The generous donation came from Abcam’s then Chief Operating Officer Jim Warwick, the husband of alumna Jane Dominey who completed her PhD in Criminology at the College in 2015.

The donation endowed the Breaking Barriers Student Support Fund, funding a Dominey Bursary for an undergraduate and a Dominey Scholarship for a graduate student each year, with additional provision for hardship funds.

Jim’s gift honours Jane’s time at the College, and both Jane and Jim remain actively involved in College life as Lyttelton Fellow Benefactors. Jane and Jim live in Cambridge and Jane is now Deputy Director of the Centre for Community, Gender and Social Justice at the University’s Institute of Criminology.

At the time, Jane said: 

“Lucy Cavendish was my first choice of College as a graduate student because of the variety of women it attracts. Many have children and have worked in interesting jobs, so it felt like a good fit. Jim and I very much want to support women to study, regardless of their financial situation. The demands on students are greater now than ever before and we are pleased to be able to help some of them.”

Originally founded to provide opportunities at Cambridge for mature women, Lucy Cavendish College decided in 2019 to extend those opportunities to additional under-represented groups, admitting women of all ages (generally 18+) from October 2020 and students of all ages and genders from September 2021. The College now admits the majority of its students from under-represented backgrounds and was the first in Cambridge to do so.

Development Director Jo Ryan said:

“This tremendous gift has broken a great number of barriers at Lucy Cavendish since 2016 and will continue to do so in perpetuity. Jim’s generosity ensures both current and future generations of undergraduate and postgraduate students, now of all genders, are able to unlock their academic potential at Cambridge before going on to make a positive difference in society.”