George Brown’s $8M cheque biggest in Ontario college history

George Brown College has received the largest onetime donation in the Ontario college system’s history, the George Brown College Foundation announced Tuesday.

The $8-million donation came via Toronto businessman and philanthropist Jack Cockwell and the Brookfield Partners Foundation, the charitable branch of the Brookfield Management Company, where Cockwell is a director.

“Having seen first-hand how George Brown’s remarkable facilities, faculty and administration help to prepare the next generation of professional leaders and community builders, I am honoured to be playing a role in the future growth that will support George Brown’s continued innovation and leadership,” Cockwell said in a news release.

Cockwell has been “a friend” of the college for many years, college president Anne Sado told the Star. The donation is double any amount the school has received in a single gift.

“I think it’s a real sign of support for the college and the work that we do, so we’re very proud of that,” Sado said, adding that she hopes it inspires other potential donors to consider the public sector. The money will support George Brown’s Success at Work fundraising campaign, which aims to raise $60 million in private-sector donations for George Brown’s $250-million expansion plan that includes capital growth and increasing scholarships and bursaries.

The college is renaming its waterfront location, which houses George Brown’s health sciences programs, the Daphne Cockwell Centre for Health Sciences, in honour of Cockwell’s late mother, who was a nurse.

“It is fulfilling to see my mother’s legacy carried forward in the name of a building dedicated to creating the next generation of nurses, dental health professionals, health and wellness workers and others who make invaluable contributions to the population’s well-being,” Cockwell said.