The University of Cambridge has received a commitment of £190 million, the biggest individual donation to a British university in modern times from investor and entrepreneur Chris Rokos to establish the Rokos School of Government.
The Rokos School of Government aims to prepare future leaders to be able to navigate the ever-more-challenging demands of both domestic and international politics in a new and complex world of great structural change.
The Rokos School will build upon Cambridge’s world-leading expertise across the fields of public policy, politics and leadership, helping position us at the forefront of research and teaching in government and public leadership.
Fundamental to the School’s operation will be its direct access to Cambridge’s renowned expertise in technology and the sciences, together with disciplines more usually associated with the social sciences, arts and humanities.
Rokos School of Government
The School will be built in the Cambridge West Innovation District – a vibrant community where outstanding researchers from many academic disciplines sit side by side with global businesses and innovative startups.
Chris Rokos has agreed to make an initial gift of £130 million, plus further gifts of up to £60 million, the subsequent amounts to be matched by Cambridge University. The University will also be contributing the undeveloped land in the Cambridge West Innovation District on which the School will be built.
Chris Rokos said: “I was fortunate to be given the opportunity of an education which transformed my life, and I would like to give something back to Britain. My hope is that, in time, the influence of the Rokos School of Government across the world becomes an important element of that soft power which has been a great asset to the UK.”
Professor Deborah Prentice, Vice-Chancellor, University of Cambridge said: “Tackling the enormous challenges facing our world requires radical new ways of thinking and approaches to leadership. Cambridge, with its strengths across all disciplines and its convening power, is uniquely positioned to drive this innovation.
“Thanks to Chris’ generous support, the Rokos School of Government will become a place where leaders and governments – both current and future – together with experts from across our institution generate the insights and solutions needed to respond to our rapidly changing world.”
