The 2024 Lippincott Award recipient is presented posthumously to Sir Eric Thomas from the University of Bristol.

With personal sadness on Sir Eric’s passing, we were delighted his family attended CEAC to receive the award and hear about the impact left by Sir Eric’s legacy on our profession.

About the Honoree

Sir Eric was a thought leader and passionate advocate for the work of educational advancement in the UK and globally. He was a catalyst for the growth of educational advancement in the UK.

Career History 
Sir Eric’s days as a medical student were spent at Newcastle University in the early 1970s. Much of his training took place at Newcastle General Hospital, which is where he also met his wife, Narell, and built friendships that lasted a lifetime. 

Having trained as an obstetrician and gynaecologist, he went on to work at Newcastle and Sheffield universities, before becoming Dean of the Faculty of Medicine, Health and Biological Sciences at the University of Southampton. 

In 2001 he was appointed Vice-Chancellor of the University of Bristol and there transformed academic life. He was a strong advocate for the role of universities in enabling social mobility and, among his many achievements at Bristol, introduced an admissions process that enabled applicants from poorly performing schools to achieve their potential.

Contributions to CASE
It was during Sir Eric’s time at Bristol that he made his first contributions to CASE and our profession. He was a flagbearer for the potential of philanthropy to open up transformational opportunities.

Turning his advocacy into action, he led the UK government’s taskforce on Voluntary Giving to Higher Education in 2004. Their landmark report 'Increasing Voluntary Giving to Higher Education', commonly referred to as the ‘Thomas Report’, defined a roadmap for advancement in the UK. This report led to university investment in fundraising programmes and ongoing commitment to philanthropy in higher education. Its relevance is still observed today, and we were pleased to reflect on the immense progress made since these initial recommendations, and in the subsequent Pearce report, in the CASE-More report published at this conference a year ago.

Sir Eric was a friend to many of us at CASE, serving concurrently as a member of the CASE Board of Trustees and Chair of the CASE Europe Board of Trustees. His insights and wisdom, which he shared with warmth and humour, helped shape our organisation and we were pleased to make him a CASE Laureate in 2019.

Sir Eric’s legacy and memory will continue to inspire many across our sector with his unmeasurable contributions to the advancement profession.

About the Award

Named after CASE’s longest-serving president, The John Lippincott Award for Global Advancement and Support of Education, celebrates individuals who have made significant contributions to CASE. Those who push to grow and build the advancement profession globally.