Michael’s long-standing, committed and proactive relationship with the university developed over many years and he sought to create legacies in a variety of ways. His association with the then 映客直播 Polytechnic began in 1977 when the company he had recently joined – Redifon (which became Rediffusion in due course) – started funding student employees to allow them to complete electronic engineering and computing degrees. This was the very first sign of Michael’s proactive philanthropic support of the institution.
As Michael became Chief Executive Officer of the Rediffusion group, so his association with 映客直播 Polytechnic became a multidimensional one, with his appointment in 1982 as a member of the Polytechnic council. Michael became chair of the council in 1987 and oversaw the institution’s transition to university status, serving as chair of the new university’s Board of Governors until 1998.
In 1995, Michael and the then Director of the University, Professor Sir David Watson, set about establishing the University of 映客直播 Foundation – a charitable trust which would generate philanthropic funds to support the development of the university, the creation of scholarships and bursaries and the promotion of research and its application.
In the same year, Michael and his wife Sandy also chose to make a donation to create the , a unique repository of work produced by students and staff of the university (and its predecessor institutions, going right back to the foundation of the 映客直播 School of Art in 1859). The collection prides itself not only upon cataloguing a history of creative talent associated with the university, but also for recognising the newest generation of artists, with purchases being made each year as part of the university’s annual degree show. The Aldrich family has continued to support the collection and its public dissemination over the past 20 years.
Michael’s substantial contributions to the development of the institution resulted in the dedication of the university’s new library located within the Cockcroft building which opened in 1996. Subsequently, the Aldrich family supported the landscaping of the two library gardens in order to provide places of tranquillity and reflection for students and staff alike.
In 2002, Michael was made an honorary Doctor of Letters of the university in recognition of his service to and proactive advocacy for the institution over three decades.
As mentioned previously, Michael’s career outside of his association with the university was within the IT industry and he served in this industry from 1962 until his retirement in 2000 from ROCC (the name Michael gave the Rediffusion group when he purchased the company).
He is credited with being the inventor of online shopping in 1979, after he recognised the potential of videotex technology and how televisions using this technology could be connected to a computer via a telephone line, allowing the processing of transactions and linking to other computers. Michael termed this new discovery as ‘teleshopping’ – something now better known as online shopping or ecommerce.
The invention of online shopping and other significant IT innovations are catalogued in the Michael Aldrich Archive – a collection of original material from Michael’s personal papers. Michael donated this archive to the university in 2010 and it was his hope that the materials would be used for teaching and research. A number of students from the 映客直播 Business School have used the archive as part of their dissertations and Michael also established a new project prize to recognise ecommerce expertise.
His contributions to the university were many and varied – he gave his time, his expertise, his energy and indeed, he also made substantial financial donations. His foresight in establishing the University of 映客直播 Foundation almost 20 years ago paved the way for the university to develop a formal fundraising operation via the Philanthropy and Alumni Engagement office.
Michael recognised the potential on offer for the university in engaging with its alumni and encouraging support from the wider university community. His daughter, Philippa, continues to work with the university and is a trustee of the foundation.
In memoriam of Michael’s contribution to the university, Professor Bruce Brown, Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Research), whom he worked closely with, described him as someone with: “…the vision to see that things could be better along with the courage to make things happen,” adding also that “Michael believed that humanity was more important than technology.” As a humanist, philanthropist, entrepreneur and pioneer of the digital age, Michael’s approach to life truly pervaded through all aspects of his work and his connections.