The Academics At-Risk Fellowship Campaign

From its very beginnings, Wolfson has been a home to those without one – be it graduates and academics without a College, or Wolfson’s Founding President Isaiah Berlin, for whom England gave his family sanctuary. Over the last fifty years of our life we have grown and evolved, but the commitment to providing a home has remained very strong.

CARA’s roots go back to 1933, and the Nazis’ expulsion of many academics from their posts. Many CARA Fellows have gone on to have remarkable careers, including sixteen Nobel Laureates, eighteen who received Knighthoods for their work and over 100 who became Fellows of The British Academy or The Royal Society. Sir Isaiah Berlin was also a CARA trustee in the 1960s and 1970s.

Around the world there are academics who are at risk in their own countries, through war, persecution, or oppression. Many of them have families, and the situation for both them and their children and spouses is precarious. There are uncounted thousands of academics thought to be in difficult situations around the world. CARA is currently looking to place about 100 academics (and 200 dependants) needing to escape to a safe place where they can continue their work. The most urgent need is to place families because of the greater cost.

It will cost us £30,000 to support one CARA family for one year. Here at Wolfson, we are lucky enough to have secured the support of an anonymous donor, who has agreed to provide £15,000 towards our first placement.

We need your help to match that and raise the remaining £15,000. The Alumni Office are holding a campaign throughout Michaelmas Term culminating with a Giving Day and event in College on Wednesday 21 November 2018.

Please help us accommodate an academic at risk. You can support the campaign by spreading the word as a social media ambassador or by donating online.

For more information: https://www.wolfson.ox.ac.uk/academics-risk-fellowship-0