Giving stories

The mindset to succeed
Reflecting on their own experiences led alumni Judy Zhu and James Thom to establish an award they hope will support students who share their mindset.

A fight for rights
Marvin Storrow (LLD ’21) championed Indigenous rights in court—and supported legal education through a gift that honours his wife, the Colette Storrow Award.

A pivotal email at a pivotal time
In July 2020, Patricia was saying an emotional goodbye to Victoria when she received an email about UVic's Research Accelerator Fund that spoke to her about hope, community and a way to bring the suffering caused by the pandemic to a close.

Digitization and enrichment
The COVID-19 pandemic caused a sudden and intense shift in library users' needs. Support from donors swelled in response, helping UVic Libraries maintain its vital support role for students, faculty and community members.

Moving from learning to action
As public awareness of pervasive racial inequality rises, a substantial number of new donor-funded awards at UVic are promoting equity for students from groups with current or historical barriers to education.

Research Accelerator Fund
UVic launched the Research Accelerator Fund to empower the university’s world-class researchers to respond to the urgent needs of communities. Donations to that fund are boosting six projects focused on making communities stronger in the wake of the pandemic.

Anne McLaughlin
Anne remembers walking around Ring Road "when is was just straight mud". For the past 33 years, and counting, she has generously donated to the endeavours of students and university life.

Christina Hunter
When Christina saw the fire that was lit in her daughter's heart, she set her mind on supporting the Law Centre through a legacy gift.

Paulette Lacroix
Paulette Lacroix created a Nursing Informatics Leadership Scholarship to address some pressing concerns about technology in healthcare.

Schulich Foundation
Seymour Schulich's $200 million scholarship fund will help create the next pioneers of global scientific research and innovation, at UVic and across Canada.

Avis Rasmussen
Avis Rasmussen's family established a scholarship in her name to celebrate her 82nd birthday and her dedication to education and art.

Giovando Family
Tony Giovando and his wife Laura Evans established the Leonard and Eileen Hamilton Scholarship in Spanish and Italian Studies. The gift honours his grandparents, who were a crucial part of his success at UVic.

Canet Foundation
In Collaboration with UVic’s School of Child and Youth Care, the Canet Foundation opened up the Spirit Bear farm to students and faculty at UVic as a living classroom to support Indigenous land-based education.