St Anne's College, Oxford

St Anne's College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. Formerly a women's college, it has been coeducational since 1979. Founded in 1879 as The Society of Oxford Home-Students, it received its college status in 1952, and today it is one of the larger colleges in Oxford, with around 450 undergraduate and 200 graduate students in a roughly equal mix of men and women. The college is known for its progressive outlook, its strength in both the humanities and the sciences, its mix of architecture, and its library - the largest college library in Oxford.

The college was established and expanded by the gradual acquisition of Victorian houses between the Woodstock and Banbury roads, with its location now in North Oxford and adjacent to the neighbourhood of Jericho and Oxford University Parks. The current principal of the college is Tim Gardam. The 2013/2014 annual review valued the college's endowment at £37 million.

History
What is now St Anne's College began life as part of the Association for the Education of Women, the first institution in Oxford to allow for the education of women (see: Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford), then later the Society of Oxford Home-Students. In 1942, it became the St Anne's Society, and received a university charter to be founded as a women-only college in 1952. While it remains a common myth that it is built on land donated by St John's College, the site was acquired slowly by the purchase of existing houses and residences for the use of students.

The Ship
The annual magazine for alumni of the college is known as The Ship. When it was still known as the Society for Home Students, the college had its first common room in Ship Street, located in central Oxford.

Grounds
Its grounds are bounded by Woodstock Road and Banbury Road to the west and east respectively, and Bevington Road to the north. They extend as far south as 48 Woodstock Road on the west, and 27 Banbury Road on the east side. The College formerly owned a number of houses throughout Oxford used for undergraduate accommodation, some formerly boarding houses of the Society of Oxford Home-Students; these have been largely sold off to fund the building of the Ruth Deech Building, completed in 2005. These grounds house all of the college's administrative and academic buildings, undergraduate accommodation, as well as the hall, which is among the largest in Oxford.

Undergraduate Accommodation
St Anne's is one of the few colleges which can accommodate undergraduates for all the years of their study. Undergraduates at St Anne's are housed in 14 Victorian houses owned by the college and six purpose-built accommodation blocks. The Victorian houses include 1 – 10 Bevington Road, 58/60 Woodstock Road, and 39/41 Banbury Road. These houses also contain the college bar, teaching rooms, college gym, and a laundrette.

Hartland House
The Hartland House, designed by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott, was the first purpose-built college building, finished in 1937 with an additional wing built in 1973. It now houses the Library, the junior and senior common rooms, and administrative offices.

Ruth Deech Building
The Ruth Deech Building, completed in 2005, is the most recent college building. It houses extensive conference facilities (the Tsuzuki lecture theatre, seminar rooms, and dining facilities) on the lower ground floor, in addition to the new College Lodge on the upper ground floor, and 113 en-suite student rooms.

New Library And Academic Centre
The new library and academic centre, scheduled for completion in 2016, is on the site of the former Founders' Gatehouse, which was built in 1966 and was the college lodge until 2005.

Rayne and Wolfson Buildings
The Rayne and Wolfson Buildings were built in 1964 are Grade II Listed Buildings; they are virtually identical in design, and house administrative offices on the ground floor as well as student rooms.

Claire Palley Building
The Claire Palley Building, completed in 1992 and named after former Principal Claire Palley, was the first accommodation block to have en-suite rooms. It also houses the Mary Ogilvie Lecture Theatre.

Trenaman House
Trenaman House, built in 1995, holds student rooms as well as communal college facilities on the ground floor and, since 2008, the St Anne's Coffee Shop (STACS). It was named after Nancy Trenaman, the sixth Principal of the college (1966–1984).

Dining Hall
The Dining Hall, built in 1959, is amongst the largest in Oxford with a capacity of 300. Three meals are served daily in hall apart from on weekends when only brunch is served. It is also used for college collections (internal college exams) and, on occasion, college 'bops' (costume parties).

Other Facilities
The Eleanor Plumer House (known until 2008 as simply 35 Banbury Road) houses the Middle Common Room, and attached facilities including a study area/computer room and kitchen, in addition to accommodation for graduate students. Four additional Victorian houses (27 and 37 Banbury, 48 and 50 Woodstock) hold teaching rooms, seminar rooms, music practice rooms, and college offices.

Robert Saunders House
The Robert Saunders House, built in 1996, provides 80 rooms for post-graduate students in Summertown, an area in the north of Oxford. It was named after a former bursar of the college, who did much to strengthen its finances.

