Abertay love story leaves lasting legacy for neurodivergent students

A love story that began at Abertay University more than 20 years ago will provide financial support for future generations of neurodivergent students, thanks to a generous £5,000 gift from the family of late Security Officer Roy Henderson. 

Roy and his wife Katrina first met at Abertay in 2001, when Roy worked as a member of the Security Team and Katrina was a mature student. 

Katrina studied Social Sciences at Abertay, having returned to education after several years away while raising her family as a single mother. She also began working at Abertay as a cleaner to support herself and her young son while studying. 

Over the following years, their relationship blossomed. Roy later proposed to Katrina outside the University’s Kydd Building on Bell Street. 

Katrina said:

I was really shocked when he proposed. He kept threatening to do it in the Main Lecture Theatre in front of a class, but in the end he decided to ask me outside the Kydd Building. It was lunchtime, so there were loads of people around. I was mortified, but of course delighted!

The couple married on 7 May 2004 at Dudhope Castle, just a short distance from the University. 

Katrina added: 

The wedding was very much an Abertay affair. The Head of Hospitality at Abertay organised the tables and rooms and provided dishes at a fraction of the cost. The events team also used pictures of the setup for future events. It was lovely to have so many of Roy’s colleagues there, as well as some of my classmates and team members.

The couple later moved to Alyth, where they built a life filled with happy memories, many of them connected to Abertay and the city of Dundee. Katrina went on to graduate before working for Dundee City Council as a Homelessness Prevention Officer. 

Family was the most important thing to Roy. Together, he and Katrina welcomed their son Caden, who joined Katrina’s son Kris from a previous relationship. Katrina said Roy took great pride in family life and in the years they spent together in Alyth. 

After more than 20 years together, Roy was diagnosed with cancer in July 2025. Following a short illness, he died in November 2025, aged 59. 

Following his death, tributes poured in from colleagues and friends who remembered Roy as a familiar and much-loved presence at Abertay, where he spent 25 years supporting generations of staff, students and visitors. 

In Roy’s memory, Katrina recently returned to Abertay to establish a bursary in his name. The £5,000 fund will support neurodivergent students in the University’s Faculty of Design, Informatics and Business, which is home to Abertay’s games programmes. 

Katrina said: 

Our oldest child has ADHD, and our second child struggled with school following Covid. When he was tested for autism, the person carrying out the assessment turned to Roy and asked when he had received his diagnosis. She thought Roy showed many of the markers for autism himself. He then got information from Abertay about neurodivergence and looked at the support available for staff, including the neurodiversity newsletter. He really educated himself. It would be really important to Roy that this money supported neurodivergent students. He was also a big gamer and loved computing, so that’s why this bursary will go to students on Abertay’s games courses.

For Katrina, establishing the bursary was a way of celebrating both Roy’s contribution to the University and the special role Abertay played in their story. 

Katrina said: 

Abertay was a hugely important part of our lives. It’s where Roy and I met, where we made so many happy memories together and where Roy spent more than 20 years working alongside people he cared deeply about. Creating this bursary felt like a fitting way to remember Roy while also helping students make the most of the opportunities available to them. I know he would have been proud to see something positive come from his legacy 

Professor Liz Bacon, Principal and Vice-Chancellor of Abertay University, said: 

Roy was a valued colleague and friend to many across the University. He was known for his kindness, dedication and willingness to help others, and he made a lasting impression on everyone who met him. We are incredibly grateful to Katrina for this generous gift. The bursary will create life-changing opportunities for students while ensuring Roy’s connection to Abertay continues for years to come.

The bursary opens for applications in September, creating a lasting tribute to Roy’s long service to Abertay and to the place where his life with Katrina began. 

Roy’s family are also considering future fundraising activities to help sustain the bursary in the years ahead.