University campaign to Make a World of Difference
Supported by over 10,000 gifts to date, the University’s £60m Making a World of Difference campaign is creating a range of opportunities for students and driving forward our research.
The Campaign is helping young people from less privileged backgrounds to aim for a place at university, supporting them during their time at Leeds and giving students opportunities to contribute to research, develop as elite athletes and put their best entrepreneurial ideas into practice.
The Campaign is also supporting research into key health challenges such as heart disease, dementia and tissue repair; supporting work to cut the carbon footprint of our major cities and to ensure the security of vital resources such as food and water; providing key insights into world trade and the global political economy and enabling research that is unlocking some of the treasures of the University library’s remarkable collections.
The Campaign website showcases the whole range of projects that are being supported by fundraising activity and are part of achieving our vision of a place among the world's leading universities.
The University’s biggest-ever donation, a £9m gift from Irvine Laidlaw – who studied economics at Leeds in the 1960s and already gives scholarships to students from less privileged backgrounds – is supporting our new library on Woodhouse Lane. The Laidlaw Library will become a focus for undergraduate life on campus and provide a new home for some of our outreach work with the local community. It is due to open in 2015.
Vice-Chancellor Sir Alan Langlands expressed the University’s gratitude: “This is exciting news. Irvine Laidlaw is a committed supporter of the University and the library will become a permanent reminder of his generosity.
“I am proud to be leading the University at this important time as we see donations translating into genuine benefits for students, supporting excellence in research and promoting the part the University plays in the wider community.”
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