Our annual Alumni and Friends Open Day, last Saturday, 27 September was a great success.  It was a pleasure to welcome so many old friends back to the Department.  The packed programme included lab tours with Prof Nick Mundy, Dr Iris Hardege, Prof Howard Baylis, Dr William Foster and Dr Tiffany Ki, a lecture, 'Feeding the world without costing the earth', given by Prof Andrew Balmford FRS, a trip to the embryo zoo, and afternoon tea with Dr William Foster and our Head of Department, Prof Rebecca Kilner FRS.

The Open Day was overseen by Dr William Foster, our Director of Fund-raising and Alumni Relations, who is stepping down from the role after 10 years.  Dr Foster gave a very entertaining speech, reflecting on the highlights of his time at Zoology, and introducing Prof Tim Weil as his successor.

Prof Kilner thanked Dr Foster for his dedication to the Department, 'We owe an enormous debt of thanks to William. Starting from scratch, with no precedent to follow, he has made a tremendous success of this role.

'In the past 10 years, he has raised over £11 million for the Department (in the form of academic posts, studentships and endowed funds) and built important relationships with donors that will endure far beyond his tenure. He has created an extended alumni community for the Department, who are engaged, informed and keen to stay in touch - many of whom turned out in person on Saturday.

'Thank you William, for everything. The success of Alumni Day was an apt reflection of the magic you have given us over the last 10 years.'

Alumni were also keen to praise Dr Foster too, 'William has been wonderful and inspiring. A huge thank you to him for bringing the zoology alumni family together and making us all feel valued and so welcome.'

Picture: Dr William Foster and Prof Tim Weil.