It’s a wonderful time to be an entrepreneur.
The family of the former Brookfield CEO, Jack Cockwell, and the Brookfield Partners Foundation donated $8 million to Ryerson University today. The money will be put towards the Brookfield Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, according to a press release.
The family’s initial $13-million donation last January launched the institute. Since then, the institute has supported a summer basecamp program for high school students, established a fund for startups and hosted an app development workshop.
This is not the first time Cockwell and Brookfield have given money to Ryerson. Over the years, Cockwell and the foundation have given $28 million so far to the university.
“Jack Cockwell’s generosity to Ryerson University has created extraordinary opportunities for students. His support encourages and inspires the young innovators and entrepreneurs who will be the drivers of our emerging economy,” Janice Fukakusa, chair of Ryerson’s board of governors said in the release.
Ryerson will also name its new Church Street development, the Daphne Cockwell Health Sciences Complex, after Jack Cockwell’s late mother. When it is expected to be completed in 2018, the new building will be home to the Daphne Cockwell School of Nursing, a fabrication zone, university administration offices, as well as the nutrition, occupational and public health schools, and student residences.
Arts and life editor for the Ryersonian. Pun appreciator. Laughs at her own jokes.