Furthering the Cause of Higher Education: A Message From the Campaign Co-chairs
(PHOTOS OWEN EGAN)
It is easy to be enthusiastic about McGill. Many of the brightest students in the world choose to study here. As for our faculty members and researchers, we are equally fortunate to have a roster of global talent. More than 860 of the world’s top professors have been hired since 2000 through an ambitious recruitment program. And as Campaign Co-Chairs, we can personally attest to the exemplary quality of McGill’s staff and volunteers, who tirelessly contribute their time and talent.
Campaign McGill is the University’s first “comprehensive” campaign. Rather than a capital campaign which focuses on large gifts for specific purposes, a comprehensive campaign seeks gifts of all sizes for a broad range of initiatives that benefit people and programs. We knew we had to be involved in an effort that supports McGill’s greatest resource: our people.
Campaign McGill was publicly launched in October 2007 with an ambitious vision for the future: to raise the funds needed to attract and retain the world’s best students and faculty, to increase access to quality education, and to enhance McGill’s ability to address critical global challenges.
We chose an equally ambitious target of $750-million – the largest starting goal in the history of Canadian university fundraising drives – because we knew we could count on the support of a remarkable community of people.
So far, we are being proven right. There continues to be a real excitement surrounding the Campaign. This issue of Making History highlights only a few of the many supporters who are contributing to this incredible momentum.
In today’s economic climate, it is all the more vital to invest in the future, by supporting an initiative such as Campaign McGill. To quote Principal and Vice-Chancellor Heather Munroe-Blum: “There is no greater cause than university education and research. These are the powerful engines that will secure economic prosperity and strong civil society.”
We believe in the importance of higher education and we believe in McGill. Thank you for your generous support to date – and for renewing that support as we continue to move forward.
L.Yves Fortier, CC, OQ, QC, BCL’58, LLD’05
Eugene C. McBurney, LLB’77
The Hon. Michael A. Meighen, QC, BA’60