Linacre College is a

constituent college A collegiate university is a university in which functions are divided between a central administration and a number of constituent colleges. Historically, the first collegiate university was the University of Paris and its first college was the C ...

of the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the world's second-oldest university in contin ...

in the UK whose members comprise approximately 50

fellows Fellows may refer to Fellow, in plural form. Fellows or Fellowes may also refer to: Places * Fellows, California, USA * Fellows, Wisconsin, ghost town, USA Other uses * Fellows Auctioneers, established in 1876. *Fellowes, Inc., manufacturer of wo ...

and 550

postgraduate Postgraduate or graduate education refers to academic or professional degrees, certificates, diplomas, or other qualifications pursued by post-secondary students who have earned an undergraduate ( bachelor's) degree. The organization and str ...

students. Linacre is a diverse college in terms of both the international composition of its members (the majority of whom are from outside the UK and represent 133 countries), as well as the disciplines studied. Linacre was the first graduate college in the UK for both sexes and all subjects. Unlike most colleges, students and fellows share the same common room and there is no high table. The college is named after

Thomas Linacre Thomas Linacre or Lynaker ( ; 20 October 1524) was an English humanist scholar and physician, after whom Linacre College, Oxford, and Linacre House, a boys' boarding house at The King's School, Canterbury, are named. Linacre was more of a schola ...

(1460–1524), founder of the

Royal College of Physicians The Royal College of Physicians (RCP) is a British professional membership body dedicated to improving the practice of medicine, chiefly through the accreditation of physicians by examination. Founded by royal charter from King Henry VIII in 1 ...

as well as a distinguished renaissance

humanist Humanism is a philosophical stance that emphasizes the individual and social potential and agency of human beings. It considers human beings the starting point for serious moral and philosophical inquiry. The meaning of the term "humani ...

— multidisciplinary interests that the college aims to reflect. The college is located on St Cross Road at its junction with

South Parks Road South Parks Road is a road in Oxford, England. It runs east–west past the main Science Area of the University of Oxford. Many of the university science departments are located nearby or face the road, including parts of the geography, z ...

, bordering

University Parks The Oxford University Parks, commonly referred to locally as the University Parks, or just The Parks, is a large parkland area slightly northeast of the city centre in Oxford, England. The park is bounded to the east by the River Cherwell, thoug ...

to the north and the University Science Area to the west.

History

Linacre College (called Linacre House for its first three years) was the UK's first graduate society for both sexes and all subjects. Founding Principal

John Bamborough John Bernard Bamborough (3 January 1921 – 13 February 2009) was a British scholar of English literature and founding Principal of Linacre College, Oxford. Bamborough was educated at The Haberdashers' Aske's Boys' School in Elstree, H ...

described it as "a deliberate experiment by the University to see whether the needs of graduate students could be met by a new type of society." It was founded on 1 August 1962, in premises on St Aldate's formerly occupied by St Catherine's Society (now St Catherine's College) and currently home to the university's Music Department. Initially there were 115 members of whom only 30 were British. The first senior members included

Isaiah Berlin Sir Isaiah Berlin (6 June 1909 – 5 November 1997) was a Russian-British social and political theorist, philosopher, and historian of ideas. Although he became increasingly averse to writing for publication, his improvised lectures and talk ...

Dorothy Hodgkin Dorothy Mary Crowfoot Hodgkin (née Crowfoot; 12 May 1910 – 29 July 1994) was a Nobel Prize-winning British chemist who advanced the technique of X-ray crystallography to determine the structure of biomolecules, which became essential ...

and

John Hicks Sir John Richards Hicks (8 April 1904 – 20 May 1989) was a British economist. He is considered one of the most important and influential economists of the twentieth century. The most familiar of his many contributions in the field of economic ...

. In November 1964, Linacre became a self-governing society and then on 1 August 1986 an independent college of Oxford University by

Royal Charter A royal charter is a formal grant issued by a monarch under royal prerogative as letters patent. Historically, they have been used to promulgate public laws, the most famous example being the English Magna Carta (great charter) of 1215, but ...

. In 1977, Linacre moved to its present site at Cherwell Edge, a Queen Anne building designed in part by

Basil Champneys Basil Champneys (17 September 1842 – 5 April 1935) was an English architect and author whose most notable buildings include Manchester's John Rylands Library, Somerville College Library (Oxford), Newnham College, Cambridge, Lady Margaret Hal ...

