$100M Campaign for Momentous Change Largest in Trent University History

MARCH 25, 2023

Toronto and Peterborough launch events highlight that $42M already raised in bold philanthropic campaign to empower students, vitalize campuses and enable world-changing research

Trent University has launched a bold $100-million Campaign for Momentous Change – the largest in University history – to empower students, enable world-changing research, steward the University’s iconic architecture, and vitalize our campuses.

"As the world around us changes, we face complex challenges that require decisive action and new ways of thinking. This makes Trent University more important than ever,” says Dr. Leo Groarke, president and vice-chancellor of Trent University. “Our Momentous Campaign will provide donors with an opportunity to expand the work of brilliant researchers, remove barriers that might prevent students from achieving their full potential, and take ideas from our classrooms and laboratories to communities and the world.” 

President and vice-chancellor Groarke, together with Julie Davis, vice-president of External Relations & Development, hosted the launch events that were held at the Symons Campus in Peterborough on March 24 and at Festival Tower in downtown Toronto on April 3 attended by special guests, donors, staff, faculty, students, and board members.

The milestone events celebrated the $42M raised for the campaign to date, including $6.6M toward a new residence and academic building as well as student supports at Trent Durham GTA; a $2.5M gift from the Joyce Family Foundation to increase access to education for disadvantaged students; nearly $2.4M to launch and support the inaugural Jarislowsky Chair in Trust and Political Leadership; and a $1M gift from David and Joan Moore to support students from across the world through international scholarships. The University also announced a new $1.2M gift that supports community-based research. 

Commenting on the significant campaign, which focuses on academic discovery, as well as the people and places at Trent’s campuses in both Peterborough and Durham GTA, Gavin Marshall ’76, founder and CEO of Magenta, said, “We all want to build a better world. To do so is how we transcend today and touch the tomorrows we shall never see. An investment in Trent – an investment in the leaders and pioneers of tomorrow – is the most impactful, and at this moment in human history, the most essential legacy any of us could ever leave.” 

Marshall, an alumnus of Trent, is campaign leader alongside Linda Schuyler, a member of the Order of Canada, co-creator of the multi-award winning Degrassi television franchise, and honorary Trent alumna. 

“As we embark on this campaign of Momentous Change, it is at a time when the world is changing at a more rapid pace than ever before,” Schuyler said. “Our young people need to be equipped to face both the opportunities and challenges of this change with hope and optimism. I can’t think of a better institution to shepherd students through this change than the momentous University called Trent.” 

Through the Campaign for Momentous Change, the University is fundraising for areas such as the Trent Fund to support student wellness, the Trent Lands and Nature Areas, the School of Education, School of Nursing, Faculty of Science, the Colleges of Trent, and the School of Graduate Studies. To assist in raising the ambitious $100M goal, the University also aims to recruit 500 new monthly donors to provide sustainable and reliable support for students, research and learning spaces.

"The Campaign for Momentous Change is for everyone and all gifts are important – from $100 to $100,000 to $10 million,” says Sherry Booth, associate vice-president of Philanthropy & Alumni Engagement at Trent University. “We invite contributors to engage in momentous ways – big, small, public, private. No matter the size of the gift, the outcomes of this campaign will be momentous and consequential.” 

Further cross-Canada launch events to gain further momentum for this campaign will be held this spring and Fall in Calgary, Vancouver, Montreal, Ottawa and Halifax.