St Cross College, Oxford

First of all, I would like to pay tribute to my predecessor, Dr Dick Repp. He is a hard act to follow. As many people have told me, he had a formidable memory for names and faces which I cannot pretend to share. He has also handed over to me a beautifully run, efficient and friendly college, and for that I am extremely grateful. I wish him and Cathy well in their retirement.

Secondly, I would like to thank the College for its very warm welcome. Since October 1st, I have had a series of extraordinarily pleasant suppers with Fellows, Emeritus Fellows, Common Room members and our Graduates, together, in many cases with their partners. The sense of loyalty in the College is magnificent and I sense that in spite of its youth the College greatly values its past. This in itself is a tribute to our Founders. I am delighted to say that tonight we welcome four of our founding fellows, Ruth van Heyningen, Fred Hodcroft, Tom Tinsley and David Patterson.

Members of the College come and go, and in 2003 some colleagues moved on or retired. Sir Richard Brook (who became an Honorary Fellow), Professor Derek Roe, Steve Waterman, Laura Rival, Lorna Castleton and Peter Hill. It is also with great sorrow we record the death of Stuart Wilson (a Founding Fellow) and of Mrs Stafford, the wife of our second Master.

However, in October we were delighted to welcome Stephan Chambers, Daniel Buck, Grant Churchill, Rodney Hall, Judith Pfeiffer, Dolores Romero Morales, Kurt von Mettenheim and Susanne Giullari. They join and enrich one of the biggest and most diverse fellowships in the University.

Our intake of students has continued to advance. This year we received around 260 applications, of whom we admitted 109 – an increase of 16 on the previous year. This means that we now have 243 students on our books. The international flavour of the College is extraordinary. Leaving aside the regressive step of appointing the first British-born Master, it is interesting to see just how international we are. Only 80 of our students (almost exactly one third) are British. Apart from the British we have 46 different nationalities represented in the College, ranging from Afghanistan to Yugoslavia.

There are two main areas in which I hope we will make progress this year. The first of these is our relationship with Pusey House. The new Principal, Father Jonathan Baker, and I have been having constructive discussions, and I am delighted that for the first time in some years the College Carol Service will be held in Pusey's magnificent chapel. The second area where I hope we will make progress is in terms of obtaining finance to build our north and west blocks in the new Quad, and also, possibly, a site in the city.

Members of the College are active in all sorts of areas. From amongst the Fellows I was pleased to note the excellent reviews of Professor MacCulloch's latest book on the Reformation. From amongst our graduate students I note the possibility that we will be exceptionally well represented in the Varsity Rugby match at Twickenham on December 9th. We all wish our Rugby Blues the best of luck. The College was also delighted to see that one of its Emeritus and Founding Fellows, David Patterson, has been appointed CBE for services to Jewish studies. Earlier this month, we hosted a conference on practical ethics in association with the Uehiro Foundation on Ethics and Education and the Carnegie Council on Ethics and International Affairs, and had the pleasure of welcoming the Vice-Chancellor and the Registrar, together with the Japanese Ambassador to UNESCO, to a first class dinner in College. I was able to point out to our guests that a book by Julian Savulescu and Tony Hope had been given a prestigious award by the BMA on the previous evening.

I would ask you all to stand and toast St Cross and its Founders.