, which was formerly a private home, a convent of the Society of the Holy Child Jesus, and a residence for students of other colleges. Since 2010, the principal has been

Nick Brown Nicholas Hugh Brown (born 13 June 1950) is a British Independent politician who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Newcastle upon Tyne East since 1983, making him the fifth longest serving MP in the House of Commons. He is the longest ...

Proposed renaming

On 31 October 2021, the college signed a memorandum of understanding with SOVICO Group, represented by their chairwoman Nguyen Thi Phuong Thao to receive a donation of £155 million. The MoU sets out the intention to create a new graduate centre and endow graduate access scholarships. After receipt of the first £50 million, the College will approach the Privy Council to ask for permission to change the name from Linacre College to Thao College. The donation and proposed name change has been a source of controversy for some university staff and students due to SOVICO's interests in fossil fuel industries. In June 2022, UK Education Minister Michelle Donelan announced that there would be a formal investigation into the memorandum of understanding between the College and SOVICO group, due to concerns raised in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...

Coat of arms and motto

In 1988 Linacre College was granted a

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldic visual design on an escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the full heraldic achievement, which in it ...

blazoned: : ''Sable an open Book proper edged Or bound Gules the dexter page charged with the Greek Letter Alpha the sinister page charged with the Greek Letter Omega both Sable the whole between three Escallops Argent''. The college motto beneath the

escutcheon Escutcheon may refer to: * Escutcheon (heraldry), a shield or shield-shaped emblem, displaying a coat of arms * Escutcheon (furniture), a metal plate that surrounds a keyhole or lock cylinder on a door * (in medicine) the distribution of pubic ha ...

is ''No End To Learning''. College colours are grey, yellow and black (or silver, gold and sable) but only the latter two colours are used for rowing blades and most sports clothing. Both

scallop Scallop () is a common name that encompasses various species of marine bivalve mollusks in the taxonomic family Pectinidae, the scallops. However, the common name "scallop" is also sometimes applied to species in other closely related familie ...

shells and the

alpha and omega Alpha (Α or α) and omega (Ω or ω) are the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet, and a title of Christ and God in the Book of Revelation. This pair of letters is used as a Christian symbol, and is often combined with the Cross, Chi ...

are common symbols in heraldry and can have religious significance. Scallop shells are traditionally a symbol of the Way of St. James (pilgrimage route to the

Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela The Santiago de Compostela Archcathedral Basilica ( Spanish and Galician: ) is part of the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Santiago de Compostela and is an integral component of the Santiago de Compostela World Heritage Site in Galicia, Spain. The ...

) and alpha and omega often a Christian reference to

God In monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Oxford Companion to Philosophy'', Oxford University Press, 1995. God is typically ...

. A secular interpretation is as reference to the completeness of study (alpha being the first letter of the Greek alphabet and omega the last) and the process of scholarship akin to a pilgrimage/journey.

College Grace

The College

Grace Grace may refer to: Places United States * Grace, Idaho, a city * Grace (CTA station), Chicago Transit Authority's Howard Line, Illinois * Little Goose Creek (Kentucky), location of Grace post office * Grace, Carroll County, Missouri, an uninc ...

is said in

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power ...

by the Principal (or a designated Fellow) at formal dinners in Hall. Before commencement of the meal the words "''Benedictus benedicat''" ('May the Blessed One give a blessing') are said, all standing. After the completion of the meal the words "''Benedicto benedicatur''" ('May the Blessed One be blessed') are said, all standing.

Buildings and facilities

Linacre's main site is on the corner of

and St Cross Road. In addition to the original building of 1886 (now known as the OC Tanner Building) there are three much newer accommodation blocks on the main site, all built of "Linacre College Special Blend Brick" with matching

Queen Anne style architecture The Queen Anne style of British architecture refers to either the English Baroque architecture of the time of Queen Anne (who reigned from 1702 to 1714) or the British Queen Anne Revival form that became popular during the last quarter of t ...

. The Bamborough, Abraham, and Griffiths buildings were completed in 1986, 1995, and 2008 respectively, raising the total number of student rooms on the main college site to 92.

