Donations to Cardiff University - 16 September 2015

Letter to the Editor of the Western Mail in response to media coverage about donations to Cardiff University.

SIR - It was with some surprise that I read that Cardiff University has a "mystery donor" from the United Arab Emirates. We have no such thing.

Mr Yousef Jameel made the donation you highlighted, to support the Islam-UK Centre within the School of History, Archaeology and Religion at Cardiff University.

Cardiff University Jameel Scholarships enable students with intellect and determination to apply their knowledge for the benefit of Muslim communities in the UK. Those interested in finding out about this donation and the scholars it has funded can do so via the Centre's webpages.

While some donors prefer to remain anonymous, Mr Jameel is happy for his generous donation to be acknowledged publicly – though he does not actively seek publicity. There’s no “mystery” here.

Like other Welsh and UK universities, Cardiff University is a charity. As a charity we actively seek donations. Donors’ gifts help support Welsh and other students, fund world-changing research, and of course bring money into the Welsh economy.

We are extremely grateful to our donors and celebrate them. We are working hard to achieve donation levels comparable to those of other leading UK and international universities.

Yours sincerely,

TJ Rawlinson, Director of Development and Alumni Relations, Cardiff University