The CEIE is the central component of U of T Engineering’s $200 million fundraising effort, part of Boundless: the Campaign for the University of Toronto. Through its interdisciplinary and collaborative intent, the Centre encapsulates Engineering’s campaign goals and future, including developing global engineering leaders, nurturing engineering innovation and entrepreneurship, transforming biomedical engineering and human health, advancing information communications technology and reshaping the future of energy, the environment and sustainability.

The building will serve as the hub of U of T Engineering’s collaborative learning and interdisciplinary research, housing interactive spaces for learning and design, as well as a number of multidisciplinary research centres and institutes. The building will also serve as a home for the Faculty’s recently launched Entrepreneurship Hatchery, which encourages and supports engineering students interested in launching entrepreneurial ventures.  Located on St. George Street, adjacent to iconic Convocation Hall, the CEIE is targeted to open in 2016.

CEIE seeks to raise $55 million from donors to build the CEIE. To date, the Faculty has received a number of outstanding early commitments from its community of donors towards this goal; donors who believe in the vision for the CEIE and its role as a catalyst for engineering education at U of T to take a significant step forward. These leading supporters include: George Myhal (BEng 1978), Chair of Engineering’s Campaign Executive Committee, whose $5 million gift is among the first in support of the building;  Bill (BASc 1967) and Kathleen Troost, whose $2 million gift will provide space for the Institute for Leadership Education in Engineering (ILead);  Peter (BASc 1962) and Jocelyn Allen, who made a $1-million contribution to the project; and Paul Cadario (BASc 1973), whose $1-million contribution to the Centre for Global Engineering (CGEN) includes support for CGEN in CEIE.

“Each of the early gifts to the campaign deserves our thanks and serve as examples of the kind of commitment and support we need to realize our goal,” said Cristina Amon, Dean of the Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering. “With the selection of these architects, we will be able to move another step forward to build this space that will accelerate innovation, foster collaborative learning, instill in our students the entrepreneurial spirit and to increase our contributions to the world.”

The new building “will encourage informal and spontaneous interaction; for it is often through chance encounters that innovation occurs and entrepreneurial thinking flourishes,” said Robert Davies of Montgomery Sisam Architects. “Such encounters most often happen in the ‘spaces in between’, the halls, stairways, lobbies and passages. Set teaching spaces should be standardized and flexible to allow for change in the future whereas the shared public spaces; lounges, club space should be unique, dynamic and memorable environments.”

Dean Amon said she is looking forward to working with Montgomery Sisam Architects and Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios on the project. “These two firms, with their experience in designing innovative research, learning and teaching spaces, have shown they have the vision to create a signature building that will foster the boundless energy and creativity needed for the future of engineering in Canada,” Amon said.

Founded in 1978, Montgomery Sisam Architects (MSA) is a mid-sized architectural firm based in Toronto. MSA has designed such buildings as the Island Yacht Club and the Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Centre and has won more than 65 provincial, national and international awards, including the 2011 Architectural Firm Award from the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada. The firm has extensive ties with the University of Toronto. Many of its architects – including Davies – are U of T graduates. MSA has worked on other U of T projects, including the revitalization of the St. George Campus Exam Centre, and the Arts and Administration building and Joan Foley Hall at U of T’s Scarborough campus.

Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios, also founded in 1978, is based in London, England, and has an international reputation for design quality, for pioneering environmental expertise and a radical architectural approach. It has designed more than 60 educational buildings, in England and around the world.

Professor Emeritus Ron Venter, who chairs the project planning committee for the Centre, said the joint proposal from the two firms was very impressive. “We’re excited to be working with a local company that understands our vision and an international firm with a global reputation for sustainable, groundbreaking educational buildings.”

He noted that MSA has developed several projects in similar urban settings and has particular strengths in addressing community concerns. “The architects and the university will work closely with the university community, our neighbours and the City of Toronto as the Centre is designed and built. The end result will be a signature building that we can all be proud of.”

Trinity College Provost Andy Orchard announced the gift at a luncheon Tuesday during a conference organized by the centre on the 50^th anniversary of the Lester B. Pearson government, which took power in April 1963.

The Centre for Contemporary International History (CCIH) is a joint venture between Trinity College and the Munk School of Global Affairs. It was founded two years ago and will be renamed the Bill Graham Centre for Contemporary International History.

Orchard, calling Graham “a true champion” of the University of Toronto and Trinity College, said the Chancellor and his family’s “vision and commitment” will allow the new centre to “flourish further” after “growing like topsy” in recent years.

The $5 million donation is the biggest single gift ever to Trinity, the Provost said, and follows earlier donations Graham made to help establish the centre.

Graham said he wanted to “pay back somewhat for the rich educational experience I received here. I feel that this university is an important part of my life. I feel I owe what I achieved later in life to what I learned at this university.”

He said it was appropriate that the funding announcement was made during a day when a conference was being held about Lester Pearson, a “Canadian who lifted Canada into a new place in the world. If this centre can do something to help lift our students into a new place in the world so that they themselves can contribute to making a better city, better province, better Canada – if we can do that I will be grateful. And thank heavens we can help young people have better, more interesting, stimulating and productive lives.”

Graham said the centre “is designed to complement the International Relations program” at Trinity, and “complement the work being done at the Munk School of Global Affairs.” In an interview, Graham said “Trinity’s vocation for international relations certainly drew me to the fact that it was a logical place to benefit undergraduate students.” The funding will also enhance the centre’s ability to build relationships around the world, he said, pointing to one that already exists with the National University of Australia.

Professor John English, the first director of the new centre, said “Chancellor Graham’s extraordinary generosity will make the centre a major focus for innovative research and teaching on contemporary international history. It is an important gift that recognizes the value of interaction among students, academics and those with experience in public life.”

Dr. David Naylor, President of the University of Toronto, thanked Graham for his “catalytic gift” and said he remains a “figure of considerable public influence.”

Few people are more closely tied to their alma mater as Chancellor Graham, President Naylor said. “In many ways, Bill, we are grateful for you as fellow Canadians, for your generosity of spirit and leadership and for this landmark gift today.”

Graham, a former senior cabinet minister in the governments of former prime ministers Jean Chrétien and Paul Martin, is donating his papers to Trinity. The centre itself is generating books from two conferences – one in Toronto last year on Afghanistan – and one this year in Australia on Iraq.

Graham (B.A. Trinity, 1961; LL.B 1964) has financially supported the centre since its inception. Several years ago he made a major contribution to establish the William C. Graham Chair in International Law and Development at the Faculty of Law.

Orchard said the centre, now located at Trinity College, will be expanded immediately and could take over additional space over the coming years.  In an interview prior to the announcement, Orchard said the centre “has started as an undergraduate program at Trinity, which has a great reputation for international relations coming from eminent professors such as Bob Bothwell and my predecessor, Margaret MacMillan.”

Graham has taught international law at the U of T Law Faculty and will teach a course at the centre.  Orchard said “you can imagine how wonderful it is for Trinity undergraduates to have their own Chancellor coming in to share his experiences.”

There will likely be more internships at the centre because of the gift by Chancellor Graham. “It will give people not just another line on their CV but allow them to do something fairly important,” Graham said.

The reception provided a look at many of the cutting-edge discoveries emerging from the University and the implications of these breakthroughs.

Keynote speaker Dr. Peter Zandstra of U of T’s Institute of Biomaterials and Biomedical Engineering, described the revolutionary potential of his work to transform drug testing and to eliminate the need for bone marrow transplants and insulin injections, among other applications. The event was an opportunity for alumni to celebrate the power of discovery and entrepreneurship, to meet fellow graduates in the area, and to get an inside view of the breadth and depth of U of T’s innovation agenda.

U of T’s busy calendar of alumni programs and gatherings also included an event in London March 14 hosted by University Chancellor Michael Wilson. The occasion provided yet another opportunity to celebrate the achievements of alumni in the area, and to renew and strengthen ties. The London event included, among others, teachers, researchers, public servants, and business leaders, each exemplary U of T ambassadors and champions.

Along with regular visits to alumni groups worldwide by senior University staff and representatives, U of T mobilizes about 90 regional alumni representatives around the world. This global network of volunteers helps organize activities that connect alumni and ensures that our graduates remain engaged in university life.

Learn more about U of T’s many regional alumni groups.

The Lab, launched in September 2012 and now nearing the end of its first successful year, helps technology-based start-up companies create new products, scale up production and build value.

“The University of Toronto is a remarkably rich research environment that generates more innovative output than any other institution in the country,” says the lab’s director, Professor Ajay Agrawal, Peter Munk Professor of Entrepreneurship. “We’re experimenting with novel approaches for addressing market frictions on and off the campus with the goal of facilitating massively scalable companies predicated on U of T inventions and using the Lab environment to deliver world-class entrepreneurship education in the process.”

The term “creative destruction” was coined by Joseph Schumpeter, the celebrated economist of innovation, in 1942. It refers to the process by which new technologies contribute to the overthrow of the old economic order, often along with companies that fail to keep pace with technological edge.

The eight founding partners have donated a combined total of more than $2.1 million. But they did more than donate. They have become part of the program itself by helping U of T’s next generation of high tech start-ups enter the marketplace successfully.

“The magical thing about the gifts from the Lab’s founding partners is that each one came coupled with expertise, vision and enthusiasm that enabled us to deliver a first-of-its-kind program that would have been impossible with money alone,” Agrawal says.

The founding philanthropists are:

• Dennis Bennie, founder and CEO of XDL Capital Corporation, a venture capital firm focusing on Internet software
• Daniel Debow (JD/MBA 2000) and Jordana Huber. Debow is co-founder and co-CEO of Rypple, a social performance management platform, and co-founder of Workbrain, an enterprise software firm
• Ernst & Young, a global leader in assurance, tax, transaction and advisory services
• The John and Deborah Harris Family Foundation. John Harris (MBA 1977) is chairman and chief executive officer of Harris Steel Ltd.
• The Kavelman-Fonn Foundation. Dennis Kavelman, a graduate of Rotman’s Director’s Education Program, is the chief operating officer of Desire2Learn, a global leader in cloud-based learning solutions, and the former chief financial officer and co-chief operating officer of Research In Motion
• Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP, a leading business law firm practising nationally and internationally from offices across Canada and in New York
• Dan Shimmerman (MBA 1996), founder and CEO of Varicent Software;
• Nigel Stokes (MBA 1987), chairman of the board of AppZero, specializing in moveable server applications for businesses, and co-founder of DataMirror, a real-time data integration company.

Among the first U of T-based ventures to participate are:

• Bionym, developing and licensing biometric recognition technologies;
• Thalmic Labs, creating a new technology for seamless interaction with the digital environment;
• Vote Compass, an interactive electoral literacy application developed by political scientists for election campaigns; and
• Nine other ventures based a wide array of new technologies, including a molecular simulator that will enable the rapid development of new pharmaceutical products and a motion control system that operates in three dimensions.

Meetings between the U of T participants and a Group of Seven fellows–including four of the Lab’s founding partners–are an essential feature of the Creative Destruction Lab. The members of the group, known as the G7, are experienced entrepreneurs who have created and built technology-based businesses. Every six weeks the participating U of T entrepreneurs meet the members of the G7 who set milestones for the next meeting. Each venture then reports on its progress and the G7 provides feedback, introductions to industry leaders and new milestones.

At each meeting the G7 identifies the lowest performing venture, which is dropped from the program, allowing the Lab to focus additional resources on those with the greatest chance of success. But everyone wins. All the participants gain valuable knowledge and experience, improving their future prospects, while the best ventures go on to receive the additional support they need for success in the near term.

To learn more, see www.creativedestructionlab.com/

Physicist Dick Peltier, the director of the Centre for Global Change Science and a leader in the establishment of the interdisciplinary field of earth system science, received one of five 2013 Killam prizes in honour of his career achievements in science. The $100,000 award from the Canada Council for the Arts recognizes Peltier’s pioneering scholarship, which has shaped our understanding of Earth’s interconnected systems and the threat of global warming. (Read more here.)

In February at Rideau Hall in Ottawa, Governor General David Johnston hosted the annual awards of the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC). Prizes in eight categories were awarded to graduate students, mid-career scientists and lifetime achievers. University of Toronto researchers won in six of the eight categories and were awarded NSERC’s most prestigious prizes.

University Professor Emeritus Stephen Cook of computer science received the Gerhard Herzberg Canada Gold Medal, NSERC’s highest honour. Cook has made important contributions to complexity theory, computational theory, algorithm design, programming languages and mathematical logic. This is the third year in a row that a U of T researcher has received the Herzberg medal.

Gregory Scholes of chemistry has received the John C. Polanyi Award for work demonstrating that quantum mechanics are involved in the capture and distribution of the sun’s energy during photosynthesis. The Polanyi award was established to honour Nobel laureate John Polanyi, also of the University’s chemistry department.

Three faculty members received E.W.R. Steacie Memorial Fellowships: Professors Aneil Agrawal of ecology and evolutionary biology for his studies of sexual reproduction and the origin and fate of harmful genetic mutations, Warren Chan of biomaterials and biomedical engineering for research in nanotechnology and the use of quantum dots in biomedical applications, and Yu Sun of mechanical and industrial engineering for the development of technologies for use in biomedical, clinical and precision industry environments.

Professor Paul Santerre of the Faculty of Dentistry and biomaterials and biomedical engineering won NSERC’s Synergy Award for Innovation, recognizing an exemplary academic-industry partnership. Santerre and his colleagues at Interface Biologics have created products ranging from catheter lines to polymer-coated stents for opening blocked arteries.

Melanie Mastronardi of chemistry, a PhD student, won the Gilles Brassard Doctoral Prize for Interdisciplinary Research, while Christina Nona, a master’s student in pharmacology and toxicology, and Graham Carey, a PhD student in electrical and computer engineering, each won an André Hamer Postgraduate prize. (Read more here.)

U of T faculty members received 5 of the 10 Sloan Fellowships awarded to rising stars at Canadian universities this year. The Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, based in New York, makes grants in support of original research and education in science, technology, engineering, mathematics and economics.

Bianca Schroeder of computer science, Ruslan Salakhutdinov of statistics, Robert Young of mathematics, Dwight Seferos of chemistry and Vinod Vaikuntanathan of computer science will each receive the two-year, $50,000 awards.

More than 40 per cent of all Sloan Fellowships awarded to Canadians through the years have been given to U of T researchers. (Read more here.)

A full list of awards and honours is available here.

As an art teacher in the mid-1900s, Doris McCarthy traveled the world to photograph and sketch its many wonders for her students. As a landscape painter she painted every province and territory in Canada, and even studied with the members of the Group of Seven. So perhaps it is a quirk of Canadian art history that McCarthy acquired fame for her own canvases decades after her career began, and even after her retirement as a teacher at Central Technical School in Toronto in 1972.

“Landscape painting went out shortly after I started,” McCarthy said in an interview six years before her death. “It was not what was ‘done’ in those days.”

Happily, prejudices are not what they used to be. The merit of McCarthy’s work is now widely recognized. Among the beneficiaries are UTSC and the Doris McCarthy Gallery which have accepted delivery of 203 McCarthy artworks, as well as her photographs, correspondence, journals and keepsakes.

