As the year draws to a close, I’m reflecting with gratitude on the impact alumni and donors made on our University community in 2024. We have so many accomplishments to celebrate!
This year, donor support helped us break ground on two new facilities – the Waterloo Eye Institute and the Math 4 building – and open the Innovation Arena on our Health Sciences Campus. Propelling research across all six faculties at Waterloo, we launched the Future Cities Institute thanks to CAIVAN's landmark $10 million gift to the Faculty of Environment.
Our alumni community celebrated their memories at Reunion, decked out with Waterloo gear and keepsakes from across the decades. In the fall, we celebrated the long-awaited return of Homecoming with an epic football game against the Laurier Golden Hawks – and while we may not have won that Battle of Waterloo, we showed everyone that our Warrior spirit is going strong!
We also welcomed our 250,000th graduate at Spring convocation and celebrated the successful tenure of our 11th chancellor, Dominic Barton, with a beautiful gala in support of Indigenous Initiatives at Waterloo. In addition to the 250 distinguished guests who joined us at the event, messages of thanks came in from around the world in recognition of his impact on our University.
At our Fall convocation, we installed triple alum Jagdeep Singh Bachher (BASc '93, MASc '94, PhD '00) as Waterloo’s new chancellor. He gave a moving address that encouraged our newest graduates to become world leaders in their fields. As a global leader in his own right, Dr. Bachher is living proof that Waterloo alumni can achieve their boldest dreams.
Further strengthening ties with our community of champions, we launched our alumni chapter in Ottawa with a networking event and panel discussion at the Canadian Museum of Nature. We also called more than 1,400 donors on National Philanthropy Day through our second-annual thank-a-thon. Those calls sparked inspiring conversations about why people give to Waterloo, with donors sharing reasons like celebrating milestones, honouring friendships and supporting the dreams of the next generation.
Together, we’ve established new student awards, advanced groundbreaking research and strengthened our connections with each other. To everyone who contributes to our University community, thank you for your extraordinary generosity. I wish you all a restful and joyful holiday season.
Nenone Donaldson
Vice-President, Advancement