Portal:University of Oxford/Selected college/26

St Catherine's College (commonly known as "St Catz" or "Catz") was established in 1963 and is one of the largest of the Oxford colleges, with about 450 undergraduates and 160 postgraduates. It grew out of the Delegacy of Non-Collegiate Students, founded in 1868 to offer university education at Oxford without the costs of college membership. Its students met as "St Catherine's Club" for social events, named after the hall in Catte Street where they met; it became St Catherine's Society in 1931, and later achieved full college status. It was one of the first men's colleges to become co-educational, in 1974. The college is on an 8-acre (32,000 m²) site acquired from Merton College on the banks of the River Cherwell, to the east of the city centre. The buildings, which were given Grade I listed status in 1993, were designed by the Danish architect Arne Jacobsen; he also designed the cutlery, furniture and lampshades. The Master is the engineer Roger Ainsworth; the first Master was the historian Alan Bullock. Alumni include the Nobel Prize winners John Vane and John E. Walker, the politician Peter Mandelson, the rower Matthew Pinsent and the author Jeanette Winterson. (Full article...)