OC Tanner Building

The oldest part of the college, known as the OC Tanner Building, contains most of the central facilities, all staff offices and some student accommodation. The heart of the building is the large common room, which has a bar and other leisure facilities. The college library, formerly a chapel, includes shared computing facilities for college members.

Gilbert Ryle Collection

As well as the main library there is also

Gilbert Ryle Gilbert Ryle (19 August 1900 – 6 October 1976) was a British philosopher, principally known for his critique of Cartesian dualism, for which he coined the phrase " ghost in the machine." He was a representative of the generation of British o ...

's personal library, part of which he donated in 1968, and the remainder after his death in 1976. Ryle was involved in the creation of Linacre House in 1962, when the institution had no library. When Ryle retired in 1968, he donated many of his books to Linacre College, and the remainder of the collection after he died in 1976. The books are stored in the Linacre Bookcase and are available for use in the Linacre Library.

Bamborough Building

The first major addition to the main college site was the

Bamborough Bamburgh ( ) is a village and civil parish on the coast of Northumberland, England. It had a population of 454 in 2001, decreasing to 414 at the 2011 census. The village is notable for the nearby Bamburgh Castle, a castle which was the seat ...

Building, which opened in 1985 and was officially named in 1986. It is located beside the OC Tanner Building to form a quad featuring an ornamental fountain. A plaque on the Bamborough Building commemorates it winning an Oxford Preservation Trust award in 1987.

Abraham Building

The Edward & Asbjörg Abraham Building, completed in 1995, is primarily a residential building offering single bedrooms for students. It was designed and built as part of a movement within Linacre to raise environmental awareness and promote sustainable development. The building was named UK Green Building of the Year 1996 and won the BCE Environmental Leadership Award as well as the Oxfordshire special conservation award of 1995. A

photovoltaic system A photovoltaic system, also PV system or solar power system, is an electric power system designed to supply usable solar power by means of photovoltaics. It consists of an arrangement of several components, including solar panels to absorb and ...

was installed on the roofs of Abraham and Griffiths Buildings in 2011. The quad enclosed by the Tanner, Abraham and Griffiths buildings was named in 2012 after Jaki Leverson a former student, and contains a sculpture entitled 'The Dancing Phoenix' by Hugo Powell. The basement of the Abraham Building houses a music practice room and the college gym, which has four ergometers, a good range of weights, various other gym equipment and space for several classes.

Griffiths Building

The newest residence on the main site is the Griffiths Building, named after former student and Honorary Fellow Rodney Griffiths. Completed in 2008, the building has 28 en suite single rooms and 4 en suite double rooms with shared kitchens. It was a finalist for two awards of The Brick Development Association.

Dining hall

Between the OC Tanner and Abraham Buildings is Linacre's large dining hall, added in 1977, which operates a canteen service most weekdays for lunch and evening meal.

The Rom Harré Garden

The most recent major development at Linacre has been the completion of a garden extension on the main site of the college in 2010. This is a quiet spot with flowers and outdoor seating. Rom Harré is a former Vice-Principal and Emeritus Fellow.

Off site accommodation

Linacre also owns or leases a number of buildings off the main site, including properties on Banbury Road, Bradmore Road,

Divinity Road Divinity Road is a residential road in Oxford, England. It connects with the east end of Morrell Avenue to the northeast and with Cowley Road to the southwest. The road is on a hill sloping southwest. The road includes detached, semi-detached, ...

, Iffley Road, Stanley Road and

Walton Street Walton Street may refer to: * Walton Street, Oxford * Walton Street, London Walton Street is a street within central London's Chelsea district, bordering Knightsbridge. It runs south-west to north-east from Draycott Avenue to Walton Place, paral ...

, which provide a further 102 rooms (including rooms for couples). The college generally offers accommodation to all first-year students (freshers) and the percentage of graduate students housed within college accommodation exceeds the university average. Students typically move into private shared housing in and around Oxford after their first year.

Student life

Common Room

Much of the college's social and sporting life is coordinated through the

Common Room A common room is a type of shared lounge, most often found in halls of residence or dormitories, at (for example) universities, colleges, military bases, hospitals, rest homes, hostels, and even minimum-security prisons. They are generally ...

