Gates scholars at Cambridge
OXFORD'S RHODES SCHOLARSHIP is being threatened by a £130 million rival scheme being set up in Cambridge by Microsoft chief Bill Gates.
A Bill Gates House is being built as a student centre at Cambridge University to commemorate the fact that the personal charity of Bill Gates will finance 230 scholarships. The lucky students will be largely in the field of science and technology.
Some Rhodes scholars have expressed concerns that the less restrained Cambridge project "will overshadow the success of the Rhodes scholarship in Oxford." The scheme will increase Cambridge's profile in the US, where at present, the renown of the Rhodes scheme has meant that Americans are more familiar with Oxford than Cambridge. Cambridge's strong relationship with Gates is expected to increase awareness of Cambridge's enviable high-technology research.
A shroud of secrecy has surrounded the negotiations over the Gates Foundation, amid suspicions that it is seeking to out-spend the Oxford scholarships. The Rhodes Foundation - now worth £200 million - was set up with a £4 million endowment from Cecil Rhodes. However, a great deal of its funds have been ploughed into projects other than the scholarships, which attract a considerable number of foreign students to the university every year. President Clinton won a scholarship here in 1968 and remains affectionate towards the university. Last week he revealed that he was tempted to return to Oxford in a teaching capacity after leaving office.
But Oxford has also benefited from Gates' £21 billion fortune. His foundation recently contributed to the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative, a New York-based group, which has given money to Oxford University's Human Immunology Unit.
25th May 2000