Media

£1.25 billion Campaign for Oxford University launched with major donations

28 May 2008

Donations totalling £575 million today launched the most important campaign ever organised by the University of Oxford, aiming to raise a minimum of £1.25 billion for the University.

  • This sum includes the new gift of £25 million pledged to the development of the New Bodleian Library by the Garfield Weston Foundation, the largest gift ever made by the Foundation.
  • Mr Wafic Rida Saïd is creating a Strategic Development Fund for the Saïd Business School with a capital value of £25m. The Fund will support initiatives and opportunities at the School which are of strategic value in its development.
  • There have been more than 20,000 donors (individuals, foundations and other organisations) to the University during the pre-launch phase of the Campaign from 1 August 2004 to 31 March 2008.
  • The vast majority of gifts have been £25,000 and below, clearly underlying the importance of a broad base of giving.

The Campaign for the University of Oxford aims to sustain and enhance Oxford's international reputation and provide security in a world of uncertain state funding and growing global competition. It will ensure Oxford can attract the most gifted students from around the world, irrespective of their financial situation. It will allow Oxford to compete for the best scholars, tutors and researchers internationally and provide the infrastructure and facilities needed to support world-class students and academics and cutting-edge research programmes. A key element of the Campaign is to preserve and develop Oxford's unique tutorial system, which is at the heart of the University’s educational experience.

The Campaign will bring some of the most important changes to the physical face of Oxford for a generation. New buildings will be constructed, housing some of the world’s most advanced research centres and teaching facilities. The Radcliffe Observatory Quarter will provide a campus for the Humanities and a Mathematical Institute on the site of the former Radcliffe Infirmary in the heart of the city. The New Bodleian Library will ensure the security, safety and long-term preservation of its world-class collections and make them accessible to the public for the first time.

Britain’s oldest public museum, the Ashmolean is undergoing the most important development in its history. A new building is being inserted into the old, housing new galleries, a dedicated education centre and state-of-the-art conservation facilities. The second phase of the Saïd Business School will bring together top academic, business and political leaders from around the world in programmes to transform the ethical standards of management practice. In only 10 years, it has earned a ranking among the top 20 business schools in the world. A new Institute of Cancer Medicine will open in 2008, which will be Europe’s leading centre devoted to cancer medicine, uniting more than 250 leading scientists, researchers and clinicians.

The Campaign was launched by The Chancellor of the University of Oxford, the Rt Hon Lord Patten of Barnes, CH, The Vice-Chancellor, Dr John Hood and the Chairman of the Campaign for The University of Oxford, Dame Vivien Duffield, with leading Oxonians including Michael Palin, Richard Dawkins and Sir Roger Bannister.

Lord Patten of Barnes, Chancellor of the University of Oxford, said: "Through centuries, Oxford’s great minds have changed and bettered the world by their discoveries, their innovations and their insights. Our new Campaign will advance the University’s historical strengths and draw upon its enormous potential for the future. It is a bold endeavour, requiring courage and commitment, but the rewards will be great. I urge all of those who care about the University of Oxford and its work to join with us."

Dr John Hood, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Oxford, said: "We have launched the Campaign for the University of Oxford: the most sustained, co-ordinated fundraising effort ever undertaken by a European university. It is a Campaign driven by the University and by its Colleges. It must significantly increase the University’s endowment if it is to establish a strong philanthropic foundation for the future."

Dame Vivien Duffield, Chairman of the Campaign, said: "We are the custodians of the spirit, and the intellectual brilliance, of the University of Oxford. I passionately believe that the task before us is to guarantee Oxford’s future pre-eminence in a world now changing so fast that we must lead or fall behind. For learning and progress in the world, and Britain’s place in it, there can be no greater investment than in the University of Oxford. I urge you to join with us."

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University of Oxford Press Office
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Email: press.office@admin.ox.ac.uk

Notes to editors:

Quote on behalf of the Garfield Weston Foundation:

"Our Foundation has long sought to support centres of excellence. A decade ago we assisted the restoration of Oxford’s Old Bodleian Library. Today we have a chance to help transform the New Bodleian Library, which we hope will become a home to inspiring world-class collections for future generations."