The College is delighted to announce that it has surpassed the minimum fundraising threshold to endow the John Prestwich Fellowship in History.
On 12 March 2025, the College’s Governing Body formally designated the Tutorial Fellowship held by Dr Conor O’Brien (Theology, 2010) as the John Prestwich Fellowship in History. This momentous occasion was marked alongside the Brittenden Fellow in History, Dr Meleisa Ono-George, and Emeritus Fellows Professor John Blair and Dr John Davis.
Thanks to the generous support of Old Members and Friends, Queen’s has raised over £3.3 million in both gifts and pledges, securing the teaching and research of history at Queen’s for future generations.
Dr O’Brien said:
The generous gifts that have given Queen’s not one, but two, endowed Fellowships in History ensure the long-term health and presence of the subject within the College. They are a tribute to the passion and enthusiasm of tutors and students past. In a context where the study of History is retreating in so many colleges and universities across the UK, and beyond, it is heartening to know that History has a future at Queen’s.
The perseverance required to reach this milestone, with the endowment fundraising commencing in 2003, is a clear indication of just how important and relevant the subject remains to those who read it then and now.
History has now joined Chemistry, Medical Sciences, Music, French, and Modern Languages as a fully endowed academic discipline at Queen’s. At a time when higher education, and the humanities in particular, face mounting challenges, we are committed to protecting our academic freedom and preserving critical inquiry in our students.
Image in header: Dr Conor O’Brien (Theology, 2010), the John Prestwich Fellow in History with a portrait of John O. Prestwich (Fellow and Praelector between 1937 and 1981) by David Fisher.
