Warden of Rhodes House speaks to UK ODs
The future of the (Diocesan College) Rhodes Scholarship
Michael Mills (W, 1973), Graham Hare (S, 1987), Anthony Record MBE (S, 1956) and Dr Elizabeth Kiss
In London last night, in the offices of Stonehage Fleming by kind courtesy of Hamish Sinclair (S, 1992), around 35 UK ODs listened attentively to Dr Elizabeth Kiss outline the eight-year strategy of the Rhodes Trust.
Elizabeth, herself a Rhodes Scholar, is an American academic (DPhil in Moral Philosophy) who has recently been appointed CEO of the Rhodes Scholarship Trust (the governing body of the Rhodes Scholarships) and Warden of Rhodes House. She is a keen defender of the values and objectives of the Rhodes Scholarship. While not an apologist for Rhodes, she encouraged everyone to understand that we all come from complex moral backgrounds and rather than judge Rhodes, think how our generation will be judged in 100 years time.
She covered the history of the Scholarship, the challenges it faces (relevancy, meaning, value, financial, moral, political and access) and how a major thrust in the new strategy - aimed at keeping the Scholarship meaningful and relevant, while remaining honest to Rhodes's original wishes - will focus on bright 15-18 year olds to prepare them to be ready to apply for "The Rhodes" when the time comes. Most of this work will be done in Africa.
A very thought-provoking and interesting evening from an engaging and authentic person.
