W. Galen Weston was a highly committed supporter of UWC. He was Chair of Pearson College UWC from 1985-1996 and went on to become Vice Chair of the UWC International Board, before becoming one of its inaugural International Patrons. He was also an important donor, both to Pearson College UWC and as one of the first individual supporters of UWC’s central infrastructure. 

UWC's Chair from 1999-2005, Christian Hodeige, said: "At a time of huge change in UWC, Galen was an enormous support to me, and I know also to my predecessor Mark Hoffman. He was an extraordinarily busy man, but he made time for UWC - attending meetings when he could but more importantly being available as a source of advice and counsel. Like few other people I worked with at the time, he understood just when his support or advice could be most effective and I just wish we could have found ways to make even better use of his support and his wisdom. His financial commitment to UWC International was also enormously important - he saw the need for an effective hub for the UWC movement and he made it possible for us to start doing what we wanted to do.”

"We are deeply indebted and grateful to W. Galen Weston for his most generous support and advice to UWC. He is one of those Giants in the history of UWC, whose shoulders we stand on to this day. Our heartfelt condolences go out to his family", said Jens Waltermann, Executive Director of UWC International, in a statement from the UWC International Office in London.