Former librarian leaves large legacy to the university

Leslie served as a librarian at the former Brighton College of Art from the early 1960s, inheriting a haphazard arrangement of shelves housing a few well-thumbed dusty volumes. Leslie and his team are credited with creating the beginnings of a first-class modern library for the arts and humanities, subjects Leslie is known to have been very passionate about personally. 

One of the executors of Leslie’s estate is Peter Keen who coincidentally is a former member of staff from Brighton Polytechnic and also an honorary graduate of the university. Now Director of Sport at Loughborough University, Peter has been liaising with the university about the planned use of Mr Willmot’s bequest.

Detailed plans for the most appropriate use of Mr Willmot’s bequest, amounting to £400k, are still taking shape, but it is anticipated that the funds will be directed towards the new academic building for the arts and humanities, including a specialist library. The university will put in place the means to properly recognise and celebrate Leslie’s vision to provide access to dedicated resources for aspiring artists and humanities scholars.

For a charity like the University of Brighton, income received in the form of gifts given via bequests is hugely important, not only in terms of the financial impact, but also due to the significance of individuals and couples choosing to directly support to the university in this way. As with other charities, our status means legacy gifts made to the university can help reduce the impact of inheritance tax.

To find out more, please contact Sam Davies, Director of Philanthropy and Alumni Engagement by emailing sam.davies@brighton.ac.uk or telephoning 01273 878382.