Brock University President and Vice-Chancellor Gervan Fearon had an opinion piece published in The Globe and Mail Monday, Aug. 17 highlighting the necessity of a well-educated workforce in Canada to recover from the social and economic effects of COVID-19.
Fearon advocates for communities and the public to work together to uphold Canadian education and support the universities that attract and educate students from around the world to help strengthen the future work force.
He highlights a recent example of a groundbreaking act of generosity that will directly benefit future Brock students. A $2.7-million donation from Stephanie Mitchell, in honour of her late husband Gerald B. Mitchell, will be used by the University to create the Dr. Gerald B. Mitchell Centre of Excellence in Career and Experiential Education.
This inspiring contribution to the University will support students with new opportunities, grants, resources, tools, workshops and will allow them to gain work experience in their chosen fields.
He writes:
“For years to come, every one of us Canadians will need to help the country regain its equilibrium and recover from a COVID-19 pandemic that has punished our social and economic stability.
Canada needs the bedrock of a well-educated work force if it hopes to stay competitive and innovative, and universities shoulder a big responsibility for this. But as governments try to keep up with post-pandemic needs, those universities – critical as they are to our future – will face steep challenges in sustaining progressive institutions that educate Canadians and attract thousands of students and leading thinkers from around the world.
A bigger role in upholding education will fall to all of us: communities, private supporters and the general public.
Supporting universities through planned giving – earmarking a donation in one’s will – is a visionary, unselfish investment that lets just about all of us help build a better future for our communities and our nation. Brock University just witnessed a remarkable example of this, thanks to the generosity of Stephanie Mitchell and her husband, Gerry.”
