We say thank you to donors at a special lunch

Five people seated on a stage. There is a large Loughborough University logo on the wall behind them.

Professor Rachel Thomson chairing the panel

From 17-19 May 2024, more than 200 alumni and guests visited Loughborough for the Alumni Reunion Weekend and Donor Lunch. As part of the weekend, the donor lunch welcomed donors and their guests to campus for an update on the impact of their donations, and to hear about the latest news from the University.

Donors to the University were thanked for their generosity at a lunch in the West Park Teaching Hub. Many of our donors contribute to our Opportunity Scholarships programme and had the chance to meet with some of the beneficiaries and to hear the impact their donations are having on the students’ lives.

They also heard from incoming Provost and Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Professor Rachel Thomson, who chaired a panel discussion between a former scholar, a donor, and two members of university staff.

Guests also heard about plans to raise funds for a newly launched Sanctuary Scholarships scheme for students who are forced to flee their countries because of conflict or persecution. 

Donors who are members of our Schofield Society – having donated £1,000 a year or more, or having pledged a significant gift in their Will – were also invited to a first-look event where they had the exclusive opportunity to engage with our new Proto holoportation technology and 3D visualisation wall. The holograms included thank you messages for the donors from scholars.

An image of a person in a hologram machine. There’s another person looking towards the machine.Schofield Society members tried out new hologram technology

One guest enjoyed the breadth of the event, having attended donor and alumni reunion weekend activities. They said:

“It has been my first time in years coming back to campus and I am absolutely amazed by how much it has changed and the amazing work that it has been doing. I really enjoyed the lunch and hearing about the advancements made through donations, but my favourite part has been the campus tour, seeing how much campus has changed since I studied has been amazing and reminiscing over the good old days with fellow alumni and donors has been wonderful, the biggest revelation for me was seeing that EHB no longer serves pints. This whole event has left me wanting to come back to Loughborough more often.”

In the afternoon, guests had the opportunity to enjoy a campus tour led by current members of staff. 

Alumni, donors and friends enjoyed walking around some of the hundreds of acres of campus grounds and seeing their former halls and department buildings. Some guests were seeing campus for the first time in several years.

The weekend was a brilliant opportunity to welcome our donors back to campus to network and to catch up with the University.

Thank you to everyone who attended.

View photographs of the events on Flickr: Donor Lunch and Schofield Society Networking Breakfast

If you’re interested in finding out more about donating to the University, we’d love to hear from you.

Read the full Alumni Reunion Weekend round-up on our alumni website.