INTRODUCTION

LSE opened its doors in 1895 with three rooms, 200 students, and a vision for “a community of people and ideas, founded to know the causes of things, for the betterment of society”.

Today, we are one of the world’s foremost universities, known for our Nobel Prize winners and world leaders (of which we have 21 and more than 40, respectively). But LSE is so much more than that: it is, in fact, a global network of teachers, entrepreneurs, public servants, industry leaders, and changemakers.

Many alumni, partners and friends have played their part in making LSE what it is today. As we celebrate our 130^th anniversary this academic year, we want to showcase some – and by no means all – of the outstanding individuals and organisations whose support has shaped LSE.

In this piece, we focus on the impact on campus life of physical infrastructure, highlighting some of the landmark initiatives that have made our campus what it is today. Then, in the summer, we’ll celebrate philanthropy’s role in supporting students through scholarships, enabling deserving students who could not otherwise obtain an LSE education to do so.

One of my mantras is, ‘space is programme.’ To get the most from brilliant faculty and bright young minds we need spaces suited for the kind of teaching and research and collaborating they do. The days when all you needed was a desk and maybe a blackboard are long past. Today’s programmes call for new forms of working, new technologies, and new ways of teaming up and working in groups. Space is programme because programmes cannot achieve, innovate, or solve problems without it.

Throughout our history, philanthropy has been key to providing that space: reinvigorating our campus and helping improve our ability to achieve. In just the last ten years, we have acquired and renovated a whole series of landmark buildings. Supported by the generosity of our community, we have created a vibrant ‘university quarter’ right in the heart of central London — a campus worthy of our global standing. New spaces include the Centre Building, the Marshall Building, and the award-winning Saw Swee Hock Student Centre, not to mention ongoing renovations and upgrades across much of the rest of the campus. Taken together, the new campus has transformed the student experience, fostered a lively campus life, and facilitated a wide range of innovative research and public events.

But there’s more happening and more still to do. We need more space for classrooms, for study and research, and for new and growing programmes. And not just any space: we need innovative spaces that mirror and enable what’s special about LSE. LSE is a place that encourages people not just to think, but to think differently and for themselves. As I like to say, forget about inside the box versus outside the box thinking: LSE is a place where people are outside the box and thinking. We need spaces designed, in the best traditions of our School, to encourage people to think and act differently and to break through received wisdom, conventional boundaries, and limiting assumptions.

To that end, we were able last year to acquire 61 Aldwych — a new space that, if we can convert it as needed, will be transformative in both catalysing new thinking and opening up our work to the public realm. We’ll need the help of our generous community, but with that help, we can create the future.

We remain incredibly grateful to you all, as well as excited about what more we can achieve together in the years ahead.

Professor Larry Kramer
President and Vice Chancellor 

1895

The gift that founded a School

Henry Hunt Hutchinson’s £20,000 bequest to the Fabian Society laid the foundation for the creation of LSE. His gift enabled Beatrice and Sidney Webb and George Bernard Shaw to establish a new kind of institution dedicated to understanding and improving society.

Philanthropy has been at the heart of the School ever since. 

1912

Philanthropy shaping social policy

Industrialist Sir Ratan Tata’s early support enabled pioneering research on poverty and inequality, leading to the formation of what became the Department of Social Policy at LSE.

His philanthropy also helped cement the School’s longstanding ties with India and South Asia, home to more than 5,000 LSE alumni today. This early gift set the tone for the School’s enduring commitment to understanding and tackling inequality.

1926

A transatlantic partnership that transformed LSE’s future

Substantial support from the Rockefeller family in the USA in the 1920s strengthened LSE’s academic disciplines and international outlook, funding endowed chairs and revitalising the School after the First World War.

The Rockefeller relationship helped position LSE as a global leader in the social sciences. It was a partnership that spanned generations and is symbolic both of the outstanding generosity of LSE’s United States community and a deep connection with the country that remains as strong as ever today.

1932

Supporting the rise of International Relations at LSE

Sir Montague Burton was a Lithuanian Jew who fled to Britain in 1900 to escape the Russian pogroms and went on to build a hugely successful tailoring business in the UK.

His philanthropic support of LSE from the 1930s onwards supported teaching in international relations and later provided funding for graduate study in the field.

His contribution helped shape LSE’s influential Department of International Relations, dedicated to building the critical cross-nation understanding and negotiation skills the world critically needs.

1946

A quiet gift that built a beloved space on campus

Women philanthropists have always been integral to LSE since it was founded. Charlotte Shaw’s generosity in 1940, for example, created a much-needed communal library for LSE staff and students.