The value of the collection has been appraised at almost $4 million. In her seventies, McCarthy returned to the classroom as a student and earned a B.A. at UTSC in 1989. She deeply valued her undergraduate experience, and made UTSC, posthumously, the undisputed centre of McCarthy scholarship.

But the value of the gift cannot be realized in the facility as it stands.

“With the addition of this gift, plans are underway to expand the gallery,” says Ann MacDonald, Director and curator of the Doris McCarthy Gallery.  “In the future, dedicated exhibition space will enable the DMG to exhibit the collection on an ongoing basis so that students, scholars, and the general public may have access to McCarthy’s artistic production as well as her personal possessions.

“UTSC’s scholarly environment means that McCarthy’s life can be researched, contextualized and presented in a manner that will create a fascinating legacy deserving of this beloved Canadian icon.”

The Doris McCarthy Gallery is by no means devoted exclusively to the works of its namesake. There is a growing and diverse permanent collection composed of art works by celebrated Canadian artists. Room is made also for rotating, contemporary exhibitions.

“She was a true citizen of Scarborough,” says Stephen Smart, executor of the McCarthy estate. “Doris approved and agreed with this gift. In fact, she participated in putting away some of the works at her home, anticipating that a significant gift would be made to one institution. We discussed it and agreed that the best place would be the Doris McCarthy Gallery.”

The gallery is the only major exhibition space for contemporary art in the eastern Greater Toronto Area. Building a new, expanded gallery in an accessible location will not only enhance the appeal of the Scarborough campus, it will support UTSC’s vision to be a cultural and intellectual hub in the eastern GTA.

The W. Garfield Weston Foundation Doctoral Fellowship Program was announced in January, open to PhD students in their third and fourth years of study, across all disciplines at the University, whose research requires them to travel, and who have displayed leadership within their community.  The program is providing 16 recipients each year–across the humanities and the social, physical and life sciences–an opportunity to work collaboratively with people from other cultures, and gain other perspectives and different expertise.  The first phase of the Weston Fellowship program will run through 2015 and will support 48 students with total funding of $2.4 million.

“The Weston Fellowships are a significant step forward in building Canada’s capacity for world-beating scholarship and innovation,” said U of T President David Naylor. “This ground-breaking initiative will help our best and brightest to gain international experience–a crucial factor in the formation of leaders, in our increasingly globalized world.”

Rebecca Bartel, one of the inaugural Weston Fellows is from the Department of Religion.  “The fellowship will allow me to continue research in Colombia where I am investigating the co-constituting realms of faith and finance, with a close analysis of credit, debt, financial inclusion programs, and logics of prosperity,” she said. “I will be teaching at the National University of Colombia during my research time, as well as continuing my engagement with vulnerable populations of internally displaced persons and social activism around economic integration, peace-building, and the role of new financial systems in the development of Colombia’s emerging economy.  These research initiatives will lead to new ways of understanding the constellations of faith and finance in a country emerging, both economically and socially.”

Drawn from a highly selective pool of candidates, the prestigious Weston Fellowships are funding students for a one-year period to enable them to undertake research abroad for their dissertations, such as fieldwork and archival work that can only be done in situ.  The Weston Fellowships will give these students access to human experts, but even more importantly, to other research assets that they would otherwise not have.

By establishing these fellowships, The W. Garfield Weston Foundation has filled a significant void in national PhD research, providing a unique and much-needed program to prepare our leading graduate students with international experiences, research opportunities, and collaborative networks, all directly propelling Canada toward success in an increasingly knowledge-based, globalized economy.  Over the length of the program, it will be making a tangible difference to recruiting and retaining Canada’s top doctoral candidates and, in turn, will be playing a role in enhancing Canada’s international competitiveness.

“We are delighted to welcome the first group of Weston Scholars in this program which will provide unparalleled opportunities for students to thrive on a global stage.  Throughout its history, The W. Garfield Weston Foundation has maintained a strong interest in educational programs that remove barriers and strengthen the ability of Canadians to innovate and lead–values which are central to this initiative,” said Eliza Mitchell, Chair of The W. Garfield Weston Foundation Education Committee. “We are proud to be supporting the Weston Fellows who will be great ambassadors for Canada in all the corners of the world. We look forward to watching their progress and hearing of their adventures.”

The 16 inaugural Weston Fellows are:

Rebecca Bartel in Religion traveling to the National University of Columbia to study debt, inclusion, and prosperity in Colombia’s emerging churches and economy.

Shaun Cleaver in Rehabilitation Sciences is traveling to Lusaka, Zambia to study and collaborate with Zambians with disabilities, helping to rethink rehabilitation using a critical social science perspective.

Martin Danyluk in Geography is traveling to urban waterfront areas in Panama and the United States to study commodity flows, urban logistics and the Panama Canal expansion.

Polina Dessiatnitchenko in Music is traveling to the Central State Archives of Literature and Art in Baku, Azerbaijan to study the chronotope of the subjective experience of Azerbaijani Mugham music.

Carrie Demmans Epp in Computer Science is traveling to the University of Birmingham, U.K. & Kwansei Gakuin High School in Japan to study the use of an adaptive mobile English language learning and communication support tool in formal education environments.

Jonathan Fuller in Medical Sciences is traveling to King’s College (London, U.K.) to study methods, Assumptions and implications for multimorbidity in the chronic disease model.

Julie-Anne Gandier in Chemical Engineering & Applied Chemistry is traveling to the University of Helsinki (Finland) & Aalto University (Sweden) to study hydrophobins as Scaffolds for Designer Enzyme Complexes and Catalytic Interfaces.

Kristy Hackett in Public Health Sciences is traveling to communites in Singida rural and Iramba districts to study improving women’s access to maternal health services in rural Tanzania.

Jessica Nell Henderson in Medieval Studies, is traveling to the Bodleian Library, Oxford, U.K. to study the interaction between literature and folk medicine within late medieval miscellany manuscripts

Amy Hwang in Rehabilitation Sciences is traveling to the Karolinska Institute’s Dementia Research Group in Sweden to study assistive smart homes and a systematic method to approach the design of caregiver interfaces.

Rochelle Johnston in Leadership, Higher, and Adult Education is traveling to war-torn areas in Africa to study bystanders to genocide.

Jennifer Junwa Lau in East Asian Studies is traveling to Hong Kong, Shanghai and Taipei to study constructed images of Canada in Chinese newspapers, textbooks, and encyclopedias from the first half of the 20^th century.

Gail Lori Prasad in Curriculum, Teaching & Learning is traveling to Laboratoire Dipralang (Montpelier, France) to study integrating English & French scholarship on children’s pluriliguism.

Nicole Ricker in Physical & Environmental Sciences is traveling to the Belgian Nuclear Research Center to study the mobility potential of recombinase in trio (RIT) elements.

Steven Schramm in Physics is traveling to CERN (Switzerland) to study dark matter in the monojet plus missing transverse energy channel at the ATLAS detector.

Lahoma Thomas in Political Science is traveling to the Institute for Gender and Development studies at the University of the West Indies (St. Augustine branch, Trinidad and Tobago), studying political violence and insecurity in Jamaica.

“We’ve all seen Asia blossom on the world stage.  Now, as the visionaries at The MasterCard Foundation have seen, it’s Africa’s turn,” said U of T President David Naylor.  “That’s why I am so pleased that the University of Toronto will be participating in The MasterCard Scholars Program.   The Program will help us recruit some of the best and brightest students from Africa.  They will join over 430 students from 31 countries in Africa currently studying at U of T.  And these young leaders will not only play a part in the ongoing rise of Africa.  They will be bridge-builders between that continent and Canada.”

The MasterCard Foundation announced U of T as a partner in their innovative program on April 18 in Ottawa. U of T is one of three Canadian universities, including the University of British Columbia and McGill University, to receive US$75 million to participate in the program. The three universities join a worldwide network of education partners including the American University of Beirut, Arizona State University, Ashesi University, Duke University, EARTH University, Michigan State University, Stanford University, University of California Berkeley, and Wellesley College.

“We are honoured to have been chosen to participate in The MasterCard Foundation Scholars Program — it is an initiative that speaks directly to the twin pillars of the Boundless Campaign to prepare global citizens and meet global challenges,” said David Palmer, Vice-President, Advancement. “The MasterCard Foundation Scholars will directly aid us in our efforts to support teaching that generates solutions for healthy, sustainable and successful societies, while also supporting the development of next-generation African leaders and enriching the University as a whole.”

The Program goes beyond traditional scholarships, offering Scholars comprehensive support throughout their education, which includes:

• Orientation processes for a smooth transition into Canada;
• Comprehensive scholarships (school fees, living expenses, books, stipends, transportation);
• Mentoring and counselling, including academic and social support;
• Opportunities for community service, which reinforce leadership; and;
• Career counselling and connections to jobs and networks in the Scholars’ home countries.

The scholarship recipients will join a peer network of MasterCard Foundation Scholars around the world who share a common philosophy of change and ethical leadership, and a commitment to economic growth and social transformation in their communities.

The MasterCard Foundation has focused its efforts on Africa. Over the past decade, Africa has been the second-fastest growing economic region in the world. Sixty-two percent of the continent’s population is under the age of 25, and millions of them will need to enter the workforce. However, the region still has the highest rates of poverty, and lags the world in secondary and higher education completion rates.  In order to sustain the continent’s rapid growth, the Foundation feels it will be essential that its young people have the skills needed to participate in the global knowledge economy.

This fall, student life and learning took centre stage in our campaign marketing, which drew attention to the incredibly diverse environment of choice available to
students at U of T for both curricular and extra-curricular activities.

With thousands of course and program offerings, and more than 800 student clubs, U of T offers many different opportunities for students to find their niche, build
friendships and feel a sense of belonging.

These are the posters that began appearing around all three campuses and on U of T websites in September 2012:

The $215 million raised comprises gifts from 25,330 donors, whose valuable support has opened doors of opportunity for thousands of students and faculty across the institution. As major gifts have driven the campaign closer to $1.2 billion, we have seen record levels of support at all levels. All told, this extraordinary level of support is a testament to the generosity of alumni and friends of the institution, and their shared belief in the importance of higher education to creating a better world for this and subsequent generations.

A summary of major benefactions already announced is included below, for those interested in an overview of the past twelve months. In the months ahead, we will be sharing with you details of a number of new major benefactions that have been received through the fall.

This past year, the University of Toronto received a number of landmark benefactions for our students, programs and physical space. These include gifts such as a $15 million donation by an anonymous donor to the Rotman School of Management’s new building, which completed construction earlier this fall. An iconic structure on St. George Street, the building is central to Rotman’s plans to accelerate the development of new tools and frameworks for building wealth and prosperity.

Similarly, a gift totalling $11 million from the Honourable Henry N.R. Jackman will help build the Jackman Law Building, an architectural landmark that will provide a superb forum for learning, teaching, research and debate. The building will enable the Faculty to compete for the most promising law students and accomplished faculty members from across Canada, and join a select group of globally significant centres of legal education, scholarship, professional engagement and social outreach.

Another iconic facility will take shape thanks to gift commitments from many donors including a $5 million gift from engineering alumnus, Campaign Executive member, and Campaign Chair for Engineering, George Myhal and a $2 million gift from Bill and Kathleen Troost to the Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering. $1 million gifts have also been received from Paul Cadario, and from Peter Allen. The Centre for Engineering Innovation and Entrepreneurship is a much-needed response to the sweeping changes taking place in Engineering. Located next to Simcoe Hall and facing onto St. George Street, the Centre will feature dynamic, flexible environments that will break down artificial barriers between people, foster collaboration, encourage active learning and accelerate innovation.

Our donor community has made visionary gifts that are creating new and innovative programs such as the Centre for South Asian Civilizations at U of T Mississauga. Entrepreneur and philanthropist Vasu Chanchlani’s gift of $2 million will establish the Centre, which will engage the Greater Toronto Region’s South Asian community in strategic projects of interest to Canada and South Asia. Funds will support more student exchanges and more interdisciplinary research in South Asian studies, as well as a lecture series that will feature South Asian scholars, artists and public figures.

The campaign has seen tremendous participation from student groups including a $2 million gift to the Faculty of Medicine from Toronto Notes – a North American student study guide for medical licensing exams produced by U of T medical students. The gift is among the largest-ever student-led gifts to a Canadian university, and will provide financial support for MD students each year. The Faculty of Medicine has also benefited from the support of medicine’s Campaign Co-Chair Dr. Michael Dan, whose $1.7 million gift supports the Michael and Amira Dan Professorship in the Dalla Lana School of Public Health.

At the University of Toronto Scarborough, a $1.25 million gift from an anonymous donor will enable psychology students to hone their skills through practical training at academic hospitals. The gift is another boost for UTSC’s highly regarded psychology department that plans to introduce a PhD program in clinical psychology and recently launched an overwhelmingly successful undergraduate program in mental health.

Daisy Ho is an outstanding example of an international alumni leader and ambassador. The chair of the University of Toronto (Hong Kong) Foundation, and a member of the Campaign Executive and the Dean’s Advisory Board at the Rotman School of Management, Ms. Ho made a gift of $2 million to support an Award for Emerging Leaders at the Rotman School and to create a major new undergraduate program to encourage and support student research projects on contemporary China, and facilitate student exchanges with Chinese institutions.

Other members of the University’s Campaign Executive have made generous contributions of both time and financial support, including Arthur and Susan Scace who made a gift of $2.5 million in support of student aid, and Dr. Sonia Labatt, whose $2 million gift will benefit the Faculty of Arts & Science.

We are thankful for these gifts and for the countless others that we receive. The generosity of our alumni and friends has been crucial to the success of Boundless and the University of Toronto, transforming the lives of students and faculty on each of our campuses.

“Since the launch of Boundless last year,” said David Palmer, Vice-President of Advancement, “divisions across our three campuses have rallied their communities and stakeholders around unique visions of consequence and change that will define their leadership in the 21^st century.  This has not only inspired record levels of giving, but also spurred a significant upswell in alumni engagement and volunteerism.”

Following a busy winter and spring period, campaign activity ramped up this fall with many divisional launch events, kicks-offs and volunteer cabinet meetings. Each event reflected the unique nature and vision of the division and its constituencies, ranging from academic and industry symposia to building dedications and openings to alumni and student celebrations. The summary below provides a brief overview of this very busy fall season of campaign activities, which has done so much to raise the profile of the University and the campaign as a priority for philanthropic and volunteer leadership.

In early September, the Faculty of Music unveiled their Dean’s vision for the upcoming campaign at a celebration that was also the Faculty’s annual season opener.  As well, the University launched the Fraser Mustard Institute for Human Development.  The event helped bring together a community of alumni, donors and researchers intent on providing young children with the best possible start.  It also stressed the importance of the Mustard Institute’s focus on the first 2,000 days of life, while articulating its emphasis on collaborative, interdisciplinary research, with a particular focus at OISE and the Faculty of Medicine.

