Over 20 Oriel Rhodes Scholars returned to College during the Rhodes 120th anniversary held in Oxford at the start of July. Alumni from as far away as Australia, Japan, and South Africa, joined the Vice Provost and Fellows for dinner in College.
The reunion marks 120 years of a programme that has benefitted over 8,000 students. The Rhodes Scholarship is a fully-funded postgraduate award, which enables talented young people from around the world to study at the University of Oxford. Oriel has welcomed almost 300 Rhodes Scholars over the past century.
Prominent Oriel Rhodes Scholars include Rex Nettleford (1967, Politics) Vice Chancellor of the University of West Indies. An essay prize and speaker series on ‘Colonialism and its legacies’ at Oriel are named in his honour.
Oriel is continuing to expand scholarships and bursaries to support students from a diverse range of backgrounds. As well as university-wide scholarships, Oriel currently offers 22 graduate scholarships of its own, including the Yalda Hakim Scholarship for women from Afghanistan, a Master’s scholarship for Ukrainian refugees, and a DPhil scholarship in conjunction with Black Academic Futures for UK Black or Mixed-Black students.