Alumni Unleash $1.5 Million for New Student Centre at Trent University
Student Centre Challenge campaign a success
Trent University alumni have demonstrated their generous spirit by unleashing $750,000 in matching funds from an anonymous alumni donor, through the Alumni Student Centre Challenge (ASCC).
All alumni pledges were matched, and first-time alumni donations were double-matched for a total of $1.5 million – a significant gift towards the new Student Centre on Trent University’s Symons Campus in Peterborough, announced October 1, 2016 at the Head of Trent homecoming weekend during the Annual Alumni General Meeting.
The ASCC launched in March 2015 as part of Trent University’s $50 Million Campaign: Unleash the Potential. It builds on successful fundraising from Trent faculty, staff, retirees and board members, and has raised over $3.5 million towards a $4 million goal for the Student Centre project.
To recognize this outstanding contribution, the main floor open area of the Student Centre will be named the “Alumni Atrium” in honour of alumni and the anonymous donor’s inspirational gifts. It will be the hub of student activities, enabling a new era of participation in clubs, groups, and extra-curricular activities, and providing additional space for thousands of on and off-campus students.
“Trent’s generous alumni were eager to enrich the student experience and the ASCC gave them the opportunity to make twice the impact,” said Sherry Booth, campaign director at Trent University. “The wonderful thing about the Alumni Atrium is that all of our students will one day become Trent alumni, and continue to have a connection to the Student Centre.”
On track for a completion date of September 2017, the new Student Centre designed by Teeple Architects is the vision of Trent students, past and present. It will be located beside the Bata Library on the bank of the Otonabee River. The 37,000-square-foot building will offer new places and opportunities to socialize, learn, study, and engage in life on campus. It will also be home to Stohn Hall, a 250-seat tiered theatre for special events, lectures, performances, and two state-of-the-art, high-tech classrooms, following a generous donation of $1 million from entertainment entrepreneur, lawyer and alumnus, Stephen Stohn ’66 last fall.
“Students are the driving force behind the new Student Centre,” notes Alaine Spiwak, president of the Trent Central Student Association. “Through a special levy they are providing $10.5 million of the $16 million required.” The remaining $5.5 million for the project will come from both the University, and Trent University’s $50 Million Campaign: Unleash the Potential, the University’s most ambitious philanthropic campaign to date.
About Trent’s $50 Million Campaign
The goal of the $50 Million Campaign is to unleash the potential of our students. To do that, we are focused on three strategic priorities: to ensure students benefit from outstanding student experiences, to support ongoing teaching excellence, and to invest in world-class research.
» Trent's $50 Million Campaign Website
About Trent University
One of Canada's top universities, Trent University was founded on the ideal of interactive learning that's personal, purposeful and transformative. Consistently recognized nationally for leadership in teaching, research and student satisfaction, Trent attracts excellent students from across the country and around the world. Here, undergraduate and graduate students connect and collaborate with faculty, staff and their peers through diverse communities that span residential colleges, classrooms, disciplines, hands-on research, co-curricular and community-based activities. Across all disciplines, Trent brings critical, integrative thinking to life every day. Today, Trent's unique approach to personal development through supportive, collaborative community engagement is in more demand than ever. Students lead the way by co-creating experiences rooted in dialogue, diverse perspectives and collaboration. In a learning environment that builds life-long passion for inclusion, leadership and social change, Trent's students, alumni, faculty and staff are engaged global citizens who are catalysts in developing sustainable solutions to complex issues. Trent's Peterborough campus boasts award-winning architecture in a breathtaking natural setting on the banks of the Otonabee River, just 90 minutes from downtown Toronto, while Trent University Durham – Greater Toronto Area delivers a distinct mix of programming in the east GTA.
Kate Weersink, media relations & strategic communications officer, Trent University, 705-748-1011 x6180 or kateweersink@trentu.ca