Penn Bateman

Joined 1988
Student Administration Manager

Penn Bateman is one of the Keble’s longest serving members of staff, having joined as a Bursary Clerk in 1988. For generations of students, Penn is and was a background constant in their lives—from admissions to finals, her impressive organisational skills ensure a smooth passage through the sometimes choppy waters of College life. Her calm demeanour belies the pressure and demands of her job. She is regarded by many as an integral part of the College: she is the glue that holds it together and a magician who can conjure calm out of a crisis.

Modest and self-deprecating, with a delicious sense of mischief and humour, little seems to phase her and she deals with each new drama with a level-headed, can-do approach: “The job would not be the same without a problem or two a day, but I love being busy. I like the buzz of undergraduate admissions—lots of things happen in a very short period and you only get one chance to get everything right.”

Penn married husband Dave in Chapel in 1999. Fittingly, Penn admits her favourite thing about the Keble is its family feel.

Her invaluable knowledge of the College’s workings and history ensures her status as Keble’s own Wikipedia, her door (and window) rarely closed to those who need her.