19/04/2024
The politics of time with Carolyn Smith
A postgraduate psychology student at Wolfson from 1967-1970, Maria was awarded the Pinsent-Darwin Studentship in Mental Pathology in 1970 which enabled her to continue her work on pathological aspects of developmental psychology. She held a Junior Research Fellowship from 1970 until 1974.
Maria was a founding member of the Wolfson College Boat Club and instrumental in the choice of blue and yellow for the blades, after the colours of the Ukrainian flag, still proudly in use today. The first female cox on the river Cam and, notably, the cox of the first mixed boat in the Bumps in 1968, Maria helped to foster a more inclusive approach to rowing in Cambridge.
"A generation of rowers, not just at Wolfson, are indebted to the courage and progressive spirit she exemplified — something we can still draw lessons from today." - Wolfson College Boat Club
Maria inspired our rowers then and now, most recently as a special guest at the Wolfson Social Rowing Team’s event in June 2018 when she once again coxed our eight, and through her moving speech at the 50th Anniversary Boat Club Dinner the same year. Maria’s spirited contribution to College life will be greatly missed and remembered with affection by colleagues and a generation of rowers at Wolfson and elsewhere.
