How U of T will Defy Gravity

By Rachel Boutet

Dentistry alumni and friends are integral to the new University-wide fundraising campaign

Late last fall, the University of Toronto launched the most ambitious university fundraising campaign in Canadian history. The Defy Gravity campaign, through the support of our worldwide alumni and friends community, will strengthen the University’s efforts to address the biggest challenges of our time.

The campaign aims to raise $4 billion for the University’s highest priorities and to inspire 225,000 alumni to engage with the University as volunteers, mentors, donors, participants and leaders.

The Faculty of Dentistry, as part of the Defy Gravity campaign, has articulated its own exciting fundraising initiatives. Among the key priorities for the Faculty are research, student financial aid, student outreach and experiential learning. They also include revitalization of our spaces, including the creation of the satellite clinic at 777 Bay St., the pre-clinical simulation lab and the auditorium. The largest project our school will undertake will be the updating of Clinic 2 at 124 Edward St., which will transform the Faculty experience for all those who pass through its doors.

As part of the infrastructure support priority, the Faculty has set up a fund in honour of Daniel Haas, who will be completing his second term as dean in June. To kick off the fund, an anonymous donor has generously given $200,000.
 
“I want to do something meaningful to commemorate the dean’s leadership and at the same time, do something that would help ensure the future success of the Faculty during the Defy Gravity campaign,” says the donor.

“Our students are the dentists of the future, and we are tasked with educating them in the science and art of dentistry. We do this in a dental hospital and research institute. We have great needs for revitalized clinic and teaching spaces so our students can have the best educational experiences,” notes the donor. “I am grateful to the central administration at U of T for supporting our Faculty. Now, it’s really important that we, the U of T dental community of alumni, Faculty members, instructors and friends, step up as donors to show our support.”

In 2018, thanks to the dean’s leadership and the efforts of many at the Faculty and the wider university, and with significant government support, the Faculty opened its doors to renovated and updated research facilities housed on the top two floors of the school. This new space has allowed for greater collaboration and discoveries to take shape and support the learning of all our students.

The donor notes the Faculty’s new satellite clinic as an example of how the Faculty has moved forward to provide modernized spaces for teaching, learning and patient care.

“My hope for the dean’s campaign and the wider Defy Gravity campaign is that we garner the kind of funding required for us to flourish,” the donor says. “I hope we can mobilize ourselves to help the Faculty continually improve as we train dentists of the next century.”

There are many ways to get involved in supporting the Defy Gravity campaign. “The magic of a campaign is that it brings into focus the most urgent needs of the Faculty and asks for partnership from its most loyal, caring community members,” says Selina Esteves, director of alumni and advancement.

“Campaigns bring together those who care about what the school does and stands for and those who want to see it retain its reputation for excellence and prepare it for the future.”

“The dean’s campaign is focused on one of the highest priorities of the campaign for Dentistry — infrastructure that can support the undergraduate experience,” says Esteves. There are several ways to get involved, and many opportunities for engagement and recognition: from naming a fund to supporting a needy student to naming an operatory at the Faculty. “Every gift is important, no matter the size, to our collective success.”

To find out more about all the ways to get involved in the Defy Gravity campaign, read more at defygravitycampaign.utoronto.ca. To offer support for any of the Faculty of Dentistry’s priority areas, contact Selina Esteves at selina.esteves@dentistry.utoronto.ca or (416) 580-2802.

Photo: The Faculty’s new medical device reprocessing facility (Jeff Comber)

Interested in more stories? Read the PDF edition of the U of T Dentistry Magazine Winter/Spring 2022 Issue