The Rev'd Dr Mark Smith appointed as Dean of Clare
We are delighted to announce that The Rev’d Dr Mark Smith has been appointed Dean of Clare College, as successor to The Rev’d Dr Jamie Hawkey. His appointment will commence on 1 January 2019.
Mark read History at Peterhouse and worked as a school teacher after graduation, before returning to Cambridge to train for ordained ministry. Alongside his curacy, Mark wrote his doctoral thesis, analysing the proceedings of church councils in late antiquity. Since 2015, he has been Chaplain & Director of Studies in Theology at Christ’s College, Cambridge. Mark is also an Affiliated Lecturer at the Faculty of Divinity, where he lectures, supervises, and conducts academic research in early church history. He is married to Phillippa, and they have two young daughters. In his spare time, Mark enjoys playing snooker and pool, and opens the batting for the Ely/Norwich Diocese cricket team.
In response to the news of his appointment, Mark said: “I am thrilled to be joining the Clare community as its new Dean. It will be a great privilege to serve the students, staff and Fellows of Clare, and to help enable the holistic flourishing of every member of the College. I am very much looking forward to getting stuck in to college life, and to continuing Jamie Hawkey’s splendid legacy of Christian engagement and pastoral support. I am deeply indebted to Christ’s College, where I have spent three-and-a-half wonderfully happy years, and wish to thank all those who have made that job such a blessing.”
The Master of Christ’s, Professor Jane Stapleton, said: “Mark is held in very high regard at Christ’s, playing a key role in providing warm leadership within the Chapel community and very effective pastoral support to the entire College. His optimism and zest for life are infectious and all at Christ's wish him every success in his new role as Dean at Clare for which his gifts are ideally suited.”
The Bishop of Ely, the Rt Rev’d Stephen Conway, said: “I’m delighted that Mark has been appointed as Dean of Clare. His considerable gifts as a priest and scholar, and his warm and friendly character, will enable him to serve the whole Clare community with dedication and distinction”.
The Master of Clare, Lord Grabiner, said: “I’m sure that all Fellows and members of the College will want to join me in congratulating Mark on his appointment, and we look forward very much to welcoming him here in January. It is evident that he has done a fantastic job as Chaplain at Christ’s and he will make a wonderful addition to the academic and Chapel community in Clare."
Comments