The Chancellor's Guild of Benefactors

Donors who have made gifts of over a million pounds are invited to join the Chancellor’s Guild of Benefactors.

These exceptionally generous supporters are offered the opportunity to have their name engraved in the marble at the entrance to the Great Hall in the Aston Webb Building, beneath the list of the University’s founders, and to publicly enrol at the degree congregations.

Chancellor’s Guild donors have given transformational sums to support:

  • The founding of new buildings and facilities, including the Bramall Music Building, the Institute of Translational Medicine, the University of Birmingham School, the Cadbury Research Library and the Alan Walters Building
  • The creation of pioneering centres of research, such as the Birmingham Institute of Forest Research, a unique sci-fi forest experiment investigating the effect on climate change on our trees
  • Ground-breaking new medical research into conditions including liver disease and respiratory disease
  • Student scholarships (Access to Birmingham) that support those from low income backgrounds and those who are the first in their family to go to university
A new member is inducted into the Chancellor's Guild of BenefactorsProfessor Robert Stockley (MBChB Medical and Dental Sciences, 1971; MD Medicine, 1978; DSc Medicine, 1986) with the University’s Chancellor, Lord Bilimoria of Chelsea CBE DL (right), at his enrolment into the Chancellor’s Guild of Benefactors.

The symbol for the Chancellor’s Guild of Benefactors has been derived from the ceremonial key used by King Edward VII to officially open the University on 7 July 1909. The key was made by the Birmingham Guild of Handicrafts, and is part of the University Heritage Collection.

Key to the Great Hall at the University of Birmingham, next to the logo for the Chancellor's Guild logo