, of which all students, fellows and staff are members. The Common Room's elected executive committee oversees activities and works closely with college officials to represent its members' interests. The Common Room organises numerous events during term time. Particular highlights include termly bops, which are among the largest student-run parties in Oxford. Operating across two floors and outside areas, the bops are themed parties open to members of other colleges. The biggest bop of the year is usually the matriculation bop ("sexy

sub-fusc The University of Oxford has a long tradition of academic dress, which continues to the present day. When academic dress is worn Unlike most other universities, which only usually require it during specific university ceremonies such as gra ...

” theme) which usually attracts a queue far in excess of the 450 person capacity. In 2015, 750 people enjoyed the event at any given time, and more than 950 people attended it throughout the night. Other social events include smaller college parties, movie nights, cake baking, cheese and wine tasting and lectures.

Clubs and societies

Like all colleges, Linacre has many active sports teams and its members also represent the university in various sports. Active societies and clubs include the Linacre Music Society, Linacre College Boat Club, Linacre Recreational Football Society, Linacre Ladies that Lift weightlifting society, Linacre Yoga Society, Linacre Green Society, and Linacre Intercultural Society and Linacre Photo Society, among others.

Sustainability and ethics

The college has a strong environmental ethos and has gained a reputation as the 'green' college of Oxford through a number of environmental initiatives over the years including an official sustainability policy. Linacre has been ranked greenest college by

OUSU The Oxford University Student Union is the official students' union of the University of Oxford. It is better known in Oxford under the branding Oxford SU or by its previous name of OUSU. It exists to represent Oxford University students in ...

in a number of years. The common room executive hosts an environment officer and there is an active green society since 2007 as well as an allotment society. Linacre's Abraham building won Green Building of the Year 1996 and as well as the BCE Environmental Leadership Award. In 2006 Linacre became the first carbon neutral college in Oxford by offsetting

carbon emissions Greenhouse gas emissions from human activities strengthen the greenhouse effect, contributing to climate change. Most is carbon dioxide from burning fossil fuels: coal, oil, and natural gas. The largest emitters include coal in China and l ...

with a three-year contract with

ClimateCare ClimateCare is a profit for purpose environmental and social impact company known for its role providing carbon offset services, with a particular focus on using carbon and other results based finance to support its 'Climate+Care Projects'. It al ...

but stopped being carbon neutral in 2008. In 2010 Linacre committed to the 10:10 campaign to reduce carbon emissions 10% that year. It has more recently set a target of 40% reduction over ten years until 2020. A

was installed on the roofs of Abraham and Griffiths Buildings in 2011. In 2016 Linacre invested £100,000 into the Low Carbon Hub, a renewable energy social enterprise. Linacre was the first Oxford college to achieve fairtrade status in September 2006. In 2016 Linacre also hosted a seminar series on the sustainability and ethics of banking. Linacre runs two major public lectures each year:

Linacre Lectures on the Environment

Throughout its history the college has run an annual series of Linacre Lectures open to non-members, the first of which were given by

Brian Aldiss Brian Wilson Aldiss (; 18 August 1925 – 19 August 2017) was an English writer, artist, and anthology editor, best known for science fiction novels and short stories. His byline reads either Brian W. Aldiss or simply Brian Aldiss, except for ...

, Robert Graves and

. Since 1991 these public lectures have focused on environmental challenges. * 2017: John Knox, "Global Threats to Environmental Human Rights Defenders". * 2014: Michael Oppenheimer, "Migration, Interconnection, Conflict: Emergent Issues and Indirect Impacts in IPCC's Fifth Assessment" * 2013: Mike Gidney, David Heath, and Gordon McGranahan on "Food Security and Sustainability" * 2012:

Carl Folke Carl Folke (born 1955), is a trans-disciplinary environmental scientist and a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. He is a specialist in economics, resilience, and social-ecological systems, viewing such systems as intertwined and po ...

Robert Costanza Robert Costanza (born September 14, 1950) is an American/Australian ecological economist and Professor at the Institute for Global Prosperity, University College London. He is a Fellow of the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia and a ...

, and others on "Environmental Governance and Resilience" * 2011: Lester R. Brown, Paul Ekins, and others on "Riding the Perfect Storm"

Tanner Lectures on Human Values

The college also holds the

Tanner Lectures on Human Values The Tanner Lectures on Human Values is a multi-university lecture series in the humanities, founded in 1978, at Clare Hall, Cambridge University, by the American scholar Obert Clark Tanner. In founding the lecture, he defined their purpose as fol ...

