Emma Watson Expands Her Influence

The brilliant Emma Watson’s influence continues to grow!  Over 100,000 people have joined her book club, Our Shared Shelf, on GoodReads, and now news breaks of her appointment at an Oxford college.

The Guardian reports that Emma Watson joins Benedict Cumberbatch and nine others as visiting fellows at Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford.  The college posted Watson’s bio as a means of introduction:

Best known for her role as Hermione Granger in Harry Potter, Emma graduated from Brown University and attended Worcester College, Oxford. She received a BAFTA Britannia Award for British Artist of the Year in 2014. In the same year she also became a UN Women Goodwill Ambassador advocating equality and promoting education for girls.

Emma Watson also lived in the Oxford area before being cast in the Harry Potter films.

The appointments were announced by the college’s principal, Alan Rusbridger, former editor-in-chief of The Guardian.  Rusbridger writes,

We canvassed names from our own governing body, of people of distinction whom we admired and whom we felt could add to the intellectual and cultural life of LMH.  A small sub-committee then whittled down the names to arrive at the list we are announcing today – which spans science, medicine, the performing arts, literature, feminism, politics, law and policing.

Of the eleven people honored, Rusbridger claims that only one is a serious academic.  All are leaders in their respective fields, including artist Cornelia Parker, musician Neil Tennant (of the Pet Shop Boys), and film director Beeban Kidron.

Lady Margaret Hall hopes that Emma Watson and the other fellows will feel free to drop by the college, join the students and professors for meals in the dining hall, and participate in at least one structured event/appearance/lecture at the college over the course of the three years of the fellowship.  The point is for both the students and the visiting fellows to grow in their knowledge and gain new perspectives.

Please join us in congratulating Emma Watson on this most recent honor!

To read more, visit Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford or The Guardian article.