Wolfson College, Oxford

Wolfson College (/ˈwʊlfsən/) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Wolfson is an all-graduate college, it prides itself on being one of the most international colleges at Oxford, with particular strengths in areas like global health, environmental studies, economics, and humanities. With a spacious, green campus located along the River Cherwell, it is known for its relaxed atmosphere, modern architecture and beautiful gardens, creating a peaceful environment for a focused academic community. Its motto is "Humani nil alienum," which translates as "Nothing human is alien to me."
The historian and philosopher Sir Isaiah Berlin was the college's first president, and was instrumental not only in its founding, but establishing a tradition of academic excellence and egalitarianism. Since then, the college caters to a wide range of subjects, from the humanities to the social and natural sciences, being coeducational since its foundation in 1965. The college houses The Isaiah Berlin Literary Trust and hosts an annual Isaiah Berlin Lecture. From 2017, the president of the college has been Sir Tim Hitchens.
As of 2021, the college had a financial endowment of £60.3 million, and is registered as a charity.
Wolfson's sister college at the University of Cambridge is Darwin College.
Wolfson's first president Sir Isaiah Berlin, the influential political philosopher and historian of ideas, was instrumental in the college's founding in 1965.
The college began its existence with the name Iffley College, which offered a new community for graduate students at Oxford, particularly in natural and social sciences. Twelve other colleges of the university provided grants to make the establishment of Iffley possible. As of 1965, the college had neither a president nor a building. Berlin set out to change this, eventually securing support from the Wolfson Foundation and Ford Foundation in 1966 to establish a separate site for the college, which included 'Cherwell', the former residence of J. S. Haldane and his family, as well as new buildings built around it. In recognition of Isaac Wolfson's contribution to the foundation of the college, its name was changed to Wolfson College.
But Berlin's work as the president of the college was far from over. Formally taking over the reins of the college in 1967, he envisioned Wolfson to be a centre of academic excellence but, unlike many other colleges at Oxford, also bound it to a strong egalitarian and democratic ethos. In Berlin's words, the college would be 'new, untrammelled and unpyramided'.
If Berlin was the inspiration and beacon for this most modern of academic institutions, its birth and early shape would not have happened without the tireless backroom work of Berlin's vice-president, Michael Brock, formerly of Corpus Christi College. They were a formidable team and ensured Berlin's ideals were largely achieved.
Wolfson is perhaps the most egalitarian college at Oxford, with few barriers between students and fellows. There is no high table, only one common room for all the members of the college, and gowns are worn only on special occasions. Graduate students serve on the college's governing body and participate in General Meetings. Berlin's reputation and presence in the early years also helped shape the intellectual character of the college, attracting many distinguished fellows like Niko Tinbergen, who won a Nobel Prize for his studies in animal behaviour in 1973. Berlin's own prominence in the humanities helped attract many graduate students like Henry Hardy, interested in political philosophy and the history of ideas.
The main building of the college, designed by Powell and Moya Architects and completed in 1974, is one of the most modern main buildings of all Oxford colleges. It has three quadrangles: the central quadrangle named the Berlin Quad after Isaiah Berlin, the Tree Quad built around established trees, and the River Quad into which the River Cherwell has been diverted to form a punt harbour. The main building and footbridge across the river were grade II listed in June 2011.
The college has student accommodation in the main college building, in three child-friendly courtyards surrounded by family housing, and also has similar accommodation in a scattering of purpose-built blocks, including the Robin Gandy Buildings, and in existing houses on Linton Road, Chadlington Road and Garford Road. The college also owns an adjacent house and orchard that was occupied by the Bishop of Oxford until 2014. Wolfson College aims to cut its emissions and plans to be carbon neutral by 2030.
The college library, which occupies both floors of one wing of the college's main building, is open to members of the college. The main library is on the first floor, approachable from the side of the dining hall and the lodge, and two other collections, called the Floersheimer Room and the Hornik Memorial Room are on the ground floor. A mezzanine floor in the main library has books as well as carrels for individual use by graduate students of the college. The library has an extensive collection of books and journals.
The college has one common room for fellows and graduate students. The common room has two floors: the upper common room, with an attached terrace overlooking the punting harbour, which has a bar and a coffee counter, and the lower common room, which has magazines and newspapers. The college's hall is one of the few in the university to have a common table. The 'Haldane Room', a hall adjacent to the dining hall proper, is where formal meals, especially the convocation lunch, are held.
The college owns grounds on both sides of the river, including two meadows on the opposite side, towards Marston. It has a small but well-maintained garden with mature trees behind its main building, and beside the river. The garden is landscaped well on the riverbank, with a flight of steps leading up to a green-house and a sundial. The college also has a smaller garden beside the Robin Gandy building, which stands on the banks of the river.
The college has its own squash court and croquet lawn, and takes part in many university sporting events, including cricket, football, and the yearly rowing competition. It is one of the few in Oxford with its own punting harbour, with a fleet of punts for use by all members of the college. The Wolfson College Boat Club is on the ground floor of 'C' Block.
Wolfson had approximately 800 graduate students, many of whom were DPhil students. The remainder were studying for MPhil, MSc, MSc by Research, MSt, MSt by Research, MBA, EMBA, MLitt, MLitt by Research, BPhil, and Cert degrees. The college also accepts MJur and BCL candidates.
Wolfson is home to a number of research clusters:
It has also been home to the Centre for Socio-Legal Studies, which has now moved to an independent location in Oxford. The Foundation for Law, Justice and Society, which is affiliated with the college and the Centre for Socio-Legal Studies, was based there between 2005 and 2021.
Wolfson is associated with a number of prominent individuals. These include former students, Fellows of the college and past presidents including two Nobel Prize winners. As Wolfson is a graduate-only college, most students will have been associated with another college or institution, before coming to study at Wolfson College for a Masters or DPhil degree.
In the sciences, alumni of the college include the human geneticist Dame Kay Davies, the astronomer and Caltech professor Richard Ellis, theoretical physicist David Deutsch, mathematician and geneticist Eric Lander and mathematician James R. Norris. Entrepreneurs include Reid Hoffman, who was the co-founder and executive chairman of LinkedIn.
In law and public policy, alumni include Chief Medical Adviser to the UK Government Chris Whitty, former Minister of External Relations of Brazil and Supreme Court Justice Francisco Rezek, chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court Karim Ahmad Khan. Sigmundur Davíð Gunnlaugsson, the youngest serving Prime Minister of Iceland, studied at the College.
Notable current and former fellows of the college include:
Jiyuan Yu, a moral philosopher noted for his work on virtue ethics.
William Bradshaw, Baron Bradshaw, Member of the House of Lords.
Anthony Epstein, discoverer of the Epstein–Barr virus.
Steven Schwartz, Vice Chancellor of Macquarie University in Sydney, Australia.
Denis Mack Smith, historian at Oxford.
Niko Tinbergen, Dutch ethologist and recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.
Dorothy Hodgkin, winner of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry.