MATCHED FUNDING MAKES ALUMNI GIFTS GO FURTHER Fitzwilliam’s Graduate Tutors were delighted to be able to use alumni gifts to leverage additional external funding for outstanding applicants this year. Donations to the Graduate Fund from Paul Cassidy (1981) and Tom Charlton (1975) were matched with awards from the University and Departmental sources, to provide substantial fee and maintenance packages to the most promising students.
INVESTING IN LAND ECONOMY EXCELLENCE
Development Director, Dr Helen Bettinson, acted as a Graduate Tutor in 2014 and followed the process from start to finish. “It was wonderful to be able to pull together disparate sources of cash to support students at both MPhil and PhD levels, from the UK and overseas. Graduate funding is, and will remain, one of the College’s highest priorities. Without the backing of Paul and Tom, we would have been unable to make the financial commitments that we have.” Medieval Historian and Masters student, David Runciman, is one of the beneficiaries of this approach. Having been selected by the University for a prestigious CHESS (Cambridge Home and EU Scholarship Scheme) award to underwrite his fees, a Charlton Studentship will help cover his maintenance costs for the year-long course.
FITZWILLIAM PHD STUDENTSHIP Shishir Saxena (Asian & Middle Eastern Studies 2013) received a fully funded PhD Studentship from the College after demonstrating outstanding academic performance at MPhil level. “As a mature student returning to university to study ancient Indian philosophy, I am deeply grateful for the Fitzwilliam PhD Studentship as it has not only provided the financial support for my studies, but has in fact shaped the very direction that my future career and life will take. The studentship has given me the invaluable opportunity to continue with my studies at one of the finest universities in the world, and I hope that my research will make a meaningful contribution to the academic community.”
Land Economy received a boost this year with the creation of a new endowed fund for graduate study in the subject. Mrs Audrey Wilson’s gift of £400,000 will cover the cost of up to four graduate scholarships each year, and was made in honour of her late husband, Peter Wilson, former owner of the Estates Gazette and Honorary Fellow of Fitzwilliam. Mrs Wilson is keen to encourage expertise in Land Economy and is delighted that the awards will allow talented applicants to take up their places at Fitzwilliam. An exciting corollary to the awards is the establishment of the annual Estates Gazette Peter Wilson Lecture in the College’s Auditorium. The first lecture and dinner will take place in February 2015, raising the profile of Fitzwilliam in the property world, and encouraging future potential students to apply to the College.
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