One of Australia’s smaller universities has attracted one of the sector’s biggest ever single donations, after businessman Ted Powell parted with A$100 million (?49 million) to overhaul veterinary education and research in Western Australia (WA).
Murdoch University says the “unprecedented” gift will enable it to – the only one in WA – with a “state-of-the-art facility” that can accommodate larger student cohorts and more “cutting-edge” research.
Vice-chancellor Andrew Deeks said he “had to take my jaw off the floor and bring it back up” after Powell – who had already funded “Ragdoll” scholarships for about 140 Murdoch students – asked “what can you do with a large donation?” and revealed the quantum of money he had in mind.
“Ted Powell’s gift will support a transformational project – a legacy which will be felt for generations to come,” Deeks said. “A larger veterinary school will give Murdoch capacity to train at least 50 per cent more vets, addressing critical workforce shortages in WA.”
Powell, a British-born accountant who made his fortune selling offshore shelf companies in Hong Kong, said the death of his wife Dee last year had spurred the decision. “I was left looking at all my investments and thinking, ‘what do I do with this?’ Dee was an animal lover, and I think she’d be really, really proud of this project.”
Powell that he would “be alright”, having kept enough money to see him through. “You can’t spend A$100 million when you’re 74 years old. Once I had given the money over…it was like a weight off my mind.
“I hope that my gift to Murdoch will inspire others. A good education is a gift to last a lifetime. I would encourage anyone who is financially well off to consider giving to worthy causes.”
The gesture matches this year’s A$100 million bestowment to the University of Sydney from data centre entrepreneur Robin Khuda, to foster disadvantaged women’s enrolments in STEM subjects.
Other large donations in the sector have included two A$65 million contributions to Perth universities from WA mining magnate Andrew Forrest and his wife Nicola – a fraction of the billions of dollars the pair has given to education, social justice, arts and conservation causes – and a in May from the family of gambling mogul Len Ainsworth.
A A$50 million donation to the Australian National University in 2013, from asset management pioneer Graham Tuckwell, bankrolled a scholarship programme that is . The late health magnate Paul Ramsay and American retail tycoon Chuck Feeney have been among other major contributors to the sector.
Until now, large-scale philanthropy has mostly favoured Australia’s oldest and richest universities.
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