EDITORIAL — Remembering the alma mater — Giving it back

The University of Toronto has produced some of the world’s top geologists and mining executives, and many of these former students have gone to make names for themselves in the highly competitive mining world. Some have even made small fortunes in the process.

The university has since benefited from the largesse of some of these key players in the mining industry. Mining executive Pierre Lassonde, for example, has not forgotten his years at U of T. The newly created Lassonde Geological and Mining Engineering program at the university is the result of a $5-million donation from Lassonde, president of Euro-Nevada Mining and Franco-Nevada Mining. The funds are being used to establish chairs, student scholarships and bursaries.

William Bawden, a former Noranda researcher and currently head of the mining engineering department at Queen’s University in Kingston, has been appointed chair of the Lassonde program. He also was appointed chair of the department of geological and mining engineering at the U of T’s faculty of applied science and engineering. In this dual capacity, Bawden will further develop links between the industry and the school, as well as conduct research.

Not to be outdone, Lassonde’s partner, Seymour Schulich, has donated millions of dollars to York University, also in Toronto, to help beef up that institution’s business faculty.

More recently, Barrick Gold Chairman Peter Munk donated $6.4 million to help establish the Munk Centre for International Studies at the U of T’s Devonshire House. The industry captain graduated from U of T in 1952 with a bachelor of applied science. He then went on to establish one of the world’s largest gold mining companies, as well as various other business ventures that employ people and provide spinoff benefits to all Canadians.

The centre for international studies will expand the university’s multidisciplinary expertise in a field that has been identified as a top academic priority. The campaign to establish the centre will become Canada’s largest university fund-raising effort, its objective being to seek an additional $28 million in support of the Munk Centre’s program, visiting professorships and student fellowships.

International studies are increasingly important now that almost every business sector in North America is looking to foreign markets for growth and expansion opportunities. The mining industry, including its

supply-and-service sector, is no exception. Canadian companies are now exploring in almost every mineral-rich country in the world. And, as most have learned, this requires the ability to conduct business across cultural and ethnic lines with grace and sensitivity.

It is heartening to see that leaders in the mining industry are helping others get a start in their careers. And more is to come. Next year, the University of Toronto, in collaboration with the Lassonde program, will become the permanent home of the Canadian Mining Hall of Fame. This is being made possible by contributions from the mining industry as a whole, and from many former students in particular.

A good number of the Hall of Fame’s inductees are former U of T students, and it is hoped that the lives of these remarkable minefinders, technical innovators and company builders will inspire today’s young people as they pursue careers in the earth sciences.