Rendering of Health Sciences complex

Philanthropist donates $12 million to Mississauga health sciences complex

Jane Stirling

Philanthropist Terrence Donnelly has donated $12 million to the University of Toronto to support students and help construct a new Health Sciences Complex at U of T Mississauga. The gift is the largest donation ever made to the Mississauga campus.

Donnelly’s gift will support the construction of the building that will house the Mississauga Academy of Medicine and support medical students through bursaries and scholarships. The facility will be named the Terrence Donnelly Health Sciences Complex.

Donnelly, president and director of The Colonel Harland Sanders Charitable Organization, Inc. (Canada) and president of The Terrence Donnelly Foundation, pledged $12 million as part of a campaign to increase the number of highly trained physicians in the province. The provincial government and private donors, including Mississauga businessman Carlo Fidani with a challenge gift, helped fund the health complex. Donnelly’s gift fulfills Fidani’s challenge, resulting in a $22 million contribution to medical education at U of T.

“Terrence Donnelly’s generosity and vision will make a difference to communities across Ontario,” says U of T president David Naylor. “We are deeply indebted to him for his remarkable leadership, and his commitment to improving access to top-flight medical education and to high-quality health care.”

The $37 million four-storey Terrence Donnelly Health Sciences Complex, which is scheduled to open this summer, will house the graduate biomedical communications program, research laboratories, classrooms and offices in addition to the Mississauga Academy of Medicine. In the facility, researchers and scientists will work side by side with faculty members who will teach future medical practitioners, creating an environment that will bring theory to life for students.

“Mr. Donnelly’s gift will have a far-reaching impact on this campus,” says Professor Deep Saini, principal of U of T Mississauga and vice-president of the University of Toronto. “Thanks to his donation, new opportunities for collaboration will open up, not just in medicine but also in the life and social sciences. His gift has provided the template for growth at U of T Mississauga.”

The Mississauga Academy of Medicine, located within the Terrence Donnelly Health Sciences Complex, will educate 54 undergraduate medical students a year. By 2014, the Academy will have a total of 216 students enrolled in the four-year program.

“Mr. Donnelly’s gift will make a difference in the lives of this community for many generations to come,” says Dr. Catharine Whiteside, dean of the Faculty of Medicine.  “The majority of physicians who will train at the Mississauga Academy will likely practise in close proximity, contribute significantly to their community and enrich the health science network in Mississauga. We are truly fortunate to have such a wonderful and supportive friend.”

“I am honoured and humbled that you have named this beautiful new building after me,” says Donnelly. “But the true value in this building is not the bricks and mortar, but the work being done within its walls – the teaching, learning and research. I am pleased to be able to support U of T’s contributions that will have a direct benefit on the health of all Canadians.”

The Mississauga Academy of Medicine is a partnership among U of T’s Faculty of Medicine, U of T Mississauga, Trillium Health Centre and Credit Valley Hospital.