The opening of a newly restored building on Bloor Street for the Munk School for Global Affairs highlighted U of T’s place on the world stage.  Attendees included the Honourable John Baird and His Excellency, Dr. Leonel Fernandez Reyal, former President of the Dominican Republic.  It marked an important milestone in the School’s growth as it becomes one of the world’s premier teaching and research sites on how we engage with one another in a globalized, 21^st century. The restoration was made possible through the generous support of Peter and Melanie Munk, and contributions from the provincial and federal governments.

The University of St. Michael’s College celebrated a number of milestones, including the public launch of their campaign, their 160^th anniversary, and the celebration of the Feast of St. Michael.  USMC alumni, faculty and students came together for a community fair and family barbecue, as well as live musical performances.  The St. Michael’s event was one of the first official events for U of T’s new Chancellor, the Honourable Michael Wilson.

October saw key campaign launches, beginning with the October 4 launch of the Faculty of Arts & Science’s Campaign for Jewish Studies, which celebrated a $5 million gift from the Tanenbaum family and a $1 million gift from Roz and Ralph Halbert.  The Faculty of Arts and Science is working with the UJA Federation of Greater Toronto to enhance the already global reputation and impact of this important centre, and the event served to illustrate ways in which institutions in the Toronto region are finding common ground with U of T, and collaborating in whole new ways of fundraising.

On October 14, the Asia-Pacific launch of Boundless was celebrated at a gala event in Hong Kong co-hosted by President David Naylor and alumna Daisy Ho (MBA 1990), member of the Campaign Executive, Chair of the University of Toronto (Hong Kong) Foundation, and a long-time member of the Dean’s Advisory Board at the Rotman School of Management. The event was organized by a committee of engaged alumni and friends located in Hong Kong, and the University announced $6 million in donations from community members with ties to the region, including a $2 million gift from Ms. Ho.

Bloomberg Nursing launched its $25 million campaign on October 23 at its annual student awards ceremony, where more than 90 bursaries, scholarships and fellowships were awarded.  Their fundraising efforts aim to support more students, attract the next generation of “rising star” faculty and researchers, while continuing to support outstanding programs committed to the student experience.

Also in October, New College concluded its 50^th anniversary celebrations and hosted its inaugural campaign cabinet meeting in support of its $6 million campaign.  A generous lead gift of $1 million from alumnus Richard Rooney will support the New One: Learning Without Borders program, giving first-year students a chance to take part in small learning communities.  And Woodsworth College marked its campaign with several anniversary celebrations including the 40^th of the Summer Study Abroad Program, 45^th of the Millie Rotman Shime Academic Bridging Program, and the 50^th of the Centre for Criminology and Sociolegal Studies.

November was a similarly busy month, during which The John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape, and Design, the Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy and the Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work each kicked off their campaign activity with inaugural campaign cabinet meetings.  These were each intimate, distinct events that shared a common thread of involving volunteers in strategy development, while unveiling plans for programs, capital renewal and further alumni engagement.

On November 5, the Faculty of Dentistry launched their campaign with more than 100 students, faculty, volunteers, alumni and friends on hand.  Dean Haas announced new student awards, and that $9.6 million—more than half the $18 million goal—has been raised towards the Faculty’s top campaign priorities.  St. George campus Boundless banners now stretch as far south as Dundas Street, featuring Dentistry faculty and alumni.

The Campaign for University of Toronto Scarborough launched the largest campaign in UTSC’s history November 14 with more than $5 million in gift announcements.  Principal Vaccarino laid out an exciting vision for UTSC’s growth, and announced new gifts to the campus, each making a distinct contribution towards UTSC’s growth as the cultural and intellectual heart of the eastern GTA.

The Faculty of Information kicked off their campaign earlier this month with an innovative on-line launch, and University College hosted its inaugural Alumni of Influence Awards November 15.  This event welcomed more than 400 guests to recognize the significant contributions of UC alumni, including some of Canada’s brightest lights in education, science, business, law, and the arts.  During this high-energy event, guests had the opportunity to preview artist’s renderings of planned renewal of the historic UC building.

Reaching the first anniversary of the public phase of the Boundless campaign is an occasion to celebrate with our volunteers, friends and alumni here at home and around the world—and the events we have celebrated over the past year have helped mobilize  this diverse community of stakeholders.   The momentum that has been building as a result of these events, announcements, and campaign meetings, will serve to keep our community engaged and passionate about supporting the University’s mission to prepare global leaders and meet the most complex global challenges of our time.

“The University of Toronto is Canada’s leading institution of advanced research and research-intensive education – and one of the finest in the world,” said Chancellor Wilson during his installation. “That status, that global reach and impact, is the result of the talent and hard work of the remarkable people who make up the U of T community. It is also the legacy of those who have gone before us. It is therefore a tremendous privilege for me, as an alumnus of this great, good place, to serve now as your 33rd Chancellor.”

Michael Wilson’s personal relationship with U of T goes back to 1955, when he arrived as a 17-year-old at Trinity College—48 years later, he would become Trinity’s Chancellor from 2003 until 2006. The former Canadian Ambassador to the United States and federal Minister of Finance is the Chairman of Barclays Capital Canada Inc. Michael Wilson’s extended biography can be found here.

Chancellor Wilson has frequently encouraged people to become “triathletes” and take on leadership roles in the private, public and non-profit sectors—his personal experience in all three will certainly come in handy during this new leadership role at U of T. On November 21, the University held a community welcome event with a reception at Hart House, where people from across these three fields of his life were in attendance.

At the event, Matt Chapman, President of the University of Toronto Alumni Association welcomed him as the University’s head alumnus. “The role of Chancellor is much more than symbolic,” Chapman said. “A Chancellor’s reputation and breadth of experience, intelligence and success can open any door, or have any phone call returned. Who could say ‘no’ to leaders such as Rose Wolfe, Hal Jackman, Vivienne Poy or David Peterson? We are fortunate to find in Chancellor Wilson a leader of the same stature, charisma and grace as these icons of the University.”

Matt Chapman and President David Naylor unveil a new Boundless Leadership banner for Michael Wilson.

“We are fond of saying, and we mean it when we say it, that alumni are our greatest ambassadors,” said David Palmer. “It’s fitting, then, that the ceremonial head of our remarkable community of alumni, has himself served one of Canada’s most distinguished ambassadors, with significant experience on the national and international stage. Chancellor Wilson is eminently qualified for this role, by virtue of his deep roots within the University, his long and distinguished service to the University as a volunteer, and his exemplary record of public and community service and private sector leadership.”

55 years ago, the election of Chancellor was transferred from the senate to a committee made up of alumni and various governors. And since 1971, the Chancellor has been elected by graduates alone, through the College of Electors, which represents the constituent alumni associations of the UTAA.

The $35 million campaign kicks off at a pivotal moment in UTSC history, just as new infrastructure promises to transform student experience and its learning and research environments.

Speaking at the launch event, Principal Franco Vaccarino said the campaign will build on UTSC’s recent capital expansion and take UTSC to new levels of achievement.

“We have been focused on building strong academic and research platforms and the facilities needed to support them,” Vaccarino said. “Now, we are building on and enhancing UTSC’s elevated place on the global scene.”

The campaign will strategically target those areas most critical to UTSC at this important juncture in its growth and development. The campaign has already reached 40% of its goal with $13.8 million raised. Key funding priorities include student scholarships, international study and work placements, student leadership development, experiential learning and a visiting scholars program. The campaign will also advance flagship centres and programs in international studies, management, mental health, environmental science and world hunger.

UTSC’s campaign is an integral part of University of Toronto’s $2 billion Boundless Campaign.

“As a key component of U of T’s tri-campus teaching and research powerhouse, we are uniquely positioned to contribute to the university’s bold vision,” said Vaccarino. “Our focus on new and emerging areas of scholarship and our culture of active partnerships with the community are at the core of the university’s research and learning mission.”

Several new gifts were announced at the event, signaling the early momentum and excitement behind the campaign. These include $1.25-million from an anonymous donor that will enable psychology students to hone their skills through practical training at academic hospitals. The gift is another boost for UTSC’s highly regarded psychology department that plans to introduce a PhD program in clinical psychology and recently launched an overwhelmingly successful undergraduate program in mental health.

Other announced gifts include a gift-in-kind, the largest in UTSC history, from the estate of Doris McCarthy, Canada’s celebrated landscape artist. Her estate bequeathed more than 200 paintings and 6,000 pieces of memorabilia, valued at $3.8 million, to enhance art history instruction and expand public art programs at UTSC.

“The campaign is an opportunity for UTSC to take another significant leap forward and expand its impact at an unprecedented rate and in a short period of time,” explained David Palmer, U of T’s vic- president, advancement. “This campus is moving forward with passion, and purpose.”

Pictured From left: UTSC alumnae Margarett Best, Ontario’s Minister of Consumer Services, and Mary Anne Chambers, Ontario’s former Minister of Training, Colleges, and Universities celebrate the campaign launch (photo: Ken Jones)

Dean Daniel Haas announced the success to date of the faculty’s initiative, which has already secured $9.6 million—more than half the goal.

“This is a testament to the dedication of our alumni and friends,” said Haas “and we are most grateful to everyone who has contributed thus far.”

Haas outlined the Faculty’s immediate plans to raise $5 million for student awards.

“Students are the future of dentistry” said Haas, “and their futures bring greater health to the people of Ontario, Canada and the world. Providing financial aid is a tangible way of showing our students we support them, recognize their commitment and hard work and understand the financial pressures associated with studying dentistry.”

Dean Haas had the great pleasure of unveiling four new student awards established through substantial pledges from Mark and Edith Nusbaum, Walter and Mary Lou Montanera and Dental Emergency Service. The impact of these generous gifts will be doubled through University matching programs.

Vice-President of Advancement David Palmer announced the creation of a fifth student award, the George and Olga Haas Scholarship, endowed by Dean Haas in memory of his parents, who placed tremendous value on higher education. The impact of the gift will also be doubled through the Boundless Promise gift matching program.

Another immediate goal of the campaign is to raise $3 million to support expenses related to lower-income patients who come to the Faculty’s dental clinic requiring urgent dental care. The Access to Care Fund allows the Faculty to supplement what patients can afford so that they can complete the treatment recommended for them.

“Almost 20,000 people each year receive treatment they would not otherwise,” Palmer noted. “Dental clinics represent one of the University’s most tangible and direct examples of service outreach to the community. Great praise is due the clinical instructors, clinic staff, and particularly the students, who work to ensure these patients have healthy smiles and all the opportunities that affords.”

The next phase of the campaign will broaden fundraising efforts to attract and retain distinguished scholars and teachers through permanently endowed Chairs and Professorships. This effort will also focus on research innovations in dentistry, such as molecular biology, pain management, biomaterials, bone regeneration and public health that have ramifications across the entire realm of human health. The campaign for Dentistry is a vital part of the University-wide Boundless campaign, a $2 billion fundraising effort.

Picture: Four decades of deans honor student award recipients while launching the Dentistry campaign. From left to right: Dr. Gordon Nikiforuk, Dr. Barry Sessle, Dr. David Mock and Dr. Daniel Haas, current dean. (Photo by Bruno Rakiewicz)

The Campaign for Bloomberg Nursing is an integral part of the University’s overall $2-billion Boundless campaign. Through this initiative, Bloomberg Nursing aims to shape the future of nursing by training future leaders and advancing understanding and treatment of health care issues that affect Canadians.

Dean Sioban Nelson announced the ambitious multi-phase campaign that will enable Bloomberg Nursing to provide even more support for its students, attract the next generation of “rising star” faculty and researchers, and continue to provide outstanding programs committed to the student experience. The campaign will also increase development opportunities for students through global initiatives and advance the Faculty’s international leadership in nursing education and research.
“The first phase of our campaign raised $15 million in donor support,” said Nelson. “Financier and philanthropist, Lawrence S. Bloomberg brought a $10-million gift in 2007—the largest donation ever made to a Canadian nursing school or faculty.”

In her address, Dean Nelson spoke about the important role that charitable giving and philanthropic efforts play in the lives of U of T Nursing students and faculty and acknowledged the generous support of the late Bluma Appel, Byron Bellows, Patrice Merrin and Lawrence S. Bloomberg.

As the Faculty enters the second phase of the campaign, they will build on this strong platform by seeking to raise an additional $10 million, half of which will be used to enhance the quality of the student experience.

“Now, more than ever, we need to support the development of tomorrow’s nurses today,” said Dean Nelson. “We can do this by building their skills and knowledge, advancing the science and scholarship that underpins that competence, and fostering the leadership nurses will bring to health care service development and quality care. With the help of our network of alumni and friends we will continue to support the best and the brightest to choose nursing.”

With a strong focus on students—the nurses of tomorrow—the campaign for Bloomberg Nursing will help to ensure Canada has the talent and leadership to meet the challenges and opportunities facing health care in the 21st century.

Pictured (left to right): Donor representatives Jayne Gresham, Jennifer Guest, Anna Guest, recipient Nolene Look, donor representative Susan Robertson and Dean Sioban Nelson pose for the newly-endowed Pat and Doug Robertson Toronto-Eglinton Rotary Award in Nursing.

The sold-out event at the W Hotel was attended by more than 250 alumni and friends from the Asia-Pacific region, and co-hosted by University of Toronto President David Naylor and alumna Daisy Ho.

University of Toronto Vice-President David Palmer announced two significant gifts to the Boundless campaign at the gala.

Ms. Ho, who not only led the Gala Committee for the Hong Kong celebration, but chairs the University of Toronto (Hong Kong) Foundation, has made a gift of $2 million that addresses two priorities for the University, Mr. Palmer said.

Her generous gift will support an Award for Emerging Leaders, which will attract some of the brightest international visiting academic fellows to the Rotman School of Management. It will also create a major new undergraduate program to encourage and support student research projects on contemporary China and student exchanges with Chinese institutions.

Ms. Ho, Deputy Managing Director of Shun Tak Holdings Ltd., holds an MBA from the Rotman School and has been a member of the Dean’s Advisory Board since 2001. The Rotman School was represented at the announcement by several alumni, and by Suzanne Spragge, Assistant Dean, External Relations of the Rotman School who attended on Dean Roger Martin’s behalf.

Ms. Ho says of her time at the Rotman School that “I’ve never studied harder in my life—I think what helps me to push myself along in my career is the perseverance and the determination that U of T instilled in me. It is indeed a life-long education.”

President Naylor paid tribute to Ms. Ho’s contributions to U of T, saying the University community “has benefitted from her contributions of time and wisdom not only in the Asia-Pacific region but also world-wide, through her service as a member of our Campaign Executive.”

Ms. Ho, President Naylor said, “is also a champion for Canada more generally as a governor of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong.”

Ms. Ho thanked the “dedicated team of volunteers at the U of T Alumni Association in Hong Kong” who help organize events for the 10,000 alumni in the region, saying “we are not just networking with each other, but also acting as the most faithful ambassadors of the school here in the community.”

The Association has a large membership “because of the strong ties between Toronto and this region,” Ms. Ho said. The great respect and emphasis that U of T places on cultural diversity is another reason to be proud, she said.

Mr. Palmer also announced that an anonymous donor has contributed $4 million to establish a Chair in Chinese Canadian Studies at University College.

Mr. Palmer said “the Chair will be the cornerstone of a new program to promote understanding and awareness of the significant contributions of Chinese Canadians to our country.”

