Lord Lewis of Newnham was the first Warden of Robinson College and oversaw the construction of the main College buildings and the establishment of the academic and social structure of Robinson. To mark his retirement as Warden, Robinson established the Lewis Research Scholarship Fund.
Research students are absolutely essential to the success of an academic community because they are the future of the profession. In order to attract the best research students based upon academic merit alone and irrespective of their financial circumstances, it is important that Robinson is able to offer research scholarships. This is particularly the case in humanities research, as commercial sponsorship, grants and other scholarships are more widely established for scientific and medical research. To help to meet this need, the College established the Lewis Research Scholarship Fund in 2001. In 2014, the endowment of the fund was completed, allowing Robinson to offer full Lewis Research Scholarships in the Humanities. Awards are for up to three years of research and therefore new awards are usually made every three years.
The Warden, Fellows and all members of Robinson are tremendously grateful to the donors who have made this scholarship a reality. Their gifts, of all sizes, will enable many promising scholars to make Robinson their home and academic base for years to come.
In addition to the Lewis Research Scholarship, we are fortunate to be able to offer a Judy & Nigel Weiss Scholarship in the Arts & Humanities every third year on a similar basis to the Lewis Research Scholarship. We need to raise another £18,000 to complete the endowment of a second Judy & Nigel Weiss Scholarship in the Arts & Humanities. This would allow us to award a full PhD scholarship to a new scholar every year in rotation between the Lewis Research Scholarships and the Judy & Nigel Weiss Scholarships and so greatly strengthen our young, but vibrant and ambitious academic community.