Traditions
The college has relatively few traditions and is rare amongst Oxford colleges in not having a chapel (along with St Catherine's College). Formal hall is held fortnightly. Gowns are not usually worn, except for official university occasions such as matriculation and certain college feasts. The college mascot is a beaver. Since 2010, it has become a tradition for the second years to play a prank on the first years with a flashmob during their matriculation photograph. Recent examples include a rendition of Do You Hear the People Sing? from Les Miserables, and recreating a scene from The Lion King.

College Grace
The college grace was composed by former classics tutor and founding fellow, Margaret Hubbard. It in involves the principal reciting the Latin words: quas decet, (deo) gratias agamus.

Sport and Societies
The college has teams for all major sports, and competes in inter-collegiate "cuppers" tournaments. Fixtures are either played in the neighbouring University Parks, or in the college playing fields on Woodstock Road. St Anne's College Boat Club (SABC) has seen much success over the years in both men's and women's divisions, with many members representing teams at university level. The college boathouse, situated on the River Isis in Christ Church Meadow is shared with St Hugh's and Wadham colleges. The college is particularly known for its strong joint rugby team with St John's College, having won Cuppers in 2014. St Anne's has a selection of college football teams, known informally as The Mint Green Army, who represent the college in all divisions. There is a distinctive rivalry with Wadham College.

There is a lot of music-making in the college, with opportunities for singers and instrumental players to be involved in ensembles. In keeping with its secular outlook, there is no sacred choral singing in St Anne's, but there is an informal acappella group that rehearses weekly, known as Stacappella. The group performs versions of popular and folk songs arranged by music students, and is currently directed by Joseph D'Artagnian-Fell. The college's Director of Music is Dr John Traill, who runs a regular professional recital series and a string orchestra in the college.

The college's geology society, STAGS (St Anne's Geology Society), is a hub of social gatherings for the college's Earth Sciences students. The college's classics society organises a joint symposium with Brasenose College every term, as well as a biennial trip to Lamledra, Cornwall.

