Outstanding people and projects in the Humanities Division have been recognised at the annual Vice-Chancellor's Awards.
Our winners were:
- The Diversity in Death and Dying teaching project, which includes the faculties of History and Theology and Religion, won the Teaching and Learning Award at the Vice-Chancellor’s Awards 2025. This is a multi-disciplinary collaboration between the Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences, Ashmolean and our two faculties, in which medical students use objects and images in the Ashmolean to interrogate aspects of end-of-life care, and are asked to reflect on the challenges presented by this unavoidable part of professional practice.
- TORCH’s Medical Humanities Research Hub (MedHum) won a Research Culture Award. MedHum supports the Humanities Division and social science-based research on health and medicine, and highlights the contribution of the humanities to a proper understanding of health, disease, and medicine.
Highly commended recognition was given to the following:
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Dr Catherine Jenkinson was highly commended in the Breakthrough Researcher Award category. As the postdoctoral researcher on ‘(Hi)stories of Violence: Myth-making, Imprisonment and the Cultural Identity of the Tower of London’ between the Humanities Division, Historic Royal Palaces and the Royal Armouries, Dr Jenkinson has provided an outstanding model of cross-sector, collaborative working to achieve significant impact at the University and beyond.
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Cultural Democracy: The Leys Festival 2024 was highly commended in the Local Community Engagement Award category. The Cultural Programme collaborated with over 60 members of the Leys community to co-create the festival in Blackbird Leys Park in July 2024, with over 4,000 people in attendance.
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Professor Siân Grønlie (Faculty of English and St Anne’s) was highly commended in the Community to EDI Award section. It was recognised that she “enables all students to do well and feel that they belong, and to encourage staff in the college and University to do the same”.
The full list of winners and commendations can be found here.
Professor Dan Grimley, Head of Humanities, said: “I am delighted that so many outstanding people and projects from within the Humanities Division have been recognised at the Vice-Chancellor’s Awards. Our two category winners reflect the interdisciplinary nature of so much of our research and teaching, and the critical role of the humanities in confronting the major challenges facing the world. The Diversity in Death and Dying teaching project involves the faculties of History and Theology and Religion helping to shape the way our future doctors think about end-of-life care, while TORCH’s Medical Humanities Research Hub demonstrates the contribution of the humanities to fully understanding health, disease and medicine.”
Professor Irene Tracey, CBE, FRS, FMedSci, Vice-Chancellor, said: "The Awards Ceremony and Showcase this year truly captured the very best of Oxford, celebrating the impact we have not only within the University but also in our wider community and across the globe. By bringing together academics, researchers, professional services and support staff, and external partners, I hope these awards will help spark new ideas, inspire collaboration, and encourage us all to keep delivering excellence in our core mission of teaching and research."
