George Brown College issued the following announcement on Sept. 18.

On 11th September, 2019, Gerald “Gerry” Connor, Chairman of Cumberland Partners Ltd. (CPL), made a substantial personal donation to the Centre for Business, George Brown College. Facilitated by the George Brown College Foundation, Connor’s generous gift and backing of Cumberland are intended to provide financial support for the expansion of the finance program at the Centre for Business.

The Centre for Business will receive the gift in two tranches over the course of the 2019 ‑ 2021 academic years. The first tranch will be directed towards funding research into the development of new finance/investment programs. The second tranch will support the implimentation of programs arising out of the research and any requisite training for Business Centre faculty.

Present for the signing of the gift agreement were: Gerald Connor; Guida Fernandes, Head, Client Services, Operations Manager, CPL; Dr. Ian Austin, Dean, Centre for Business; Dr. Cindy Gouveia, President, George Brown College Foundation; and Sam Levy, Chair, School of Accounting and Finance.

Mr. Connor stated, “We’re pleased to support George Brown College as it continues to address the future needs of Toronto’s business and financial sectors. This gift is meant to provide both the means and impetus for students to receive the training necessary for them to excel in tomorrow’s financial sector and gain streamlined access to the investment industry. Their development and success is paramount, for when they succeed, the financial industry and, by extension, Toronto, benefit. I’m pleased that my financial support is enhanced by the backing of Cumberland to make a contribution to the success of this program.”

Dr. Austin, opined, “This gift will directly enable the expansion of programming at the Centre for Business that is both relevant and timely. This augurs well for students, George Brown College and Toronto’s financial sector. Through Gerry’s actions today, students will gain access to new finance/investment programs; the College will continue to remain at the forefront of relevant, forward-thinking, real-world applicable education; and Toronto’s financial sector moves to future-proof itself.”

Dr. Gouveia stated of the donation, “As the Foundation seeks to partner with Toronto’s business community, Gerry Connor’s generous support of program development at the Centre for Business is overt and tangible testament to his and Cumberland’s commitment to Toronto’s financial sector. It also highlights his thought-leadership with regard to anticipating and addressing the future human resource needs of the sector.”

Original source: https://www.georgebrown.ca/giving/news/Finance-Exec-Gives-Big-to-George-Brown-Centre-for-Business/