Dec 13, 2009 5:47 PM

http://www.shef.ac.uk/mediacentre/2009/1412.html

Pop icon helps University hit donation landmark

Martin Fry, frontman of 80´s pop group ABC, may have ditched his trademark gold suit, but the singer proved he is still a golden boy, after helping the University of Sheffield reach a new landmark at a recent alumni reunion weekend.

A generous donation by the legendary singer and his wife Julie to the Anniversary Reunion campaign was the 7,000th individual donation to the University since 2002.

Since this date, the University has received over £14 million in charitable donations, in gifts and in confirmed pledges, from alumni, current and former staff, parents, friends, businesses and trusts. These donations are an increasingly important source of income, helping the University to provide the best possible resources and support for students, and helping to maintain its position as one of the UK´s top universities.

Martin, who graduated from the University in 1979, made a return for a special alumni dinner to hand over his and Julie´s gift, which also helped the annual anniversary campaign achieve a record total of £60,000 - almost double the amount raised by the 2008 anniversary classes. The donations made by this year´s anniversary classes of 1949,1959, 1969, 1979 and 1984 will be directed to the University´s Alumni Fund Scholarship programme, providing scholarships of £3,000 each for gifted students who need a little extra financial help.

Vice-Chancellor Professor Keith Burnett said: "We´re incredibly grateful to Martin and Julie, and to all our donors. They make a tremendous contribution to the ongoing success of the University and help us to provide an even better education for our students.

"We see the positive effect of these gifts everywhere, from additional IT provision, to funding for world-leading research – and most importantly the transforming effect they have on actual individual lives. I´d like to say a very heartfelt thank you to all our supporters and hope that you are very proud of all the success you are helping to achieve for Sheffield."

Notes for Editors: To find out more about making a donation to support the University, visit the link below or contact Miles Stevenson, Director of Development, on (tel) 0114 222 1070 or (email) miles.stevenson@sheffield.ac.uk.