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Elizabeth Nuffield Educational Fund
ENEF's 50th birthday party
Thu, 5 October 2006
ENEF award-holders and Committee members, past and present, were amongst those drinking a toast to Elizabeth Nuffield at the Fund's 50th birthday party on 11th July.
Suzanne Berry, ENEF Administrator; Committee members Margo Marshall, Lorraine Dearden, Lindsey Fidler-Baker, Ann West; Catrin Roberts, Assistant Director (Education)
Former ENEF Committee member Ioni Sanderson wth former Chairs Isobel Galbraith and Bernice Martin
Former award-holders Carol Andrews and Verena Cornwall
Penelope Harris and Carolyn Boulter with Daphne Jackson fellow, Annett Klinder
Fifty years ago this year, Lizzie, or ‘Lilian’, wife of Lord Nuffield, set up the Elizabeth Nuffield Educational Fund. The Fund was established in 1956 with, so the story goes, money thriftily saved from her housekeeping allowance to promote:
"… the advancement of education….. and in particular the award of scholarships, grants or loans to women and girls who desire to take a course of instruction or training ……. and who…. require financial assistance to enable them to do so."
On July 11th some of the women who have benefited from the Fund joined friends of ENEF, Trustees and staff of the Foundation at a party held at Bedford Square to mark the anniversary.
ENEF has always inspired tremendous loyalty and affection and this was clearly evident from the presence at the party of a number of former Committee members going back over many years, including one of the earliest members, Ioni Sanderson, now aged 92. The current Chair, Anne Sofer, is only the fifth since 1956, and we were delighted to be joined by two others, Isobel Galbraith and Bernice Martin: the latter also has the distinction of being a former award-holder.
Other beneficiaries of the Fund who attended the party included an Egyptologist, a sexual health worker, an architectural historian and a specialist in circus, street theatre and carnival, demonstrating the variety of career paths taken by ENEF award-holders. Biographies of these, and several others, have been launched on our website as part of the birthday celebrations: click here to read their stories.
During the year ENEF has been in touch with a number of other organisations funding women in education or training and has now launched a Directory on the ENEF website as an additional resource for women seeking funding to help support their studies. We were very pleased that Pam Gammon from the Altrusa Trust, and Dr Carolyn Boulter, Chair of the Society for Promoting the Training of Women, could be with us at the party.
The toast was made by the Chair of the Trustees, the Baroness O’Neill CBE FBA, who, in her speech, outlined the history of the Fund, mentioning some of the curious methods used to assess applications in days gone by. Future applicants may be relieved to know that they will no longer be summoned to appear before the Committee to be quizzed on their choice of course, nor do we any longer ring their fathers to find out why they are not supporting their daughters’ education!
Fortunately for ENEF, Lilian and her advisers had the foresight to keep the objectives of the Fund flexible, so it will be able to continue responding to the changing needs of women students in the future. The party was a way of celebrating not just the 50th birthday of the Fund, but also the remarkable achievements of all the women who have benefited from its support during that time.
Last Updated Mon, 16 October 2006