The University of Saskatchewan is celebrating a multimillion-dollar donation from two former students who lived in Moose Jaw and whom the school describes as its most generous alumni.
Ron and Jane Graham recently donated $5.9 million to support the university’s vaccine research, its Huskies athletics programs, and students in engineering and education. Specifically, the athletics department will receive $3 million, the Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization (VIDO) will receive $1 million, the College of Education gets $1 million and the College of Engineering acquires $900,000.
The Grahams are the largest cumulative alumni donors in U of S history, the school said.
“Jane and I have always had a passion for helping students and signature areas at USask,” said Mr. Graham. “Giving to Huskie athletes, funding innovative research, and enhancing teaching and career prospects is something we are proud to support.”
“We have been fortunate to help establish scholarships, facilities, and programming at the University of Saskatchewan for decades,” added Mrs. Graham. “With this latest commitment, we want to ensure USask continues to be what the world needs, in a variety of disciplines.”
The $3-million donation to Huskie Athletics will be split among the football team and the men’s and women’s basketball teams. Besides scholarships, each team will use the funding to purchase new equipment and technology, fund coaching support, and pursue new travel opportunities for international competitions and skills development.
The $1-million gift will establish VIDO as Canada’s Centre for Pandemic Research — a national venue that will support the response to future human and animal infectious diseases. This includes constructing a new animal housing building and upgrading important areas of its lab to Level 4 containment, which would allow researchers to study all existing and emerging infectious diseases.
The College of Education will use the $1 million to support the Jane and Ron Graham Centre for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning. Established with the couple’s $1-million donation in 2019, the centre supports applied research in teaching and learning in higher education.
Unique in North America, the centre now offers the first graduate degree in the scholarship of teaching and learning in Canada, the U of S said. The donation will further support developing and applying innovative education practices that will affect and transform multiple academic disciplines.
Meanwhile, the College of Engineering will use $500,000 to support the newly launched RE-ENGINEERED Program for first-year students, featuring re-designed courses and class scheduling and grading that focuses on helping students attain important skills.
Furthermore, the college’s Ron and Jane Graham School of Professional Development (SoPD) will use $400,000 to support a project co-ordinator who can monitor and evaluate initial outcomes of the RE-ENGINEERED program. The co-ordinator will also help develop professional development opportunities for students, alumni and other professionals.
Founded in 2012, the SoPD offers courses and certificates in areas such as communication, tech entrepreneurship and leadership.
“Ron and Jane Graham have set an exceptionally high standard of giving to the University of Saskatchewan and we are deeply grateful for their ongoing support,” said USask president Peter Stoicheff.
“Their gifts elevate teaching, learning and the student experience at USask. The impact of their several donations through the years spans generations of students. By investing in critical research and visionary spaces, the Grahams continue to support our university’s response to global issues.”
Other notable projects the Grahams have funded include extra basketball courts at Merlis Belsher Place, development of the Ron and Jane Graham Sport Science and Health Centre at Merlis Belsher Place, and expansion of the Graham Huskie Clubhouse at Griffiths Stadium.
In 2018, the gymnasium floor at the Physical Activity Complex was redesigned and named “Ron and Jane Graham Centre Court” to recognize their contributions.
