STEPS 2021 - Lancaster Alumni Magazine 2021

7 STEPS 2021 - 8 The LUMS Investors in Excellence Programme Members come from LUMS, but also from Lancaster’s other faculties, and their support will help to build a better future for LUMS students, academics, and the School’s friends and partners across local, national and global communities. The aim is to inspire 10% of LUMS alumni to join. A new Investors in Excellence Philanthropy Manager, funded for three years by one alumnus, will aid in the achievement of this goal. LUMS Dean, Professor Angus Laing, said: “I have been humbled and delighted by the magnificent response we have already seen to our Investors in Excellence programme. The last year has been among the most turbulent and difficult any of us have experienced, and yet we have seen once again the high levels of generosity and community spirit that run through our alumni community. “Our global alumni are of great importance to us. They are always at our heart, and the Investors in Excellence programme provides the chance for us, our students – both current and future – and our researchers to grow and develop in new, otherwise impossible, ways. “We will never underestimate how much this valued support helps us to safeguard our School for future generations, keeping LUMS at the forefront of management education, ensuring those students who step through our doors in years to come can benefit from the same internationally renowned education as many generations of students before. “We often use the phrase ‘LUMS for Life’, we are proud of all our alumni achieve and hope that this reflects the Lancaster spirit that you carry with you through life. The generosity we have seen demonstrates there is a real sense of belonging for our many thousands of alumni long after they graduate.” There are three pillars of support that LUMS Investors in Excellence provides. Firstly, donations will provide talented students from a diverse spectrum of backgrounds with expanded opportunities to fulfil their potential and achieve their ambitions as future global leaders, regardless of their financial circumstances. Secondly, the support will help the School to continue producing thought leadership that changes the world. LUMS’ strong research foundations underpin all the Launched in late 2020, more than 100 alumni have already signed up, giving from £10 a month, among them a growing number of Chapter Presidents in Europe, Asia, North America and Australia, leading the philanthropic activity and encouraging others to support the programme. Alumni from across the School’s near-60-year history have taken the opportunity to give something back. LUMS Investors in Excellence will support students from diverse backgrounds around the world in taking opportunities otherwise inaccessible to them, and allow world-leading researchers to push boundaries in work that is at the cutting-edge of their fields. School’s activities, with the very latest thinking applied to tackling today’s global challenges, and developing and pursuing new ways to make a difference to the lives of individuals, businesses and wider society. Finally, Investors in Excellence allows LUMS to provide students, world- leading academics and diverse partner organisations with facilities that encourage better learning, stimulate cutting-edge research, and facilitate the creation and development of wide- ranging business, governmental and other partnerships. If you would like to find out more about the Investors in Excellence programme, please visit www.lancaster.ac.uk/ investors-in-excellence/ LUMS Dean Professor Angus Laing Maria is proud to be giving something back to Lancaster University Management School through the Investors in Excellence scheme. “A lot of the things I learned in my time at Lancaster have helped me greatly in my career, and I feel that the Investors in Excellence programme is a great way to give something back. “It’s important for those of us who have been students at Lancaster in the past to give back where we can, to support our university and future students, helping them carry on the good work of producing good graduates and bringing people from diverse backgrounds into higher education.” Fond memories of his time at Lancaster, combined with more recent experiences working with the Management School and the Investment and Finance Society (LUIFS) created a desire to give Lancaster University students access to wider opportunities. “Investors in Excellence is a great idea. It’s a way to give back and to help improve the University; I spent the best three years of my life at Lancaster – I love Lancaster and I had such a great time when I was studying there. “The Investors in Excellence programme means we as alumni can give something back and provide opportunities to those following in our footsteps as members of the Lancaster community.” MARIA PAPADELLI MSc IT Management and Organisational Change, 2007, Graduate DAMIAN HARNIESS BA Politics with International Relations, 2003, Bowland Keep in touch www.lancaster.ac.uk/alumni BUILDING A BETTER FUTURE FOR STUDENTS, INCREASING DIVERSITY AMONG THE STUDENT BODY, ENCOURAGING AND STIMULATING RESEARCH WITH IMPACT ACROSS BUSINESS AND SOCIETY – ALL OF THESE WORTHY AMBITIONS ARE SUPPORTED BY LUMS INVESTORS IN EXCELLENCE, A BOLD NEW PHILANTHROPY INITIATIVE FROM LANCASTER UNIVERSITY MANAGEMENT SCHOOL. The New LUMS West Pavilion