Trent University Durham GTA is growing and a dedicated $5 million fundraising campaign will help usher an exciting future into reality – supporting a campus expansion project, increasing financial aid for students, and providing more career-enhancing experiences to ensure the success of Trent graduates.

“Growing Trent’s Durham Campus is a wonderful opportunity for Trent and for Durham. For more than forty years, Trent has provided key educational opportunities for our students in the region. Our new building will accommodate a dramatic increase in enrolment in a way that allows our campus to flourish. Coupled with the development of our post-secondary partners in Durham, the expansion of our campus will help make Durham a major player in post-secondary education in the province,” said Dr. Leo Groarke, president and vice-chancellor, Trent University, who was joined at the campaign launch by Trent University’s Board of Governors, students, staff, faculty, community ambassadors and key campaign executives.

To kick-off the campaign, the University announced a generous $500,000 gift from Durham Radio president, Trent alumnus and campaign executive co-chair, Doug Kirk ’70, in support of the Durham campus expansion. Speaking of his decision to donate to and get involved with the campaign, Mr. Kirk said: “It is very important that the extraordinarily valuable experience I had at Trent be made available to more Trent Durham students.” Joining Mr. Kirk as campaign co-chair is Steve Apostolopoulos, the managing partner of Triple Group of Companies, the developer of Durham Live.

A key pillar of the new campaign will be supporting the expansion of the University’s GTA campus through the creation of a new residence and academic building. This new development for Trent’s growing community of scholars will integrate both residence and academic space and will feature a 200-bed residence, a 100-seat tiered lecture hall, two 64-seat classrooms, research space, student common spaces, and faculty offices.

The expansion, approved at today’s Board of Governors meeting, is supported through a land donation from the City of Oshawa. The project architects are Barry Bryan Associates, the same group that designed the Thornton Road Campus, which opened in 2010.

“As part of the campaign, Trent also plans to bolster student support through scholarships and bursaries and to give students the tools and experience they need through experiential learning to contribute to this growing and changing community,” explained Julie Davis, vice-president, External Relations and Advancement. “Whether young, recent high school graduates or displaced workers seeking to rejoin the workforce to support their families, increasing student support is essential in the region. We are also looking to create new opportunities, such as course-specific scholarships in our Master of Management, Child and Youth Studies, and Social Work programs, and “first generation bursaries” to encourage and assist students who are the first in their family to pursue a post-secondary education—a group that Trent Durham attracts in increasing numbers because of our intimate, supportive campus.”

With Trent’s plan for expansion, its economic impact in the region is expected to grow from $47.3 million per year to an estimated $80 million, coupled with projected enrolment growth to 2,250 students by 2024. The Durham GTA campus is currently home to 1,400 students.

Learn more about the new campaign for Trent Durham GTA and visit trentu.ca/durham/expansion for further details on the campus expansion. Neighbours of our Durham GTA campus are also invited to a drop-in information session on Thursday, April 4 from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. where they can chat with Trent leadership and architects, view drawings and plans, and have their questions answered. All are welcome and encouraged to attend to find out more about how the Trent Durham expansion will enhance the neighbourhood and Durham Region.