With the latest two gifts, U of T has now raised a remarkable $1.12 billion towards its $2 billion goal for the Boundless campaign, Mr. Palmer said.

More than $17 million has been raised in the Asia-Pacific region since the campaign began.

The efforts of the University of Toronto (Hong Kong) Foundation were cited by Mr. Palmer as one example of the local impact of philanthropy. The Foundation’s scholarships have helped make the dream of a U of T education come true for more than 60 students in the last 17 years. It has changed lives and opened doors of opportunity that otherwise have been beyond the means of promising young leaders, Mr. Palmer said.

President Naylor noted that collaboration between U of T faculty members and colleagues in the Asia-Pacific region goes back more than a century. And, the President said, U of T faculty and students have benefitted from dozens of inter-university partnerships across the Asia-Pacific region, from MBA exchange programs to engineering collaborations.

The University is home to more than 10,000 international students with about 75 per cent of them coming from the Asia-Pacific region.

President Naylor said “this mix of students, ideas, perspectives and disciplines is more important than ever before. The global challenges we face together are complex, multifaceted and interconnected – from our substantial thirst for energy, to the vitality of urban regions; from cyber security to food security.”

Other U of T representatives at the gala included Prof. Paul Gooch, President of Victoria University, Prof. Cristina Amon, Dean of the Faculty of Applied Science and Engineering, Marilynn Booth, Dean of the School of Continuing Studies and Suzanne Spragge, Assistant Dean, External Relations, of the Rotman School of Management. Both Engineering and Rotman joined local alumni in sponsoring gala tables at which they hosted their Asia Pacific based alumni and friends.

Guests included His Excellency Mr. Koh Yong Guan, Singapore’s High Commissioner to Canada, a double graduate of U of T, and one of the most distinguished public servants in the modern history of Singapore. Also in attendance was Dr. Lap-Chee Tsui, Vice-Chancellor and President of the University of Hong Kong, formerly a distinguished faculty member and University Professor at U of T. Both gentlemen are also honorary graduates of the University of Toronto.

The gala event was part of a number of U of T events in the region. President Naylor spoke at the Science and Technology in Society Forum in Kyoto, Japan. He also hosted an alumni event at the Canadian Embassy in Tokyo, which was attended by more than 100 guests, and by Jonathan Fried, Canada’s Ambassador to Japan. In addition, the President delivered a keynote address to the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, titled Toronto and Hong Kong: A Tale of Two Regions. Together, these events are helping elevate U of T’s profile in the Asia Pacific region and demonstrating the many connections between Toronto and this dynamic part of the world.

Photo: Alumna Daisy Ho holds an MBA from U of T’s Rotman School and chairs the University of Toronto (Hong Kong) Foundation (photo by Eric Lee)

Meric Gertler, Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Science, said at the launch Thursday night that U of T has identified more than $36 million in aspirations to advance Jewish studies. The community campaign, led by co-chairs Larry and Ken Tanenbaum, in partnership with the UJA Federation of Greater Toronto, has set a goal of raising a minimum of $18 million.

“I’m especially excited to see the centre in its new home in the Jackman Humanities Building,” Larry Tanenbaum said.

Dean Gertler announced two significant gifts to the campaign for Jewish Studies.  The Tanenbaum family—through the estate of Anne Tanenbaum and the Lawrence and Judith Tanenbaum Family Charity Foundation—has given $5 million to support students, fund new programs for the university and the greater community and support day-to-day operations, among other initiatives.

He also announced that Roz and Ralph Halbert have made a gift of $1 million to the Centre through the UJA Federation’s Community Campaign. The gift builds on the Halberts’ generous support of academic programs that foster collaborative research between scholars at U of T and those at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

Ken Tanenbaum said “this evening is a call to action to support the Centre for Jewish Studies and its commitment to global academic excellence.  We have two goals:  First, to raise funds to enable the work of the remarkable faculty and staff. Our second goal is to raise funds for programming and student support.

“Our family has committed $5 million to this cause and we are thrilled to see the flourishing effect of this investment under the guidance of the Centre’s new director, Jeffrey Kopstein,” Ken Tanenbaum said. “The campaign offers the full spectrum of donor opportunities. The funds we raise today will have an impact on thousands of students tomorrow and for years to come.”

President David Naylor said “the Toronto metropolitan region has been lifted for generations by the talent, entrepreneurship, and generosity of its thriving Jewish community. Indeed, that community is a source of strength which few other major urban centres in the world can rival. For its part, the University of Toronto is Canada’s strongest research-intensive university, with the largest global footprint by an order of magnitude. It is therefore most appropriate that we should continue working together to build one of the world’s greatest centres of Jewish Studies.”

Dean Gertler said the Centre for Jewish Studies is “an interdisciplinary powerhouse,” attracting the most talented graduate students to its collaborative MA and PhD programs. More than 4,000 students enrol each year in its undergraduate and graduate courses.

“Now, working closely with leaders in the community, we plan to elevate the Centre’s standing as a global leader and build a powerful platform for the expression of Jewish identity and the promotion of cross-cultural understanding,” Dean Gertler said.

Larry Tanenbaum received an honorary Doctor of Laws from the University in June of this year for his distinguished record as a business leader and community builder, and his exceptional philanthropic support for health care and educational institutions. Ken Tanenbaum is a member of the University of Toronto’s Boundless Campaign Executive, a volunteer body that partners with the University in engaging its community, and helps advance its comprehensive $2 billion campaign.

The vision for Jewish Studies is unfolding in three distinct phases. The first phase, in 2008, elevated Jewish Studies to a centre from a program, paving the way for the new collaborative graduate programs and a major redesign of the undergraduate curriculum.

The second phase, now under way, moved the Centre to expanded quarters inside the Jackman Humanities Building.  The $36 million to support this phase includes funds for course development, conferences, six new chairs or professorships, and two new distinguished scholar positions to anchor major research and teaching streams, a curatorship to enhance scholarly resources and various awards to enhance the student experience.

The third phase would see the potential for new facilities, exhibition space and community partnerships.

Together, these priorities will establish the University of Toronto as one of the world’s premier forums for Jewish thought, Israel studies and Jewish cultural studies.

Pictured, from left to right: Ken Tanenbaum, Co-Chair, Centre for Jewish Studies Campaign; Jennifer Tanenbaum; Professor Meric Gertler, Dean, Faculty of Arts & Science; Judy Tanenbaum; Larry Tanenbaum, Co-Chair, Centre for Jewish Studies Campaign; Professor David Naylor, President, University of Toronto; Professor Jeffrey Kopstein, Director, Centre for Jewish Studies.

U of T’s truly global footprint is reflected nowhere more clearly than in its first-year undergraduate student body, who this year come from 111 countries and over 900 municipalities around the world.  When adding in the diverse heritage of so many Canadian students from Toronto’s intensely multi-cultural metropolitan region, a network of 500,000 alumni in 174 countries, and the remarkably international reach and reputation of faculty research, it brings into sharp relief the University’s potential and impact on the world stage. These reasons go to the heart of why the University built the case for Boundless around the twin pillars of Preparing Global Citizens and Meeting Global Challenges.

Keeping student needs as a central priority for Boundless, the University launched a student-focused campaign that highlights the rich variety of courses spanning more than 1,200 undergraduate and graduate programs, and the more than 900 clubs and student organizations available.

Other campaign activities that are helping build momentum include:

• On April 3, Victoria University launched its “Imagination Unbound” campaign, with 70 per cent of its $60-million goal already raised, including a lead gift of $4 million from Blake Goldring (BA Vic 1981) and Judy Goldring (BA Vic 1987) for the future Goldring Student Centre.
• Students were front and centre as the University of Toronto Mississauga celebrated its launch on May 23^rd. The $60-million campaign is well underway, thanks to a catalytic $2-million gift from entrepreneur Vasu Chanchlani, as well as other leading donations.
• At Spring Reunion this year, more than 5,000 alumni and their guests registered for 103 reunion events, including 81 special events offered by 20 faculties, colleges and departments. This year’s Shaker event for young alumni welcomed 613 guests—a 72% increase from last year. Dr. Samantha Nutt, founder of War Child Canada, was the keynote speaker at the UTAA’s AGM, which had more than 1,250 registrations—another record. And 869 people enjoyed 13 Stress-Free Degree lectures from leading faculty and alumni.
• On September 11^th, Dean Don McLean of the Faculty of Music unveiled a season schedule of more than 400 performances, lectures and master classes to a select group of faculty, alumni, donors and friends.  This year, Opening Night looked beyond the 2012-13 academic year as McLean described the principal themes of the campaign for Music: his Three I’s strategy to extend the Interdisciplinary reach of the Faculty, heighten its International profile, and make crucial Infrastructure improvements to the Edward Johnson Building.
• On September 20^th, the official ribbon-cutting took place for the Munk School of Global Affairs’ newly renovated and restored heritage building at 315 Bloor Street West. The opening celebrated an exciting period of growth for the Munk School as it moves into a new fall semester in the University of Toronto. Expanding from its existing site at Trinity College, the additional building provides a home for the flagship Master of Global Affairs program, as well as doubles the amount of space for students, faculty, and staff, and is home to the new Canada Centre for Global Security Studies.
• As we prepare for the one-year anniversary of the campaign’s public launch on November 20, more gala events, divisional achievements and campaign announcements will be forthcoming. Among the more prominent upcoming events includes the Asia-Pacific campaign launch, taking place on October 13^th in Hong Kong, preceded by a keynote address by President Naylor to the Canadian Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong on October 11^th, and alumni events in Japan and Singapore.

The University of Toronto is deeply grateful for the generous support of our donors, volunteer leaders, alumni and friends. Thank you for joining us as we explore the boundless possibilities of the University for global leadership and societal impact. Together, we will channel the immense power and talent of our community to imagine a brighter future for Canada and the world.

The Centre for Engineering Innovation and Entrepreneurship will be located on St. George Street next to Simcoe Hall and is destined to be a landmark building at
U of T.  It will feature dynamic, flexible environments that break down artificial barriers between people, foster collaboration, encourage active learning and accelerate innovation. Some of the Faculty’s most innovative institutes and centres will be housed in the new building, along with state-of-the-art facilities that promote group work and research.  The future Centre has also received generous early support from Bill and Kathleen Troost, Peter Allen and Paul Cadario.

Though Myhal is taken by the spirit of innovation and collaboration the Centre embodies, he also sees it as an important part of the needed improvements to campus infrastructure. “When I was at U of T Engineering, some of the buildings we studied in were old and creaky,” he jokes. “So, I know the value of great infrastructure. The buildings the students have now, like the Lassonde Building, are a sea change compared to what I had. We need more buildings like that.”

George Myhal has a long volunteer association with the wider University of Toronto community, including an almost decade-long membership on Governing Council, and roles as Vice-Chair and Chair of the Audit Committee.  He was also member of the Great Minds campaign cabinet and is currently a member of the Boundless Campaign Executive.

In 1958, Myhal arrived in Canada with his family from the western Ukraine, accompanying his machinist father and his mother, a nurse. Inheriting his father’s aptitude for mechanics, Myhal studied industrial engineering at U of T and then built a career in finance. Today he is Chief Operating Officer at Brookfield Asset Management

He credits his success in part to the educational opportunities afforded him after his family immigrated to Canada.  To this day, it’s something he remains thankful for and, when he thought about the best way he could give back to say thank-you for these opportunities, it seemed natural for him to choose U of T Engineering. “I believe it offers an outstanding education,” he says.

Myhal would also like to see the Faculty increase its community outreach. “We need to have a more robust conversation with businesses and with alumni,” he says. “It will make students’ education even more relevant and valuable.” For Myhal, that relevance has never been more important. “Given changes to technology and its impact on our lives, engineering will have a higher profile and more importance in the world than when I was a student. It’s important for the Faculty to play a part in this new era for engineering.”

Photo: Rahila Myhal, Dean Cristina Amon, and campaign chair George Myhal (IndE 7T8) at the Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering’s Afternoon of Engineering Innovation event (photo by Brooke Cooper)

Held on May 11, 2012 at the Royal Conservatory of Music, the Goldring Gala raised more than $36,000 toward the new state-of-the-art facility that will foster excellence in sport science research and teaching, sport medicine, athlete training, coaching and world-class competition. Slated to open in January 2015—the same year the Pan Am Games come to Toronto—the Centre is the feather in the cap of U of T’s $98-million Varsity Centre complex.

MacLennan is quick to emphasize how important private fundraising is for initiatives such as the future Goldring Centre. “There’s only so much you can do without the resources,” she says. “This Centre will make a huge difference in Ontario and Canada.”

This was the first time that both MacLennan and Gairdner had organized a fundraising event. “We were learning on the fly,” says MacLennan with a laugh. To ensure the event’s success, they did a lot of networking, advertising, sending invitations, phoning and meeting people. More than 100 guests attended the gala event, which featured live performances by athletes and a sports-related silent auction.

“Rosie and Sarah organized a memorable event,” says Judy Goldring (BA Vic 1987), Vice-Chair of U of T’s Governing Council, and the lead volunteer who worked with the two student-athletes. “Every detail was thought through—from the trampoline on Bloor Street to the silent auction items. Everybody who attended had a great time. Rosie’s and Sarah’s leadership in pulling this together, particularly in the midst of their busy schedules, shows just how talented they are.” Ms. Goldring and her family, including the late Warren Goldring (BA UC 1949, LLD Hon 2003) and her brother Blake (BA Vic 1981), a member of the Boundless Campaign Executive, are among the Centres founding benefactors, whose number also includes Ron Kimel (BA UC 1966), the Kimel family, and the late Gordon Stollery (MSc 1972).

“U of T has been great,” says Rosie of her time as an undergraduate pursuing her bachelor’s in physical education and health with U of T’s Faculty of Kinesiology & Physical Education. “The Faculty has been very supportive of my succeeding both in athletics and academics.” She arrived at U of T at 17, only knowing that she loved sport. She soon became fascinated with the socio-cultural aspects of sports research and is now back at U of T, beginning her master’s in exercise science. Her future career aspirations include perhaps contributing to athletes’ involvement in social initiatives.

But first, she will focus on the next Olympics four years from now. And in the immediate future, all those requests for interviews and appearances. “It’s been a whirlwind,” she admits. MacLennan, who also won gold at the Pan Am Games in Mexico and placed seventh in Beijing in 2008, has spoken with Prime Minister Harper, made an appearance at TED Talks, threw the first pitch for the Jays and the first kick for the Argos. Not to mention, having celebrities such as Justin Bieber and Samuel Jackson tweeting about her.

MacLennan obviously knows how to focus her energy, though. “I’m taking it day by day,” she says.

-Allyson Rowley

More information on the Goldring Centre for High Performance Sport.

Pioneered by Victoria College and now being adapted across the University of Toronto’s three campuses, One Programs foster intimate learning experiences within a vast intellectual environment. First-year students in groups of no more than 25 pursue a common curriculum that permits them to approach ideas, events and issues from a multidisciplinary perspective. By investing in smaller learning communities, benefactors like Richard Rooney are ensuring that undergraduates access the full range of disciplinary excellence across the University in environments that are supportive, intimate and collegial.

