Uni bosses have caved to pressure and finally revealed the names of their biggest donors.
In a victory for York Vision, the bigwigs have given up the names of organisations behind gifts worth hundreds of thousands of pounds.
We demanded they be published last month, but officials insisted the names could be kept secret under “data protection” legislation.
It can now be disclosed that the Gates Foundation, co-created by Microsoft founder Bill Gates, has given the university £3.14million in gifts since 2011.
The 130 donors named by the uni also include Nestle, who gave £10k in 2015, the same year they admitted to using forced labour in their Thailand supply chains.
In the past the Swiss food giant has been accused of price fixing and aggressive advertising.
These revelations raise pressing questions about the influence companies have over York. Donors who give over £500 are invited to parties on campus with top uni staff.
Santander Bank, under the guise of Santander Universities UK, has given £524k in the past five years.
They insist the money is used for scholarships and “academic projects.”
The vice-chancellor will have approved some of these donations personally.
David Duncan, University Secretary and Registrar, said: “We have no difficulty with sharing the names of major donors provided they agree to their generosity being made public.”
Conspiracy theorists will be stunned to learn that a freemasonry lodge founded in 1959 and based 20 miles from campus contributed cash to coffers last year. Tateshall Lodge No. 7645 gave the university £250.
Why is it a surprise that a lodge contributed a relatively small amount of money to a university? I’m equally stunned that such a contrived addition to this ‘story’ was included.
Oh Vision. Once again, the basis for a good story turned into utter trash that even the Mail wouldn’t print.
Why are you aggy that Santander “under the guise of Santander Universities UK” donated a significant amount of money, too? They help people go to years abroad, and offer bursaries to those in need. They also fund enterprise endeavours. None story, I hope your gofundme campaign fails and these donors refuse to prop you up