On Friday 6 November, over 250 alumni, friends and supporters of the University came together for the 12th annual House of Lords reception to celebrate the close of our successful Circles of Influence fundraising campaign.
Hosted by the University’s Chancellor, Lord Bilimoria of Chelsea CBE DL, and Vice-Chancellor, Professor Sir David Eastwood, this celebration was attended by Birmingham alumni and friends from across four continents, representing almost 70 years of the University’s history. You can view and download photos from our Flickr site.
Lord Bilimoria took the opportunity to look back warmly upon his first year as Chancellor at the University, highlighting our ground-breaking research into fertility treatment and railway infrastructure. He also mentioned our recent discoveries of a previously unknown solar system, a new dinosaur species, and one of the world’s oldest Qur’an manuscripts. Lord Bilimoria highlighted our success as “University of the Year for Graduate Employment” as listed by The Times and The Sunday Times Good University Guide 2016.
Professor Sir David Eastwood touched on some of the facilities being built on campus over the next few years, including the Alan Walters Building (the Postgraduate Teaching Centre for MBA students), a state of the art sports centre, a new library, and the renovated Lapworth museum. In addition to these, the Institute of Translational Medicine and the University of Birmingham School are some of the most recent additions to the campus.
Although the Circles of Influence campaign has ended, the University will continue to fundraise for purposeful projects, including research into global infection, innovative cancer treatments, maternal health research, scholarships, and the Shakespeare Institute.
Whilst at the University of Birmingham, our students have had the opportunity to benefit from the knowledge and experience of more than 5,000 alumni volunteers. During the past six years, volunteers have given more than 28,741 hours (or over 17 working years) of their time to the campaign and to the University, and we count these volunteers as part of the success of this campaign. Please visit our Volunteering page to see how you can support our students.
Thank you to all who attended and made the evening such a joyous and memorable occasion. We are grateful for your continuing support, which is critical to the ongoing success of the University.
Next year’s reception will take place in Autumn 2015. Details of the event will be emailed to all alumni and online booking will be available in August. To ensure you receive your invitation, please visit www.your.bham.ac.uk to update your details.