“I grew up in a very small town, and coming to U of T and living in residence was my first time being anonymous in a large city,” Rooney said. “Being part of a small community of my peers at New College was a very supportive environment, helped to make this transition easier, and was one of the best experiences of my life. I could think of no better way to give back to my college than supporting this new opportunity for students.”

Rooney, President and CIO of Burgundy Asset Management Ltd., has a long association of support and volunteerism at the University of Toronto. He was Co-Chair of New College’s previous campaign, past member of the Rotman Value Investing Advisory Board and currently he is Chair of the New College campaign cabinet. He has previously supported New College’s Principal’s Innovation Fund and residence expansion, and he saw investing in this new initiative as a way for his support to have the greatest impact.

“Thanks to the support of Richard, New One: Learning Without Borders, is now off the mark and running,” said Principal Yves Roberge. “The program features courses that explore how we might build more equitable, just and successful societies through the lenses of food, language, digital media and across disciplinary borders. It builds upon U of T’s ability to offer an unparalleled array of opportunities for first-year students to explore their interests, find their place in the university community, and assist in the successful transition to university life.”

New College is celebrating its 50th anniversary with events scheduled throughout the year. The College aims to connect with the diverse members of its ever-growing community, and to bridge the generation gap between its current students and alumni. Among these was a revival of the Jacob Bronowski Lecture in the spring, a 50th Anniversary Scholarship Fund, and a new 50th Anniversary wordmark that appears across the campus.

“Graduates from a law school as distinguished as U of T’s can have a profound impact on the future direction of our country,” said Chancellor Emeritus Jackman, a former Lieutenant-Governor of Ontario. “I’m delighted to participate in a campaign for a building that will enhance the student experience and be part of a magnificent landscape in the heart of our great city.”

Designed by the Toronto firm Hariri Pontarini, the new multi-storey wing on Queen’s Park Crescent will be named the Jackman Law Building.  Additionally, Dr. Jackman’s previous $1-million gift, which he made to the Faculty last November, will see a lecture hall in the new building named after jurists Richard Haldane and William Watson.  Jackman admires their early twentieth-century work in articulating the divisional powers between the federal and provincial governments under the Canadian Constitution.

Dean Moran praised Jackman as “one of the Faculty’s most distinguished alumni, and we are very proud that our new building will bear his name. He represents so many of the qualities that the Faculty hopes to instil in its students: a deep intellectual engagement with the law, a passion for excellence and an unwavering commitment to the public good. His generosity will transform our great law school and ensure that we continue to offer the best legal education in the world, right here in Canada.”

Dr. Jackman, Chancellor of U of T between 1997 and 2003, has had a long history of giving to the University.  Perhaps the country’s greatest champion of the humanities, since 2002 he has committed over $30 million to help establish the Jackman Humanities Building and Jackman Humanities Institute.  With internal matching and other funds, his gift helped catalyze more than $90 million in support of U of T’s humanities departments, and has vaulted the University into the top ranks of humanities centres worldwide.  In the context of this support, Dr. Jackman has said that the humanities are “particularly close to my heart. I can’t imagine a university without these areas of study – the heart, root and historical basis of any great university.”

Dr. Jackman’s total support represents the largest gift to the humanities from an individual ever made to a Canadian university, and his latest gift to the Faculty of Law brings his total giving to the University to more than $44 million.

The new state-of-the-art building will enable the law school to continue competing for top students and world-renowned faculty. New classrooms will permit a wider range of course offerings and more dynamic interaction between students and professors, enhance faculty research synergies and provide deeper professional and community engagement. The renovated Bora Laskin Law Library will include upgraded technology and research tools, quiet areas for reading and research and group study rooms.

The new building will increase space at the faculty by 50 per cent, and the expanded facilities will add much-needed contemporary teaching, learning, research and collaborative space not only for JD and graduate programs, but also for professional and continuing education courses.  It will also host ground-breaking new initiatives such as the global professional LLM and internationally trained lawyers program.

Other parts of the Faculty’s overall capital plan include an extensive interior renovation to the Bora Laskin Law Library and a light renovation to historic Flavelle House.  The campaign has received tremendous support from the University, as well as from Faculty of Law alumni and friends.  The law firm community has provided outstanding support, with $2-million gifts from Osler, Hoskin and Harcourt LLP and Torys LLP setting new benchmarks for law firm giving in Canada.

Hal Jackman (BA, Victoria College, 1953, LLB, 1956) is among the most engaged volunteers and generous donors at the University of Toronto.  He is an Advisor to the Faculty of Law Building campaign cabinet and an Honorary Chair of the University of Toronto’s Boundless campaign.  He has been a vigorous supporter of the Faculty of Law and its leadership, saying “I’m a big admirer of Dean Moran. I think she’s taking things in the right direction.”

Dean Moran said in the early stages of planning the new premises that some buildings can “make the spirit suffer” or “make the spirit soar” and that it was important for an educational institution such as U of T to achieve the latter.

Pictured: The Honourable Henry N. R. Jackman

USMC President and Vice-Chancellor Anne Anderson csj (Sisters of St. Joseph) announced that $24 million had already been raised in pursuit of this goal.

The motto of the campaign, Boundless Community, stresses the fundamental St. Michael’s principles of community connections and engagement with social justice.

“Boundless Community will create a new platform for academic achievement and excellence and further establish St. Michael’s College as an important locus of innovation and collaboration,” Anderson told an assembly of students, faculty and alumni and friends in the College Quad.

Professor Anderson outlined the five key priorities of the campaign: revitalizing campus learning and living spaces; modernizing the John M. Kelly Library and broadening access to its resources; establishing the SMC One Cornerstone Program for first-year students; strengthening the “hallmark” undergraduate programs in Book & Media Studies, Celtic Studies, Mediaeval Studies and Christianity & Culture; and increasing scholarship and bursary support for undergraduate and graduate students.

“Cornerstone will build character, enhance the pursuit of social justice and create a platform for greater dedication to community,” Anderson said of this initiative, which will allow every entering St. Michael’s student to take a credit course in Justice, Culture and Community.

Anderson noted that Cornerstone would “reaffirm” the St. Michael’s commitment to the motto of the Congregation of St. Basil: “Teach me Goodness, Discipline and Knowledge.”

Standing between a pair of towers decorated with blue-and-white colours, USMC Collegium Chair Hugh McKinnon pointed out that the launch was scheduled on the Feast of St. Michael, a day traditionally associated with the onset of the fall term in universities.

“When you cross the quad today and see the beautiful sculpture of the Archangel there, you may remember that Michaelmas is always the first holiday of the new academic year, and this special day honours both our founding and our historic academic and spiritual tradition,” he said.

“We’re glad he’s on our side,” McKinnon added, referring to St. Michael.

St. Michael’s College Student Union President Mike Cowan highlighted several gifts that had contributed to the success to date: $1 million from James McGovern and his family in support of the Chaplaincy Program; $150,000 from Philip and Linda Armstrong for the Celtic Studies program; more than $30,000 for new computers and furnishing from the Friends of the J. M. Kelly Library; and a gift from MacKinnon of materials, books and manuscripts relating to the British philosopher, novelist and religious thinker G. K. Chesterton.

MacKinnon, who functioned as master of ceremonies for the launch, described the Kelly Library, which will hold the Chesterton collection, as “one of the essential elements” of the St. Michael’s community and “a great chill spot” for students.

Andy Lubinsky, President of the St. Michael’s College Alumni Association, pledged the support of SMC alumni, who number 50,000.

“We are the ambassadors, the advocates,” Lubinsky said. “We were once enrolled here and this was our academic home. We lived in residence and played football on the fields. We filled St. Basil’s Church for mass on Sundays and we thronged in Teefy Hall and in the campus quad by the statue of the Archangel. Just as St. Mike’s students do today.”

Last to speak was U of T Chancellor Michael Wilson, who placed the SMC campaign in the context of the broader Boundless initiative.

“St. Michael’s has grown alongside our city and our university, and I firmly believe this campaign marks the next big step for this college,” he said.

Two ensembles provided music for the event: Musicians in Ordinary, the SMC ensemble in residence, which performed Renaissance and early Baroque repertoire, and Back of the Room, a traditional folk group made partly of faculty members and graduates of the Celtic Studies Program. There were exhibits by programs, clubs and divisions, including the Kelly Library, which issued souvenir bookmarks. The launch ended with a barbecue.

Father Mario D’Souza, Superior of the Basilians at the University of St. Michael’s College and Dean of the Faculty of Theology, offered a prayer for the success of Boundless Community. Another highlight was the cutting of a special cake in honour of the 160th anniversary of St. Michael’s College.

Pictured, from left to right: Dean Mario D’Souza, CSB, Faculty of Theology USMC; the Hon. Michael H. Wilson, Chancellor of the University of Toronto; Professor Anne Anderson, csj., President and Vice-Chancellor USMC; Andy Lubinsky ’79, President of the USMC Alumni Association Board; Mike Cowan, President of the Student Union USMC, Hugh MacKinnon ’81, Chair of the Collegium USMC

FMIHD is the first institute of its kind in Canada, bringing together University of Toronto researchers from a variety of disciplines — such as education, medicine, psychology, biology and social work — to connect in new ways and make the most of the early years of human development.

The new institute is named in memory of early human development champion Dr. J. Fraser Mustard and encompasses faculties and divisions across U of T as well as its affiliated hospitals.

“Fraser Mustard was a giant who had a huge impact on his country; a man of unflagging curiosity and great generosity of spirit,” said U of T President David Naylor. “The Institute for Human Development was his vision and gift for future generations.”

Mustard was a towering figure in the arena of early childhood development. The Early Years Study—Reversing the Real Brain Drain, released in 1999 and co-written with the Honourable Margaret Norrie McCain for the Ontario government, drove awareness of the singular importance of investing in early childhood to entirely new levels, influencing everything from government policy to scientific research to educational practice.

At the institute’s launch, held at the MaRS Discovery Centre, FMIHD inaugural Executive Director Stephen Lye, a U of T professor of obstetrics and gynecology, spoke about how the first 2,000 days of life — from birth to age six — are critical to a child’s life-long health, learning and social functioning.

“FMIHD creates a critical mass of brilliant researchers from different disciplines and professions, putting U of T at the very forefront of research to maximize the health and full potential of our greatest resource — our children.”

Dr. Cameron Mustard, son of Fraser Mustard, and a professor at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health, spoke about how his father was well known for his relentless advocacy for the importance of investments in early child development and also for the passion with which he engaged the fundamental scientific questions of human development in the early years.

“The University of Toronto’s commitment to establish a transdisciplinary Institute for Human Development resolved, for my father, one of the uncompleted tasks on his to-do list. He had a vision that U of T, as the most remarkable Canadian university of our generation, could provide international leadership in scholarship in this field.”

FMIHD has supporters from around the world, including Mats Sundin, former captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs hockey team and son of a pediatric nurse. Mr. Sundin has established exchange fellowships for two elite scientists in developmental biology between U of T and Karolinska Institutet in his home country of Sweden.

“Now that I’m a new father, I see how important it is to give babies the best possible start in life. I hope the important research that will take place at the U of T’s FMIHD will help the world’s children develop into healthy adults.”

To date, $4 million has been raised towards an initial $10 million goal, thanks to the generous support of the Hon. Margaret Norrie McCain, Eric Jackman, Mats Sundin, Eb and Jane Zeidler, Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment and Fraser Mustard’s long time supporters, the Lawson Foundation.

In addition, U of T’s Connaught Committee bestowed its inaugural $1 million Global Challenge award to the FMIHD to fund a multidisciplinary research study, a strategic planning workshop and a Distinguished Visiting Scientist program. The Connaught Global Challenge International Symposium, which coincided with the IHD launch, featured national and international scientists speaking on the topic of “Investing in Mothers and Children: Developmental Trajectories, Health, Learning and Society.”

The institute has named Professor Marla Sokolowski, University Professor in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the Faculty of Arts & Science, as its inaugural academic director.

“The conversation between our genes and our environment in early life has lifelong consequences for our health, learning and social functioning,” she said. “Understanding how our early experience affects us is one of the research questions being asked by our highly transdisciplinary network of researchers. FMIHD will enable the science of early human development to integrate with the design of our health and education programs, bringing together those who are responsible for the well-being of our children — researchers, policy makers, educators, families and caregivers — in an active and equal partnership to create and share knowledge.”

Photo details: Dr. Cameron Mustard, son of Dr. Fraser Mustard, spoke of his father’s passionate commitment to early child development.

Photo credit: Gustavo Toledo

The expansion was made possible due to the significant contributions from the federal and provincial government and generous support from Peter and Melanie Munk. After a complete restoration and renovation, the building is now equipped with a state-of-the-art boardroom, four new meeting spaces, a library and reception space, and dedicated teaching and study spaces for Master of Global Affairs students.

The ribbon-cutting ceremony was attended by Munk School students and faculty, as well as a number of special guests, including: Dr. Leonel A. Fernández Reyna, Former President of the Dominican Republic, John Baird, Canada’s Foreign Affairs Minister, Ms. Judy Goldring, Vice-Chair of the University`s Governing Council, and Peter and Melanie Munk.

“Our government is working on all fronts to create the conditions necessary for jobs, growth and long-term prosperity,” said Minister John Baird, speaking on behalf of the Honourable Gary Goodyear, Minister of State for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FedDev Ontario) “This new Centre – led by Janice Gross-Stein – will not only help focus academic attention on areas where it needs to be now, but ten years from now, to help contribute to our shared understanding of the links between security and prosperity in Canadian foreign affairs and international relations generally.”

University of Toronto President David Naylor said, “Canada is well positioned to reassert its place on the world stage as an interlocutor between the existing and emerging global powers. Only with outstanding intellectual leadership can the advantages of globalization be maximized, and the threats, constrained. Thanks to the prescience and generosity of Peter and Melanie Munk, Canada’s leadership capacity has been significantly enhanced.”

“By nurturing leaders and thinkers who will thrive in this new globalized landscape, we can continue to build on Canada’s achievements and strengths — as a peacemaker, as an innovator and as a champion of multiculturalism — and further secure our place as a leader in the international community. On behalf of the Government of Ontario, I am honoured to extend congratulations to the executives, faculty, staff and students as you celebrate the opening of the Munk School of Global Affairs,” said Premier Dalton McGuinty in a letter read during the ceremony.

The new site will serve as a home for the Munk School of Global Affairs and a gateway to the University for visiting delegations, heads of state and experts from around the world.

Michael Kennedy

Photo details: Meric Gertler, dean of Arts & Science, Graham Smith, Master of Global Affairs student, Janice Gross Stein, director of the Munk School of Global Affairs, Leonel A. Fernández Reyna, former president of the Dominican Republic, John Baird, Canada’s Foreign Affairs Minister, Melanie and Peter Munk, President David Naylor and Judy Goldring, vice-chair of U of T’s Governing Council

Photo credit: Jon Horvatin

Call it opening night. Every September, Dean Don McLean of the Faculty of Music unveils a season schedule of more than 400 performances, lectures and master classes to a select group of faculty, alumni, donors and friends.

