We also organised Connecting Ecologies. People came from all over the world, so it was multidisciplinary, multinational. They so enjoyed it and loved connecting their disciplines. It was a very vibrant, positive, and interesting event, the conversation in the refectory was cacophonous.
James wanted to upgrade the decor of the Hall. Friends would say, “Do you talk about God a lot with your boss?” and I would say, “No - mainly Farrow and Ball!” I wish I’d talked more about God with James, actually. As a Northern Irish Protestant who crossed the Rubicon and became a Jesuit priest, that’s some crossing! James had a gimlet eye for the Hall and was a great ‘interior designer’!
Nick arrived and jumped in right where James had left and moved it on at a pace. When I arrived, if you said you worked at Campion Hall, people would say, “Where?” By the time James left, people would say, “Wow!” That was part of getting out there, getting people into the Hall, doing the formal guest nights, setting up alumni events, lectures and seminars, and we made big strides. Nick came in and pushed the whole thing on in an extraordinary way with absolutely clarity in strategic thinking and planning. He’s done an amazing job and the Hall is going from strength to strength in terms of its academic research and profile within the university. The Hall was mentioned, at length, by the public orator at Encaenia!
L: You do so much in your role. Do you have a particular aspect of your job that’s your favourite thing to do?
S: As Hall Secretary, I ran the Hall; managed the Master and the staff; the development work and the events. I like promoting these exciting and interesting aspects of the Hall. It’s a very positive thing to do: to share the experience(s) and the academic experience(s) of people in the Hall. Our first four Junior Research Fellows were all scientists and they loved coming to the Hall. They would eat, sleep, and think science but when they came here, they were broadened by the ethical, philosophical, and moral dimensions that are normal discussions at lunch and supper. It’s good to think that this extra layer is shared by the Hall with others. The job is people: that’s really the best bit.
L: You organise so many events. Do you have any juicy stories of where something has very nearly gone wrong but you have saved the day?
S: On the whole, I would say things have gone ok. ‘Time spent in reconnaissance is seldom wasted’ - and this is true. Plan early enough to leave room for crises. It needs a very detailed, holistic view and then an awful lot of effort! For Connecting Ecologies, we had fifty people in the Hall. They had breakfast, lunch and dinner. They had numerous seminars in several locations. We had an extraordinary concert in Christ Church. It was a fantastic multifaceted event. I can’t actually think of a major crisis. Glitches, blips, elements of things that didn’t go quite the way you might have liked but, no, nothing major.
