This donor profile is from the Fall-Winter 2012 issue of Nexus
By Karen Gross and Lucianna Ciccocioppo / photography by Nigel Dickson
Henry N. R. Jackman’s $10M lead gift secures a bright future for the Faculty of Law with the Jackman Law Building, as our alumni continue to give generously.
There was an energy buzzing around the law school on October 1, 2012. Students, faculty and staff were asked to meet in the Rowell Room at Flavelle House at the end of the day to hear an update on the building campaign.
It was great news, as Dean Mayo Moran announced the largest donation in the history of the law school: an extraordinary $10-million lead gift to the campaign from the Honourable Henry N. R. “Hal” Jackman, LLB 1956, a former Lieutenant-Governor of Ontario, U of T Chancellor and long-time benefactor to Canada’s largest university.
This generous gift to name the Jackman Law Building is in addition to a $1-million donation made at the time of the campaign’s launch on November 29, 2011, to name a lecture hall after early 20th-century jurists Richard Haldane and William Watson. Jackman admires their work in articulating the divisional powers between the federal and provincial governments under the Canadian Constitution.
Jackman’s lead gift brings the total amount of his support and generosity to the Faculty of Law campaign to $11 million.
As a result, the private fundraising total for the building is now at $32.5 million—more than 90 percent of our overall goal for the building campaign. Construction of the facility—a $54-million state-of-the art architectural landmark for the University of Toronto—will commence in the summer of 2013.
An adviser to the Faculty of Law Building campaign cabinet and an honorary chair of the University of Toronto’s Boundless Campaign, Jackman’s dedication to education, public service and the university is remarkable, spanning more than half a century. A loyal and engaged alumnus, he has donated millions to various faculties and schools across the UofT campuses.
“A great city such as Toronto deserves a great university,” says Jackman, “And we have it.” Dean Moran says: “Hal Jackman is one of the Faculty’s most distinguished alumni, and we are very proud that our new building will bear his name. He exemplifies the very best qualities of the Faculty of Law: a deep intellectual engagement with the law, a passion for excellence and an unwavering commitment to the public good. His extraordinary generosity will transform our great law school and ensure that we offer the best legal education in the world, right here in Canada.”
