TORONTO, Nov. 20, 2011 /CNW/ - The University of Toronto has unveiled Boundless, the largest fundraising campaign in Canadian university history. With
a historic $2 billion goal, the Campaign for the University of Toronto
will help expand U of T's global leadership capacity across critical
areas of knowledge and help develop the talent, ideas and solutions for
the defining challenges of our time.
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.
"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 President 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:
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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.
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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 the Hon.
David R. 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."
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