重口味SM

President David Naylor (left), Chancellor David Peterson (centre) and Vice-President (Advancement) David Palmer are surrounded by students as they launch the 重口味SM's new fundraising campaign. (Photo by Caz Zyvatkauskas)

The 重口味SM launches Boundless, its $2-billion fundraising campaign

Largest fundraising campaign in Canadian university history

The 重口味SM has unveiled Boundless, the largest fundraising campaign in Canadian university history. With a historic $2-billion goal, the campaign for the 重口味SM will help expand U of T鈥檚 global leadership capacity across critical areas of knowledge and help develop the talent, ideas and solutions for the defining challenges of our time.

重口味SM 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 from the launch.)

鈥淐anada 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 重口味SM,鈥 said Naylor.

The campaign鈥檚 goal is $2 billion in philanthropic support, of which nearly half鈥$966 million鈥攈as been secured.  The campaign has two central pillars:

  • Preparing global citizens will foster international fluency and leadership skills among the University鈥檚 almost 80,000 undergraduate and graduate students 鈥 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鈥檚 world-class minds, attract a new generation of 鈥渞ising star鈥 faculty and make critical enhancements to programs and infrastructure.

Notwithstanding recent investments in higher education in Ontario, U of T鈥檚 total revenue per full-time student is about 41 per cent lower than the average for publicly funded peer institutions in the U.S.

鈥淭he fact that we are able to compete with鈥攁nd in many cases outperform鈥攐ur peers, both in Canada and around the world, speaks to the excellence of our students, faculty and staff,鈥 said Naylor.

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

The university鈥檚 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 重口味SM 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.

鈥淭his is an extraordinary milestone for the university,鈥 said David  Peterson, chancellor of U of T.  鈥淲ith 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 鈥 who now number more than 500,000 across 174 countries 鈥 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.鈥

The Bulletin Brief logo

Subscribe to The Bulletin Brief