Marshall Cohen, Chair of the Board of Governors of York University, announces the launch of the York Foundation, an independent fundraising organization dedicated to supporting York's growth.
TORONTO, May 22, 2002 -- York University has taken a fresh look at how to mobilize community support for taking the University's goals and ambitions to a new level. The result is the York Foundation, an innovative approach to building leadership and fundraising.
For over 40 years, York has inspired and encouraged students and faculty to think in new ways, pursue excellence, and explore unusual avenues to get where they want to go. "New thinking is in York's history," says Cohen. "With the Foundation in place, it is our promise for the future."
It's new thinking at York that led to the idea of the Foundation. Modeled on the approach taken by U.S. universities and other Canadian not-for-profit sectors, the Foundation is a fully independent entity with its own Board of Trustees.
"The Foundation was created as a direct result of York's rededication to its mission," says Dr. Lorna Marsden, York's President and Vice-Chancellor. "We give our students the first-rate credentials they need to pursue unique careers and define their own paths in life. With blue-chip education in hand, our graduates forge new ground and create new models for our changing society. Our mission challenges us to reach new heights. The Foundation will help us do just that." York University is also launching its new identity (logo and theme line) to reflect a new vision and mission.
"The Foundation has galvanized the York community," continues Timothy Price, Chairman of Brascan Financial Corporation, a Governor of the University and newly-appointed Chair of the Board of Trustees of the York Foundation. "It provides a home for the energy and resources of people who support the York idea. York's history is one of producing new, visionary thinking that has real application in the world. The Foundation will help the University build the capacity to continue and expand this essential work."
From the outset, the Foundation has had the backing of the University's leadership, including Avie Bennett, York's Chancellor; Marshall Cohen, Chair of the Board of Governors; Nalini Stewart and Robert Martin, both Governors of the University; and Judith Cohen, Special Advisor to the Foundation. These individuals share a long-standing commitment to York, and a belief in the need for a new approach to fundraising.
With the past as an indication of what is to come, York will prove to be an excellent choice for its supporters. Recently described by Maclean's magazine as "one of the nation's liveliest intellectual centres" (The Maclean's 2002 Guide to Canadian Universities), faculty and students at York are involved in cutting-edge research and thinking across 21 research centres and 10 faculties. York alumni like Margot Franssen, President of The Body Shop Canada, Cirque du Soleil choreographer Debra Brown, Toronto Maple Leafs coach and general manager Pat Quinn, acclaimed author Neil Bissoondath, and astronaut Steve MacLean are among those who have applied their York education to create innovative and successful careers.
"Our job is to raise funds to help York reach its academic and research goals," says Paul Marcus, President and CEO of the York Foundation. "We're getting ready by recruiting top volunteer leadership to our Board, and the best fundraising talent to our staff. We intend to be one of the leading fundraising operations in the country."
The York Foundation kicks off with a four-week communications campaign, created by Toronto-based Manifest Communications, that provokes new thinking by turning conventional wisdom on its head. The campaign will run from May 22 to June 20, 2002 with newspaper ads, billboards, and Elevator News Network screens.
Founded in 1959, York University is nationally and internationally respected for its innovative research and award-winning teaching. York is the third largest university in Canada, with over 40,000 students, 10 faculties and 21 research centres. York offers a full range of programs and degrees in: social sciences and humanities, fine arts, pure and applied sciences, health studies, education, environmental studies, law, and business; and has a fully bilingual program at Glendon Campus. With its combination of dedicated and talented faculty, opportunities for bright and ambitious students, dynamic curricula and modern campuses in one of North America’s most influential urban centres, York University is setting the contemporary standard in academic excellence, and innovative research and thinking.
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| For more information, please contact: | Shari-Lynn Sare |
| Ph: 416-588-6267 | |
| Email: shari-lynn@sympatico.ca |
