Penny Hubbard

Development Director and Registrar of the Roll at Newnham College, Penny Hubbard is an alumna of the College. She worked as a solicitor and took on a number of other challenges before starting her current role in 2007.

My upbringing set me up to be someone who is prepared to give most things a go. At home nobody ever shouted if you did not get an ‘A’, but it was a real problem if you had not tried your best.

My mother, who left school at sixteen, was an entrepreneur, so it is little wonder that we grew up wanting to take advantage of every opportunity that crossed our bows.

I was one of the first women at my City law firm to make partner, but I think my mother’s influence was most evident in my having the confidence to know when to leave. Although it was a very hard choice to make, which took a long time in the planning, I learnt from her that once you have made a decision, there is no point looking back. Although I was very proud to have been made a partner in such a male environment, it became clear that the situation was unsustainable. I was a mother with two small children, and I wanted to see them. Initially I tried to cope by having a series of very good nannies, but that did not work as a long-term solution. There was no discrimination in the sense that I was treated no differently from the men, but I was expected to work like a man, which meant regularly doing fourteen-hour days and working weekends.

“I have been prepared to sacrifice wealth and prestige to achieve a balance that works for us as a unit.”

My husband and I ultimately decided that it was not what we wanted. Although I was concerned that I was letting down the younger women coming up behind me, I felt I had to give precedence to my family. I have been prepared to sacrifice wealth and prestige to achieve a balance that works for us as a unit. My girls will always come first, and I am really proud of them. Along with my husband and my friends, they sit at the centre of what is important to me; my sense of success is linked to feeling happy with the choices I have made.

I aimed for a life with breadth whilst leaving room for relationships. I came to Newnham as a student and being here helped to establish those priorities early on. Jean Gooder, the most inspiring Director of Studies, encouraged us to do more than just the purely academic, and I involved myself in Footlights and CULES and made a number of very good girlfriends who I am still close to. I know I might be biased given that I am now the Development Director, but I believe Newnham is the most fantastic environment for students who value pastoral support and the space to develop great friendships.
 

Working here I have gone from being in a career where, as a commercial property lawyer, I was often the only woman round the table, to a situation where it is all women. The College Council at Newnham is extraordinarily collaborative. There is a lot of discussion and negotiation with very little banging of fists on the table. I think it is exciting for our students to witness at first hand women running a multimillion-pound business.

“The people I respect most are those who exhibit empathy, are not dictatorial, communicate well and make an effort to get to know you.”

We think it very important to reach out to alumnae and to celebrate the different and varied paths they have taken. We are frequently the top college in terms of the percentage of alumnae contributing and that really matters to me because I am motivated by people reconnecting with Newnham, not just by the level of donations we receive. I think my gender has been an asset here because I understand the importance that women place on their donations doing social good. They are much more interested in their money supporting a student than they are in seeing their name up on a building. I’ve loved being able to do imaginative things like ‘The Newnham Conversation’, where we host an annual discussion between two alumnae, such as gold medallist Anna Watkins and broadcaster Clare Balding. We ran the first ever May Ball purely for alumnae held by a Cambridge College and have recently set up a group called ‘The NewnhamRoll Mums’. We want to be as inclusive as possible and demonstrate that we are proud of all our alumnae, not just the ones with their names up in lights.

In thinking about success it is easy to admire super-driven, high-profile figures, but the people I respect most are those who exhibit empathy, are not dictatorial, communicate well and make an effort to get to know you. I have no time for rudeness and a lack of appreciation: it does not cost anything to say thank you. I think this is one of the special things about working with the Newnham alumnae who appreciate the efforts we take to involve them in our community. In going the extra mile it matters enormously to me to see that my work is making a difference – whether it is in securing a small donation to enable a student society to get off the ground or obtaining a grant of £1,125,000 to endow the Valerie Eliot Fellowship and secure the teaching of English at Newnham.