. * 2019:

Strobe Talbott Nelson Strobridge Talbott III (born April 25, 1946) is an American foreign policy analyst focused on Russia. He was associated with ''Time'' magazine, and a diplomat who served as the Deputy Secretary of State from 1994 to 2001. He was president ...

, "A President for Dark Times: the Age of Reason Meets the Age of Trump". *2018:

Abhijit Banerjee Abhijit Vinayak Banerjee (; born 21 February 1961) is an Indian-American economist who is currently the Ford Foundation International Professor of Economics at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Banerjee shared the 2019 Nobel Memorial Prize ...

and

Esther Duflo Esther Duflo, FBA (; born 25 October 1972) is a French–American economist who is a professor of Poverty Alleviation and Development Economics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). She is the co-founder and co-director of the Abd ...

, "Economics for the Human Race". * 2017: George F. R. Ellis, "On the Origin and Nature of Values". * 2016:

Shirley Williams Shirley Vivian Teresa Brittain Williams, Baroness Williams of Crosby, (' Catlin; 27 July 1930 – 12 April 2021) was a British politician and academic. Originally a Labour Party Member of Parliament (MP), she served in the Labour cabinet from ...

, "The Value of Europe and European Values". * 2015:

Peter Singer Peter Albert David Singer (born 6 July 1946) is an Australian moral philosopher, currently the Ira W. DeCamp Professor of Bioethics at Princeton University. He specialises in applied ethics and approaches ethical issues from a secular, ...

, "From Moral Neutrality to Effective Altruism: The Changing Scope and Significance of Moral Philosophy". * 2014: Shami Chakrabarti, "Human Rights as Human Values". * 2013:

Michael Ignatieff Michael Grant Ignatieff (; born May 12, 1947) is a Canadian author, academic and former politician who served as the leader of the Liberal Party of Canada and Leader of the Official Opposition from 2008 until 2011. Known for his work as a histo ...

, "Representation and Responsibility: Ethics and Public Office".

Notable members

Alumni

Juan Ossio Acuña Juan Ossio Acuña has been the Peruvian Minister of Culture under President Alan García since September 2010. He studied at the National University of San Marcos, and at Linacre College, Oxford. Prior to that, he was a professor at the Ponti ...

, anthropologist and historian, and the first Peruvian

Minister of Culture A culture minister or a heritage minister is a common cabinet position in governments. The culture minister is typically responsible for cultural policy, which often includes arts policy (direct and indirect support to artists and arts organizati ...

Yasmin Alibhai-Brown Yasmin Alibhai-Brown (''née'' Damji; born 10 December 1949) is a British journalist and author, who describes herself as "a leftie liberal, anti-racist, feminist, Muslim...person". A regular columnist for the ''i '' newspaper and the ''Eveni ...

, journalist *

Carolyn Browne Carolyn Browne (born 19 October 1958) is a British diplomat who was the British Ambassador to Kazakhstan from 2013 to 2018. Early life She is the daughter of the late Brigadier Christopher Browne OBE and Margaret Howard. She attended the Sou ...

, diplomat, British Ambassador to

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country located mainly in Central Asia and partly in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental coun ...

, former British Ambassador to

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republic is a transcontinental country located at the boundary of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is a part of th ...

Deborah Cadbury Deborah Cadbury is a British author, historian and television producer with the BBC. She has won many international awards for her documentaries including an Emmy Award. Personal life Cadbury has two sons and lives in London. Education Cadbury ...

, author and television producer * Edward Chen, CBE, GBS, Professor and Fellow of the Centre of Asian Studies at the

University of Hong Kong The University of Hong Kong (HKU) (Chinese: 香港大學) is a public university, public research university in Hong Kong. Founded in 1887 as the Hong Kong College of Medicine for Chinese, it is the oldest Higher education in Hong Kong, tertia ...

* Nigel A. L. Clarke, Minister of Finance and the Public Service of Jamaica and Jamaican Member of Parliament * Heather Couper, astronomer, television and radio presenter, writer, and film producer; served as commissioner for the

Millennium Commission The Millennium Commission, a United Kingdom public body, was set up to celebrate the turn of the millennium. It used funding raised through the UK National Lottery to assist communities in marking the close of the second millennium and celebra ...

