25 Dec 08

As 2008 was such a busy year for the University of Oxford, we’ve taken this opportunity to reflect on some of the highlights. We haven’t tried to encapsulate the cutting-edge research that has taken place at the University because there’s just too much, but here’s a roundup of a few of the stories we’ve covered on the news pages this year.

To read other stories about the University of Oxford, including research findings, please browse our news archive.

The year started well in January with eight Oxford academics included in the New Year Honours 2008. Professor John Bell was made a Knight Bachelor (KB) for services to medicine. Professor Kay Davies was made a Dame of the British Empire (DBE) for services to science. Dr Margaret Bent, Michael Noble and Richard Ellis received CBEs and Dr Peter Neumann, Kathy Sylva and Robert Cassen received OBEs. 

In January the University established an Indian Business Centre and new Chair in Indian business studies. Vice-Chancellor Dr John Hood announced the news during a visit to New Delhi, where he accompanied the Prime Minister Gordon Brown.

The Oxford Science Blog was also launched, providing the inside track on science at the University.

In February it was announced that graduates from Oxford University Medical School consistently perform better than those from all other universities in postgraduate medical exams, according to a report in BMC Medicine.

It was also shown that the University of Oxford had the highest external research income in the UK for 2006–7. Oxford was also the top recipient of Wellcome Trust funding for medical research, receiving one fifth of all funding given. Oxford’s total external research income for the year was £248.2m, up 16.5 per cent on the previous year.

This year’s Science Week in March was better than ever. Oxford’s Science Roadshow went on tour, while there were debates as well as talks for youngsters.

In rowing, six out of seven varsity races between Oxford and Cambridge resulted in an Oxford win. The highlight was the 154th Boat Race with Oxford beating Cambridge for the third time in four years, winning by six lengths.

In April, the University came top of the national university league table, The Complete University Guide, for the sixth time in the last seven years.

The new Institute of Biomedical Engineering (IBME) was also officially opened. Located at the Old Road Campus on the Churchill Hospital site, the IBME offers a centralised venue for engineers, biologists and clinicians to work together and to coordinate expertise, discoveries and best practice in order to enhance the diagnosis and treatment of a range of conditions.

Donations totalling £575 million launched the Campaign for the University of Oxford in May, the most important campaign ever organised by the University, which aims to raise a minimum of £1.25 billion. The donations included a £5 million donation to the Bodleian Library, by Julian Blackwell, and a $50m donation by Michael Moritz and Harriet Heyman to Christ Church. There were also two generous £25 million gifts – from the Garfield Weston Foundation to the New Bodleian Library and from Mr Wafic Rida Saïd for the Saïd Business School.

The University became a world-leading centre for the study of China, following the launch of the University of Oxford China Centre (UOCC). It provides a focus for China-related study across the University and will play a key role in strengthening Oxford’s relationship with China.

In June the University’s next Vice Chancellor was announced. Professor Andrew Hamilton, the Provost of Yale University, will take over the role on 1 October 2009, following Dr John Hood’s five-year term of service. Professor Hamilton promised to 'help ensure that a great University has an even better future'.

Hollywood star Kevin Spacey was announced as Oxford’s Cameron Mackintosh Visiting Professor of Contemporary Theatre, succeeding the actor Patrick Stewart.

Three Oxford Professors were recognised in the Queen's Birthday Honours - Professor Andrew McMichael, Professor of Molecular Medicine was knighted, Professor Paul Collier and Professor Paul Harvey were made CBEs.

In July, The British Academy, the national academy for the humanities and social sciences, elected nine academics from Oxford University as new Fellows. Four researchers from Oxford were honoured by the Royal Society in this year’s Royal Society Awards, Medals, and Prize lectures. And two Oxford researchers, Professor Alison Noble and Professor Tony Wilson, were made Fellows of the Royal Academy of Engineering.

Oxford’s former students competing in the Olympics in Beijing in August gave some impressive performances, securing an array of gold and silver medals.

The University’s newest faculty - the Linguistics, Philology and Phonetics Faculty opened its doors in August. It is chaired by Professor Aditi Lahiri.

September saw the University’s second Alumni Weekend. Around 1000 returning Oxford graduates were offered a packed three-day programme of 140 events, many chaired by well-known alumni.

More than 150 hours of free audio and video podcasts from the University of Oxford became available in October on a new site on iTunes U.

Paul Gambaccini, radio and television presenter and Oxford alumnus, was named Oxford University’s News International Visiting Professor of Broadcast Media. He will give four lectures in January and February 2009.

The author and playwright Alan Bennett presented his papers as a gift to the Bodleian Library. His remarkable and comprehensive archive comprises materials, letters, and manuscripts relating to a distinguished literary career which has spanned nearly five decades.

In a busy month, The Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment was officially opened by Dr John Hood. The Smith School is a new research and teaching initiative, aimed at understanding and pioneering ways for private enterprise, government, and academia to work towards solutions to the environmental challenges of the 21st century.

In November the ceiling of the Sheldonian Theatre was finally reinstated after four painstaking years of conservation.

Biomedical research at the University of Oxford entered a new phase with the transfer of the first mice into the new Biomedical Sciences Building, which will rehouse research animals in one of the most advanced facilities in the UK.

The University marked the 90th anniversary of Armistice Day by launching a new, free website enabling educators, scholars and the public to view previously unseen memorabilia from World War I. The Great War Archive website brings together 6,500 digital images of items submitted to Oxford University by members of the public. It complements the University’s First World War Poetry Digital Archive, which includes previously unseen materials such as poetry manuscripts and original diary entries from some of the conflict’s most important poets.

Professor Marcus du Sautoy, Professor of Mathematics at the University of Oxford, started his new role in December, after being appointed to the Charles Simonyi Chair for the Public Understanding of Science. He took over from Professor Richard Dawkins.

Muhammad Yunus, Nobel Laureate and pioneer of microcredit, gave this year’s Romanes lecture to a packed Sheldonian Theatre on ‘A poverty-free world: When? How?’.

The new £49 million, 12,000 sq m Biochemistry building at the University of Oxford designed by Hawkins\Brown architects launched to much praise.

In this year’s Rugby Varsity match at Twickenham, Oxford withstood a Cambridge comeback to secure a 33-29 victory. Oxford winger Tim Catling was the hero, scoring the first hat-trick of tries in the match since 1934 and ensuring that Oxford could break the Light Blues' three-year winning streak.

Finally, the year ended on a high note when the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) published the results of its Research Assessment Exercise 2008. The University of Oxford was judged to have the largest submission of world-leading research (4* rated by HEFCE) in the UK. Oxford also has the largest submission of world-leading or internationally excellent research (4* or 3* rated) in the UK.