The William Westerman Pathfinders Programme

In 1955, Bill Coolidge (Balliol, 1924) began funding an important programme at the College, which has continued up to the present day. The programme enables a small number of Balliol students to travel to the USA and Canada in the summer after having finished their degree courses here.

In a typical year, eight students become Pathfinders and travel for a period of two months between July and September, visiting places of interest to them in the USA and Canada. The great benefit of the programme is that the students are kindly hosted for much of their time in the country by Old Members of the College, thus seeing life in the USA and Canada 'from the inside' rather than simply as tourists.

Since Bill Coolidge's death in 1992, the funds for the programme were generously provided by his niece, Kitty Lastavica. Together with her husband, John, they played the role that Bill Coolidge used to play in welcoming the students to the USA and in looking after them in a variety of ways. There is intense competition among the students for places, the programme has been an enormous success, and many famous Old Members have benefited from it, including both of those who were Balliol candidates for the Chancellorship of the University in March 2003!

Two developments are, however, requiring the College to re-think the programme. First, Mary Sargent, Bill Coolidge's secretary and the main administrator of the programme, sadly died in December 2002. Second, Kitty Lastavica has decided that this is the time to pass on the mantle and to see: (a) whether the programme can be organised in some other way; and (b) whether someone else would wish to take over the financial support.

The College is enormously grateful first to Bill Coolidge and then to Kitty and John Lastavica for all they have done, both financially and in so many other ways to help Balliol students. It has made a major difference to the lives of a significant number of people. Balliol also greatly appreciates the help that Old Members have provided as hosts of the visiting students.

Two Old Members, one of them a former Pathfinder and one a host, kindly provided funding for 2003, while the College considered the future of the programme. We are pleased to say that further donors have been very generous in supporting the programme for 2005, 2006 and now 2007. This is excellent news for the continuation of the scheme into a fourth year under the aegis of the College, although efforts to secure long-term funding for the scheme remain ongoing.

Feedback from hosts and Pathfinders in 2005, 2006 and 2007 was extremely encouraging. Both found that the centralised administration of the programme from Balliol was successful. Pathfinders were better prepared than ever, and were able to arrange their time in the States with an eye to meeting particular hosts who could help them in their areas of interest. We could not have done this without the information prospective hosts had sent to us earlier in the year - and for this we are very grateful. A similar questionnaire will be used for this year, which you may return by post, or complete the online form linked below. In addition, if you acted as a host in 2007 and have not yet made any comments on your experience, we would be very interested to hear them - it is vital if we are to run the scheme in a way which is efficient and enjoyable for all participants.