Five minutes with Jesse Cantrill

Jesse Cantrill, donor and member of the former Convocation, talks about his links with the University and the support he provides as an alumnus.

Jesse Cantrill

Give us some background about yourself and what you did prior to studying with the University of London.

I studied Classics at the University of Pennsylvania and, after five years of military service in the 1960s, I returned to Philadelphia to do a Master of Business Administration degree at Penn’s Wharton School. I have been a management consultant for over 40 years specialising in the design of employee compensation programs. Some of my work was in Europe and the Middle East, so I often stopped in London during my travels; one day I visited Senate House and picked up an application.

You studied an MSc in Organisational Behaviour via the University’s distance learning programme with academic direction from Birkbeck College. How was your study experience?

I found the program quite demanding, different from the Wharton School in many ways but at the same or higher level. I visited the course director, Professor David Guest, several times and made a point to sit the exams in London. I once told Professor Guest about my Wharton experience and he told me that he had known Eric Trist, a renowned organisational consultant, who had been my major advisor at Wharton. So I quickly felt connected to the University of London.

What impact has your University of London degree had on you, both professionally and personally?

In the States, the Wharton MBA is the more important credential in my work. But the London degree in Organisational Behaviour has given me a better understanding of the impact of pay on individual employees and has been a wonderful help in my work with international development organisations.

You were a member of the University of London Convocation from 2000 until its closure in 2003. What did being part of Convocation mean to you?

I understood that Convocation was the alumni society of the University so I didn’t hesitate to join. And I happened to be in London in 2003 when the infamous meeting was held to tell members that Convocation was being disbanded. I failed at that meeting to stand up and say that I thought we were losing a great opportunity to stay in touch with alumni and to encourage them to give back to the school. So thank you to the University’s Development Office for a second chance to comment on this matter.

I must say now that I am confused about Convocation. I understood then that the organisation was closed, but now I am learning about a Convocation Project to get in touch with former members and I am being interviewed for a Convocation Newsletter. And when I look up London Convocation on the internet, I find that there is a Convocation Trust that has awarded more that one million pounds since 2012. So I don’t understand what is the current role of Convocation and how it relates to the University’s Development Office, which was recently established to maintain a relationship with alumni and to promote alumni giving.

I understood that Convocation was the alumni society of the University so I didn’t hesitate to join.

Why do you feel it is important for alumni to stay connected to the University?

One of my teachers at Penn told us that if a school could help us to love learning, it would have done everything for us that it could do. I didn’t understand that at the time and I didn’t appreciate it for another 30 years. But now I get it.

A major university provides the credential needed for access into the professional world. And done well, we actually learn how to think about complex matters. We make friends for a lifetime. And we learn to enjoy learning. As I turn 80 this year, I realise how important that last one is.

You are acting as the representative to the British Schools and Universities Foundation which enables US-based donors to obtain a tax deduction on their gifts to the University of London. You also volunteer as a USA Alumni Group leader. Why do you do this?

I have come to appreciate the University of London as an institution. I appreciate its history and its purpose. Had my father not been brought to the States as an infant, I would have grown up in Coventry, come to London for a job, and studied at Birkbeck College. So it’s a might have been.

What would you say to someone who is interested in providing philanthropic support to the University, either by giving in their lifetime or by bequeathing a gift in their will?

Any undergraduate admitted to Penn from anywhere in the world receives sufficient financial aid to attend. This is true throughout the Ivy League where there are no athletic scholarships nor merit awards, but full-cost financial aid is provided without restriction. I benefitted from that policy in the 1960’s and it changed my life forever. But it takes a lot of money to offer this.

With alumni support, we could make bursaries available to everyone who is admitted and needs assistance. We could return to our roots as the school for capable students who were not welcomed elsewhere. With our constituent colleges and institutes and the outreach of our distance and flexible learning programmes, the University of London could be recognised as the world’s leading university.

As part of its new five-year strategy, the University will build on its mission of pioneering unique forms of education and research that transform lives and society. How does this mission resonate with you?

Benjamin Franklin lived in London for many years in a failed effort to keep the peace between the North American Colonies and the British government. He is quoted as saying: “the noblest question in the world is: What good may I do in it?”

The University of London may do some good in it. And we alumni have the opportunity to share in that effort through our annual gifts.

Editor’s Note: The University of London Convocation

The University of London Convocation was the association of graduates established by Charter in 1858. Recent years have seen the University truly become a federation of independent self-governing higher education institutions. This changed the focus of students and graduates so that the number of graduates joining Convocation was very small. Against the background of change and development within the wider University, the University Council recommended that Convocation be closed in 2003, a view endorsed by the Convocation Board. There are no plans to reform Convocation.

The University is committed to supporting its alumni and, in 2015, set up a new central Development Office to better respond to the needs of graduates of the central academic bodies, as well as members of the former Convocation. The purpose of the Development Office is very much aligned with that of Convocation when it existed.

The Development Office has been delighted to have the opportunity to reconnect with members of the former Convocation through an ongoing, large-scale ‘Convocation Project’.

The Convocation Trust

Although Convocation closed in 2003, the funds held by Convocation were invested by the Convocation Trust. The Trust continues to play an active role across the University of London federation. Over the years, the Trust has awarded grants to a variety of projects to support the University and its Member Institutions. These grants would not be possible without the generosity of those who have so kindly donated to the Convocation Trust over the years.

For more information about the Convocation Project, please visit: london.ac.uk/convocation