And finally…quiet librarian squirrels away £3m

An unassuming librarian has stunned his former university by donating $4m (£3m) to it in his will, having quietly amassed a fortune while working at the institution for five decades.

Robert Morin, who died last year at the age of 77, left the sum to the University of New Hampshire (UNH) where he had a job as a cataloguer.

Mr Morin passed away having enjoyed a regular breakfast of Fritos and a Coke; a refusal to give up on the 1992 Plymouth that he drove to his job at the university and an 18-year span, from 1979 to 1997, during which he watched more than 22,000 films - an average of about three a day.

He also read in chronological order every book published in the United States between 1930 and 1938, excepting only textbooks, children’s books and cookbooks.

He spent little on food or clothes.

Friends said they were unaware he had amassed a multi-million-dollar fortune from shrewd investments, until it emerged that he had bequeathed it to the university.

Officials at the UNH have since announced the donation after it had cleared Probate Court.

Edward Mullen, Mr Morin’s friend and financial adviser for over 40 years, said: “He was a small, thin, private person but he was a very nice man with a great sense of humour.”

Mr Mullen helped Mr Morin with his investments.

“He had a retirement plan, and investments, and just didn’t spend any money, so it accumulated,” he said.

“He wasn’t married and he wasn’t close with his two brothers.

“So when his mother died 20 years ago he decided to leave everything to the university.”

Mr Mullen said he advised Mr Morin to tell the university about his plans, but he did not want to - a reason, perhaps, why university staff were surprised to hear about the bequest.

“Bob’s demonstrated commitment to UNH through his philanthropy is tremendously inspiring,” said UNH President Mark Huddleston.

“His generous gift allows us to address a number of university priorities.”

However, there has since been some controversy since the news of the donation surfaced.

While some $2.5m will go towards a careers centre for students old and new, $100,000 to the Dimond Library where he worked and more on scholarships and members of staff who want to continue their studies in library science, as well as on renovating and upgrading a multimedia room, $1m is to be spent on a video scoreboard for the new football stadium.

While the university has said it was a sport in which Mr Morin had a keen interest, particularly in his later years, some have questioned the allocation given Mr Morin’s more academic leanings.

In a scathing letter penned by UNH graduate Claire Cortese said: “The university clearly seems to think that it makes sense for the sports department to receive ten times the amount that Morin’s own department is receiving, even after spending $25 million on a stadium renovation.”

The president of the UNH Foundation, Deborah Dutton, said: “Unrestricted gifts give the university the ability to use the funds for our highest priorities and emerging opportunities,” she said.

“This is an extraordinary gift that comes at a critical time for launching a number of initiatives that are only able to move forward because of his generosity.”