Gianni De Fraja Gianni De Fraja is a professor of economics at the University of Nottingham, England and a Research Fellow (CEPR). He was born in Bologna, where he spent the first five years of his life, before moving to Bassano del Grappa and then on to Mest ...

, Professor of Economics at the

University of Nottingham The University of Nottingham is a public university, public research university in Nottingham, United Kingdom. It was founded as University College Nottingham in 1881, and was granted a royal charter in 1948. The University of Nottingham belongs t ...

* Flavio Delbono, Italian economist and politician * Satsuki Eda, served as President of the

House of Councillors The is the upper house of the National Diet of Japan. The House of Representatives is the lower house. The House of Councillors is the successor to the pre-war House of Peers. If the two houses disagree on matters of the budget, treaties, ...

of Japan * Neil Ferguson, , epidemiologist, Professor of Mathematical Biology and head of the Department of Infectious Disease Epidemiology at

Imperial College London Imperial College London (legally Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine) is a public research university in London, United Kingdom. Its history began with Prince Albert, consort of Queen Victoria, who developed his vision for a ...

* Raymond Flood, former Gresham Professor of Geometry at

Gresham College Gresham College is an institution of higher learning located at Barnard's Inn Hall off Holborn in Central London, England. It does not enroll students or award degrees. It was founded in 1596 under the will of Sir Thomas Gresham, and hosts ...

* Philip A. Gale, Professor of Chemistry and Head of School,

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public university, public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one o ...

* Elspeth Garman, Professor of Molecular Biophysics at Oxford * David Gavaghan, Professor of Computational Biology at Oxford * Frene Ginwala, South African politician and former journalist *

Carolyn Tanner Irish Carolyn Tanner Irish (April 14, 1940 – June 29, 2021) was an American bishop. She was the 10th Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Utah. At the time of her election and consecration in 1996 she became the fourth woman in the Episcopal Church ...

, Bishop of the

Episcopal Diocese of Utah The Episcopal Diocese of Utah is a diocese of the Episcopal Church in the United States, encompassing the state of Utah, less that part of the Four Corners region which is in the Navajoland Area Mission. It includes a small part of northern Arizon ...

Dafydd Glyn Jones Dafydd Glyn Jones (born 1941) is a Welsh scholar and lexicographer, born in the village of Carmel, Gwynedd. He is a specialist in Middle Welsh prose, and his other interests include Welsh history, Robert Jones, Rhoslan, and the life and work of E ...

, Welsh scholar and lexicographer *

Joanna Kavenna Joanna Kavenna (born 1974) is an English novelist, essayist and travel writer of Welsh extraction. Her six novels have been widely rated and appreciated. Biography Welsh by family, with Scandinavian ancestry, Kavenna was born in Leicester and ...

, novelist, essayist and travel writer,

Granta ''Granta'' is a literary magazine and publisher in the United Kingdom whose mission centres on its "belief in the power and urgency of the story, both in fiction and non-fiction, and the story’s supreme ability to describe, illuminate and ma ...

Best of Young British Novelists 2013 * David Kelly, biological weapons expert * John Keown, Rose F. Kennedy Professor of Christian Ethics at

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private research university in the Georgetown (Washington, D.C.), Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789 as Georg ...

Guy Lloyd-Jones Guy Charles Lloyd-Jones FRS FRSE (born 17 May 1966) is a British chemist. He is the Forbes Professor of Organic Chemistry at the University of Edinburgh in the United Kingdom. His research is largely concerned with the determination of orga ...

, , Forbes Professor of Organic Chemistry at the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...

Jef McAllister J.F.O. 'Jef' McAllister (born February 13, 1956) is an American journalist, author and lawyer. Formerly the London Bureau Chief of TIME Magazine, he is currently the Managing Partner of McAllister Olivarius, an international law firm headquarter ...

, American journalist, author and lawyer, former White House Correspondent and London Bureau Chief of ''

Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, t ...

'' magazine *

Alister McGrath Alister Edgar McGrath (; born 1953) is a Northern Irish theologian, Anglican priest, intellectual historian, scientist, Christian apologist, and public intellectual. He currently holds the Andreas Idreos Professorship in Science and Religio ...

