A message from the Van Mildert Alumni Association
It’s hard to believe it’s been three months since our incredible reunion weekend and 60th Birthday celebrations in Durham. It was a wonderful chance to reconnect with our alumni, celebrate six decades of Mildert history, and perhaps even re-live a student moment or two!
Christmas is Coming: Carols in the Bar (London Edition) – 18 December
If those reunion photos have whetted your appetite for more Mildert moments, or if you missed the summer celebrations, then don’t worry; Christmas is just(ish) round the corner!
Join us for Carols in the Bar at the Betjeman Arms, St Pancras Station, London, on Thursday 18 December from 5pm. Expect festive cheer, a live pianist, (mostly) in tune singing, a chance to catch up, and maybe a Christmas tipple or two.
Join us on Instagram & Linkedin
The VMA is now live on Instagram! Follow us to stay up to date with news, events, alumni stories, and a healthy dose of nostalgia.
We are also growing our LinkedIn community as part of efforts to strengthen the VMA’s networking and careers support.
Join the VMA Committee
At our July AGM, we thanked Rob Cowen for his outstanding work as Communications Officer and welcomed Thomas Jackson into the role.
We are now looking for a new Secretary and additional committee members; low time-commitment roles and a great way to connect with Mildertians across the decades. Nominations will also soon open for a new Chair as Kenzie (James McKenzie) steps down at year-end. Interested? Please get in touch with us via Email.
We Want to Hear from You!
We’d love your input to help shape the VMA’s future communications and strategy. Share your feedback via the form below or get in touch via email to find out more about our current plans.
A message from the College Principal – Professor Tom Mole
Another Academic Year Begins
We’ve been busy preparing to welcome a new cohort of Mildertians. We’re looking forward to sharing with them all the things that make Mildert special. Arrivals Day is a highlight of the year for me and, as ever, our wonderful freps – as well as our mascots Van and Millie – will be out on the forecourt to greet new students and their parents.
The below video shows our students telling us what Mildert means to them.
Alumni Generosity Helps us Reach our Goals
We’ve smashed our fundraising target for our sixtieth anniversary year, raising over £500,000 thanks to the extraordinary generosity of our alumni. Your donations will help create a new common room, upgrade the Ann Dobson Hall, and allow us to treble the funding available to students. We’re still raising money to rebuild our boat house and provide more support to students from low-income backgrounds.
Drinks in January in London
After you’ve recovered from Carols in the Bar in December, please join us for the grand finale of our 60th anniversary year of celebrations. Mildertians old and new will be gathering for drinks and nibbles at an exclusive venue in Mayfair on Thursday 22 January 2026 at 6pm. I’ve personally enjoyed meeting alumni from across the college’s history this year, and it would be delightful to see as many of you as possible at this event to celebrate the end of a remarkable year. I hope you’ll be able to join us!
A message from the JCR President – Neve Kidson
Summer Updates
Over the Summer, the JCR have been busy preparing for Freshers’ Week. As we welcome our students, we hope to show them what Mildert is all about through a jam-packed week of events including karaoke and quizzes, bar nights, and the new addition of a petting zoo!
We have a busy Michaelmas Term ahead of us too, including:
- Welcoming new students involved into our much-loved ‘College Family’ scheme – a tradition that builds support and community in Mildert.
- Launch of our ‘Careers Collective’ initiative alongside College, which focuses on strengthening the links between Mildert alumni and current students and supporting their career development.
- Introduction of the Collis Fund – helping reduce financial barriers so all students can participate in JCR life.
- Recruitment across our amazing committees and sports/societies – plus new staff at the JCR Shop, “The Quack Shack” (stay tuned for how alumni can get involved)!
- Fun-filled calendar of events including our annual Winter Ball, Novemberfest, bar quizzes and more!
Can You Support the JCR?
Van Mildert JCR has recently launched its new website which allows you to see what we get up to and all the amazing things our volunteers achieve over the course of the year!
If you would like to support the JCR’s activities, including outreach, sports, events, and wellbeing, you can find out more by visiting the website.
Any questions, please feel free to reach out to me via email.
Van Mildert College Alumni Association 
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