This time the look ahead extended beyond the 2012-13 academic year as McLean described the principal themes of the campaign for Music:  his “three i’s” strategy to extend the interdisciplinary reach of the Faculty, heighten its international profile and make crucial infrastructure improvements to the Edward Johnson Building (EJB).

Boundless: The Campaign for the University of Toronto, which has raised more than $1.1 billion to date towards a University-wide goal of $2 billion, will provide vital support to the Faculty of Music’s vision, the Dean noted.

Interdisciplinary initiatives have already expanded through the recently established Music and Health Research Collaboratory, which has its headquarters at the EJB. The Faculty of Medicine and its affiliated research hospitals will be important collaborators in the work of this new initiative.  Music Associate Dean Professsor Lee Bartel has been named acting director of the Collaboratory.

“Our ambitions comprise not only advances in traditional music and sound therapy,” McLean said, “but pure research in neuroscience and psychology; in the social sciences, with stress on the role of music in social well-being; and fundamental inquiry into the nature of teaching, learning and performing.”

Going hand in hand with interdisciplinary expansion will be increased recruitment of international faculty, graduate students and postdoctoral fellows.

“I am determined that the Faculty of Music will not be provincial in any sense of that word,” McLean said. “We must internationalize our departments both to keep our programs vital and to be part of the global mission that is articulated by the Boundless campaign.”

Undergirding all this progress will be renewal of infrastructure.

“This was a state-of-the-art facility when it opened,” McLean said of the music building. “But that was 50 years ago.”

Basic renovations are under way, he said, and there are now plans under consideration to renew the building’s distinctive lobby and remake the 815-seat MacMillan Theatre into a 1,000-seat “contemporary training room that looks, feels and – most importantly – sounds like a great opera house.”

The concept calls for three dramatic balcony fronts made of oak and embossed with oak-leaf designs as an expression of the Faculty’s identity within U of T. Backstage and pit areas will be upgraded and the roof trusses raised.

The presentation on September 11 in Walter Hall featured a performance by the Cecilia String Quartet, U of T’s new quartet in residence, and a rendition of Aaron Tsang’s Boundless Fanfare. McLean introduced three new faculty members: countertenor and early music specialist Daniel Taylor, opera and vocal consultant soprano Wendy Nielsen and Gordon Foote who has moved from McGill University to join the U of T team in Jazz Studies.

Professor Cristina Amon, Dean, announced the success to date of the Faculty’s campaign, which has already secured more than $80 million towards its goal—the largest-ever fundraising initiative for an engineering school in Canada. “U of T Engineering is Canada’s best engineering faculty. Our goal is to build on our reputation for excellence, and establish ourselves into the very top ranks of the world’s leading institutions for engineering education, research and innovation,” Amon said. “This campaign will engage our global network of alumni and friends to build a pre-eminent Faculty that will nurture the U of T world-class engineer of tomorrow.”

In her address, Dean Amon outlined the campaign’s five areas of focus: developing global engineering leaders; nurturing engineering innovation & entrepreneurship; revolutionizing biomedical engineering and human health; advancing information communications technology; and reshaping the future of energy, the environment and sustainability.

Building the Centre for Engineering Innovation and Entrepreneurship is a core priority. Located on St. George Street, beside Simcoe Hall and Convocation Hall, the centre will be a landmark building at the University of Toronto. The nerve centre for the Faculty’s collaborative learning and interdisciplinary research, it will feature dynamic, flexible environments that foster collaboration, encourage active learning and accelerate innovation.  George Myhal, Chair of the Engineering Campaign Executive Committee, has made a $5-million gift to the new Centre.  He closed the plenary session by sharing an inspiring personal perspective on why he is such a strong supporter of the Faculty and the University.

Bill and Kathleen Troost were also recognized for their $2-million gift towards space for the Institute for Leadership Education in Engineering (ILead). “Bill and Kathleen Troost’s gift will provide a home for ILead and allow leadership education at U of T Engineering to take a significant step forward,” Dean Amon said. She also acknowledged Peter Allen for his $1-million gift to the new building, remarking that he “believes in the vision for the Centre for Engineering Innovation & Entrepreneurship and his gift is an inspiration to faculty, students and future donors.”

Dean Amon also lauded Paul Cadario—a past President of the University of Toronto Alumni Association, who sits on the Advisory Boards for the Munk School of Global Affairs, and the School of Public Policy and Governance, as well as the Dean’s Advisory Board for Applied Science and Engineering.  Cadario made a generous $1-million gift to the Centre for Global Engineering, and Amon noted that his gift is “a reflection of his life’s work helping to build prosperous, sustainable and peaceful societies.” Also at the event, Dean Amon acknowledged Walter Curlook who provided a $1-million gift toward lab space, remarking that his gift will “build vital state-of-the-art lab space benefiting our students and faculty.”

“Today’s campaign launch was a window on the kind of limitless innovation and creativity that takes place every day at U of T Engineering,” said David Palmer,
U of T’s Vice-President of Advancement.

The afternoon series of events showcased the Faculty’s strong industry links, its global excellence, innovation, and the tremendous potential of its students.  Overall it was a very effective way both to launch a campaign, and to remind alumni about the impact of their Faculty.   By showcasing the work of today’s students and the innovative research of faculty members, it invited alumni to re-engage with and celebrate their alma mater, and clearly whetted their appetite for more.

Photo: Engineering alumnus Anthony Lacavera speaks at An Afternoon of Engineering Innovation.

The campaign launch began with this poignant declaration of support, when two of the Faculty’s first-year residents, Jeff Alfonsi and Joshua Levitz, spoke of how important the Faculty has been to them personally and announced, on behalf of their peers, a $2-million gift in support of the campaign.  Truly philanthropic in nature, and extraordinarily generous, the gift is being made with the proceeds from Toronto Notes, a comprehensive medical review revised annually by the University of Toronto graduating medical class, and renowned around the world for its excellence in the field.

In her keynote address, Dean Whiteside spoke about the central role that charitable giving and philanthropic efforts play in advancing the Faculty’s research and education objectives and acknowledged the generous support of leaders like Michael Dan (Chair of the Campaign Cabinet), Terrence Donnelly, Carlo Fidani, Paul Dalla Lana, and Mark and Stuart Tanz, who have made pace-setting gifts to the Faculty.  In total, more than $60 million in support has come from the Faculty’s volunteer campaign leadership team.

“The Faculty of Medicine’s integrating role uniquely positions us to spark the discoveries and drive the changes that will transform health globally in the 21st century, with the help of our supporters,” said Whiteside.   “The complexity of the health challenges we face today requires solutions that can only emerge through innovation that is collaborative and cross-disciplinary.”

The Faculty of Medicine’s academic network is vast. In partnership with nine partner research hospitals and 18 community affiliates, the Faculty’s 6,800 academic and clinical faculty members educate more than 8,600 trainees annually, including MD students, graduate and doctoral students, health sciences professionals, residents and fellows. To ensure these trainees have continued access to world-class opportunities, the Faculty will seek to raise $100 million for student programming and financial aid.

“Students in the Faculty of Medicine will become the next generation of health professionals and leaders. They inspire me to be confident in the future of health care in Canada and around the world,” said Dr. Terrence Donnelly, a generous supporter of the Faculty and chair of recruitment for the campaign.

Research in the Faculty of Medicine boasts a critical mass of expertise in four areas, reflected in the campaign’s strategic priorities; human development, global health, neuroscience and brain health, and complex diseases. To provide the Faculty’s scientists with leading-edge research technology, the campaign will seek to raise $200 million for research programs and infrastructure.

Recruiting and retaining world-leading faculty is also a top priority for the campaign, which aims to raise $200 million to support faculty. “Our campaign will enable us to continue to attract and retain the best academic talent in the world,” said Whiteside.

The expansion gives the Rotman School the facilities it needs to continue its trajectory of growth and innovation that has propelled it into the top ranks of the world’s years leading management schools.  The Rotman School is currently raising $200 million to augment its programs and faculty, which includes the $92-million expansion project.

The Rotman School expansion was announced in 2007 with a grant of $50 million from the Province of Ontario and an additional $10 million in other government funding.  Designed by award-winning Kuwabara Payne McKenna Blumberg Architects (KPMB), the nine-storey project is seamlessly integrated with the Rotman School’s existing five-storey home, which opened in 1995.

Across the street from Robarts library, in the heart of the St. George campus, it is also connected to an existing heritage home that will host the Rotman PhD program.  Targeting LEED® Silver certification, the project exemplifies sustainable design principles and prioritizes the well-being of students, faculty, staff and visitors. The interior is filled with natural light, fresh air, and spectacular views of the historic U of T campus.

“This landmark expansion will facilitate the work of Rotman faculty, students, and graduates as key participants in the urgent global dialogue on innovation and prosperity,” says University of Toronto President David Naylor. “Most important, it will provide more of the best tools available to help ensure the success of our students. And this in turn, through their creativity and leadership as Rotman alumni, will help ensure the success of our society.”

“Our aim for the past 14 years has been to make sure Canada has a business school that ranks among the world’s finest,” says Roger Martin, Dean of the Rotman School. “We could not be more grateful for this wonderful anonymous benefaction in support of this new building, that gives us the physical space necessary to take the next steps towards this goal.”  The Rotman School was ranked 10th in the world for faculty research in the January 2012 survey of MBA programs by the Financial Times.

“The expansion allows us to continue to pursue our mission of redesigning business education through our approach built on Integrative Thinking,” says the Rotman School’s Assistant Dean, Integrative Planning & Chief Operating Officer Mary-Ellen Yeomans. “KPMB’s design understands our innovative and creative approach to education. With an abundance of new space for students, faculty and staff, the expansion will enable us to pioneer with new courses, content and methods in all of our programs.”

The expansion contains seven new 70-seat classrooms, a state-of-the-art Event Hall that can seat up to 500 people for a lecture, faculty and staff offices, a ground floor café with seating for 130, four outdoor spaces including terraces and green roofs, as well as more than 60 new study rooms and 790 full size lockers for students.

The expansion also provides a new home to several of the Rotman School’s research and education centres, including the Desautels Centre for Integrative Thinking, Rotman DesignWorks, Martin Prosperity Institute, Clarkson Centre for Business Ethics and Board Effectiveness, Institute for International Business, Centre for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, Michael Lee-Chin Family Institute for Corporate Citizenship, the Centre for Health Sector Strategy and a new Venture Lab.

Rotman currently offers a full-time MBA, morning MBA, evening MBA, one-year Executive MBA, Omnium Global Executive MBA, Master of Finance, a PhD program, executive education and several joint programs and courses. The expansion will allow the continued growth of the Full-Time MBA program which will eventually enrol 390 students.

The Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto is redesigning business education for the 21st century with a curriculum based on Integrative Thinking. Located in the world’s most diverse city, the Rotman School fosters a new way to think that enables the design of creative business solutions. For more information, visit www.rotman.utoronto.ca

Photo details: U of T President David Naylor (rear left) joins Ontario Minister of Economic Development and Innovation Brad Duguid, incoming Chancellor Michael Wilson, Chair of Governing Council Richard Nunn, and students Barry Dion (front left), Michelle Cortes (front right) and Terence Fong (rear right).

Photo credit: Jon Horvatin

Forguson served as Registrar, Vice-Principal and then Principal of UC from 1989 until 1997. He retired in 2003 and passed away at his home in Vancouver in 2005.

“This is not only to celebrate my husband’s life of intellectual exploration, but to promote student interest in critical thinking,” says Georgiana Forguson. “At a time when much of the undergraduate experience is focused on preparation for the economic marketplace, I think it is vital to acknowledge the need for a strong liberal arts foundation that will enable graduates to make decisions based on reasoned analysis of the issues, and not on ideological grounds.”

The gift was the first to be made under the University of Toronto’s new Boundless Promise program, which matches donations of $25,000 or more made to needs-based scholarships, between now and December 2015.

When a donor makes such a gift, the benefaction is invested in the U of T’s endowment, which in turn generates a permanent annual payout for the student award. The University matches the payout 1:1, thus doubling the impact of the donation. These matching funds go above and beyond what the university already commits to student financial aid annually.

Making the first gift to the new Boundless Promise program “is a real honour,” says Geoff Forguson, Lynd’s son. “My dad would have been proud to know that.”

Donald Ainslie, Principal of University College, wrote to Georgiana Forguson thanking her for establishing the award in honour of her husband. “I see his portrait every day when I leave my office, and it serves as a reminder of the ideals I am trying to pursue during my time as principal.

“With UC as the founding college of the University, it seems particularly appropriate that the first award to take advantage of the recently launched Boundless Promise matching opportunity honours one of the College’s best principals,” Ainslie said. “The program’s name, moreover, truly captures Lynd’s optimism in investing so much of his time and energy in supporting students.”

Georgiana Forguson says all of her husband’s undergraduate and graduate education “was generously supported by various scholarships.” Lynd and Georgiana met at school in Ohio. He became a Fulbright Scholar at Oxford and she received her teaching degree at the University of Toronto’s faculty of education in 1975.

“Because he loved the career that these various funding groups enabled him to follow, it is appropriate that we return a small part of this generosity by establishing a scholarship in his name,” Georgiana says.

Since Georgiana made the gift, a number of other donors have established scholarships under the Boundless Promise program—each for their own reasons. For Georgiana, the rationale for her gift was simple: “The scholarship will honour my husband’s love of University College and the University of Toronto. It was the centre of his intellectual and collegial universe for 35 years.”

Portrait of Lynd Forguson by Phil Richards
Gift of the artist to the UTAC, 2002.

Through the Boundless Promise program, U of T will match—in perpetuity and on a 1:1 basis—the annual income generated by new endowed donations of $25,000 and up, which are designated toward undergraduate needs-based financial awards. To be eligible for the match, new awards must support full-time undergraduate students who are Canadian residents. The program will continue until December 31, 2015.

As Canada’s leading public university, U of T has a longstanding commitment to both excellence and access. Since 1998, the University’s policy on student financial support has been that no student offered admission to a program at U of T should be unable to enter or complete it due to lack of financial means. This dedication to accessible excellence sets U of T apart from peer public universities in the United States and elsewhere around the world.

Our donors have helped make this remarkable commitment possible. Over the past 20 years, a combination of donor support, government matching programs and University operating funds has increased student financial aid disbursements from $8-million to more than $147-million per year. We are proud that U of T supports more students from lower-income households—and allots more dollars from our operating budget to bursaries and scholarships—than any other Ontario university.

However, the need is great. Over the past two decades, U of T’s undergraduate enrolment has increased by 41 per cent and needs-based financial support has grown six-fold. Over the next five years, the demand for needs-based awards is expected to grow by 34 per cent.

Ontario receives the lowest per-student government funding of all Canadian provinces, and U of T operates on less than half the per-student funding available to U.S. peer public universities. Over the past 15 years, programs from the Province of Ontario have matched millions of dollars in private donations toward needs-based awards—but these programs have now been eliminated due to economic constraints.

The University has stepped in to cover this void with the Boundless Promise program. These matching funds, drawn from our operating funds, go above and beyond what we already commit on an annual basis to student financial aid. When you choose to endow a new undergraduate needs-based award with a minimum gift of $25,000, your donation is invested in the University’s endowment, which in turn generates a permanent annual payout for the student award that will be matched in perpetuity.

