Thank you for choosing Sheffield
Your support makes a powerful impact. Thank you for believing in your University and making a difference together.
It’s been a fantastic year for the University of Sheffield in America.
We’ve launched Sheffield Connect, our new online community and mentoring platform for alumni and students, welcomed Lee Child to our annual alumni event in NYC and raised over $2.5m from US supporters to fund scholarships, student facilities and ground-breaking research. Your support really makes a difference, thank you for believing in Sheffield.
It’s never been easier for you to stay connected to Sheffield. Read on to find out more, and to see the impact you’re having on our students and world-leading research.
Chris Cheetham
BA Business and Economics 2002, Chairman, University of Sheffield in America
Student Scholarships
This year, US donors have funded scholarships to help bridge a widening gap due to the cost of living crisis in the UK. Together, you’ve given over $183,876 to fund undergraduate scholarships for students like Mike. Thanks to your generosity, you will change the lives of 40 students from low income or underrepresented backgrounds who are starting their studies this month.
I feel so lucky to have been chosen among so many deserving applicants to receive a scholarship. But it’s hard knowing that not everyone will be as lucky as I was. I feel inspired to work hard and become successful in order to give the same opportunity to other students in the future. My uni life today is very different from what it would be without my scholarship.
Mike Azorji
Medicine
World-leading research
Our US donor community has contributed over $1.3m in the last year to fund world-leading research at Sheffield.
The GTIMC (Gene Therapy Innovation and Manufacturing Centre) is at the heart of gene therapy research, accelerating the manufacturing of brand new gene therapies in the UK, which could lead to new treatments being available worldwide. The aim of this pioneering hub, that our donor community helped to realise, is to see more life-changing medicines entering clinical trials and making a difference to people like Sebastian, who received gene therapy for SMA type 1. This single treatment prevented the disease progressing and ultimately saved his life.
Gene therapy is lifesaving, it’s revolutionary! It’s changed our lives. It’s given my son mobility that he’d lost. The possibilities are unknown but exciting. I’m insanely proud
that my university is leading this field of research - I may have left the University of Sheffield but it never left me.
Dharmisha Stezaly
Class of 2012 and mother to Sebastian who received gene therapy for SMA type 1
Clubs and societies
Each year US donors help thousands of students in clubs and societies to increase and encourage participation from underrepresented groups, fund vital equipment, and support involvement in national and international competitions. This year 75 grants were made to clubs and societies ranging from the Horticultural Society to Women’s Cricket to Forge Radio.
I would like to say a massive thank you, on behalf of every member of Pom Cheerleading for the funding we have been awarded this year. It has been a great help in increasing equality, diversity and sustainability in our club and we are forever grateful for this. We really would not be the club we are today without your help.
Megan Blackett
Pom Cheerleading
Our supporter community
Jeffrey House and Dr Graham Siddall are just two of our donors living in the US who are giving to the University, supporting the development of our students, research and the wonderful city of Sheffield.
Jeffrey emigrated to the US and built the multi-million dollar brand ACE Cider. Jeffrey has recently released his memoir The Cider King: How I Aced It! in which he touches on SITraN’s research and why supporting Sheffield is important to him.
I was a week or two late coming up to Sheffield. Barbara Furness, who was secretary of the Faculty of Social Sciences in the Arts Tower, took pity on me and I stayed in her sister and brother in law’s house initially. She then got me a spot at the top of Sorby Hall, Room M36 where I stayed for the rest of the 1971 academic year. I then got a rather damp flat on Rustlings Road, which I shared with two guys from Matlock, Derbyshire.
I have given small amounts most years to help the students who need it most. My recent gift was $60,000 to fund research to help alleviate depressive symptoms. I have experienced depression all of my life and know how clinical depression can be so debilitating. It is important to find answers to its relief. I have been very impressed with the research that the University is undertaking, especially the work of SITraN into neurological and genetic disease.
I am very proud of my alma mater and I certainly benefited from attending Sheffield University, the time spent in the library, lecture theatres and tutorials in my final year. I think it is important to give back, if you are so able.
Jeffrey House
BA Economics 1972
Graham and his wife Brenda live in Washington but travel regularly back to Sheffield to visit the University and see the impact their giving is having on our students.
In visiting Sheffield from the US over the past 30 years, I have witnessed a transition of the city from a declining steel and industrial centre to a thriving hub for business, technology and the arts, with the result that my hometown’s current growth rate is now three times faster than that of London. The University has played a key role in revitalising the city and I am delighted to be able to support further initiatives to improve the quality of life for its residents.
Education in STEM subjects equips students with the technical and problem-solving skills to help solve the significant problems facing modern society. It also makes them more employable and creates wide-ranging career opportunities. Vocational training in advanced manufacturing and engineering is also key to the success of STEM initiatives and this is an area where Sheffield excels with its AMRC apprentice training organisation.
If you were born and bred in Sheffield like me, or an alum of its University, there are few better ways to give back to the city than to help make it a more desirable place to live and work. In the past, many residents and students had to leave Sheffield in order to find rewarding career opportunities. By giving to Sheffield you can help reverse that trend.
Dr Graham Siddall
Donor
Staying connected to Sheffield
You can stay connected to Sheffield and to your fellow alumni through events, groups and an exclusive online community. Events are happening across the US from academic meet and greets in Chicago, after-work drinks in San Francisco to an annual event alternating between the East and West coast.
Join our groups today
Sheffield Connect, an online community and mentoring platform for alumni and students. It’s the best place to advance your career, access exclusive content, make connections and be the first to hear about events.
Sign up to Sheffield Connect
Our USA Alumni WhatsApp Groups are a great way to stay in touch with fellow alumni, reach out for advice and support, and promote your work or post any vacancies.
Join an unstoppable community of donors
United in your passion for Sheffield and how it can shape the world, together you’ll help bright minds thrive.