Exeter unveils portrait of Rector Rick Trainor
On Sunday 28 May, Exeter College unveiled a portrait of Rector Professor Sir Rick Trainor. Rector Trainor has been the head of Exeter College since 2014 and will step down at the end of his term in September 2024. As is customary for current and former Rectors, Rector Trainor’s portrait will hang in the Exeter College Hall. Frances Bell, a prize-winning member of the Royal Society of Portrait Painters, painted the portrait.
The unveiling ceremony took place in the Senior Common Room shortly before formal hall. Officers of the two student common rooms, emeritus fellows, current fellows, members of staff, members of the Senior Common Room and alumni were present, along with members of the Rector’s family. Also present were Professor Sir Brian (and Lady Victoria) Harrison, the former supervisor of the Rector’s Oxford doctorate, in the academic gown of which the Rector was painted. Finance and Estates Bursar Nicholas Badman and Chaplain Andrew Allen spoke about the process of commissioning and delivery, and the Rector also made some remarks.
Rector Trainor said of the painting, “I’m very pleased with this portrait, which is a tribute to the skill of the artist! It will be a privilege for my portrait to hang, alongside the portraits of so many distinguished people, in Exeter’s beautiful and historic Hall. The presence at the portrait unveiling of people from so many parts of the Exeter Family, and of my own family, neatly symbolises the great degree of help and collaboration, within this extraordinarily vibrant community, which has characterised my time as Rector since 2014. I look forward to continuing these collaborations during the remaining sixteen months of my Rectorship in further pursuit of a variety of important objectives for the College.”
Rector Trainor’s portrait is one of several recently commissioned by Exeter College. Others include the portrait of alumnus His Excellency John Kufuor (1961, PPE; honorary fellow), former President of Ghana, and Exeter College fellow Professor Cath Green, who played a leading role in the development of the Oxford-AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine.
Rector Trainor and Nicholas Badman unveiling the Rector’s portrait.
