Colin Bundy named as first Principal of Green Templeton College
25 Jan 08
Dr Colin Bundy, currently Warden of Green College, has been named as the first Principal of the new Green Templeton College.
The decision was made on 17 January by a combined meeting of the Governing Bodies of both Green and Templeton Colleges. Dr Bundy will take up his responsibilities when the new college formally commences existence on 1 October 2008.
Commenting on his appointment Dr Bundy said: ‘I feel very fortunate to have been offered the opportunity to head a brand new Oxford college and am looking forward eagerly to its launch. The level of cooperation and commitment shown by members of both Governing Bodies in preparing for merger is a good augury for the success of Green Templeton.
‘The strengths of Templeton College and Green College will combine to create a stimulating environment for graduate students and Fellows alike,’ said Dr Bundy. ‘Housing outstanding academics and students from the medical and management sciences in a single college, together with their counterparts in disciplines such as social policy, education and environmental studies, promises a vibrant and fruitful intellectual engagement with human welfare and social, economic, and environmental well-being.’
The merger, announced in June 2007, is the first in the modern history of the University and forms part of Oxford’s declared strategy of increasing provision for postgraduate study.
Green Templeton College will be one of the largest graduate colleges in Oxford with about 80 Fellows and 500 students. It will use its scale to create a rich and diverse intellectual environment with facilities and services tailored to the needs of graduates. The new college will house well over half of its students in college accommodation and is committed to providing a strong range of scholarships and other forms of student support.
Professor Michael Earl will be standing down after six and a half years as head of Templeton. In that time the College transferred its executive education activities to Said business School and expanded its graduate community nearly fourfold. Professor Earl commented that: ‘The merger with Green secures the future for both colleges as we become one strong graduate college with an exciting academic and intellectual vision. Green and Templeton have worked really well together over the last two years in the exploration and then planning of the merger and I know that with Colin Bundy as first Principal, Green Templeton will be in very good hands.’
The college will be located at Green College’s Radcliffe Observatory site, just next to the planned University complex on the old Radcliffe Infirmary plot. Templeton College will move from its current home in Kennington, three miles outside the City Centre.