Jesus College is delighted to welcome Dr Luisa Ostacchini as its inaugural Nelson J Carr Career Development Fellow for Academic Skills Support.

The new post has been created to support Jesus students in the development of their academic skills, and has been generously funded by alumnus Mr Christopher Richey (1984, MPhil Management Studies) and the Richey Family Foundation.

 

Luisa will be responsible for developing and delivering a programme of skills-based training for both undergraduate and graduate students, and especially for those who join the College from disadvantaged backgrounds or without English as a first language. She will offer a range of one-to-one, group study, and workshop sessions on topics such as time-management, academic writing, revision techniques, effective reading, and how to approach assessed work. Students will be able to self-refer for support, or can be referred by their tutor.

Luisa says, “I am delighted to have been appointed as Jesus College’s first Career Development Fellow for Academic Skills Support. In my years lecturing in English Literature I have seen first-hand how important it is for students to develop not just subject knowledge and understanding, but also the skills to gain that newfound knowledge and understanding efficiently, and to be able to communicate it effectively. I am really excited to have the opportunity to develop a dedicated programme of workshops and materials to support our students in all aspects of their university studies, and greatly look forward to working with our students to develop the types of skills that will not only help them to succeed, and thrive during their time at Jesus, but also when they leave College to pursue careers or further educational opportunities.”

The post is a four-year Fellowship, which will also enable Luisa to continue her postdoctoral research in medieval English literature. She says, “I am predominantly interested in how English writers and scholars were thinking about places outside of England before the year 1000, and in English connections with the global world during this time. Over the course of my fellowship I will be writing my second monograph, about English imaginings of the global world in a remarkable encyclopaedia known as the Old English Martyrology — the ‘Wikipedia’ of ninth-century England.”

She will also work closely with the Academic Director and Academic Registrar to establish new learning development initiatives in College.

In naming the new post, Mr Richey acknowledged the vital role family history and benefaction have played in his own achievements. Nelson J Carr was the business partner and brother-in-law of his grandfather, Early Richey. Carr, who was of Osage, Cherokee, and European descent, provided the capital for Earl and himself to open ‘Richey and Carr’s Rexall’, a pharmacy and general store in Erie, Kansa, back in the 1920s.

 

In an article published earlier this year, he explained, “That Richey and Carr store provided the income that put my own father, and three of his brothers, through college during the 1930s and 1940s, which were hard times to raise, educate, and provide for children.

The store finally closed in the early 2000s, having provided three generations of Richeys with a good base from which to start. Its longevity is a testament to the value that Earle placed upon education and family. He was a very bright man who just lacked the opportunity in terms of formal education to hone his intelligence. Ultimately, it was Nelson’s generosity, and Earle’s hard work, that meant my father got his college education, and provided me with the opportunity to attend and obtain a degree from Oxford University”.

Luisa joins Jesus from St John’s College, where she was a College Lecturer in medieval English literature. For more information, visit her page on the College website.