Lloyd's Register Educational Trust endows Chair in Shipping, Trade and Finance at Cass Business School

Cass Business School is delighted to announce today (Monday 26th November) that the Lloyd's Register Educational Trust (LRET) is endowing, in perpetuity, the Chair in Shipping, Trade and Finance at Cass Business School, London.

The £1.5 million donation is the principal gift of the £8 million Shipping Campaign which has been set up to guarantee the future of the Costas Grammenos International Centre for Shipping, Trade and Finance at the School.

The first LRET Chair in Shipping, Trade and Finance will be Costas Grammenos, Professor of Shipping, Trade and Finance at Cass. The donation from the LRET will enable the Centre's activities to expand primarily through its teaching and research.

Michael Franklin, Director of the LRET, said: "The Lloyd's Register Educational Trust is delighted to be supporting the Centre for Shipping, Trade and Finance at Cass Business School, and our donation will continue to foster and secure world-class education in shipping at this unique hub. The Chair will not only benefit shipping students from around the globe but also the public at large who depend on this vital industry. "

Costas Grammenos, Professor of Shipping, Trade and Finance at Cass commented: "The Lloyd's Register Educational Trust's generous gift is of great importance because we need to continue to attract the brightest and best students who wish to pursue academic or professional careers in shipping. London is the global centre for the shipping industry because all of its components, namely shipbrokers, class societies, insurers, maritime lawyers, bankers and charterers, are concentrated here. When our students graduate, they contribute to the Centre and to the City of London to ensure the continuation of our truly unique dialogue with industry and practioners alike."

The Cass Shipping Campaign was launched in 2006 to ensure the longevity and independent future for the Centre. Led by the Centre's Executive Committee, chaired by the former Lord Mayor of the City of London, Alderman John Stuttard, it will honour and mark the contributions of Professor Costas Grammenos to the shipping world, primarily as the world's foremost academic and research centre for almost a quarter of a century.

The goals of the campaign are to:
• Nurture and attract brilliant academics in the fields of shipping, trade and finance
• Continue to establish pioneering and world-class research
• Recognise and develop exceptionally talented students early on in their academic and/or professional careers

In turn the academics will be expected to encourage students to operate at the highest levels of international business, whilst instilling sound values, leadership qualities and intellectual techniques. It will, among other benefits, also secure the future of 25 specialist masters modules and develop future academic and research programmes.

Notes to editors

Cass Business School, City University, London, delivers innovative, relevant and forward-looking education, training, consultancy and research. Located on the doorstep of one of the world's leading financial centres, Cass is perfectly positioned to be the intellectual hub of the City of London. Our dialogue with business shapes the structure and content of all our programmes of study, our executive education programmes and our research. Our MBA, Specialist Masters and Undergraduate Programmes have a reputation for excellence in professional education. Our Executive MBA is ranked 2nd in the UK and 18th in the world by the Financial Times.

The school undertakes research of national and international significance and supports almost 100 PhD students. Cass has one of the largest Finance Faculties and the largest Actuarial Science and Insurance Faculty in Europe. Our finance research is ranked 2nd in Europe and 4th in the world outside the US by Financial Management Magazine and our insurance and risk research is ranked 2nd in the world by the Journal of Risk and Insurance.

Cass is a place where students, academics, industry experts, business leaders and policy makers can enrich each other's thinking. For further information visit: www.cass.city.ac.uk

The Lloyd's Register Educational Trust, an independent charity wholly funded by the international risk management organisation the Lloyd's Register Group, was established in October 2004. Its purpose is to support advances in transportation, science, engineering and technology education, training and research worldwide for the benefit of all. It also funds work that enhances the safety of life and property at sea, on land and in the air. The Trust focuses on four categories:
• Pre-university education: promoting careers in science, engineering and technology to young people, their parents and teachers.
• University education: the provision of undergraduate and post-graduate scholarships and awards at first degree/masters levels to students of proven ability.
• Vocational training and professional development: support for professional institutions, educational and training establishments working with people of all ages,
• Research: funding existing or new centres of excellence at institutes and universities. This category also includes specific support for individual academic posts.

For further information contact
Director
Lloyd's Register Educational Trust
Email: michael.franklin@lr.org
Telephone: +44 (0)20 7423 2713
+44 (0)7733 321510 mobile
+44 (0)20 7423 2045 fax

Photograph: David Moorhouse, right, Chair of Trustees, Lloyd's Register Educational Trust (LRET), with Professor Costas Grammenos, the first LRET Chair of Shipping, Trade and Finance at the Cass Business School, City of London University.