Paul
Saville retires
At the end of
this term, we said farewell to Paul Saville, after over 30 years
at St. Clare's. Paul started teaching Art here in 1972, initially
part-time, and from early on was involved with the three strands
which have run through his whole career here - Art and Art History,
summer study courses and the Liberal Arts programme,
In 1974, Paul
became Head of Art, with responsibility for studio art, and subsequently
for art history and theory also. In this capacity he developed the
range of work, while continuing to emphasise drawing and painting,
in which he is so skilled himself. More recently, Paul became Head
of Arts - a department which includes drama and music, which have
joined art as mainstream curriculum subjects.
Paul's interests
in learning outside the classroom, and having "projects"
to work on were brought together in the many summer courses he has
run over the years. The programme in Cortona, in Tuscany, Italy
developed out of Anne Dreydel's own connection with the town, where
she has a house. The course included classes in art, art history
and Italian, in which a strong contingent of St. Clare's students
were joined by students from elsewhere. Paul always had a knack
of balancing serious study with time for recreation. The result
was that generations of students enthusiastically spent several
weeks of their summer holiday without always realising how much
they were learning because they were having such fun. Later the
summer programme moved to Venice, and latterly to France. But the
essential format was similar in each of the places.
Paul has also
drawn into the art teaching visiting teachers with particular strengths
and interests complementary to his own. Notable among these is the
very distinguished young British artist Jenny Saville, his niece,
who has contributed to the St. Clare's art programme over the years.
Paul's contribution
to the development of the Liberal Arts programme began when he was
appointed Dean of American Students in 1975, working alongside Tony
Knowland. I particularly enjoyed working closely with Paul on re-shaping
the programme in 1984-5, and in 1985 a revised Liberal Arts programme
was launched with Paul as Director. Paul has visited the US once
or twice each year to establish and maintain links with US universities.
He has always run an extensive series of trips and visits, introducing
students to places of interest in Britain and mainland Europe, and
establishing an excellent rapport with them, which has been a key
to the programme's success.
Paul's commitment
and loyalty to St. Clare's has been exemplified this year by his
involvement in the celebrations for the College's 50th anniversary.
He took the lead in arranging the North
Amerian alumni reunion at the University of San Diego, with
his usual style and panache. He and John Rolfe, current Head of
Arts, also organised the very successful 50th
Anniversary art exhibition this year.
Although Paul's
official position with St. Clare's comes to an end this term, we
look forward to continuing connections in the future, when he will
doubtless continue to find numerous outlets for his prodigious energy.
Paul's successor
as Director of the Liberal Arts Programme is Dr Ines Molinaro. Dr
Molinaro is currently Director of Studies in Social and Political
Sciences at Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge, where she was
also, until recently, Fellow in the University of Cambridge Faculty
of Social and Political Sciences. Ines is Canadian, studied in the
USA (Ph.D. from Notre Dame) and has lectured at the Universities
of Birmingham and Warwick, in the UK, before moving to Cambridge.
In addition to her role directing the Liberal Arts programme, Ines
will also oversee all courses for adult students, now taking place
at the Bardwell Road Centre. We are delighted that Ines was able
to join the celebrations at the University of San Diego in April,
and we look forward to working with her in her new role in the years
to come.
Boyd Roberts
Principal
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