Author Archives: Athene Donald

Of a Retiring Nature

The end of this month marks my retirement from my professorial position at Cambridge, something that I still find rather surprising. My career on that front has just faded out, yet another victim of the pandemic; the conference planned for … Continue reading

Posted in Churchill College, retirement, Science Culture, support, Women in science | Comments Off on Of a Retiring Nature

Research Culture, Fairness and Transparency

A week after the Science and University Ministers announced with respect to chartermarks such as Athena Swan “We have therefore asked the OfS, UKRI and NIHR to ensure that they place no weight upon the presence or absence of such … Continue reading

Posted in Athena Swan, BAME, Equality, grant-giving panels, Ottoline Leyser, Science Culture, UKRI | Comments Off on Research Culture, Fairness and Transparency

We’ve Come a Long Way But…..

When Rita Colwell was born in 1934, neither Oxford nor Cambridge Universities had yet appointed a female professor in any discipline; Dorothy Garrod, the first woman to hold such a chair (the Disney Chair of Archaeology at Cambridge), was not … Continue reading

Posted in Athena Swan, Equality, harassment, Ottoline Leyser, Rita Colwell, Women in science | Comments Off on We’ve Come a Long Way But…..

Feeling the Fear

Readers of the Guardian may, over the years, have had reason to dip into Oliver Burkeman’s columns. As he hangs up his metaphorical boots, he summarised what he had personally learned from the exercise of writing these ‘self-help’ articles. In … Continue reading

Posted in growth, Impostor syndrome, Oliver Burkeman, Science Culture, self-confidence | Comments Off on Feeling the Fear

Investing in Education and the Levelling Up Agenda

Early years provision has suffered during austerity, and is continuing to see cutbacks, as Polly Toynbee pointed out last week. Yet children who fall behind at the outset of their education will find it very difficult to catch up later. … Continue reading

Posted in Augar Review, education, Further Education, social mobility | Comments Off on Investing in Education and the Levelling Up Agenda

Pandemic Staycationing

As far as I’m concerned, this is not a year for travelling for a holiday. Indeed, given some of the recent events, there hasn’t even been time to take any sort of extended break. However, we have been taking days … Continue reading

Posted in Cambridge life, dreams, jackdaws, novels, ornithology | Comments Off on Pandemic Staycationing

Pandemic Staycationing

As far as I’m concerned, this is not a year for travelling for a holiday. Indeed, given some of the recent events, there hasn’t even been time to take any sort of extended break. However, we have been taking days … Continue reading

Posted in Cambridge life, dreams, jackdaws, novels, ornithology | Comments Off on Pandemic Staycationing

Pandemic Staycationing

As far as I’m concerned, this is not a year for travelling for a holiday. Indeed, given some of the recent events, there hasn’t even been time to take any sort of extended break. However, we have been taking days … Continue reading

Posted in Cambridge life, dreams, jackdaws, novels, ornithology | Comments Off on Pandemic Staycationing

Reflections on a Mad Week in Higher Education

Readers from the UK can hardly fail to have noticed the confusion across the HE sector caused by last week’s A level ‘results’.  I recall how many people had been voicing fears during the past months that the disadvantaged would … Continue reading

Posted in #honourtheoffer, A levels, education, widening participaation | Comments Off on Reflections on a Mad Week in Higher Education

Active Silencing

Aggressive. That’s such a useful put-down. As in “I think there were several very vocal, dare I say aggressive residents that, in my opinion, regardless of what work was being carried out or not, they still would have had reason … Continue reading

Posted in angry black woman, Emma Chapman, Equality, Reni Eddo-Lodge, troublemaker, Women in science | Comments Off on Active Silencing