Our purpose, mission and vision
Our purpose
St Antony’s purpose is “to promote international understanding in a complex world.”
This is articulated in our Statutes and hasn’t changed since the College was founded in 1950. The University delivers teaching for graduate students while the College acts as an academic hub. Our strategy for 2024-2027 is set out in our Annual Report.
Our vision (2022-2027)
We will:
- improve and enhance the student experience
- increase the diversity of our Governing Body, and improve equality, diversity and inclusion across the College
- deliver our Greenhouse Gas Emissions Action Plan
- catalogue College records and archives
- raise the profile of the College within the University.
Our mission (2022-2027)
Student experience
We will:
- Put student funding and support at the heart of our fundraising efforts
- Improve mental health provision
- Increase our student accommodation provision
- Enhance support for our part-time students, those living with their families in Oxford, and those living outside the College
- Implement the actions from our digital audit, streamlining and improving processes and systems, always with the user journey and student experience at the forefront of our thinking
- Enhance the involvement of Master’s students, alongside doctoral students, in activities organised by the College
- Create a social and wellbeing calendar and improve communications with all students, regardless of their programme of study or the amount of time they may spend in Oxford
- Work with our student body to develop guidance on student events, including protest, in light of the recent events in the Middle East and tensions among academic communities across the Western world (and the Freedom of Speech Act 2023).
People, and equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI)
We will:
- Diversify and enlarge the membership of Governing Body
- Improve our EDI training provision for all students, staff and Governing Body Fellows
- Continue to monitor student data annually via our external EDI Advisory Board
- Put in place arrangements to ensure that staff and Governing Body Fellow data can also be monitored
- Take an evidence-based approach to developing an action plan, for which we will be held to account by our Advisory Board.
- Progress work on management standards and improved supports for our leaders and managers.
A new Code of Conduct was approved by Governing Body in 2022 and shared with all members of our community.
Environment
We will deliver our ambitious Greenhouse Gas Emissions Action Plan, focused on the estate, food and travel as follows:
- Using data from our recent energy use and heat decarbonisation plan, alongside condition reports on buildings, develop a 10-year maintenance plan for the whole estate
- Reduce our Scope 2 and 3 emissions by decreasing meat and dairy consumption and limiting food waste
- Establish relevant travel policies and guidance
- Continue to support the day-to-day efforts of our Green Impact Team with the goal of making St Antony’s a more sustainable place to live and work.
Records, archive and history
Led by our Archivist and Records Manager, we will:
- Review and catalogue the College records and archives
- Provide material for and publish an updated College history in celebration of our 75th anniversary in 2025.
Strengthening College-University links
We will:
- Continue raising the profile of St Antony’s at senior levels of the University via our Governing Body Fellows (several of whom hold prominent positions in the University) and our Warden (who is also a Pro-Vice Chancellor – without portfolio – for the University) and will in 2024/25 become Chair of the University’s Buildings and Estates Sub-Committee (BESC)
- Work closely with key partner departments and Divisions, drawing on those Governing Body Fellows who are also Heads of Department or office holders in Divisions to collaborate with us in this, and opening up opportunities for shared space and joint working (including joint events) where possible.
