Posted on 6 August 2015
The University of Wales has announced as part of its on-going transformation towards its merger with the University of Wales Trinity Saint David, the creation of Adduned Cymru - The Wales Pledge to ensure that the historic assets that it holds will continue to benefit the whole of Wales.
The independent charitable trust known as the UW Restricted Endowments Trust (UWRET) was established in February 2015 to manage the numerous donations and bequests received by the University over the years, and was registered with the Charities Commissioner in June 2015. These ‘restricted endowments’, which were given over many years for dedicated purposes or to support particular types of beneficiaries, have been held by the University in a trustee capacity and, at the end of the 2013/14 financial year, together had a value of some £5.7 million.
The new Trust will be independent of the University of Wales and will have four initially appointed Directors, who were approached to take on this responsibility by the University of Wales after consultation with Universities Wales and the Chairs of Higher Education Wales. They are Mr Dick Roberts (Chairman), Sir Jon Shortridge, Mr Rob Humphreys and Mr Huw Wynne-Griffith. The Directors, who collectively have very broad experience of the higher education sector in Wales, are all appointed in a personal capacity and do not therefore represent the interests of any organisation or institution.
The Chair of the University of Wales Council, Mr Alun Thomas said:
“The University of Wales is delighted to announce the creation of the UW Restricted Endowment Trust. This is the first initiative under the Adduned Cymru – The Wales Pledge to be delivered, which will provide assurance to the wider community that these gifts, generously given, continue to be used only for their original purpose.”
Until all matters are transferred to the new Trust, it has been agreed that the University will consult the Trustees-designate of UWRET on all matters concerning the management of the restricted endowments.
The Directors, like the trustees of any charitable trust, will manage the restricted endowments in a manner consistent with the charitable purposes of the Trust and the charitable intentions of the original benefactor of each endowment. They will make all strategic decisions regarding the investment and management of the restricted endowments and set the criteria for and assess any applications for awards or prizes.
Some examples of previous recipients of the restricted endowments are:
Hannah Minney - In 2013, Hannah Minney received £1,500 as the recipient of the University of Wales Aberfan Scholarship. Studying for a degree in Criminology at Cardiff University, the scholarship helped to support her through the next phase of her studies.
Dilys Jones - In 2012, mature student Dilys Jones received £1,000 as winner of the Geoffrey Crawshay Scholarship. Then a final year PhD student at the University of Wales Trinity Saint David (UWTSD), the scholarship enabled her to travel to a conference in New York and present a research paper to fellow academics working in the same field.
Anthony Savagar - In 2012, Anthony Savagar received £2,000 as winner of the University of Wales Gethyn Davies prize. Undertaking a PhD in Economics at Cardiff University, his research interests lay in computational economics, with the prize money enabling him to further his computer programming qualifications.
Jason Edwards - In 2011, Jason Edwards was awarded £3,000 as one of the winners of the University of Wales Gareth Jones Memorial Travelling Scholarship for his investigative reporting on food poverty in America, undertaken as part of his Masters studies. Jason used the money from the award towards funding a documentary on the project.
The Directors of the Corporate Trust have agreed that a new website will be created to provide details of the new structure, and also information on how interested parties might apply for the award of a scholarship or studentship or prize. Details of which will be available soon.
/ENDS.
For more information regarding the awards, please contact awards@wales.ac.uk
For interviews and media information, please contact the University of Wales Communications Team via communications@wales.ac.uk