, Andreas Idreos Professor of Science and Religion at Oxford *

P. Michael McKinley Peter Michael McKinley (born January 1954) is an American diplomat. A career Foreign Service Officer, McKinley served as U.S. Ambassador to Peru (2007–2010), Colombia (2010–2013), Afghanistan (2015–2016), and Brazil (2017&ndas ...

United States Ambassador to Brazil The following is a list of ambassadors of the United States, or other chiefs of mission, to Brazil. The title given by the United States State Department to this position is currently Ambassador Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary. Lis ...

, former United States Ambassador to

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bord ...

, Colombia, and

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal , national_motto = "Fi ...

* Urjit Patel, 24th Governor of the Reserve Bank of India *

Anthony Pierce Anthony Edward Pierce (born 16 January 1941) was the Bishop of Swansea and Brecon in the Church in Wales from 1999 to 2008. Career Pierce was educated at Dynevor School, Swansea, and at Swansea University and Linacre College, Oxford. After studyi ...

, former

Bishop of Swansea and Brecon The Bishop of Swansea and Brecon is the Ordinary of the Church in Wales Diocese of Swansea and Brecon. The diocese covers the City and County of Swansea and the ancient counties of Brecknockshire and Radnorshire. The diocesan cathedral is the C ...

* Kenneth Joseph Riley, former Canon Precentor at

Liverpool Cathedral Liverpool Cathedral is the Cathedral of the Anglican Diocese of Liverpool, built on St James's Mount in Liverpool, and the seat of the Bishop of Liverpool. It may be referred to as the Cathedral Church of Christ in Liverpool (as recorded in t ...

* Ian Stanes, former Archdeacon of Loughborough * Brian Tanner, Professor of Physics and Dean of Knowledge Transfer at Durham University * Paul Tellier, former Clerk of the Privy Council (Canada) *

Stephen Venner Stephen Venner (born 19 June 1944) was Bishop of Dover (the bishop with delegated responsibility for the Diocese of Canterbury) from 1999 until 2009. He was also Bishop for the Falkland Islands from 2007 and Bishop to the Forces from 2009 until ...

Bishop to the Forces The Anglican church in the British Armed Forces falls under the jurisdiction of the Archbishop of Canterbury; however, for all practical purposes the function is performed by the Bishop to the Forces. His full title is "The Archbishop of Canterb ...

and

Bishop for the Falkland Islands The Bishop of the Falkland Islands was historically a bishopric in the Church of England; as the ordinary of the Diocese of the Falkland Islands, the bishop had responsibility for chaplaincies across South America, before national metropolitical pr ...

* Keith Ward, British cleric, philosopher and theologian * Jake Wetzel, Olympic gold medallist rower * Martin Wharton, Bishop of Newcastle * The Lady Gabriella Windsor, anthropologist and freelance journalist

Fellows

Silke Ackermann Silke M. Ackermann (; born 5 November 1961) is a German-born cultural historian and museum professional. She became a British Citizen in 2009 and has since held dual German-British citizenship. Ackermann currently serves as Director of the H ...

, Director of the

History of Science Museum, Oxford The History of Science Museum in Broad Street, Oxford, England, holds a leading collection of scientific instruments from Middle Ages to the 19th century. The museum building is also known as the Old Ashmolean Building to distinguish it from ...

, and the first woman to direct a museum at the university *

Martin Aitken Martin Jim Aitken FRS (11 March 1922 – 13 June 2017) was a British archaeometrist. Aitken was born in Stamford, Lincolnshire, and studied physics at Wadham College, Oxford. He was a fellow of Linacre College, Oxford. He was Professor of Ar ...

, , Oxford professor of archaeometry * Hazel Assender, Professor in Materials at Oxford * James Bennett, Professor of the History of Science at Oxford, former Director of the

* Hermann Blaschko, Reader in Biochemical Pharmacology at Oxford * Brian Catling, Professor of Fine Art at the Ruskin School of Art * Rupert Cecil, World War II bomber pilot ( DFC and Bar), scientific intelligence officer, and first Dean and Vice Principal of Linacre College *

Chris Dobson Sir Christopher Martin Dobson (8 October 1949 – 8 September 2019) was a British chemist, who was the John Humphrey Plummer Professor of Chemical and Structural Biology in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Cambridge, and Ma ...

