The 60th anniversary celebrations at Leckhampton in 2022 offered an opportunity to welcome back many Old Members, and we were delighted that Professor Mark Berlin (m.1979) was willing to travel from Ottawa to join us. To say that Mark is an international lawyer in human rights and development barely scratches the surface of a long and varied career across academia, government practice and the non-profit world.

Mark has been a professor of practice, a policy advisor, government legal counsel, and the author of numerous articles and co-publisher of the book Human Rights in Canada. He is a Trustee of the Canadian Museum for Human Rights and is a member of the Advisory Council for the LGBT ‘Purge’ project to recognise the historic human-rights violations of LGBT people in the Canadian military, police and civil service.

Mark grew up in Montreal and came to Corpus after attending Law School in Canada. At the time Corpus was an “all-white, male Christian student body”, which he is delighted is no longer the case. Still, his experience here made a deep and lasting impression. He credits his time at Leckhampton as having forever changed him. He explains, “During my time here, what I studied, what I wrote about, and what I started thinking about put me on a career path. Without my postgraduate degree from Cambridge, my opportunities wouldn’t have been the same. I couldn’t have taught law for 30 years at a university. If I hadn’t had a Cambridge degree
behind me, I don’t think I would worked for Attorneys General
and Ministers of Justice as their legal counsel and advisor.
And certainly, the substance of what I have been devoting my life to in terms of human rights and international law all stemmed from my exposure to those subjects at Cambridge. It empowered me to be bold and to make a difference.”

At the 60th anniversary, Mark joined Dr Jacob Lundwall (m.2016) and PhD student Nanna Saeten (m.2021) to discuss his experience of Corpus, his career, and current issues in international relations. Their wide-ranging conversation touched on populism in the US and Canada, Mark’s extensive work to help develop strong institutions of statehood with departments in places such as the Middle East, Bangladesh, the Sudan and elsewhere, and the potential outcomes in Ukraine (a recording of the conversation can be viewed on the College YouTube channel).

Mark also shared the following three pieces of advice for today’s Leckhampton resident scholars: "Embrace the splendour and awe that is Corpus Christi and never take for granted the privilege. Enjoy every walk, every pint, punt, every class and let this experience guide you both morally and deliberately as you make your future career and life decisions.

"Believe in your own good fortune and make your own luck. Don’t be afraid to make decisive changes as opportunities present themselves. My first pivot was when I was having breakfast here in Leckhampton and I had a chance encounter with Professor of International Law, Colin Warbrick, who was on sabbatical from the University of Durham. As he enquired about my academic plans, the more intrigued I became by his own path in public international law. He went on to become my academic and thesis supervisor and I switched from the LLM to the MPhil, which was much more suited to my talents and interests.

"Finally, just continue doing what Corpus has in its core DNA and practice kindness. Be prepared to mentor younger persons who come into your orbit. You have no idea how much of an impact you can have on somebody’s life trajectory and career path decisions."