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A report from Mike Baker, BBC Education correspondent, broadcast on BBC World, the BBC‘s international news and information channel, has prompted an expatriate British millionaire to donate $500,000 to Oxford University.
The benefactor, Kevin Malone, originally from Nottingham, England but now based in New Jersey, USA, was inspired by the BBC World report which highlighted Oxford‘s efforts to broaden access to higher education for students from low income families by launching the Oxford Bursaries Scheme and featured pupils from inner-city Nottingham visiting Oxford. After watching the report last summer, Malone contacted the university to offer his donation, an official release states.
The $500,000 donation will be used to pay bursaries to students from low-income families. Malone, a regular BBC World viewer who never had the opportunity to go to university and had no prior connection to Oxford, has also now included the university in his will.
Commenting on news of the donation, Mike Baker said: "I have sometimes had viewers offering help to people or schools I have reported on but never to the tune of $500,000 - and probably a lot more as he has now included the university in his will. Obviously raising money for good causes is not our main purpose but it is very nice to know that my report has not only been watched carefully but also acted upon."
