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The University of Guelph's commitment to increasing scholarship support for graduate students received a major boost today, courtesy of a $500,000 gift from BMO Financial Group.

The gift will be used to establish an endowment fund that will eventually support five annual graduate scholarships, valued at $15,000 each. They will be distributed as part of the provincial Ontario Graduate Scholarships (OGS) and Ontario Graduate Scholarships in Science and Technology (OGSST) programs.

“Through its generous support, BMO is making a lifelong investment in the education of skillful and creative graduates who will become the future leaders of this country,” said Alastair Summerlee, President, University of Guelph.

“BMO has a longstanding and overarching commitment to learning,” said Tony Comper, President and Chief Executive Officer, BMO Financial Group.  “We are pleased to support the University of Guelph and to have our name associated with such a relevant and important endowment fund.” 

The first beneficiary of the BMO fund is a master's student, Lorna Deeth, of the Department of Mathematics and Statistics.

Summerlee said the University is dedicated to giving students access to an exceptional learning experience, and has been working diligently to increase the number of graduate students as per the recommendations of the provincial government. A key component of that effort is the availability of financial aid, he said.

Currently, OGS/OGSST programs operate on a two-to-one matching system, with the government providing $10,000 towards each scholarship and  universities providing $5,000. Guelph is awarded about 120 such scholarships a year.

“Private support is vital to our ability to fund our share of each award, and gifts such as this one from BMO make it possible for the University to leverage the government funding,” Summerlee said.

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