The Smithsonian Honors Oxford— Calls Pembroke “The Gateway to Oxford University”

November 2nd, 2016 → 9:49 am @ admin

Dr. Julian Raby, PhD, Director of the Freer|Sackler, the Smithsonian’s. Museums of Asian Art

Pembroke College was heralded as the Smithsonian Institution’s “Gateway to Oxford University” at a gala reception held the evening of October 19 at the Smithsonian Castle in Washington.

Julian Raby, the distinguished Director of the Smithsonian’s Sackler and Freer Galleries of Art, in the evening’s keynote remarks praised the close and growing relationship between Pembroke and the Smithsonian. Julian noted Pembroke’s extraordinary contributions to the Smithsonian, including a new Pembroke-Smithsonian exchange program and other initiatives to be developed by the Smithsonian and Pembroke under Master Lynne Brindley’s leadership.

Smithsonian Castle

The Smithsonian, America’s greatest museum complex, was established thanks to a generous gift from Pembrokian James Smithson, 1782. In his will, Smithson left his estate to the people of the United States with instructions “to found at Washington, under the name of the Smithsonian Institution, an establishment for the increase and diffusion of knowledge.”

The October 18 reception, attended by some 200 Oxonians from many Oxford colleges, was hosted by the Smithsonian to honor Oxford’s listing as the number one university in the world, according to the Times Higher Education World Rankings for 2016-2017.

A number of Pembrokians were spotted in the crowd, including: Sam Arora (2001), Katie Brown (2004), Tucker Cholvin (2014), Tom Herman (1971), Victoria Kiechel (1979), Nayve Martinez Rubio (2011), Andy Morris (1992), Liz Nelson (2013), Lucy Rojanovsky (2001), and Vic Sutton (1968).