Photo caption:Dr Alan Happer at his Graduation.
Following a short illness, Dr Alan Happer passed away in January 2023, leaving a $1.1 million endowed bequest to be used to provide equipment for teaching chemistry at the undergraduate level at his alma mater, Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha | سԹ (UC).
His generous bequest will benefit future students at UC’s School of Physical and Chemical Sciences, where he dedicated most of his career.
Dr Happer studied at UC, gaining his PhD in Chemistry in 1963. He joined the University’s chemistry department in the mid-1960s and remained until his retirement in the early 2000s.
Interim Head of the School of Physical and Chemical Sciences Professor Roger Reeves says the funds will be used to provide unique learning opportunities for UC students, in keeping with Dr Happer’s commitment to helping them get ahead.
“This is such a significant legacy that we really want it to make a big difference to chemistry students. We are currently exploring virtual reality chemistry, where there is potential for students to undertake sophisticated processes that we wouldn’t be able to do in terms of health and safety in a university setting, or even source the materials,” Professor Reeves says.
“This would make UC the only university in New سԹwhere undergraduate students will be able to investigate such inaccessible chemical processes. We are incredibly grateful to Dr Happer’s family for enabling us to help honour his legacy.”
Dr Happer made significant contributions to the field of physical organic chemistry, with specific interest in the Hammett equation, which relates the structure of organic compounds to their reactivity. He also authored or co-authored over 50 publications.
June Happer, Dr Happer’s sister-in-law, reflected on his dedication to the pursuit of learning, “Education was incredibly important to him – he didn’t have children, but he was determined his grand nephews and nieces would be able to go to university and he set up education funds for them to pursue tertiary education. He was a lovely guy who was always kind to others.”
Former colleague Emeritus Professor Murray Munro remembers Dr Happer as “very smart and empathetic”.
“He was a really supportive lecturer and would provide his students with an outline of his lecture right back in the 1980s, before it was a done thing, just to make sure that they got the gist of what he was saying,” Professor Munro says.
“He was also the first in his family to go to university, so I think he was very aware that he'd had a chance in life and, through this bequest, he could reward people who were perhaps not as fortunate.”
If you would like to make a similar impact by leaving a gift in your will, please contact Associate Director Advancement Charu Uppal on charu.uppal@canterbury.ac.nz or +64 3 369 3365, or click here for more information.
Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 4 - Quality Education.
