He gives a fellow gold (5)
I believe the answer is:
donor
'he gives' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'a fellow gold' is the wordplay.
'a fellow' becomes 'don' (both can mean an academic).
'gold' becomes 'or' ('or' is the heraldic name for gold).
'don'+'or'='DONOR'
(Other definitions for donor that I've seen before include "A giver, perhaps of blood" , "One giving something" , "One who gives something" , "patron" , "Generous type" .)