Nursing champion

U of T’s Faculty of Nursing entered a brilliant new era on March 8 when it announced a historic gift of $10 million from Lawrence Bloomberg, the founder and former CEO of Canadian investment dealer First Marathon Inc. This is the largest gift ever to a faculty of nursing in Canada. In recognition of Bloomberg’s contribution, U of T named the faculty the Lawrence Bloomberg Faculty of Nursing, the country’s first named nursing faculty.

The funds will establish a 10-year Transformation Agenda at the Bloomberg Faculty of Nursing. “With this investment, we will expand student scholarships, fund innovative curriculum development, recruit leading scholars to teach and lead research, support the further development of advanced clinical education and build a focus on continuing nursing education,” said Dean Sioban Nelson.

“For me, this gift is more than a donation,” said Bloomberg, who has committed time and resources to health care in Canada for 25 years. “Most of all, this gift is a priority statement. Nursing is a priority for the health care of Canadians and by supporting nursing,we are doing something for every Canadian.”

He added that his contribution won’t end with his gift. “I want to be a resource to the faculty to help whenever and wherever I can. I care about this.”