Endowed Fellowships

Thanks to the generosity of donors throughout the history of the College, we now have five endowed Fellowships:

Greta Burkill Fellowship in Economics

In 2005 brother and sister, Charlie and Ruby Loke, donated a total of £300,000 to establish the Greta Burkill Fellowship in Economics in memory of their guardian from school days, Mrs Greta Burkill. Mrs Burkill was instrumental in gathering supporters for the Third Foundation Association, which founded New Hall, and convened an historic meeting in the Master’s Lodge in Downing College in 1949 to present arguments for an expansion of places for women in Cambridge. She was also Secretary to the Appeals Subcommittee of the New Hall Association, which by June 1954 had raised £25,000, providing the initial funding for New Hall. Her husband, Charles Burkill (later Master of Peterhouse), was the College’s first Supervisor in Mathematics. Mrs Burkill was an alumna of Newnham who read Economics.

Dr Kumar Aniket is the current Greta Burkill Fellow in Economics.

Roma Gill Fellowship in English

Roma Gill (1954) was born in Yorkshire in 1934, and attended the local Grammar School. In 1954 she accepted a place to read English as one of the very first year at New Hall. She then went on to complete a B.Litt at Oxford. In 1963 she joined Sheffield University as Assistant Lecturer, and remained there for 21 years, becoming the youngest Reader ever appointed by the University. Following her retirement in 1984 due to increasingly crippling illness, Roma pursued a career as a freelance editor and lecturer. She will be remembered for her definitive editions of Marlowe, Middleton and Tourneur plays, but perhaps her widest audience was reached through her editing of the worldwide Oxford School Shakespeare series. She had just completed twenty new editions of plays at the time of her death in 2001. Roma generously left New Hall the royalties from her Oxford Shakespeare publications, and these have built up to a significant sum, enabling us to endow a permanent Fellowship in English in her name.

Dr Leo Mellor is the current Roma Gill Fellow in English.

Zara Steiner Fellowship in History

Dr Zara Steiner, the renowned historian, has been a Fellow of New Hall since 1965 (Emerita since 1996), was its Acting President from 1995-6 and was for many years Director of Studies in History. Zara’s recent election to a Senior Fellowship of the British Academy is recognition of her outstanding contribution to History and of her very high reputation as a historian both within Britain and abroad. However, her success in academic research, including the recent publication to great acclaim of her latest book ‘The Lights that Failed’, has always been complemented by her love of teaching history to students at New Hall and across Cambridge. We were delighted to announce the completion of this Fellowship in November 2008 at a dinner in honour of Zara’s 80th birthday.

Dr Kate Peters is the current Zara Steiner Fellow in History.

Lorna Close Fellowship in Spanish

Lorna Close (Fellow 1967-95) was born in Buenos Aires in 1936 to British parents. Fleeing Argentina during the Perón era, her family returned to Britain in 1946. Lorna was often ill as a child and effectively educated herself. She won a scholarship in Modern Languages at Girton in 1957 and there she gained a fierce pride in women’s capacity to think. Following a spell in Bristol and Cardiff, she returned to Cambridge in 1967 as a Fellow at New Hall. She became a University Lecturer in the mid seventies, and played an energetic part in the life of her College and Department. Lorna’s concentration on teaching helped to establish the strength of Modern Languages, especially Spanish, at New Hall and in Cambridge. We were delighted to be able to continue this tradition by creating a permanent endowed Fellowship in Spanish in her name, funded partly though Lorna’s very generous legacy and partly though donations from alumnae and her friends.

Dr Liz Drayson is the current Lorna Close Fellow in Spanish.

Maplethorpe Fellowship in Biological Sciences

This Fellowship was established in 1986 following an exceptionally generous donation to the College from Alec Monk (Foundation Fellow) and his mother, Margery Maplethorpe. The first Maplethorpe Fellow, Dr Hatty Harris, held the position from 1986 until her retirement in 2009. Dr Harris' research focused the biology of endothelial cells, that line arteries.

Dr Nick Mundy is the current Maplethorpe Fellow in Biological Sciences.

Murray Edwards College/New Hall is a Registered Charity (Registration No. 1137530).