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Alumni giving celebrated

7 December 2005

UCL celebrated the first year of UCL Futures, its alumni and friends giving programme, at an event for donors in November 2005.

Futures2 The President and Provost of UCL, Professor Malcolm Grant, thanked alumni for choosing to give to their university and described how their generosity is crucial in helping fund key UCL activities, such as supporting scholarships and academic innovation.

Almost 200 guests attended the event, both long-term supporters and those who have begun supporting UCL in the past 12 months. They were able to learn more about many of the projects that have been funded through UCL Futures and to discuss the initiatives with academic staff, as well as meet some of the students callers with whom they had spoken during the year's telephone campaigns. There were displays about and representatives from 12 projects attended. Projects included the global drought monitor for humanitarian relief, the new audio tour of the UCL Grant Museum of Zoology and the purchase of a women's VIII rowing boat for the Royal Free & University College Medical School (RUMS) Boat Club.

Alex Parker (UCL Medical School 5), RUMS Boat Club President, met guests and commented: "This is a resounding commitment from UCL alumni to our club and will allow us to develop in size, profile and achievement. Despite having to share boats, our women have gained great success over the past few years and I'm confident this new purchase will facilitate even more success and also raise the profile of rowing at UCL generally."

Dr Shane Johnson, Senior Lecturer at the UCL Jill Dando Institute of Crime Science, also thanked attendees for supporting a new initiative that can predict patterns of criminal activity: "Research of this kind is almost non-existent in current criminology. The investment by alumni through UCL Futures has enabled us to put in place an infrastructure that could help us make real steps in understanding and combating crime."

Building on the success of the UCL Friends Programme, UCL Futures incorporates six funds to target key priority areas: the UCL Collections Fund, the Scholarships Fund, the Friends' Trust, Teaching and Academic Initiatives, the UCL Library Fund and the Provost's Priority Fund. In its first year, UCL Futures raised more than £300,000 through mailings, telephone campaigns and other individual giving.

Images 1 and 2: UCL Futures events