide range of events. Please see the 800th Anniversary website for more details throughout the year.

Alumni may also be interested in the new wood being planted at Madingley to mark the 800th anniversary. There are opportunities to dedicate a tree, tree plaque or bench in the wood; for further information please contact the Alumni Office.

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Cambridge Alumni Relations Office
The University of Cambridge
1 Quayside
Bridge Street
Cambridge, CB5 8AB
Tel. +44 (0)1223 332288
Fax +44 (0)1223 764476
alumni@foundation.cam.ac.uk
www.cam.ac.uk/alumni

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