Jesus College, Oxford - Alumni

Yesterday evening the Principal hosted the annual Finalists' celebration in the Lodgings Gardens. This is always a bittersweet celebration as we bid a fond farewell to our departing students and wish them every success as they take their next steps beyond the college walls. 🥂🍓

Still in the midst of examination and dissertation-writing season, for this week's we pay tribute to all those who offer re-assurance and friendship to our students😊

“And what is so rare as a day in June?
Then, if ever, come perfect days;
Then Heaven tries the earth if it be in tune,
And over it softly her warm ear lays:
Whether we look, or whether we listen,
We hear life murmur, or see it glisten;
Every clod feels a stir of might,
An instinct within it that reaches and towers,
And, groping blindly above it for light,
Climbs to a soul in grass and flowers”.

(From James Russell Lowell, ‘June’)

Research co-authored by Ivona Hideg, Professor in Organisation Studies and Tutorial Fellow in Management at Jesus and Saïd Business School, finds that men who take six months or more of parental leave are seen as warmer and more leadership-ready by colleagues. Read more👇👶

NEW: Research co-authored by Prof Ivona Hideg, from Jesus College, Oxford - Alumni and Saïd Business School, University of Oxford, finds that men who take six months or more of parental leave are seen as warmer and more leadership-ready by colleagues.

More info ⬇️
https://theconversation.com/when-men-take-parental-leave-their-careers-may-benefit-but-womens-do-not-282950

A moment to pause and think in the First Quad sunshine🌹

"What's the best thing in the world?
June-rose, by May-dew impearled;
Sweet south-wind, that means no rain;
Truth, not cruel to a friend;
Pleasure, not in haste to end;
Beauty, not self-decked and curled
Till its pride is over-plain;
Love, when, so, you're loved again.
What's the best thing in the world?
--Something out of it, I think."

(Elizabeth Barrett Browning, 'The Best Thing in the World')

During an unseasonably warm Summer VIIIs week, last Saturday, JCBC crews endured all the emotions which come with bumping races…elation, frustration, sadness and joy! On the women’s side our W2 bumped up four places receiving the much coveted ‘blades’ and our W1 remained in 3rd position in division 2, having had the rollercoaster of bumping St John's and being penalty bumped on the final day.

Our M1 was surrounded by quick crews but valiantly rowed over for two days and finished 2 places down. Our M2 experienced the cruelty of bumps and ended with ‘spoons’, but we are sure they have the determination to restore their position and climb the charts next year… 💪Congratulations to all our rowers for taking part in the racing – we are so proud of you all for representing College! Bleed Green 💚💚💚🚣‍♂️

📸Photos by Ed Nix

Huge congratulations to the winners of the Student Nature Photography Competition 2026 💚

1st Prize – David Hays (MSci Experimental Psychology) 👏
Runners-Up – David Ingham (2024, French & German) 👏 (second photo) and Sandy Slovikosky (DPhil Biology) 👏 (third photo).

See the full shortlist and winning photos 👉https://www.jesus.ox.ac.uk/about-jesus-college/our-community/student-nature-photography-exhibition-2026/

We are delighted to share the news that our alumna, Delyth Jewell (2008, MSt Celtic Studies), has been appointed Deputy Minister for Social Care, Mental Health and Women's Health in the new Welsh Government. Congratulations!

Thank you to everyone who joined us for Professor Sir Nigel Shadbolt’s last public lecture as Principal of Jesus College, “Silicon Spires: Oxford in the Age of AI”. The talk explored key questions around the future of AI, including its application, ethics and governance, with a particular focus on Oxford’s role in this evolving landscape. The event was chaired by Professor Jim Naismith and preceded by a drinks reception in College.

Congratulations to Professorial Fellows Tim Coulson (Zoology) and Paul Riley (Medicine) who have been elected to the Fellowship of the Royal Society, the UK’s national academy of sciences, in recognition of their exceptional contribution to advancing scientific knowledge.🎉 Read more: https://ow.ly/s1x450Z4E81

The weather in Oxford has felt so summery over the last two weeks! ☀️

“I hear the wind among the trees
Playing celestial symphonies;
I see the branches downward bent,
Like keys of some great instrument.
And over me unrolls on high
The splendid scenery of the sky,
Where through a sapphire sea the sun
Sails like a golden galleon,
Towards yonder cloud-land in the West,
Towards yonder Islands of the Blest,
Whose steep sierra far uplifts
Its craggy summits white with drifts.”

(from Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, ‘A Day of Sunshine’)