Colleges safe for now: Jeremy Vine to chair conference

Representatives of collegiate unis from around the world will gather in Durham for the first Collegiate Way international conference this week.

Jeremy Vine will chair a panel discussion about running universities in a collegiate way in order to share ideas and enrich the student experience.

Delegates from five continents will be attending and there are only around 80 collegiate universities worldwide.

Where Jeremy Vine discovered The Smiths.

Jeremy Vine said “My years at Hatfield College, Durham were some of the happiest of my whole life, not just because I discovered The Smiths when I was there, but also because of the quality of friends and the confidence to be who I wanted to be.

“How lucky was I to be in a place of such beauty and intelligence.

“Without the confidence the college environment gave me I wouldn’t have been able to use a telephone, let alone have a radio show.”

Professor Graham Towl, Pro-Vice-Chancellor and Deputy Warden of the Colleges at Durham University said: “The student experience here at Durham is built on the colleges and we are proud of our history and heritage, but we also recognise that there is a lot to be learnt from other collegiate universities in terms of exchanging ideas and best practice.

“We look forward to contributing to interesting debates, forging links with colleagues from around the globe and learning about ways to enhance the collegiate experience moving forward.”

Established in 2006. That’s younger than Shrek 2.

Conference organisers, Professors Tim Burt, Master of Hatfield, and Martyn Evans, Principal of Trevs, said “We hope one conversation will become many and that this conference will bring together representatives from the widest possible range of colleges worldwide.”

The conference runs from 18-22 November and is intended to become a regular event.