2002

Inthe week following the attacks of September 11, we gave some thought to the cancellation of our annual departure luncheon for the class of 2001. Both Washington airports were closed, and there was still a question whether Reagan National would ever reopen. The new Rhodes Scholars, or their families, might have concerns about the safety of travel to Washington, or from Washington to London. And we had just reluctantly cancelled the reunion of my Rhodes class (1974), which was to coincide with the 2001 send-off, due not only to travel logistics and anxieties, but also to a sense that it might not be an appropriate time to celebrate.

On reflection, however, and in the face of unflagging desire of last year’s class of Rhodes Scholars to come to Washington, we went ahead as planned. And I was pleased that the AARS agreed that its Bon Voyage weekend should proceed as well. You already will have read about the wonderful activities we enjoyed together. In particular, Sir Christopher Meyer’s opening of his residence for us and the Marshall Scholars—the first time it was opened for anyone after the 11th—and Bill Clinton’s extraordinary comments at the departure luncheon, reflected clearly not only the special relationship between Britain and the United States, but also the substantial contribution the Rhodes Scholarships have made to that relationship for a century.

During our days together in September, many asked whether the attacks would reduce our application numbers. Our application period is September and October as you know, and there were already some indications that foreign study plans by Americans might be substantially curtailed. But there was no evidence of that in the Rhodes Scholarship competition. Our number of endorsed applicants in 2001 was down less than 4%. And the pool was as strong as ever. Indeed, independently of war or terrorism-related concerns, I had made inquiries at several universities about the continuing appeal of our scholarship. Was it attracting the same high percentage of their very best students as in previous years? I had wondered whether a recent wave of mild Oxford-bashing in the British press (a familiar and cyclical phenomenon dating as far back as there has been a British press) might be having any measurable impact in the United States. I was gratified when deans and fellowship advisors appeared dumbfounded by my question.

At least one other statistical question was on my mind. Would the 2002 class return to the customary pattern of men and women being elected in rough proportion to their application numbers? We never can predict, of course, the mix of winners, and the best I could do last year was to offer sun spots as the reason for the unusually low number of women elected (7 of 32). In fact, as you will see regarding the 2002 scholars introduced in this newsletter, 15 women (or roughly 47%), emerged from an applicant pool that was 47% female, and a district finalist pool that was 45% female.

Consistent with previous years, most of the new class will pursue graduate degrees, although the second BA remains optimal for some, and we have a healthy mix again of humanities, social science, biological science and physical science degrees. For the first time, I was able to offer Scholars-elect the opportunity to begin with a one-year degree without special petition to the Warden. Seven availed themselves of this option. There are an increasing number of excellent one-year courses that lead naturally to a variety of one- or two-year programs. And I was pleased that college preferences returned to a broader mix, with 14 colleges chosen as a first choice.

Since my letter last year, the Rhodes Trust has been busy on many fronts in Oxford, and indeed throughout the world. The opening of the Rothermere American Institute, which I was privileged to attend, was a great success, the Rhodes Trust of course being not just neighbor but major benefactor and sponsor of its programs. Rhodes House hosted many significant events for the Oxford community, bringing our scholars together frequently. And of course, most Rhodes alumni will have received the exciting and historic news of the launch of The Mandela Rhodes Foundation on February 13, 2002, at Groote Schuur, Cecil Rhodes’ famous house that was subsequently given to the nation of South Africa and the scene of the historic first meeting of President de Klerk and Mandela in 1990. (Those Rhodes Scholars who did not receive the e-mail announcement of that date might wish to provide their e-mail address to this office so Rhodes House will have it for future communications.) The new foundation, announced by Nelson Mandela and Lord Waldegrave, Chairman-elect of the Rhodes Trust, will establish an endowment, and will have offices at the new Mandela Centre in Johannesburg and at Rhodes House. It will work closely with the Nelson Mandela Foundation in the areas of education, governance and healthcare, and with other organizations in environmental protection, law and sport. As Rhodes House Warden and Rhodes Trust CEO Dr. John Rowett stated, “the linking of Mr. Mandela and Cecil Rhodes in symbolic partnership closes [a] circle of history and affirms once more that commitment to the reconciliation of different historical traditions that is so central to the new South Africa . . . .” Mr. Mandela agreed, noting that the foundation would play a significant role in the movement for development, peace and social justice. In a leading article in The Times (London) on February 14, the editors wrote: “A new era dawned yesterday for one of Oxford’s most august scholarly institutions. The Rhodes Trust, the legacy of Cecil Rhodes, diamond prospector, statesman and ardent colonialist, acquired an unlikely bedfellow in the form of a very different sort of figure in the continent’s history, Nelson Mandela. . . . [It] should redeem the name of Rhodes, here and in the States, . . . and in Africa itself. Rhodes’s all red route of Empire will be supplanted by a multi-ethnic path to education and welfare. Rhodes himself may not have approved, but his scholars will celebrate across the world.”

There will be opportunities for Rhodes Scholars to learn much more about this new venture at the centenary reunions in South Africa between January 25 and February 2, 2003, and in London and Oxford between June 30 and July 5, 2003. I urge all of Rhodes Scholars who are able to attend one, or both if possible. In South Africa, there will be also be opportunities to visit some of the Trust’s development projects. In addition to lectures and events at Cape universities, there will be a visit to Cape wine-lands, including a dinner at Boschendal, the site of orchards and vineyards owned by Cecil Rhodes in the 1890s, and now one of the nation’s leading wine estates. There will also be significant cultural events, including the first performance of Fidelio at Robben Island, the site of the infamous prison that jailed Africans for three centuries, where Nelson Mandela was sent in 1962, and now a monument and museum symbolizing the triumph of the human spirit. Finally, Mr. Mandela has agreed to be our guest of honor at the concluding dinner at Vergelegen, the famous Cape Dutch estate, gardens and vineyard founded by the Dutch East India Company in the seventeenth century, and the site of important South African State Dinners, including ones with Queen Elizabeth and with President Clinton.

The events in England later in the year will be no less spectacular or rewarding, with a special service at St. Paul’s, where Archbishop Desmond Tutu has agreed to participate, a Garden Party at Buckingham Palace likely to be hosted by the Queen, and many events following for two days in Oxford.

These should be splendid occasions, befitting our centennial, facilitating renewals of friendships and common memories, and will be opportunities as well for the Trust to describe its historic new initiatives.

Elliot F. Gerson

American Secretary to the Rhodes Scholarship Trust