Sir Ralph Waller
Sir Ralph Waller is an Intellectual Forum Senior Research Associate.
Sir Ralph is the Director of the Farmington Institute, which offers scholarships to headteachers, teachers of Religious Education, senior members of the Armed Forces in moral and ethical leadership, chaplains, clergy, and ministers. The Farmington Institute also gives financial support to 41 UK schools to help their work with disadvantaged children.
He was Principal of Harris Manchester College in the University of Oxford (1988-2018) and a Pro-Vice-Chancellor of the University of Oxford (2010–2018). He is an Honorary Fellow of Homerton College, Cambridge and is the MacWilliams Fellow in Divinity at the University of Wales, Trinity St. David. He is the Chair of the Kalisher Trust, Chair of the Westminster College Trust, Vice-Chair of Harris Westminster Sixth Form Academy and a trustee of several other charities. He is Ecumenical Canon of Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford, an Etheldreda Ecumenical Canon of Ely Cathedral, and a former Chairman of the University of Oxford Faculty of Theology.
He has received several honorary degrees from universities in America and Europe, including a DD from the University of Wales, a DEd from Liverpool Hope University, and a DTheol from Uppsala University in Sweden.
Before moving to Oxford he was the Minister of Elvet Church in Durham City and Chaplain to St Aidan’s and St Mary’s Colleges.
He was made a Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the Queen’s Birthday Honours in 2018 for his services to education.
Sir Ralph is a Methodist Minister whose research interests are in the field of Religious Thought in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.
What are you working on now?
At the moment my academic interests are concerned with writing a book commission by SPCK on Religion and Money in the Eighteenth-Century. My other activities include Directing the Farmington Institute and especially in creating a supportive network for Headteachers. As Chair of the Westminster College Oxford Trust which owns a large college site on the edge of Oxford, it is my desire with my fellow Trustees to use the resources to make a positive contribution to education. As Vice-Chair of the Harris Westminster Sixth Form Academy, together with my fellow Trustees, we want to continue to provide an excellent education for all our students from every background.
How has your career led to this?
By a series of accidents.
What one thing would you most want someone to learn from what you've done or are doing right now?
I would want them to understand that if one wants to grow and develop as a person, you need to live thankfully and to see what positive contribution you can make in each situation.
What do you think of Jesus College and the Intellectual Forum?
A good friend who is the Visitor of Jesus College together with one of my colleagues and also a former student all told me that Jesus College was a friendly and encouraging society, and I was delighted to find that was also my own experience. Every academic needs a community in which scholarship and discussion can take place and I am delighted to be part of the Intellectual Forum as it fulfils this need perfectly and I hope that I can make a positive contribution to it.
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