Dr Chris Scott, the College’s new Tutor for Admissions and Outreach, has started at Caius. Chris, who joins us from Clare College where he was Research Associate and Schools Liaison Officer, commented: “Caius is a beautiful college with a long history of academic excellence, and an encouraging recent history of widening participation, a firm foundation upon which I hope to build over the coming years.”

Chris came to Cambridge in 2011 to study English at Trinity, where he remained for 8 years – with a brief break in Japan and the Hebrides – to complete an MPhil and PhD. His research focuses on the history, practice and recent fate of practical criticism, a mode of reading literature, and in particular short poetry, devised by Cambridge alumnus I. A. Richards in the 1920s. Chris explained, “Central to Richards’s project was a desire to move the study of English away from general ‘chit-chat’ about poets and into a rigorous mode of reading which anyone could learn to practice, regardless of background. My increasing commitment to outreach developed alongside my doctoral research, and during my PhD I gave sample supervisions on a number of tours of state-maintained schools across Hampshire (one of Trinity’s Link Areas).”

It is this motivation for outreach and widening participation that led Chris to become Clare College’s Schools Liaison Officer and College Research Associate in English. “Being a member of staff and of the SCR at Clare, along with regularly interacting with students through teaching and access initiatives, gave me a great insight into all aspects of College life. I very much look forward to occupying a similar role at Caius, and to meeting and working with its students, staff and Fellows over the coming weeks and months,” Chris commented.

“I am looking forward to continuing to ensure that the College’s admissions process takes place in a manner that is fair and transparent, and to enhancing our applicant pool, both in terms of numbers and academic potential.

“In these strange times, the importance of online outreach is more important than it has ever been, and I look forward to strengthening the College’s online outreach presence across a range of platforms. Within our Link Areas, I am keen to better target our outreach engagement, and to collaborate further with local councils and third sector organisations. I look forward to leading an integrated approach to admissions and outreach in order to increase the diversity and potential of Caius’s intake.”

Find out more about Dr Chris Scott and our work with schools.

Photo credit: Grace Glevey