Oxford Gets Major Donation for Student Aid

LONDON ׀ The spires of the historic University of Oxford have been forbidding to many of BritainҀs poorer families, even before the government tripled tuition fees at the end of 2010 in an austerity measure that prompted days of violent protests.

But on Wednesday, Oxford announced a $115 million donation from an alumnus, a major Silicon Valley venture capitalist, as the cornerstone of a $460 million fund dedicated to reducing the prospect of fearsome debt for the disadvantaged who manage to enter its elite doors. The first 100 scholarships are to be awarded in the fall, when the higher fees will begin to bite.

The model follows that of many selective universities in the United States, which have placed a high priority on offering enough financial aid so that talented students from low-income families will not be shut out as costs skyrocket.

The new scholarships will allow students from families whose income is less than about $25,000 a year to attend Oxford, for $5,400 a year, including living expenses ׀ an amount equal to the universityҀs tuition before it was driven up to almost $14,000. That effectively reduces their future debt, as students cover their tuition with government loans, to be repaid only after they start earning more than $32,000 a year.

Jo Dibb, the head teacher at the all-girl Elizabeth Garrett Anderson secondary school in London, said at the news conference announcing the scholarships, ӀIf you are in straitened circumstances, the notion of going into university and coming out with a huge debt can be very off-putting.Ԁ Some of the schoolҀs students accompanied Michelle Obama on a visit to Oxford last year.

Part of the donation announced Wednesday was pledged as matching funds. Oxford said it was dedicating $115 million of its own and raising about $230 million more for the effort, a major shift toward self-financing rather than relying on government underwriting.

Michael Moritz, the chairman of Sequoia Capital, an early investor in Google, LinkedIn, YouTube and PayPal, made the gift with his wife, a novelist, Harriet Heyman. It was their second major gift to Oxford. In 2008, they gave Christ Church, Mr. MoritzҀs alma mater, $50 million.

Mr. Moritz, a Welshman, has spoken publicly about how his father left Nazi Germany and eventually studied at Oxford on scholarship. ӀI would not be here today were it not for the generosity of strangers,Ԁ Mr. Moritz said.