U of T celebrates anniversary of the Temerty’s milestone gift

Five years ago, a landmark $250-million gift from James and Louise Temerty and the Temerty Foundation launched a new era for medicine at the University of Toronto.

Since being announced on September 24, 2020, at a small, socially distanced event, this extraordinary philanthropic investment — which is still the largest to a university in Canadian history — has empowered U of T’s Faculty of Medicine, now known as the Temerty Faculty of Medicine, to expand its impact and global health leadership.

The Temerty family’s generosity has significantly strengthened discovery, collaboration, innovation, equity and learner well-being across Temerty Medicine and its hospital partners — the very priorities identified in the Faculty’s Academic Strategic Plan 2018–2023. It was this ambitious, community-informed vision that first inspired James and Louise’s landmark gift.

Over the last five years, the Temerty family’s’ support has advanced machine learning in medicine, catalyzed biomedical research across Toronto’s health-science network, fostered innovation and entrepreneurship, expanded equity and accessibility in medical education, and is enabling construction of the new state-of-the-art Temerty Building. Their gift also established a Dean’s COVID-19 Priority Fund which allowed the Faculty to respond swiftly to the urgent challenges of the global pandemic.

“James and Louise Temerty’s landmark gift has propelled the Temerty Faculty of Medicine to new heights of global excellence and impact,” said U of T President Melanie Woodin.

“Their generosity has driven tremendous progress already over the past five years, in every aspect of the Temerty Faculty’s mission. On behalf of the entire University of Toronto, I would like to express our deepest gratitude to Jim and Louise for the new era of learning, discovery and innovation they have set in motion, leading to a healthier future for Canadians and for people everywhere.”

“When Louise and I made this gift five years ago, our hope was that it would help the University of Toronto push the boundaries of what’s possible in health research, education and care,” said James Temerty. “We could not be prouder of all that has been accomplished since then. We’ve seen discoveries accelerated, collaborations strengthened across hospitals and new generations of students receive the support they need to thrive in medicine. Witnessing this progress has been deeply gratifying and we look forward with great excitement to all the Faculty will achieve in the next five years, and beyond.”