Boundless Mission

In 1958, U of T’s president, Claude Bissell, convinced the board of governors to launch the university’s first institution-wide fundraising campaign, with a goal of $12.6 million (worth about $101 million in today’s dollars).

More than half a century later, the university, with David Naylor at the helm, officially launched its fifth major fundraising campaign. With a goal of $2 billion, the most ever for a Canadian post-secondary institution, U of T’s Boundless campaign aims to help the university achieve two main goals: to address international challenges through the support of pioneering research and breakthrough innovations; and to prepare students to succeed in a rapidly changing, global knowledge economy.

This fall, the campaign reached the $1.35 billion mark, thanks to the support of more than 80,000 alumni and friends. John Cassaday (MBA 1981), a member of the Boundless executive committee, believes that this achievement, midway through the campaign, reflects the sense of a shared mission among members and friends of the university community. “U of T has reached this important milestone because there are few other institutions whose impact and vision resonate so directly with individuals and organizations wishing to make a difference in the world,” he says. It’s a mission that truly is “boundless.”