(Toronto, ON) Today the Faculty of Law at the University of Toronto broke ground for a major expansion and renovation on its Queen’s Park site.
The spectacular new facility includes the Jackman Law Building – named after the law school’s lead donor, the Hon. Henry N.R. Jackman, LLB 1956, a former Lieutenant-Governor of Ontario, UofT Chancellor and long-time benefactor to Canada’s largest university – and will house spacious, modern, environmentally friendly classrooms, offices and collaborative areas for Canada’s pre-eminent law school.
“This is a great day in the history of the law school,” said Dean Mayo Moran. “The new building will create a future for the Faculty of Law that is even brighter than our illustrious past. We are so grateful to all of our benefactors who believed in the importance of this project and came forward to make it a reality.”
Praising lead donor Hal Jackman for his investment in the Faculty of Law, U of T President David Naylor said: “The Honourable Henry N.R. Jackman has been a remarkably generous supporter of higher education, and his passion for U of T has spanned various of our faculties and colleges. With this latest benefaction, Hal Jackman again demonstrates unusual long-term vision. This ground-breaking represents not simply a new building, but a new era for legal education and scholarship at Canada’s only world-class law school.”
This innovative building strengthens the law school’s success in drawing top law students and world-renowned faculty. The expanded facilities add much-needed contemporary teaching, learning, research and collaborative space not only for JD and graduate programs, but also for professional and continuing education courses, and unique initiatives such as the Global Professional LLM, and the Internationally Trained Lawyers Program.
The new building increases teaching and learning space by 50 per cent, to 66,000 square feet. It includes a multi-storey wing on Queen’s Park Crescent, an extensive interior renovation to the Bora Laskin Law Library and an update to historic Flavelle House.
"My classmates and I look forward to watching the construction project unfold and to one day soon setting foot in our new home – a space that will symbolize the intersection between our great history and our exciting future," said Brendan Stevens, President of the Students’ Law Society.
The alumni and law firm communities have provided unprecedented support for the Faculty of Law building campaign. In addition to Mr. Jackman’s generous $11 million gift, law firms Osler, Hoskin and Harcourt LLP and Torys LLP, with donations of more than $2 million each, have set new benchmarks for firm giving in Canada. The campaign has also received several individual gifts of $1 million or more, and achieved remarkable alumni participation.
The building is designed by Toronto firms Hariri Pontarini Architects and B+H Architects. It is a welcome addition to the cultural and architectural renaissance on Philosopher’s Walk, placing Canada’s best law school alongside iconic neighbours such as the ROM’s Michael Lee-Chin Crystal and the Royal Conservatory’s Telus Centre for Performance and Learning.
Today’s celebration included remarks from The Hon. Michael Wilson, Chancellor, University of Toronto, Ms. Judy Goldring, Vice-Chair of the Governing Council, Professor David Naylor, President, University of Toronto, and Professor Mayo Moran, Dean, Faculty of Law.
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For further information, please contact: Lucianna Ciccocioppo, Director, External Relations
416-946-0334, lucianna.ciccocioppo@utoronto.ca
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