Editing Linacre College, Oxford (section)

==History==
[[File:Thomas Linacre 2.jpg|left|thumb|upright|Thomas Linacre, c.1460–1524]]
Linacre College (called Linacre House for its first three years) was the UK's first graduate society for both sexes and all subjects.<ref>{{Citation | last1 = Davies
 | first1 = Evan | last2 = Wagner | first2 = Eva | year = 2005 | title = Bamborough's Linacre: A Tribute to John Bernard Bamborough | publisher = Institute of Historical Survey Foundation | isbn = 0970970056}}</ref> 
Founding Principal [[John Bamborough]] described it as "a deliberate experiment by the University to see whether the needs of graduate students could be met by a new type of society."<ref name=":4">{{cite web|url=http://www.linacre.ox.ac.uk/uploads/downloads/50years/|title=Linacre College Oxford - Celebrating 50 years 1962-2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121023093450/http://www.linacre.ox.ac.uk/uploads/downloads/50years/|archive-date=23 October 2012|url-status=dead|access-date=6 January 2013}}</ref>

It was founded on 1 August 1962, in premises on [[St Aldate's, Oxford|St Aldate's]] formerly occupied by St Catherine's Society (now [[St Catherine's College, Oxford|St Catherine's College]]) and currently home to the university's Music Department. Initially there were 115 members of whom only 30 were British. The first senior members included [[Isaiah Berlin]], [[Dorothy Hodgkin]] and [[John Hicks]].<ref>{{Citation | last1 = Davies | first1 = Evan | last2 = Wagner | first2 = Eva | year = 2005 | title = Bamborough's Linacre: A Tribute to John Bernard Bamborough | publisher = Institute of Historical Survey Foundation | isbn = 0970970056}}</ref>

In November 1964, Linacre became a self-governing society<ref name=":4" /> and then on 1 August 1986 an independent college of Oxford University by [[royal charter]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.linacre.ox.ac.uk/sites/default/files/statutes-1_0.pdf|title=Statutes of Linacre College|date=1986-06-05|website=Linacre College|access-date=2017-09-04}}</ref> In 1977, Linacre moved to its present site at Cherwell Edge, a [[Queen Anne style architecture|Queen Anne]] building designed in part by [[Basil Champneys]], which was formerly a private home, a convent of the [[Society of the Holy Child Jesus]], and a residence for students of other colleges.<ref name=":4" /> Since 2010, the principal has been [[Nick Brown (academic)|Nick Brown]].

=== Proposed renaming ===

On 31 October 2021, the college signed a [[memorandum of understanding]] with SOVICO Group, represented by their chairwoman [[Nguyen Thi Phuong Thao]] to receive a donation of £155 million. The MoU sets out the intention to create a new graduate centre and endow graduate access scholarships. After receipt of the first £50 million, the College would approach the [[Privy Council (United Kingdom)|Privy Council]] to ask for permission to change the name from Linacre College to Thao College.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Transformative Donation to College {{!}} Linacre College|url=https://www.linacre.ox.ac.uk/about/news/transformative-donation-college|access-date=2021-11-01|website=www.linacre.ox.ac.uk}}</ref><ref name="Guardian">{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/education/2021/nov/03/oxford-college-to-change-its-name-after-155m-donation| title=Oxford college to change its name after £155m donation |work=The Guardian| date=3 November 2021 |access-date=3 November 2021}}</ref><ref name="BBC">{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-oxfordshire-59125806 | title=Oxford college to receive £155m donation from Vietnamese company | date=November 2021 |publisher=BBC News|access-date=3 November 2021}}</ref> The donation and proposed name change has been a source of controversy for some university staff and students due to SOVICO's interests in fossil fuel industries.<ref name="Guardian"/>

In June 2022, UK [[Secretary of State for Education]] [[Michelle Donelan]] announced that there would be a formal investigation into the memorandum of understanding between the College and SOVICO group, due to concerns raised in the [[House of Commons]].<ref>{{Cite news |date=2022-06-14 |title=Oxford college: Education minister investigating £155m donation |language=en-GB |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-oxfordshire-61794934 |access-date=2022-06-15}}</ref>