The Boundless Promise program is an exciting opportunity to double your impact in support of the next generation of global citizens. By establishing a needs-based undergraduate award today, you will help ensure that our best young minds can fulfill their boundless promise—now and far into the future.

For more information:

• How to Give
• Boundless Promise Matching Program (PDF)

Contact:

Erin Clifford
Student Awards Officer
University Advancement
21 King’s College Circle
Room 314
University of Toronto
Toronto, Ontario
Tel: 1-416-978-5701
erin.clifford@utoronto.ca

On stage, chalkboards were covered in original artwork—illustrating the theme of “boundless”—created by Laura Biggs and Daniel Deus, two award-winning U of T Mississauga art and art history students. All music for the program was performed by students from U of T’s Faculty of Music, and among the opening speakers were two U of T Mississauga student leaders: undergraduate Marijana Josifovska, the founder of Investors Beyond Borders, and PhD student and youth advocate, Eugenia Duodu.

“I am one person, but my impact can be global,” said Duodu, echoing the theme of the evening’s celebration.

Community leaders, campaign volunteers, donors, students, faculty, staff and alumni attended the ceremony, which paid tribute to U of T Mississauga’s remarkable 45-year history, its deep roots within the community and its bold plan to take the next leap forward as a global innovation leader.

Hazel McCallion, Mayor of Mississauga, kicked off the program, remarking that she has worked with every U of T Mississauga principal since the campus’ founding. “We are very fortunate to have such a community-focused, innovative university in our midst, helping to power our economic engine and educate our young people,” Mayor McCallion said.

Deep Saini, U of T Vice-President and Principal of U of T Mississauga, took the podium to highlight the campaign’s priorities: to seek visionary private-sector funding to increase scholarships, student mentoring programs, unique learning environments, faculty chairs and professorships—and to launch two bold initiatives, the Centre for South Asian Engagement, which will broaden the study of traditional subjects by engaging the community’s South Asian diaspora, and the Institute for Management and Innovation, the cornerstone of the campaign, which will provide the leadership needed “to foster the intellectual strength to create an innovation culture for our nation.”

“U of T Mississauga is at a turning point in its evolution,” Professor Saini continued. “We are entering an era defined by transformative growth, social impact, community engagement and boundless potential.” He was quick to point out, though, that U of T Mississauga would retain its special “people vibe,” fostered by a collegial, close-knit environment in which “students can grow, flourish and spread their wings.”

U of T’s Vice-President of Advancement, David Palmer, announced that U of T Mississauga has already raised more than half its $60-million goal. He applauded honorary campaign co-chairs William G. Davis and Ignat Kaneff for their extraordinary leadership, and he recognized philanthropists Terrence Donnelly and Carlo Fidani for their visionary generosity, which has fueled the Mississauga Academy of Medicine and the Terrence Donnelly Health Sciences Complex. Palmer noted that the Donnelly Complex has just been honoured with a 2012 Governor General’s Gold Medal for Architecture.

Palmer also recognized entrepreneur Vasu Chanchlani for his catalytic gift of $2 million to the new Centre for South Asian Engagement, as well as Amgen Canada for their generous $425,000 donation to create a fellowship in biotechnology and a professorship in health system strategy.

U of T Chancellor David Peterson concluded the program, remarking that U of T Mississauga’s phenomenal growth has been “a joy to behold.”

The campaign for U of T Mississauga is an integral part of U of T’s $2-billion Boundless campaign, which was publicly launched in November 2011 and which surpassed the $1-billion mark in January 2012. Through the Boundless campaign, U of T seeks to address the pressing global challenges that affect us all, by preparing global leaders who have the skills to work across borders, boundaries and disciplines.

Student leader Marijana Josifovska exemplified this boundless aspiration in her opening remarks at the May 23 event: “At U of T Mississauga, I’ve learned there is no dream too big and no vision that’s unreachable.”

Read more about the campaign for U of T Mississauga.

Written by Allyson Rowley

Pictured at top, the voices of the U of T Mississauga community: (L-R) UTM Alumni Association president Warren Edgar, PhD candidate Eugenia Duodu, undergraduate Marijana Josifovska and Professor Shafique Virani, chair of the Department of Historical Studies. (Photo by Steve Frost)

Vic put Frye’s words into action Tuesday night, launching its “Imagination Unbound” campaign – a $60 million fundraising effort – at a ceremony at the Isabel Bader Theatre. The event attracted alumni, students, faculty, staff and friends in the community, led by Victoria University President Paul Gooch, Vic Chancellor Wendy Cecil and U of T Chancellor David Peterson.

The Vic campaign is part of the U of T’s $2-billion Boundless campaign, announced last November by U of T President David Naylor.

Gooch, speaking directly to the students in the audience, said “it’s all about your education. It’s our raison d’être.” When the campaign is concluded it will confirm “beyond dispute” that a Vic education is the best in the country.

The evening began with a rousing opening fanfare, composed by Aaron Tsang and conducted by Dr. Jeffrey Reynolds, both of the U of T’s Faculty of Music. Vic Chancellor Cecil also introduced a video of selected alumni, faculty and students who explained why Victoria University has been – and always will be – a major part of their lives.

President Gooch has crafted a bold plan for the two colleges that make up Victoria University. At Victoria College this plan will transform undergraduate education in Canada and see Vic not only reaffirm its founding liberal arts missions but enhance the student experience beyond the classroom.  Victoria College’s outstanding Vic One program, Gooch noted, has received applications from would-be students from 23 countries.  At Emmanuel College, Victoria University’s theological college, this transformation includes expansion of Master of Pastoral Studies to include the Muslim Studies Program, the first of its kind in Canada.

The President said “thanks to you, our alumni and friends, we are 70 per cent of the way” towards the goal of $60 million – or about $43.5 million.  That includes a lead gift of $4 million from Blake Goldring Vic 8T1 and Judy Goldring Vic 8T7 for the new Goldring Student Centre, a much-needed hub for student activity on campus. Ground breaking for the centre occurred last May. Vic students voted to provide $7 million for the centre through a $200 annual per student fee.

To date, nine donors have each given more than $1 million to the Vic campaign.

Blake Goldring told the audience he was “doubly proud” to be a part of the campaign because attending Vic is about both an education and forming relationships.  With 80 per cent of Vic students commuting to the University, the Goldring Student Centre, slated to open in 10 months, will be “an oasis, a home away from home” where students can exchange ideas and socialize.

The funds raised through the campaign will be translated into remarkable learning experiences with the best instructors and into celebrating student achievement through programs that inspire learning outside the classroom and around the world. And it will remove financial barriers to success with scholarships, bursaries and awards.

Kate Bruce-Lockhart, U of T’s 2012 Moss Scholar, said Vic has given her a “myriad of opportunities to grow in both an academic and personal capacity.” A Vic education, she said, means caring not just about GPAs “but the world around us.”

Victoria University last year celebrated its 175th anniversary and has earned a distinguished reputation for excellence and creativity in higher education. It has more than 3,500 students and faculty across two colleges – Victoria College and Emmanuel College. Victoria College is a vital part of U of T’s Faculty of Arts and Science and includes the renowned Centre for Reformation and Renaissance Studies and the Northrop Frye Centre.

At Emmanuel College, Victoria University’s theological college, about 175 students engage in a wide variety of theological and religious inquiries, in both Christian and Muslim studies, preparing for careers in ministry, chaplaincies, music, social service agencies and undergraduate and graduate teaching.

Chancellor Cecil said “a consistent thread at Vic has been community, from Frye to the present day.” And though the campaign will end, “nothing stops with us.” The sense of community will continue through the generations at Vic.

The Imagination Unbound campaign is led by an outstanding team of volunteers including honorary co-chairs Blake Goldring, the Honourable Hal Jackman and Norman Jewison.  The campaign executive includes President Gooch, Chancellor Cecil, Paul Huyer, Chair  of the Board of Regents, David Silcox, Chair of the Alumni Affairs and University Advancement Community and Deborah Scott, Executive Director of Advancement.

The President’s Advisers for the campaign are Jane Brushey-Martin, Lawrence Ho, Marnie Kinsley, Stephen Lister, Randall Oliphant, Molly Rundle, Frank Tsui, Helen Vari, Ann Wilson and David Wilson.

Cecil thanked the “dynamic and dedicated team” of campaign executives and advisers “who will take our success to the next level.”

Chancellor Peterson, whose term ends in a few months, told the audience he has been to 157 convocations and shaken 61,000 hands, and meeting Kate Bruce-Lockhart confirmed his passionate view that she and students graduating from U of T “will truly change the world.”

The campaign, unprecedented for a faculty of arts and science in Canada, will strengthen the University’s capacity to prepare global citizens and to meet the most pressing global challenges of the 21st century. It is a major component of Boundless: the Campaign for the University of Toronto – the largest fundraising initiative ever by a Canadian university.

Boundless, launched in November 2011, has already raised more than $1-billion towards its $2-billion goal. In a packed Great Hall at Hart House, which serves as a hub for arts and culture at U of T’s downtown campus, guests were excited to hear of the campaign’s success thus far: to date, donors have contributed $142-million, which is 57% of the Faculty’s $250-million goal.

The campaign launch coincided with the annual Arts & Science scholarship reception – a celebration of students’ academic excellence.

Professor Meric Gertler, dean of the Faculty of Arts and Science, outlined some of the impacts that the campaign would have on current and future students: “We will seek philanthropic support to expand our innovative undergraduate programs that promote interdisciplinary thinking, first-year learning communities, international learning experiences and research opportunities. We will also seek to bolster our scholarship endowment to ensure access and opportunity to our undergraduates, and attract the best domestic and international graduate students. Combined with the past generosity of visionary donors, this new support will strengthen our efforts to ensure that all qualified candidates, regardless of their financial means, can pursue their academic dreams here.”

Chancellor David Peterson spoke about the vital role that the Faculty plays on the world stage. In a recent survey by the Times Higher Education’s World University Rankings, U of T was ranked 10th in the world for Arts and Humanities and 18th for physical sciences and social sciences.

“This campaign is our chance to strengthen this capacity—to realize a vision of leadership in Canada and the world, and to give future generations the gift that this great, good place has given so many of us,” said Peterson.

The Faculty of Arts and Science is today home to the largest concentration of graduate students and almost 75% of undergraduate students on the St. George campus.

“The accomplishments of our Arts and Science alumni are due in part to the training and perspective they gain from this faculty – with its brilliant teachers and outstanding resources – but also from the benefit of being a part of the wider University of Toronto community, with its own broad strengths across a remarkable range of disciplines,” said David Palmer, vice-president of advancement.

Read more: the campaign for the Faculty of Arts & Science.

This milestone is more than just a number—it reflects a strong belief in the importance of our campaign by the public and our community. The thousands of people who have generously contributed to this landmark have made a remarkable investment in higher education and research at the University of Toronto. Institution-wide, we are setting the pace for fundraising in Canada, while broadening our impact on the world stage.

We owe great thanks not only to our donors, but also to the many volunteer leaders who have helped make this achievement possible. The most successful universities in the world—and the philanthropic initiatives that fuel their success—depend on the passionate advocacy of volunteer leaders whose tireless efforts help validate the University’s institutional ambitions and attract meaningful philanthropic investment. Every day, alumni, volunteers and donors strengthen
U of T by encouraging alumni engagement, connecting U of T with key industry and government stakeholders, and liaising with and mentoring our students. They make the University a better place and we are grateful for their involvement and their critically important role in helping us reach such a significant campaign milestone.

Since November 20, significant momentum has been building for the Boundless campaign. Innis College, the Faculty of Law and the Faculty of Arts and Science successfully launched divisional campaigns, U of T broke ground on the Goldring Centre for High Performance Sport and celebrated the opening of the renovated Lassonde Mining Building, which houses new student design studios, teaching spaces and a rooftop meeting room. The next event on the Boundless calendar is the highly anticipated campaign kick-off at Victoria University. Other divisional launches are being planned across our campuses, colleges and faculties, and we encourage our alumni and friends to become involved with and attend these events.

In the coming weeks, we will be sharing news of recent benefactions to the University, including a remarkable investment in merit-based student awards, a pacesetting gift to the Institute of Human Development, and a major endowment in the humanities. We look forward to sharing more details about these and other gifts soon.

Passing the halfway mark on our campaign is a major milestone and an occasion to celebrate. We wish to thank our alumni, volunteers and friends for their continued support of University’s exceptional faculty whose commitment to excellence is unparalleled and our outstanding students who will become the next generation of community builders, informed citizens, and global leaders. We look forward to building on the momentum this support has provided as we move towards our historic $2-billion goal.

Tanz and Schipper have personal reasons for supporting the ground-breaking research being conducted at the Tanz Centre. Both men lost their mothers to Alzheimer’s disease and are only too aware of the tremendous physical, emotional, and financial toll the disease exacts on family and friends. Having witnessed his mother gradually lose her memory and other cognitive functions after she was diagnosed with the disease in 1983, Mark began looking into the science of Alzheimer’s, and what he found distressed him. “I was hoping there would be a cure – something that would slow the disease down. Unfortunately there was virtually no research being done in Canada.”

Fast-forward three decades and Canada’s research landscape looks very different. The Tanz Centre is a powerhouse at the global forefront of brain disease research. Led by Professor Peter St George-Hyslop, an internationally pre-eminent scientist, the Tanz Centre has made many of the world’s most important discoveries about the genetics of Alzheimer’s disease, as well as key discoveries that have increased our understanding of Parkinson’s and other diseases.

St George-Hyslop and the Tanz Centre’s research scientists have made international news twice for discovering genes related to the production of amyloid-beta peptide, a substance that accumulates in the brains of Alzheimer’s patients and is thought to be a key factor in the progression of the disease. Tanz researchers are examining how to diagnose Alzheimer’s earlier. “We know by the time the disease comes to clinical attention, it has been present for 10 years or more,” St George-Hyslop says. “We want to be able to detect the presence of disease at the preclinical level.”

With our aging population, few Canadian families today remain untouched by neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s. By age 85, one in three Canadians will eventually develop Alzheimer’s disease. Neurodegenerative diseases could surpass cancer as the second leading cause of death by 2040.

Thanks to the pioneering vision and pathbreaking philanthropy of individuals like Mark Tanz and Lionel Schipper we have every reason to be optimistic. Medical breakthroughs like those being made at U of T’s Tanz Centre have the potential to halt or at the very least significantly slow the progression of Alzheimer’s. With new skills, new ideas and new tools, the Tanz Centre is poised to find the answers to prevent, control, and treat some of the most devastating neurodegenerative diseases affecting Canadians today — providing comfort, support and dignity to patients and easing the burden of caregivers and families.

In a packed and energized Flavelle House, the iconic heritage building at the Faculty of Law and future anchor to the new building, guests were delighted to hear the exciting news of the campaign’s success to date. The project has received incredible support from the University of Toronto, as well as from Faculty of Law alumni and friends. More than $37 million has been raised, which has propelled the Building Campaign forward to 70% of the overall goal.

