A Magazine for Alumni and Friends
The past decade has been transformational at Laurier, with new facilities, programs and services redefining campus life and the student experience. Much of this change is thanks to Catalyst: The Campaign for Wilfrid Laurier University.
The decade-long Catalyst campaign – the most ambitious fundraising effort in Laurier’s history – generated an extraordinary $130 million through the support of staff, faculty, friends of the university, three levels of government and, of course, Laurier’s generous alumni community.
Funds raised through Catalyst contributed to new buildings including the state-of-the-art Lazaridis Hall in Waterloo and the stunning Laurier Brantford YMCA, facilities that have transformed the communities they serve. Catalyst has also led to an increase in support for students in the form of new scholarships, bursaries and research funding. The campaign also is helping faculty members make an impact through supporting research that contributes to solving global problems.
In this edition of Campus, we celebrate the conclusion of Catalyst: The Campaign for Wilfrid Laurier University with a feature story highlighting how contributions to the campaign have impacted life at Laurier and created a world of opportunity for students.
Each of the programs, services and facilities that resulted from Catalyst are designed to prepare students for success both at university and in their future careers. This edition of the magazine also highlights a significant component of Laurier’s strategy to prepare students for that success: providing real-world learning opportunities.
The feature story "Real-world ready" shows how Laurier is helping students gain valuable skills through a purposeful approach to learning that combines academics with real-world experiences. Though experiential learning opportunities at hundreds of locations including investment firms, archaeological digs, youth programs and many more, current Laurier students across academic disciplines are already making a difference.
There’s a lot more to keep you connected to Laurier and its alumni community in this edition of Campus, too. You can catch up with outstanding alumni in a feature profiling 2019 Alumni Awards of Excellence winners, who were honoured at the university's Waterloo campus during a ceremony in March. And in a moving Postcard to Home, Jill Wheatley – who has taken up the challenge of running in mountains around the world following a traumatic brain injury in 2014 – shares her story of perseverance.
Partnership, purposeful education, building community and embracing challenge: this edition of Campus captures themes that define the Laurier experience.
John Zronik
Editor, Laurier Campus magazine