Testator Ottoline Visser-Stokhuijzen from Delden (The Netherlands) has bequeathed €10 million to four Dutch universities, a legacy that will enrich the future of scientific research and education. Tilburg University, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Wageningen University & Research, and Twente University will receive € 2.5 million each. This money will be used in conformity with the testator’s wishes.
The Twente University Fund will use its legacy to support education and research at the University of Twente. This includes supporting innovative research projects and students who encounter financial obstacles or special challenges in their studies.
The universities and University Funds are very grateful for this special bequest and will spend the legacies with care and responsibility.
The other universities
Tilburg University will use the legacy for research at the interface of sociology and religion, that is aimed to lead to more insight into the changing public role of religion in the Netherlands and Europe. This study will contribute to realizing the testator’s wish to achieve a harmonious society when different groups in the population get to know and understand each other better. At the Vrije Universiteit, the legacy has been awarded to the Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, where it will be used to strengthen education and research in the field of religion and sustainable development within the Amsterdam Center for Religion and Sustainable Development. Wageningen University & Research (WUR) will use the legacy for the Farm of the Future, part of WUR’s Field Crops business unit. At the experimental location in Lelystad, WUR is collaborating with arable farmers, authorities, and social groups on sustainable and innovative solutions to the challenges facing agriculture in the Netherlands and the world at large. It is a place where WUR brings fundamental knowledge and practical experience together.
A lasting legacy: the Ottoline and Siem Visser-Stokhuijzen Fund
With great gratitude and appreciation, the Twente University Fund Foundation announces the establishment of the Ottoline and Siem Visser-Stokhuijzen Fund. This Named Fund was created thanks to the bequest of Mrs Ottoline Visser-Stokhuijzen from Delden, who included the University Fund in her will.
In recent years, she had already made several donations through the Twente University Fund, supporting a variety of research projects and scholarships. For example, she contributed to the development of a Waterlab on campus and to research into the effects of oxygen deficiency in the brain. She also supported the Kipaji Fund, which provides scholarships to students from developing countries who come to study at the University of Twente.
Her legacy helps shape the future of education and research at the University. Thanks to her generous gesture, we can support innovative research projects and assist students facing financial difficulties or personal challenges during their studies.
In this way, Mrs Visser-Stokhuijzen’s involvement will live on in the work and development of future generations of students and researchers.