, chemist and structural biologist, and Master of

St John's College, Cambridge St John's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge founded by the Tudor matriarch Lady Margaret Beaufort. In constitutional terms, the college is a charitable corporation established by a charter dated 9 April 1511. Th ...

* Ursula Dronke, former Vigfússon Reader in Old Norse at Oxford *

Terry Eagleton Terence Francis Eagleton (born 22 February 1943) is an English literary theorist, critic, and public intellectual. He is currently Distinguished Professor of English Literature at Lancaster University. Eagleton has published over forty book ...

, literary critic and theorist, Distinguished Professor of English Literature at Lancaster University *

Margaret Gowing Margaret Mary Gowing (), (26 April 1921 – 7 November 1998) was an English historian. She was involved with the production of several volumes of the officially sponsored ''History of the Second World War'', but was better known for her books ...

, , holder of the first chair in the History of Science at Oxford * Rom Harré, former Director of the Centre for Philosophy of Natural and Social Science at the

London School of Economics , mottoeng = To understand the causes of things , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £240.8 million (2021) , budget = £391.1 mill ...

* Sir

, winner of the Nobel Prize in Economics * Ursula Hicks, economist and founder of ''

The Review of Economic Studies ''The Review of Economic Studies'' (also known as ''REStud'') is a quarterly peer-reviewed academic journal covering economics. It was established in 1933 by a group of economists based in Britain and the United States. The original editorial te ...

'' * Sir

Paul Nurse Sir Paul Maxime Nurse (born 25 January 1949) is an English geneticist, former President of the Royal Society and Chief Executive and Director of the Francis Crick Institute. He was awarded the 2001 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine alon ...

, Nobel Prize–winning biochemist, former President of the

Royal Society The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, r ...

, Chancellor of the

University of Bristol The University of Bristol is a Red brick university, red brick Russell Group research university in Bristol, England. It received its royal charter in 1909, although it can trace its roots to a Society of Merchant Venturers, Merchant Venturers' sc ...

* Michael Stumpf, Professor of Theoretical Systems Biology at

Imperial College Imperial College London (legally Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine) is a public research university in London, United Kingdom. Its history began with Prince Albert, consort of Queen Victoria, who developed his vision for a cul ...

* Henri Tajfel, former Chair of Social Psychology at the

* Michael J. Whelan, Professor in the Department of Materials at Oxford, and recipient of multiple awards for work in crystallography and microscopy including the

Hughes Medal The Hughes Medal is awarded by the Royal Society of London "in recognition of an original discovery in the physical sciences, particularly electricity and magnetism or their applications". Named after David E. Hughes, the medal is awarded with ...

, the C.V. Boys Prize, and the Gjønnes Medal

Honorary Fellows

* David Hope, Baron Hope of Thornes *

Obert C. Tanner Obert Clark Tanner (September 20, 1904 – October 14, 1993) was a University of Utah professor of philosophy, philanthropist, and founder of O.C. Tanner Co. Early life and education Tanner was born in Farmington, Utah to Joseph Marion Tanner ...

* Geoffrey Thomas

Principals

* 1962–1988:

, founding principal * 1988–1996: Sir

Bryan Cartledge Sir Bryan Cartledge (born 10 June 1931), is a former British diplomat and academic. After studying at Hurstpierpoint College and St John's College, Cambridge, he took research posts at St Antony's College, Oxford and the Hoover Institute at S ...

* 1996–2010: Paul Slack * 2010–present:

Dr Nick Brown

Gallery

File:Linacre Main Entrance.jpg, Main Entrance File:Linacre College 2019.jpg, View from the west File:Linacre OC Tanner Building.jpg, OC Tanner Building File:LinacreCollegeLibrary.JPG, Library in Old Chapel File:Linacre Abraham Building.jpg, Abraham Building File:Linacre Griffiths Building.JPG, Griffiths Building File:LinacreCollegeHall.JPG, Dining Hall File:Linacre Rom Harre Garden.jpg, Rom Harré Garden File:Linacre College Crest on wood.jpg, The college's arms on oak wood

References

External links

Official website

Common room website

(slightly out of date due to new building) {{Authority control Colleges of the University of Oxford Educational institutions established in 1962 1962 establishments in England Buildings and structures of the University of Oxford Postgraduate schools in the United Kingdom