An Oxford University college is to be renamed after a Vietnamese billionairess whose company is donating it £155million.
After Madam Nguyen Thi Phuong Thao’s gift, Linacre College will now be Thao College. She made her money by flying budget airlines.
The college was founded 1962 and named in honor of Thomas Linacre, a well-known 15th century English scholar and humanist.
He included Sir Thomas More, Utopia author, and Cardinal Wolsey (chief adviser to Henry VIII), among his patients.
Linacre also founded the Royal College of Physicians as a way to raise standards, and stop quack physicians from operating.
But officials at the college, which is for graduates, have now announced it will be renamed in favour of Madam Thao, who is Vietnam’s first self-made female billionaire.
Madam Nguyen Thi Phuong Thaio, 51, is Vietnam’s first female billionaire. She made her money with budget airlines.
After Madam Nguyen Thi Phuong Thao’s gift, Linacre College will now be Thao College. She made her money by flying budget airlines. The college was established in 1962 and named after Thomas Linacre (a 15th century English scholar, humanist, and physician).
Sovico’s donation, in which she is chairman and majority shareholder, is one of the largest ever made to an Oxford college.
The company is a founder of VietJet Air, Vietnam’s first private airline, and of HDBank, one of the nation’s biggest banks.
In a statement, the college said: ‘We have long been one of the least well-endowed colleges at the university, so we are delighted that a significant part of the donation will be for our general endowment fund, to help support the daily running of [the] college.’
Officials claimed that the money would be used for a new graduate centre as well as for graduate access scholarships.
Madam Thao, 51, told the Daily Telegraph: ‘I believe that Oxford is the right place to make my long-time desire to contribute to humanity through education, training and research come true.
‘By donating to Linacre College, we hope to make significant contributions to enrich Oxford’s traditions and reputation.’
However, some academics criticized the announcement last night.
Dr Marie Kawthar Daouda, a lecturer in French literature at Oxford, said college names had ‘deep history’ and should not be altered simply because ‘a major gift has been made’.
The college originally took Linacre’s name to commemorate him as ‘an outstanding Renaissance figure’ and ‘one of the great scholars of his time’.
Dr Daouda continued: ‘Thankfulness for Madam Thao’s money could be expressed in ways that do not erase what the donation is meant to protect.’
Patrick Major, a history professor at Reading University, said: ‘I personally would have some reservations about the commercialisation of this.
‘I’m more familiar with a single building within an institution being named after benefactors but not whole colleges. While there are some examples of this in the US, it is not as common as the British experience.
‘I think rather than buildings being named after people in the commercial or business sector I would rather see things done for people in public life.’
Thao is chairman and majority shareholder of Sovico, which is also the largest donation to an Oxford college. The company is a founder of VietJet Air, Vietnam’s first private airline (VietJet airbus landing in Phuket airport, 2020)
Madam Thao was a 1970-born woman who became a billionaire while studying at Moscow’s University.
In 2018, VietJet’s airline was embroiled in scandal after bikini-clad models were paraded through a plane carrying the under-23 national football team.
The college isn’t the first to change its name after receiving a large donation.
Oxford’s Harris Manchester college changed its name from Manchester College in 1996 following a donation from businessman Baron Harris.
And Cambridge’s Murray Edwards College changed its name in 2008 to honour benefactor Ros Edwards and its first president Dame Rosemary Murray.