Notable alumni

 * Sir Danny Alexander — Liberal Democrat MP for Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch & Strathspey (2005—2015), formerly Chief Secretary to the Treasury
 * Ben Hudson — stage name Mr Hudson, British R&B/pop artist.
 * Samantha Shannon — author of The Bone Season dystopian fiction series
 * Kevin Macdonald — director, The Last King of Scotland and State of Play
 * Mary Archer, Lady Archer – scientist specialising in solar power conversion
 * Karen Armstrong, FRSL — author on comparative religion
 * Jackie Ashley — broadcaster, journalist, and contributor to The Guardian and New Statesman
 * Wendy Beckett — BBC art historian
 * Dame Gillian Beer — literary critic and former President of Clare Hall, Cambridge (1994—2001)
 * Nicola Blackwood — Conservative MP for Oxford West and Abingdon (2010—).
 * Tina Brown, CBE — writer, and magazine editor, currently of The Daily Beast and formerly Vanity Fair (1984—1992) and The New Yorker (1992—1998)
 * Frances Cairncross, CBE – journalist, economist, and Rector of Exeter College, Oxford (2004—2014)
 * Edwina Currie — former Conservative MP (1983—1997)
 * Brad Hooker — philosopher specialising in ethics, Professor of Philosophy at Reading University
 * Devaki Jain — Indian economist, writer, and feminist activist
 * Liam D'Arcy-Brown, Sinologist and travel writer
 * Ruth Deech, Baroness Deech, DBE — lawyer, bioethicist, and former Principal of St Anne's (1991—2004)
 * Dame Mary Douglas, DBE, FBA - anthropologist
 * Anne Dreydel, OBE — co-founder of the Oxford English Centre, now St Clare's International School
 * Rose Dugdale — former debutante, notable IRA member and art theft
 * Andrew Edmonds — contestant on the reality TV show Big Brother 11.
 * U. A. Fanthorpe, CBE, FRSL – poet
 * Penelope Farmer — children's writer
 * Helen Fielding — novelist known for the Bridget Jones series
 * Hadley Freeman — writer and columnist for The Guardian and Vogue
 * Urszula Gacek — former Polish politician, since 2011 Ambassador, Permanent Representative of the Republic of Poland to The Council of Europe
 * Miriam Gross — literary editor and co-founder of Standpoint magazine
 * Mary Harron — Canadian director and screenwriter, best known for American Psycho
 * Zoë Heller — journalist and novelist, known for Notes on a Scandal
 * Diana Wynne Jones — fantasy novelist, known for the Chrestomanci series and Howl's Moving Castle
 * Martha Kearney — broadcaster and journalist, currently of BBC Radio 4's The World at One
 * Penelope Lively, CBE, FRSL – novelist and Booker Prize winner for Moon Tiger
 * Guy Lynn — investigative reporter for the BBC
 * Max More — philosopher and futurist, founder of the Extropy Institute
 * Rebecca Morelle - journalist, currently global science correspondent for BBC News
 * Lindsay Northover, Baroness Northover — Liberal Democrat member of the House of Lords (2000—), currently a Government Whip.
 * Una O'Brien, Permanent Secretary Department of Health
 * Adam Parsons — television and radio presenter
 * Ged Quinn - artist
 * Janina Ramirez — art historian, lecturer and TV presenter.
 * Justice Ruma Pal — judge of the Supreme Court of India (2000—2006)
 * Norah Lillian Penston — principal of Bedford College, University of London, 1951—64
 * Melanie Phillips — journalist and author, winner of the Orwell Prize
 * Libby Purves, OBE — radio presenter and journalist, drama critic for The Times (2010—)
 * Sir Simon Rattle, CBE, FRSA — prominent conductor, principal conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic (2002—2016), London Symphony Orchestra (2017—)
 * Jancis Robinson, OBE, MW – wine critic and author
 * Dame Cicely Saunders, OM, DBE – Anglican nurse, physician, writer, and pioneer of the hospice movement
 * Frances Stonor Saunders — journalist, historian, television, film-maker, and former associate editor of the New Statesman
 * Susan Sontag — prominent American author, literary theorist, and political activist
 * Susan J. Smith — Mistress of Girton College, Cambridge and Honorary Professor of Social and Economic Geography at the Department of Geography, University of Cambridge
 * Russell Taylor, MBE — writer, journalist and composer
 * Jane Thynne — novelist, journalist and broadcaster
 * Polly Toynbee — journalist, writer, and columnist for The Guardian (1998—)
 * Jenny Uglow, OBE — critic and noted biographer, currently editorial director of Chatto & Windus.
 * Jill Paton Walsh, CBE, FRSL — novelist and children's writer
 * Mara Yamauchi — noted long-distance track and marathon runner.
 * Sanjay Ghose — noted Indian activist.

Notable academics

 * Peter Ady — former Fellow (1947—2004), eminent development economist, adviser to the Burmese Government and Ministry of Overseas Development.
 * Roger Crisp – current Professor of Moral Philosophy, Uehiro Fellow and Tutor in Philosophy, Chairman of Management Committee of Oxford Uehiro Centre for Practical Ethics.
 * Peter Donnelly, FRS — current Fellow (1996—), Australian mathematician and statistician, and current director of the Wellcome Trust Centre for Human Genetics at Oxford University.
 * Bent Flyvbjerg — current Fellow, noted economic geographer, urban planner, and current director of the BT Centre for Major Programme Management at the Saïd Business School.
 * Georg Gottlob, FRS — current Fellow (2006—), noted Austrian computer scientist specialising in database theory, logic, and Artificial Intelligence.
 * A. C. Grayling, FRSA, FRSL — current Supernumerary Fellow, philosopher, author, human rights and civil liberties advocate.
 * Tony Judt, FBA — former Fellow (1980—1987), author, historian, and public intellectual, later the director of the Erich Maria Remarque Institute at NYU and contributor to the New York Review of Books.
 * John Lloyd — current Supernumerary Fellow, journalist, contributor to the Financial Times, and co-founder of the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism at Oxford University.
 * Nick Middleton — current Supernumerary Fellow, physical geographer specialising in desertification, and consultant to the IUCN, UNEP, EU, and WWF.
 * Iris Murdoch, DBE — former Fellow (1948—1999), philosopher, and novelist, known for Under the Net and The Sea, The Sea.
 * Graham Nelson — current Supernumerary Fellow (2007—), mathematician, poet, and noted interactive fiction game designer.
 * Stephen Alexander Smith — former Fellow (1991—1998), legal scholar and writer.
 * Gabriele Taylor — current Senior Research Fellow, philosopher in ethics.