Former students leave £100,000 to university

TWO former students at Aberdeen University have left bequests totalling more than £100,000 towards the institution's new £57 million library.

The bequests have been made by Dr Harold Watt, a graduate and former director of Aberdeen University Press and a former member of the University Court, and Hunter Caldwell, a long-standing supporter of the university who was a former managing director of the Malaysia Smelting Corporation in Singapore.

Professor Christopher Gane, the university's vice-principal for culture and communities, said: "The donations will provide a significant boost for our ambitious plans, enabling us to create a wonderful environment in which students, staff and the wider community can enjoy the rich collection housed in the facility."

The library, due to open next September, will provide a state-of-the-art learning and research environment for students, staff and visitors, and ensure the university's precious collections of historic books, manuscripts and archives are conserved for future generations.