Univ and the Coronavirus: Meeting the Challenge

A message from the Master 

To outward appearance, we are a ghost college, closed for the coming term and for much of the long vacation. Only a small number of students who are unable to go home have stayed on in our residential annexes, and a skeleton staff comes in for maintenance and security.

Having to stay away for all of Trinity Term is a huge disappointment for our students, especially for the Finalists and Masters students in their last year.

But Univ continues as a serious scholarly enterprise, albeit in a new dimension for a time. Tutorials, seminars and supervision will be given remotely; the University has guaranteed the award of classified degrees, based on online examinations; Governing Body will meet on schedule; and the Chapel Choir will rehearse via Zoom.

The College will emerge even stronger from the crisis. In that mid-March week when the Univ community had to separate each from each other, it came together in a spirit of solidarity, resourcefulness and determination that is reflected in the contributions that follow in these news stories. We shall weather the storm, as we have survived the plagues and wars of the past 770 years, and gone on to prosper: Floreat Collegio Magnae Aulae Universitatis!

Coronavirus-related news from Univ

During this unprecedented time, our thoughts are with all members of the Univ community worldwide. We are tremendously proud of the contributions that our academics, alumni and students are making to the global response to the pandemic.

This section will be updated regularly as we report further news from across the College community and wider University.

Are you involved?
If you are involved in research or frontline work relating to COVID-19 that you would like to bring to the attention of the Univ community worldwide, please email communications@univ.ox.ac.uk.