Mansfield College announces a new £1.65m endowment gift
Mansfield College is delighted to announce a generous gift of £1.65 million from the McBain Family Foundation in support of the College’s efforts to widen access to Oxford University, and to endow graduate scholarships in Human Rights Law at the College.
£1m of this gift will endow the role of Access Officer at Mansfield College, a considerable step forward in enabling the College to sustain its vital work to reach and support students with potential from under-represented backgrounds and give them the opportunity to thrive at Oxford University. Mansfield continues to be held up as a national example of good practice for its access work. It is also a leader in working to support students after admission to ensure that Mansfield is truly academically and socially accessible, welcoming and encouraging to people from all backgrounds.
The rest of this generous gift, plus match funding from the University of Oxford’s Graduate Endowment Match Scheme, will endow graduate scholarships at the College, providing the funding for students to undertake a Masters course in International Human Rights Law at Oxford University, in perpetuity.
The Governing Body of Mansfield College was delighted to receive this generous gift, and to welcome alumnus, Alastair McBain (Oriental Studies, 1974), as a Bancroft Fellow of the College, its highest philanthropic honour.
Helen Mountfield KC, Principal of Mansfield College, said:
‘I am so grateful to the McBain Family Foundation for this marvellous support for what is such a central part of our mission as a College: our efforts to inspire and encourage students of all backgrounds to pursue higher education. This is a remarkable endorsement of Mansfield’s track record in widening access to Oxford, and I am truly delighted. Mansfield is so proud to be the home of the Bonavero Institute of Human Rights. The endowment of the McBain Scholarship will have a long-lasting and global impact on the study of Human Rights Law, and further strengthen our ties to the Institute.’
Lucinda Rumsey MBE, Senior Tutor at Mansfield College, said:
‘We are thrilled to receive this generous gift from the McBain Family Foundation. We have been very grateful to receive funding for our Access post in recent years from supportive friends and alumni of the College, but to have the post secured in perpetuity is a great boost and a compliment to our success. We look forward to continuing the work led by Helen Brooks, Director of Admissions. Sara Harb, our wonderful Access Officer since 2019 and an alumna of the College, sadly left the College this month, however we are delighted to welcome as her successor Sarah Large, our first McBain Access Officer.’
Pictured below: Principal Helen Mountfield KC welcomes Alastair McBain as a Bancroft Fellow of Mansfield College.
Photo by Ander McIntyre