The Shaw Library is no longer used as a library space but continues to be one of the most iconic rooms on campus, playing host to a wide range of LSE events. It’s home to the famous Fabian Window, designed by George Bernard Shaw to commemorate the role of the Fabian Society in LSE’s creation.

It also features a donor board that celebrates the exceptional generosity of the President’s Circle, a group of supporters who have played a transformational role in LSE’s development.

1972

Our global community coming together for LSE

The Lionel Robbins Library Appeal in 1972 brought together alumni from across the world to support the purchase and transformation of Strand House, a former WH Smith warehouse, into the LSE Library.

Led by influential economist Lionel Robbins, the campaign reflected the strength of the School’s global community. The Library that bears his name remains a symbol of outstanding LSE scholarship and collective generosity.

And the power of alumni giving was in full force again in 2025, when our 2,700-strong Malaysian alumni community joined together to support the Malaysia Auditorium in the Centre Building, unveiled by the Malaysian Prime Minister, Anwar Ibrahim.

1978

An enduring vision for economic innovation

The creation of the Suntory and Toyota International Centres for Economic and Related Disciplines (STICERD) in 1978, funded by Suntory and Toyota, marked a major investment in innovative economic research. The Centre has since become a global leader in economic thought and interdisciplinary policy analysis.

Suntory and Toyota’s foresight laid the foundations for another transformational gift in 2024 from the Open Society Foundations, which is enabling STICERD to deliver a major initiative – the Programme for Cohesive Capitalism – focused on envisioning an economy that works for all.

2014

Redefining the student experience

The RIBA‑award‑winning and Stirling Prize‑nominated Saw Swee Hock Student Centre, opened in 2014, was the first new building on LSE’s campus in four decades.

It was named in recognition of a landmark gift from Professor Saw Swee Hock, the distinguished academic, philanthropist and LSE alumnus. His generosity helped shape a new era of student life on campus and inspired further support, including from LSE alumnus David Beecken (MSc Economics 1970) and his wife Kitty, who went on to establish the Beecken Faith and Leadership Programme in the Faith Centre, one of the building’s key residents. This flagship initiative prepares the next generation of leaders to contribute to a more peaceful global society.

2016

Advancing global understanding of inequalities

A visionary award from The Atlantic Philanthropies in 2016 created the Atlantic Fellows for Social and Economic Equity programme, backed by a historic £64 million, 20-year gift which was the School’s largest ever at that time. The visionary programme brings together policymakers, activists and movement builders from around the world to explore and challenge the root causes of inequality.

Our partnership with Atlantic Philanthropies evolved in 2019 with the inauguration of the Amartya Sen Chair in Inequality Studies, a role designed to lead and grow the work of LSE’s International Inequalities Institute, dedicated to researching and addressing inequality across the world.

2019

Building on decades of support for learning and innovation

The Centre Building, a state‑of‑the‑art building designed by the award‑winning practice Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners and completed in 2019, provides a modern and highly flexible home for teaching, research and collaboration.

Among the many supporters who helped bring it to life, the Wolfson Foundation funded a suite of teaching and learning spaces within the building. Our relationship with the Foundation dates back to 1972, and they have been pivotal partners in several of our most ambitious capital projects, including creating the Wolfson Theatre in the Cheng Kin Ku Building and funding a new Data Visualisation Studio in the forthcoming Firoz Lalji Global Hub.

2023

A gift to strengthen LSE’s future

In 2023, alumnus and longstanding benefactor Vincent Cheng (BSc Economics 1993) made a transformational commitment to LSE’s permanent endowment through the Verdant Foundation. He also supported the redevelopment of the New Academic Building on Lincoln’s Inn Fields in 2006 and so, in recognition of his outstanding generosity, we renamed the building in honour of his father, Cheng Kin Ku, celebrating a powerful philanthropic family legacy.

2024

Bringing the world together in London and online

Firoz Lalji (BSc Economics 1969) is an alumnus and longstanding partner of LSE. In 2024, he pledged lead support towards the renovation of the Firoz Lalji Global Hub at 35 Lincoln’s Inn Fields.

This state-of-the-art space – LSE’s first net zero carbon building – will enhance our world-leading events and extended education programmes on campus, online and around the world. It will also provide a new home for the Firoz Lalji Institute for Africa (FLIA).

Building a more sustainable, resilient and inclusive world

2025 saw the launch of the new Global School of Sustainability (GSoS), thanks to a visionary gift from LSE alumnus and greentech entrepreneur Lei Zhang (MSc Operational Research 2002).

This flagship initiative is designed to capitalise on LSE’s interdisciplinary strengths to address urgent challenges.

GSoS will find a new home in 61 Aldwych, the latest building to be acquired by LSE in 2025. A fundraising campaign is underway to transform this building and unlock extraordinary new opportunities for teaching, learning and public engagement across the School.