Aberdeen University has severed its ties to a £1.8 million north-east teaching fund after the money was directly linked to profits made by a slave trader.
A majority of members of the ancient institution’s governing Senate voted to stop nominating representatives to the trust which oversees the controversial Dick Bequest.
The decision of the Senate on Wednesday could help pave the way for the money to be redirected to a new cause in recognition of its historic links to slavery.
Aberdeen University previously appointed two of the fund’s 10 trustees.
A further three are put forward by Aberdeenshire and Moray councils, while five are lawyers from the Society of Writers to the Signet.
What is the Dick Bequest?
The fund has been issuing grants to teachers and schools in Aberdeenshire and Moray for almost two centuries, since the death of Forres-born merchant James Dick.
Last year, two historians revealed that the money was directly linked to the fortune Mr Dick made as a slave trader in the Caribbean.
He had a business partnership with Robert Milligan, whose statue was removed by the Museum of London from its plinth in London’s Docklands, amid a wave of anger across the country about the UK’s enduring links to slavery.
The historians who researched the fund, David Alston and Donald Morrison, have called for the remaining money in the Dick Bequest to be returned to Jamaica.
But the existing trustees have been criticised for failing to take any action in the wake of the revelations.
Mr Alston had called on the organisations involved to stop appointing governors, a move which could enable regulators to take control of the money and redirect it.
Yesterday, Aberdeen University became the first of the bodies involved to take such a stance.
Senate decision
A university spokeswoman said: “The university’s academic body Senate – comprising student members, elected members of academic staff and senior management – decided by a majority vote that it will no longer nominate individuals to be Dick Bequest trustees.
“While this will end the university’s involvement in the trust once the current appointees’ terms lapse, we will be offering to help the trust address its historic slavery legacy.”
Earlier this month, Aberdeenshire Council’s education committee agreed to appoint Councillor Andrew Hassan and Councillor Gordon Lang to the Dick Bequest trust.
However, the council was criticised over the move, amid claims it had failed to take a stand against slavery and the use of “blood money” in local schools.
Mr Hassan last week confirmed he would no longer be accepting the nomination.
It means Aberdeenshire councillors will have to find a new nominee for the role.