In November 2018 we marked 100 years since the end of the First World War and we now celebrate our centenary in 2021. A wide range of activities are planned including exhibitions, theatre productions, festivals, social and sporting events. Eminent alumni and staff will be highlighted, along with our legacies. We have awarded commemorative scholarships as well as grants to staff and students to develop purpose-designed activities. As we look forward to our second century, we remember that the University was founded as a beacon of hope for the future – an aspiration as important today as it was when the first undergraduates arrived almost a hundred years ago. www.le.ac.uk/centenary
As the war came to an end in November 1918, Dr Clarke announced the creation of the ‘Leicester University Fund’ in celebration of peace and for the founding of a university as a memorial. He made the first contribution of one hundred pounds and another physician, Dr FW Bennett, donated five hundred pounds. Many local people followed suit, giving money in memory of those who had taken part in the conflict. When it opened in 1921, the University provided access to higher education for young men and women who did not have the financial means to move away to study at established universities across the country. Not only did higher education benefit the communities of Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland, scholarly research also helped local industry and business. Both the widening of access for students from all backgrounds to enter higher education, and a passion for world-changing research are still at the heart of the University’s work today.
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