The start of Hilary is always a time for looking over last year’s triumphs and forward to next year’s plans – but this year that is truer than ever.

The event we most remember is last term’s launch of the biggest campaign in Somerville’s history. As we approach our 150th year, the RISE campaign will equip College for the next 150 years of research and scholarship. At the heart of this campaign is our new flagship building in the Radcliffe Observatory Quarter, enabled by the largest single gift in College history. The Ratan Tata Building represents a unique opportunity to expand our teaching and learning space, and will provide a new home for the Oxford India Centre. We can’t wait to welcome you to this inclusive and equitable space, which will become, in time, as distinctly Somervillian as the library.

Somerville, of course, is always changing, shaped by the students who join our expansive community each year, yet our values remain the same. This past year, we have welcomed 119 new undergraduates, 82% from state schools, and 8 new sanctuary scholars, from countries including Ukraine, Syria, and Afghanistan, whilst the Oxford India Centre created 3 new scholarships, and welcomed 10 new scholars. Change also comes in the form of generous donations from our alumni: Dr Christian Carritt’s legacy has endowed Fellowships in both Music and Medicine, and enabled the purchase of three pianos. As ever, it is Somerville’s radically welcoming history that guides the future of the college.