The Senior Tutor of Merton College, Oxford, Dr Rachel Buxton, has been appointed Director of Learning at St Mark’s College, Adelaide, from early 2020.
The Director of Learning is responsible for the College’s academic program – including an extensive tutorial program, faculty events, mentoring of students, and visiting scholars – and for promoting the academic success and personal well-being of all students.
Dr Buxton has served as Senior Tutor of Merton College, Oxford, since 2015, and also held that role in 2009-10 before serving as Domestic Bursar and Fellow of Lincoln College, Oxford, in 2010-15.
As Senior Tutor at Merton, Dr Buxton manages all academic-related activities in one of Oxford’s academically most successful colleges, and devotes considerable attention to supporting individual students in their academic and personal development.
Rachel Buxton was a C.A.S. Hawker Scholar at St Mark’s College in 1993-97, and served as College Club President in 1997, when she was also awarded the Collegians’ Prize. She graduated from the University of Adelaide in 1997 with First Class Honours in English Literature, and the University Medal.
Rhodes Scholar for South Australia for 1998, Rachel completed a Masters and a Doctorate in Oxford in English language and literature. Her thesis on the influence of Robert Frost on Northern Irish poetry – a topic inspired by a suggestion from the then Master of St Mark’s College, Robin Ashwin – was later published by Oxford University Press.
Rachel was Wilkinson Research Fellow and Assistant Dean at Worcester College, Oxford (2001-2), and Salvesen Junior Fellow and Tutor for Women at New College, Oxford (2002-5), also undertaking internships with McKinsey & Co. and at the UK Cabinet Office.
While serving as Senior Lecturer in American Literature at Oxford Brookes University in 2005-9, Rachel completed an Executive MBA with Distinction, again topping her year.
Recalling the positive difference which St Mark’s made in her life, Rachel said that she was excited to take on the role of Director of Learning at the College, seeing it as “a terrific opportunity to make a genuine difference at a critical stage in the lives of young people”.
Rachel looks forward with enthusiasm to doing all she can to help and support the students of the College in their academic and personal growth, saying that she is “excited to participate in the next chapter of the life of the St Mark’s community, working with students, colleagues, and others to further the College’s commitment to inclusivity, well-being, and academic rigour and aspiration”.
The Head of College, Professor Don Markwell, said that Rachel Buxton has an outstandingly impressive record of achievement, leadership, and service, both in Adelaide and in Oxford, and that her commitment to working with and helping students was profound.
He looked forward to welcoming her back to St Mark’s most warmly, and to working with her from early 2020.
Professor Markwell also paid tribute to the work of Ms Kathy Radoslovich, who has served as Director of Learning since May 2018, and who has made a valuable contribution to the academic progress of St Mark’s students. Kathy, who is completing her doctorate at the University of Adelaide, will continue as Director of Learning until the end of January 2020.
