Murray Knuttila and Frank McKenna
Murray Knuttila, Provost and Vice-President Academic, shakes hands with Frank McKenna during the announcement of a TD Bank Financial Group donation of $500,000.
TD Bank Financial Group has donated $500,000 to the university as part of the Campaign for a Bold New Brock.
The gift will help create the TD Bursary for Environmental Studies as well as support the development of the new Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts in downtown St. Catharines.
Brock is moving full steam ahead with the downtown campus in partnership with the City of St. Catharines, Brock President Jack Lightstone said.
“We are pleased that TD is joining us to renew downtown St. Catharines and help students pursue a higher education and the Brock Both Sides of the Brain experience,” he said.
The donation will encourage student innovation, creativity and community involvement, said TD Deputy Chair Frank McKenna.
“We’re very proud to be investing in our future environmental leaders and helping to create a modern downtown arts and learning hub.”
The TD Bursary for Environmental Studies will provide grants to full-time Brock students demonstrating financial need while pursuing a degree in Environmental Studies in the Faculty of Social Sciences, or studies to reduce the impact of humankind’s footprint in the world through the Faculty of Mathematics and Sciences.
TD will donate $250,000 over five years toward this award. Brock will apply for matching funds through the Ontario Trust for Student Support (OTSS) program to maximize the award’s endowment at $500,000.
The Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts downtown campus will receive $250,000 to help realize the unique joint venture between Brock and the City of St. Catharines to build a multi-venue arts and learning complex.
On the fifth floor of the historic former Canada Hair Cloth building, Brock will build the TD Roof Terrace. It will have a spectacular southern view of the first Welland Canal route and the Twelve Mile Creek green space looking toward the Schmon Tower on the top of the Niagara Escarpment.
The TD Roof Terrace will serve as an informal learning student lounge and refreshment area for the more than 500 students and 40 faculty and staff who will study, teach and work at the school. The outdoor area will also provide a space for community and university receptions and other functions.
In total, the TD gift, when combined with Government of Ontario matching funds for student awards, will result in a $750,000 investment in a Bold New Brock.
From left: Julia Prudhomme (fourth year Visual Arts student), Brock Chancellor Ned Goodman, Frank McKenna, Murray Knuttila
TD has also been promoting solar panel financing for the Green Initiative – is Brock also participating in Ontario’s FIT program where solar panels are used on the roof to generate enough renewable energy to help reduce carbon emmisions and close the coal fired power plants? Not only is this a green investment, Brock could receive an 11% return for 20 years. This ofcourse would further impact sustainability of Brock’s programs in a great way!