16 January 2020
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A philanthropic American couple have gifted a quarter of a million dollars to the home of the largest concentration of Robert Burns experts in the world, it was announced today (Thursday 16 January 2020).
The $225,000 gift from Frank and Susan Shaw of Atlanta is to the University of Glasgow’s Centre for Robert Burns Studies.
The Shaws are enthusiastic supporters of the scholarship of Scotland’s national bard and the gift is the latest in a series of donations to the University. Mr and Mrs Shaw said: “We are lucky to have built a great friendship with the team at the Centre for Robert Burns Studies.
“It has been wonderful to be part of supporting the great scholarship and educational excellence of the work being undertaken on Burns in Glasgow.
“Our latest gift seeks to support the continued research excellence in this field and help ensure new scholars in Burns Studies are also supported in their work.”
Mr Shaw, who is a past president of the St Andrew’s Society of Atlanta, can trace his ancestry to the Scottish island of Jura and runs a website on Scotland’s national bard called Robert Burns Lives!
Mrs Shaw, a native Atlantan, retired in 2002 from The Coca-Cola Company as Corporate Secretary after 35 years.
New research
Professor Gerard Carruthers, Co-Director of the Centre for Robert Burns Studies based at the University’s College of Arts, said: “The huge generosity of the Shaw family enables both support for younger scholars and the advancement of cutting-edge research in Burns.
“We are very grateful for both the moral and material support of Frank and Susan - they are our passionate friends and collaborators who make a big difference to us and our students.”
