Glasgow University has been gifted £1m from a former student who graduated over 60 years ago from the institution and went on to have a distinguished career.
Mr Tong Fatt Cheng graduated from the university with a Bachelor of Veterinary Science back in 1957, going on to serve in the state Veterinary service in Singapore before joining the diplomatic service in 1989 as Singapore Ambassador to Japan and China prior to his retirement in 2004.
His donation will be used to establish the McIntyre International Research Fellowships, which will foster international collaboration in research on farm animal diseases - providing funding for a British veterinary graduates to work overseas for two years and for an overseas veterinary graduates to come to Glasgow Vet School for two years.
The Fellowships pay tribute to Professor Ian McIntyre, the University’s first Professor of Veterinary Medicine and someone Mr Cheng called "an inspiring teacher".
Mr Cheng said: “I am delighted to commemorate Professor McIntyre’s name in perpetuity through the creation of these international fellowships.
"Professor McIntyre was an inspiring teacher when I was a student at the University of Glasgow Veterinary School and I have always admired his achievements both in Glasgow and internationally.
"I hope that these fellowships will strengthen the links between the Glasgow Veterinary School and veterinary institutions overseas and benefit global animal health.”
Professor Peter Holmes, chair of the Veterinary Fund Committee which oversees charitable donations to the Veterinary School, said: “This gift is particularly relevant and valuable at a time when the world faces an unprecedented pandemic from a zoonotic disease – in other words, a disease that has been transmitted from animals to humans.
"This serves to remind us all of the importance of global approaches to disease control and these fellowships will be a highly effective way of facilitating international collaboration and co-operation in veterinary medicine in the future.”
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