When Dot Griffiths arrived in the late 1960s, campus looked very different. Just a few buildings dotted the rural landscape and only a handful of people had enrolled. As the only person on the MSc Sociology of Science and Technology course, her solitary beginning soon blossomed into a lifelong bond with Bath.

“The work I did here at the University laid the foundation for my career as the specialism enabled me to get my first academic post,” she reflects. Dot went on to become Dean of the Business School at Imperial College London and Provost’s Envoy for Gender Equality. Her leadership extended beyond higher education as Chair of Central North West London NHS Foundation Trust and, later, she returned to Bath as a member of University Council, reconnecting with the institution that helped shape her future.

Now, Dot is planning a legacy that will change the future of others, too. Through a gift in her Will, she wishes to support students facing financial hardship and those from refugee or asylum seeker backgrounds. Inspired by the Gold Scholarship Programme, her legacy will go beyond funding to provide skills development, mentoring and placements to help students succeed.

Speaking at our legacy afternoon tea event, Dot shared her motivation: “I want to enable others to have the same opportunity that I had,” she added. “I hope studying at Bath will have as much impact on their careers as it has had on mine.”