Supporting our passions

A conversation with a member of our student call team prompted alumni Justin and Victoria Ash to re-connect with the University. Both are now regular donors and volunteers.

"We met in Freshers’ Week,” says Victoria Ash (History 1987). “It was my first year and Justin’s second.”

Both became leading lights in LUU’s debating society, both graduated with Firsts, and after moving to London following their graduation, they married in 1989.

Each pursued successful careers – Justin in a number of roles, becoming appointed Chief Executive Officer of Spire Healthcare in October 2017; Victoria in marketing and PR, now running her own consultancy The RCR Partnership advising entrepreneurial business owners.

And though they remained friends with several of their contemporaries and occasionally came north in the years that followed, it was a phone call from a student which led them to become involved with the work of their old University. “She was reading history as I did,” says Victoria. “We talked for a while, and at that point I agreed to make a regular gift to support students from less privileged backgrounds.”

Ten years on, and the couple have gradually deepened their relationship with Leeds, making personal gifts to fund scholarships for students in the arts and social sciences, as well as supporting research projects through the family trust which they established, Fraxinus. “We both had a great time there and a great education, and we’re very supportive of other people having that same opportunity,” says Victoria. “I’m an arts graduate, Justin’s degree was in the social sciences, and we’re keen to see support for these areas of education.”

“For several years now the UK has focused on the STEM subjects – Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths,” adds Justin (Politics and Parliamentary Studies 1987). “It’s really important that the country also invests in other areas of study. There’s no point having the STEM subjects without culture – you can build a flat-screen TV but people will only buy it if there’s great content.”

The family trust Fraxinus – the Latin name for the Ash tree – has a focus on major issues facing global society: climate, conservation, livelihoods, health, educational opportunities and the empowerment of women. The Trust is supporting an international student working on a PhD questioning issues of racial stereotyping and white western assumptions of the “poor African woman” in Ghana.

And the Trust enabled the University to respond to exceptional circumstances. When the UK Government cut funding to the Global Challenges Research Fund, Fraxinus stepped in to support Leeds’s Changing The Story

programme. Working with young people, this ground-breaking project works to re-build civil society in post-conflict settings worldwide. The support of Fraxinus ensured valuable initiatives in Cambodia, Malaysia, Colombia, India, Kosovo and Rwanda could continue.

The couple enjoy the intellectual stimulation of supporting such projects: “I really like to engage with the academics and hear about the impact of our funding,” says Victoria. “When you work in a business-focussed environment, it’s always fascinating to connect with a detailed field of study which doesn’t necessarily have a commercial objective.”

“It’s great to explore different ways of thinking,” says Justin. “The University is really good at working out what will spark our interest.”

Justin has also given practical advice and guidance to some of our most entrepreneurial students, who are developing their business ideas with the help of the University’s start-up service Spark. He’s characteristically modest about the role: “It’s easy to give half an hour and a bit of your experience – and if that sparks an idea that helps people to be successful then it's worthwhile.

If you are inspired to support the next generation of students – please consider making a gift today.