“I have a lot of thank-yous to give for the financial aid that I received as a graduate student, says Richard Hart, PhD’70, MBA’73. He credits generous support from Molson Breweries and the J.W. McConnell Family Foundation, as well as an NRC grant, with helping him get through the grueling pace of graduate studies.
After he graduated from McGill, Hart moved to the U.S. where he carved out a career in biotech. Now President of American Diagnostica, a global biotech diagnostics company founded in 1982, Hart says: “I never forgot McGill. I came from New Zealand for doctoral studies in chemistry, and McGill was very good to me."
Hart has remembered McGill in a big way indeed, with his gift of $1.2 million which has created the Molson and Hilton Hart Fellowships to recognize the scholarship and academic achievements of graduate students in the Faculty of Science. He chose to name the new fellowships in honour of his two sons, because “the next generation is more important than the last."
Hart has given back to McGill for many years and is a long-time volunteer. A founding member of the Faculty of Science Advisory Board (now the Science Campaign Committee), Hart received the Distinguished Service Award from the McGill Alumni Association in 2004.
“We are most grateful for Richard’s tremendous leadership, vision and commitment,” says Martin Grant, Dean of the Faculty of Science. “These new fellowships will allow us to continue to attract the best and the brightest from around the world who – like Richard himself – will go on to make significant contributions in their fields.”
Hart believes strongly in the importance of giving back in support of future generations. He plans to make a further gift to McGill in the coming year. His advice to others is straightforward: “Do your giving while you’re living.”