FROM PROFESSOR BILL DODD
Many of you will already have heard that Professor Michael Butler sadly
died last November, aged 72. Since joining the Birmingham German
Department in 1970, Mike’s contribution to the the Department and to
German Studies was immense, and from the tributes paid to him following
his death it is clear that he is fondly remembered and sadly missed by
generations of colleagues and students alike.
Mike was never one for the Ivory Tower; he was always particularly close
to students and cared passionately about them. We think it would be a
fitting tribute to him, therefore, to set up an endowment in his memory
that would fund a Michael Butler student prize in the Department of German
Studies. The value of this prize will depend on the amount of money we can
raise, of course, but we would like to endow an annual prize of at least
£100, for which we would need to raise somewhere in the region of £3,000.
For this reason I am writing to members of the list who knew Mike, to ask
if you would be prepared to make a donation to the Michael Butler fund.
Any amount, large or small, will help us to establish the prize.
The Department will be creating a Michael Butler page on its website,
where all contributors will be acknowledged (if they so wish), and a
profile of the student receiving the prize can be published. We would like
to make the first award in 2008/9.
I do hope you will be able to play a part in helping us to honour Mike’s
memory. If you wish to make a donation, could you please contact Ceri
Keeping in the Development and Alumni Office at Birmingham:
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to request a donation form. PLEASE ALSO GIVE DETAILS OF YOUR POSTAL
ADDRESS. The form allows you to indicate that you would prefer to
contribute anonymously, if that is your wish. The Development office will
also be able to claim gift aid on donations, therefore increasing
donations by 25%.
Yours truly,
Professor Bill Dodd
Head of Department
Department of German Studies
University of Birmingham
UK
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