Education Secretary praises Dangoor scholarships for Sussex students
Education Secretary Charles Clarke MP with Mr Naim Dangoor
The Secretary of State for Education joined Sussex Chancellor Lord Attenborough and Vice-Chancellor Alasdair Smith last Thursday for the launch of the £1 million Dangoor Scholarships at a special reception.
Donated by former Iraqi exile and London-based businessman Naim Dangoor, the 1,000 Dangoor Scholarships of £1,000 each will be available to students starting their courses in 2005 at the 1994 Group of leading research universities, which includes the University of Sussex. The aim is to support talented students from across England and Wales. Between 40 and 80 scholarships will be available at each of the 16 universities.
The launch, at the British Academy in London, was hosted by Lord Attenborough and attended by the Dangoor family, Professor Alasdair Smith (Chair of the 1994 Group and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Sussex), fellow 1994 Group vice-chancellors and representatives, Education Secretary Charles Clarke MP and the Higher Education Minister Kim Howells MP.
Announcing the launch of the scholarship scheme, Lord Attenborough said: "We are indebted to Mr Dangoor, not only for this magnificent donation, but for the manner in which he has demonstrated to others the vital importance of education for the success of our nation."
Mr Clarke congratulated Naim Dangoor for his groundbreaking collaboration with the 1994 Group. He described the donation as a "massive boost" for "the most progressive universities in the country". Mr Howells also paid tribute to Mr Dangoor's generosity. He said: "Universities are the driving force of modern economies. The Dangoor family has done something marvellous in providing an important source of support at a time when there are huge pressures on funding."
Naim Dangoor, 90, escaped anti-Semitic persecution when the Baath Party (later headed by Saddam Hussein) came to power in Iraq in the 1960s. He fled to England, where he had studied engineering decades earlier (at the University of London), and built his property empire in exile.
The Dangoor Scholarship scheme is his way of thanking the country that gave him refuge. Mr Dangoor said: "I promised myself that if I was ever able to help a British university student I would, to assist the native people of the country that welcomed me. But I never dreamt I would be able to make such a big contribution."
Professor Smith said: "This truly generous donation is wonderful news and an important first step for such collaborations. We would like to express our enormous gratitude to the Dangoor family."
Notes for editors
The 1994 Group universities are: Bath; Birkbeck College, London; Durham; East Anglia; Essex; Exeter; Goldsmiths College, London; Lancaster; London School of Economics; Reading; Royal Holloway, London; St Andrews; Surrey; Sussex; Warwick; York. For more about the 1994 Group, see www.1994group.ac.uk
For more about the Dangoor family, see www.dangoor.com
For photographs of the launch, please visit www.totallyjewish.com. A photograph of Naim Dangoor with Charles Clarke is available from the press office at the University of Sussex. Press office contact: Maggie Clune. Tel 01273 678 888 or email at M.T.Clune@sussex.ac.uk
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