OXONIANS | Top Posts in the Biden Administration

Three of President Biden’s twenty-four cabinet-level appointees are Oxonians—Gina Raimondo, Pete Buttigieg and Eric Lander.

Dr. Gina Raimondo (New College, 1993) was the first woman to be Governor of Rhode Island. She has been confirmed by the Senate as Secretary of Commerce. Dr Raimondo completed a DPhil in Sociology; her thesis was on single motherhood in the United States.

Pete Buttigieg (Pembroke, 2005) was elected Mayor of South Bend, Indiana. He won fame as a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination. He is confirmed as the new Secretary of Transportation. At Oxford, he read PPE.

Professor Eric Lander (Wolfson, 1978), will be leading the newly created US Office of Science and Technology Policy. A Professor of Biology at MIT and of Systems Biology at Harvard Medical School, at Oxford he wrote a DPhil on algebraic coding theory. He has made landmark contributions to the sequencing of the human genome. He was  a senior science advisor to President Obama, ensuring proper use of scientific evidence in criminal justice.

Other Oxford alumni in high-ranking positions in the Biden administration include:

• Dr. William J. Burns (St John’s, 1981) is the incoming Director of the CIA.
• Dr. Elizabeth Sherwood-Randall (Balliol, 1981) is the new Homeland Security Advisor.
• Jake Sullivan (Magdalen, 1998) is the National Security Advisor.
• Jonathan Finer (Balliol, 1999) is the Deputy National Security Advisor.
• Dr. Susan Rice (New College, 1996), the former National Security Advisor, will lead the Domestic Policy Council.
• Dr. Kurt M. Campbell (Brasenose, 1981) will be Coordinator of Indo-Pacific affairs.
• Bruce Reed (Lincoln, 1982) will serve as White House Deputy Chief of Staff.
• Megan Ceronsky (Hertford, 2001), the climate change advisor for the Obama administration, will take up a role in the Office of White House Counsel.
• Machmud Makhmudov (Magdalen, 2016) completed an MPhil in Political Theory in 2018 and is serving as a Policy Advisor for the Office of COVID Response. He supported the Biden campaign as a Policy Analyst.

COAT OF ARMS | Reuben College, Oxford's 39th

Reuben College Coat of Arms, Granted 2021
 

March 3, 2021—The coat of arms for Reuben College at left was drawn by heraldic artist Lee Lumbley based on the blazon recently approved by the Kings of Arms on behalf of Reuben College, Oxford, which is the 39th college at Oxford. Before the Reuben family made a major gift to the college, it was named "Parks College" after Parks Road.

Arms, Blazon. Argent in pale two Annulets and in base two Ermine Spots in fess Azure all between two Flaunches Vert each charged with an Ermine Spot Or.

Arms, Origin. Although Henry VIII gave a dispensation to Oxford and Cambridge entities from the requirement that they register with (obtain a grant from) the College of Arms, many colleges have obtained their grants from the College of Arms anyway. The coat of arms was designed by College of Arms heralds. A grant of arms has been given to Reuben College in 2021. (Since the College of Arms is self-supporting, the College paid a fee for the design.)

Arms, Meaning. The meaning of the Ermine Spots and the Annulets is binary code. The Spot is a "1" and an Annulet is a "0"—so the code reads 100111, which indicates the number 39, for the 39th college. 

This coat of arms for Reuben College will be included alphabetically in the 5th edition (pub. date September 20, 2019) of Oxford College Arms, immediately ahead of the colleges beginning with the letter "S". Meanwhile, the 4th edition is available now. https://www.amazon.com/Oxford-College-Arms-Intriguing-Stories/dp/0984523235.