In particular, the law firm community has provided unprecedented support for the Faculty of Law building campaign. Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP and Torys LLP, with gifts of more than $2 million each, have set new benchmarks for law firm giving in Canada. The campaign has also received several individual alumni gifts of $1 million or more, including from former U of T Chancellor Henry N. R. Jackman, John Schumacher and David Asper.

“Nothing is as important to the future of this incredible institution as physical renewal,” said Mayo Moran, Dean of the Faculty of Law. “We are so grateful for the extraordinary generosity of the law firms and individuals who have come forward so early in the campaign to support our aspirations.”

The constrained physical facilities have been limiting the Faculty of Law’s potential as a research and leadership centre locally, nationally and internationally. Three external reviews—and critical student feedback—have identified the limitations as a serious issue.

The new building will increase space by 50 per cent, to 66,000 square feet, and will have three distinct elements: a multi-storey wing on Queen’s Park Crescent; an extensive interior renovation to the Bora Laskin Law Library; and a light renovation to Flavelle House.

This state-of-the-art building will enable the law school to continue to compete for top law students and world-renowned faculty. The expanded facilities add much-needed contemporary teaching, learning, research and collaborative space not only for JD and graduate programs, but also for professional and continuing education courses, and ground-breaking new initiatives such as the Global Professional LLM, and Internationally Trained Lawyers Program.

Designed by Toronto firm Hariri Pontarini, the new structure completes a cultural and architectural renaissance along Philosopher’s Walk and in the Avenue Road and Bloor Street quadrant, which includes the ROM’s Michael Lee-Chin Crystal and the Royal Conservatory’s Telus Centre for Performance and Learning.

The Faculty of Law is set to build on its tradition of educating leaders and global citizens in a truly world-class environment.

The Goldring Centre would have remained a dream without the dedication and commitment of many generous benefactors, beginning with the catalytic naming donation from the Goldring family, initiated by the late Warren Goldring (BA 1949 UC, LLD Hon. 2003), and continued by his children Blake Goldring (BA 1981 VIC) and Judy Goldring (BA 1988 VIC). Ron Kimel (BA 1966 UC) and the Kimel family, together with the Province of Ontario, also made remarkably generous gifts and grants that enabled the project to proceed. Together, these and other donors have contributed $51 million toward the $58-million goal for the Centre.

The groundbreaking ceremony also noted the generous contributions of the late A. Gordon Stollery (MSc 1972) donor to the Faculties of Arts & Science and Kinesiology and Physical Education, and until his untimely passing in December, the Chair of the Goldring Centre campaign. Stollery was represented at the ceremony by his daughters Tori, Lindsay and Cailey Stollery, who spoke to their father’s commitment and passion for (and own impressive accomplishments in) high performance sport. Stollery will be succeeded in the role of campaign chair by Honorary Lieutenant-Colonel Kevin Reed, who will oversee the final push toward the finish line.

“We are so grateful for the initiative and foresight of the Goldring family, who kick-started the project with their generous lead gift,” says Professor Ira Jacobs, dean of the Faculty of Kinesiology and Physical Education, under whose jurisdiction the Goldring Centre will reside. “Their support, together with the generosity of the Kimel and Stollery families and the investment by the Province of Ontario, will help create a magnificent legacy in the decades to come for scores of athletes, coaches, researchers, students, and the greater community.”

The Goldring Centre will house the Kimel Family Field House featuring international-level basketball and volleyball courts, a relocated and expanded David L. MacIntosh Sport Medicine Clinic, a range of sport and exercise research labs, and a strength and fitness centre accessible to all U of T students. It will also be a place where U of T’s growing list of key partners – including the Canadian Sport Centre Ontario, Swim Canada and the Ministry of Health Promotion and Sport – can converge in support of the region’s top athletes.

“The Goldring Centre will build upon a proud tradition at the University of Toronto—a culture of fostering and nurturing innovation and of creating and sharing knowledge,” says President David Naylor. “The result will be dramatic breakthroughs in many disciplines, a pool of remarkably talented graduates, a growing number of new products and services, and not least, we hope, many proud spots for Canadian athletes on podiums around the world.”

Good evening ladies and gentlemen and thank you Chancellor Peterson.  It has been such a privilege to be in the company of these extraordinary volunteers, such as the three Chancellors here tonight.  And, David Peterson, you have been a wonderful travelling companion for all of us in administration, all of the alumni, and all of the friends of this University.

When the University of Toronto opened its doors in 1827, the muddy little town of York was not even a city, and farmland and forest sprawled just beyond the campus.  How things have changed.

Today, we welcome thousands of amazing students from scores of countries to three distinctive campuses, a dozen hospitals, and countless other sites of learning and discovery here at home and around the world.  The little colonial outpost is now a vibrant megalopolis – and also the world’s most diverse region.

That said, some things were already taking shape all those decades ago.  We had aspirational students, remarkable professors, and dedicated staff who then, as now, made it all possible.  As well, even a hundred years ago, the support of our alumni and friends was beginning to lift this University.  Without philanthropy, we could not have rebuilt University College after the Valentine’s Day fire of 1890 – or, as the Chancellor reminded us – erected this Hall in 1907, or opened Hart House in 1919.

These foundations – built by a confluence of talent, imagination, dedication and generosity – sustain us still.  And they account meaningfully for the fact that the University now has a truly global reputation and footprint.

On that subject of institutional reputation – always fraught – I would suggest that two main factors, over time, shape how a university is viewed world-wide.

The first is the perceived quality of the university’s alumni.  That’s tied obviously to the strength of our students.  And you’ve seen already from the video, from those amazing performances by the students from the Faculty of Music, just how strong our student body is.  We are fortunate to have some 500,000 alumni in more than 170 countries, with concentrations in unexpected places from Hollywood to Hong Kong.  It’s an exceptional group of people.  And there is no continent nor any walk of life where Toronto alumni are not in leadership roles.

The second reputational factor is the quality of the faculty, and this tends to be measured, perhaps reductively, by the quality of their research and scholarship.  Throughout the last century, our professors and their students, supported by our staff, developed insulin and the electron microscope, discovered the chemical laser and stem cells, reinvented literary criticism, theorized modern media and the digital age, roamed the world to uncover ancient civilizations, invented the glycemic index – so widely used in every kitchen – and pioneered in fields as diverse as organ transplantation and computer graphics.

A simple statistic says it all.  Today, in total research output, when the tally is made, the top three universities in the world, in order, are Harvard, Tokyo and Toronto.

Underneath that simple statistic is the unbelievable creativity of today’s faculty, students and staff, joined on a bright line of excellence to their predecessors.  A sampling, if you will– a quick biopsy:  They’ve studied the cognitive psychology of loneliness, and developed earthquake-resistant building materials. They’ve made startling revelations of cyber-spying and state-level internet censorship, and are working on novel therapies for Alzheimer disease. They’ve explored how bullies abuse cyber-space to torment their victims, and figured out car parts made out of plant materials.  They’ve been cross-mapping Islamic and western legal traditions, discovering micronutrients for malnourished children in developing countries, and found new forms of artificial intelligence …

The list is endless.

And now it’s no surprise that when professors around the world are surveyed, time after time, in discipline after discipline, the University of Toronto is the Canadian leader and a serious global competitor.

Let me try to explain why and how this matters.  I’ll start with something really practical – artificial hips or knees – there are probably a few of them in the house tonight!   A very common surgical procedure.  The benefits are wonderful.  But, with no disrespect to the professionals involved, the science behind our treatment of advanced arthritis is, frankly, pretty primitive.  We saw through bones.  And then we hammer in a prosthetic joint made of metal with a ceramic or plastic cap. How much better it would be if arthritic joints could be stimulated to resurface themselves by simple injections – it’s entirely feasible.

And imagine as well the change if, instead of relying on drugs or in extremis an organ transplant – the same techniques could be used to promote healing and regeneration of damaged internal organs.  Here in Toronto, we have one of the world’s greatest concentrations of stem cell scientists, tissue engineers, transplant experts, and brilliant clinicians in every discipline.  The possibilities for reinventing multiple fields of medical care – right here, right now – are absolutely boundless.

Let’s shift to a bigger challenge.  Tens of millions of people around the globe are rising out of poverty each year.  It’s a wonderful trend.  But how will we meet their new energy demands without creating havoc in the world economy, ecological chaos, or recurrent conflicts over access to fossil fuels?

One intriguing answer is to emulate plants and algae.  They have been the Earth’s most ingenious and efficient producers of clean power for over 3 billion years.  And scientists estimate that through artificial photosynthesis a bottle of water and some sunshine could power a normal sized home.

Let’s say that doesn’t work – imagine transforming any roof or wall into an energy harvesting surface with nano-engineered spray-paint….Or new solar cells with advanced optics that double and triple the efficiency of current technologies, while simplifying them for home use.  All these are currently areas for cutting-edge research at your University.

But even energy, complex though it is, is arguably simple compared to some of our other shared challenges.  We have a wonderful urban context here.  And cities are clearly engines of prosperity and magnets for domestic and trans-national migration alike.  In fact, across the world approximately a million people a week are moving from villages and farms into cities.  But cities can also be foci of alienation, poverty, pollution, crime and despair.  The development of successful and sustainable cities is clearly one of the keys to humanity’s future.

It’s one of those big, complex and multi-disciplinary challenges.  And there are others like it.  Arguably, even more fundamental to our future is protecting the potential of the world’s children.  Years ago – back when I was a medical student – things were simple.  We had nature and nurture.  Genetic shuffling at conception gave you a set of cards, and you played them for your entire life.  Now, thanks to epigenetics, we understand that a range of factors, including the mother’s diet during pregnancy, can permanently switch genes on or off.  And we also know that great teaching in early childhood can change brain wiring, and lift the trajectory of a child’s life.

When it comes to addressing these types of complex global challenges –  urbanization or healthier human development – there are very few institutions in the world with the size, or the breadth and depth of excellence to make a real difference.  The University of Toronto is one of those very few institutions.

As I wrap up, let me anticipate and address two skeptical questions.

Question 1:  ‘Sure, Professor, all this research strength translates into strong teaching and mentorship for graduate and professional programs.  What about undergraduates?’

In some institutions, I’m sorry to say, the research stars do skate away.  Our faculty members, in contrast, have a remarkable commitment to undergraduate instruction.  At any one time, more than 90 per cent of the professoriate who have won major research distinctions are teaching undergraduates.  With your support, we can accelerate the expansion of opportunities for undergraduates to interact with these types of faculty in small-group sessions or through participating with them in research on every imaginable topic.

Question 2:  ‘You’ve shown us some practical stuff, but a lot of research is pretty esoteric.  How is it relevant?  What do students get out of it?’

What students get is exposure to the boundless curiosity of superbly-trained minds.  In natural science, this is the research that changes everything – it illuminates our world, and enables whole new lines of human endeavour.  In the humanities and social sciences, these lines of inquiry speak to timeless questions of meaning and identity, and they establish the foundations for successful societies. Taken together, this continuum of fundamental and applied inquiry across disciplines, is what creates so many learning opportunities for our students.  It’s the touchstone for the creative and critical thinking skills that can help our students to be successful no matter where they live and work.

And by the way, like you I hear the chorus of calls for ‘job-ready’ graduates – I sometimes call these Stepford  baccalaureates.  But let’s remember:  The world is moving fast.  We are preparing our students for careers that have not even been invented.  And we are also, I hope, preparing them to be the leaders who invent those new careers.

I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about how to frame this marriage of teaching and research, of learning and scholarship.  I still can’t think of better words than those coined by a friend, University Professor Ted Chamberlin of the Department of English.

Speaking in this hall a few years ago, Professor Chamberlin asked rhetorically what universities really do, and he answered:  “We tell stories: old stories about evolution and the decline and fall of the Roman empire, about the Big Bang and the Great War, about justice and freedom, supply and demand, economy and efficiency. And we make up new stories. We call the old ones teaching, and the new ones research.”

What I love about Ted Chamberlin’s description is its humanity and its emphasis on narrative.

So, yes, I proudly noted that we’re third worldwide in total publication output, but none of this is really about academic papers.  And yes, I am proud that we lead the country by a big margin in generation of intellectual property and spin-out companies. But it’s also not about patents and profits.   It’s about people – and their individual journeys … About those of us on faculty here, telling old stories, and with the help of our students and staff, writing new ones … And it’s also very much about our students, tomorrow’s alumni, preparing to write their stories in a world full of big challenges that our generation has left them.

Ultimately, the support that so many inside and outside this Hall have so generously provided, and the support that, through this campaign, we are seeking in the years ahead, is itself in aid of a narrative – one of hope, of questioning, of imagining, and above all, unlocking the boundless potential of the next generation to make the world a slightly better place.  Thank you.

Main photo credit: (C) Gustavo Toledo Photography

University of Toronto President David Naylor made the announcement at a ceremony in Convocation Hall at the downtown St. George campus. With this new campaign, U of T will explore the boundless possibilities of its community of alumni, students and faculty for global leadership and societal impact. (Enjoy photos from the launch.)

“Canada must have universities that can achieve two related goals: conduct the advanced research that will help solve the grand challenges humanity now faces, and offer the best and brightest students an exceptional education to help them build a better world. No university in Canada is better positioned to meet those objectives than the University of Toronto,” said Naylor.

The campaign’s goal is $2 billion in philanthropic support, of which nearly half—$966 million—has been secured.  The campaign has two central pillars:

• Preparing global citizens will foster international fluency and leadership skills among the University’s almost 80,000 undergraduate and graduate students – by raising funds to support student awards and build learning environments that nurture creativity, collaboration, critical thinking, disciplinary excellence, interdisciplinary inquiry and global perspectives.
• Meeting global challenges will support path-breaking research and teaching that generates solutions for healthy, sustainable and successful societies, while also strengthening the essential foundation of basic research. Funds raised will support the University’s world-class minds, attract a new generation of “rising star” faculty and make critical enhancements to programs and infrastructure.

Notwithstanding recent investments in higher education in Ontario, U of T’s total revenue per full-time student is about 41 per cent lower than the average for publicly funded peer institutions in the U.S.

“The fact that we are able to compete with—and in many cases outperform—our peers, both in Canada and around the world, speaks to the excellence of our students, faculty and staff,” said Naylor.

Over the last decade, U of T has consistently ranked among the top 30 universities in the world—and consistently among the top three for scholarly output.

The university’s previous campaign, which closed in December 2003, raised $1 billion and remains the most successful campaign in Canadian history. The campaign played a vital role in vaulting the University of Toronto into the top ranks of universities worldwide. Now, nearly eight years later, the university is ready to build on this foundation, to advance groundbreaking research and teaching, seize on new opportunities and broaden our impact on the global issues that matter most to Canadians.

“This is an extraordinary milestone for the university,” said David Peterson, chancellor of U of T.  “With input from across our community, we have developed an eloquent, bold vision for a world-leading university in the 21st century. We will look to our global network of friends and alumni – who now number more than 500,000 across 174 countries – to join us in this exciting campaign. With their generosity and involvement, we will work together on fundamental questions that will shape the course of human knowledge and experience and prepare our students for leadership in an increasingly borderless world.”

Watch the campaign video below:

(Photo credit: ©2011 Gustavo Toledo Photography)