The UK’s first dedicated university philanthropy teaching post has been appointed at Kent following a £156,000 donation from the Pears Foundation.
Dr Triona Fitton will take up the appointment on 1 September. As the first Pears Philanthropy Fellow, she will lead the launch of the University’s new MA in Philanthropic Studies, which is due to welcome its first students in January 2016.
Based within the Centre for Philanthropy, Dr Fitton will work on developing the new MA’s teaching programme, which will be delivered by distance learning.
Dr Fitton, who was previously at the University of York, will bring four years’ experience of philanthropy for the charity shop sector and community outreach to the new role.
Although established in the US since the 1970s, philanthropic studies is a new field of academic study in the UK. Students may go on to work in charities, often as CEOs or fundraisers, or go into a related field, such as grant-making or philanthropy advising. Some philanthropists also choose to take these courses to better understand the role of philanthropy and improve the effectiveness of their giving.