One of Australia¡¯s smaller universities has attracted one of the sector¡¯s biggest ever single donations, after businessman Ted Powell parted with A$100 million (?49 million) to overhaul veterinary education and research in Western Australia (WA).

Murdoch University says the ¡°unprecedented¡± gift will enable it to ¨C the only one in WA ¨C with a ¡°state-of-the-art facility¡± that can accommodate larger student cohorts and more ¡°cutting-edge¡± research.

Vice-chancellor Andrew Deeks said he ¡°had to take my jaw off the floor and bring it back up¡± after Powell ¨C who had already funded ¡°Ragdoll¡± scholarships for about 140 Murdoch students ¨C asked ¡°what can you do with a large donation?¡± and revealed the quantum of money he had in mind.

¡°Ted Powell¡¯s gift will support a transformational project ¨C a legacy which will be felt for generations to come,¡± Deeks said. ¡°A larger veterinary school will give Murdoch capacity to train at least 50 per cent more vets, addressing critical workforce shortages in WA.¡±

ÍøÆØÃÅ

Powell, a British-born accountant who made his fortune selling offshore shelf companies in Hong Kong, said the death of his wife Dee last year had spurred the decision. ¡°I was left looking at all my investments and thinking, ¡®what do I do with this?¡¯ Dee was an animal lover, and I think she¡¯d be really, really proud of this project.¡±

Powell that he would ¡°be alright¡±, having kept enough money to see him through. ¡°You can¡¯t spend A$100 million when you¡¯re 74 years old. Once I had given the money over¡­it was like a weight off my mind.

ÍøÆØÃÅ

¡°I hope that my gift to Murdoch will inspire others. A good education is a gift to last a lifetime. I would encourage anyone who is financially well off to consider giving to worthy causes.¡±

The gesture matches this year¡¯s A$100 million bestowment to the University of Sydney from data centre entrepreneur Robin Khuda, to foster disadvantaged women¡¯s enrolments in STEM subjects.

Other large donations in the sector have included two A$65 million contributions to Perth universities from WA mining magnate Andrew Forrest and his wife Nicola ¨C a fraction of the billions of dollars the pair has given to education, social justice, arts and conservation causes ¨C and a UNSW Sydney in May from the family of gambling mogul Len Ainsworth.

A A$50 million donation to the Australian National University in 2013, from asset management pioneer Graham Tuckwell, bankrolled a scholarship programme that is . The late health magnate Paul Ramsay and American retail tycoon Chuck Feeney have been among other major contributors to the sector.

ÍøÆØÃÅ

Until now, large-scale philanthropy has mostly favoured Australia¡¯s oldest and richest universities.

john.ross@timeshighereducation.com