For more information, please contact:
Dianne Lister, Vice President, External Relations & Advancement, Trent University, (705) 748-1011 x7207;
Don Cumming, Senior Director, Public Affairs and Government Relations, Trent University, (705) 748-1011 x6181;
Kasia Lech, Manager, Media Relations, BMO Financial Group, (416) 867-3996
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Peterborough, October 22,
2009 – Over 165
members of the Peterborough and Trent communities gathered today at the
Peterborough Golf and Country Club to participate
in Inside Trent: Lunch with the Experts 2009 and to hear about a new $500,000
gift from BMO to establish the BMO Financial Group Future Green Leaders’ Fund
at Trent University.
Demonstrating leadership in
today’s emerging green economy, BMO
Financial Group’s support will provide the opportunity to increase
the number of graduate students and undergraduate summer student researchers
studying within Trent’s leading-edge environmental portfolio.
“BMO Financial Group’s generous support will help further
Trent’s collective knowledge base to prepare us to take action
to meet the environmental challenges we all face,” said Dr. Steven
E. Franklin, president and vice-chancellor of Trent University. “The
new Future Green Leaders’ Fund allows us to further build on a
45-year relationship with BMO and to ensure Trent University remains
on the forefront of preparing students for jobs in the emerging green
economy.”
Trent University has been
a leader in the environment since its inception in 1964. Thousands
of Trent students have gone on to become highly skilled,
contributing professionals in a wide variety of occupations within the
environmental/green workplace. Trent’s environmental expertise
at both national and international levels is focused on aquatic sciences,
climate change, water contaminant analysis, environmental modeling, northern
and polar studies, species conservation and biodiversity, wildlife stress
and diseases, ecological restoration, community-based environmental solutions
and DNA profiling of animal and plants for effective ecosystem management.
Graduates of Trent’s environmental portfolio make significant contributions
to helping governments, the private sector and communities affect important
and positive change.
"Today, we are taking the opportunity to bring together two elements at
the heart of our strong focus on corporate responsibility, namely education
and the environment," said Eileen Grady, Managing Director, BMO
Harris Private Banking, Peterborough. "We firmly believe that this
donation and the establishment of the BMO Financial Group Future Green
Leaders’ Fund will help to attract and support new leaders in Canada’s
green economy to Trent – cementing the University’s place
as a true leader in environmental education in Canada." A leader amongst financial institutions in Canada in the area of environmental
sustainability, BMO is a generous supporter of many environmental initiatives
in Canada. In 2008, BMO created the Clear Blue Skies strategy to recognize
the importance the bank places on the quality of the air that we breathe.
Achievements to date include: being the first Canadian bank to achieve
ISO 14001 certification; a commitment to reducing net emissions related
to energy consumption and transportation to zero by 2010, and being named
as one of the highest scoring companies in the world and the only Canadian
bank in the Global 500 Carbon Disclosure leadership Index for 2009.
The announcement of the creation
of the BMO Financial Group Future Green Leaders’ Fund led off the third annual Inside
Trent: Lunch with the Experts speaker series. This year’s luncheon featured keynote
speaker Michael Kerford, vice president of ECO Canada, and a panel of
Trent experts, speaking on the topic of “Preparing for the Green
Economy: Green Jobs and Opportunities for Youth in the Emerging Eco Jobs
Marketplace.”
The event was also presented
as part of a two-day celebration of the launch of Trent University’s Centre of Knowledge in the Environment,
the first of four virtual centres designed to profile interdisciplinary
teaching and research expertise among the humanities, social sciences,
sciences and professional programs to be unveiled leading up to the University’s
milestone 50th anniversary in 2014. This Centre celebrates Trent’s
national and international expertise in and commitment to the environment
as a distinct focal point of excellence. Trent’s environmental
expertise at both national and international levels is focused on aquatic
sciences, climate change, water contaminant analysis, environmental modeling,
northern and polar studies, species conservation and biodiversity, wildlife
stress and diseases, ecological restoration, community-based environmental
solutions, and DNA profiling of animal and plants for effective ecosystem
management. Trent leaders in this Centre strive to build even further
speciality expertise by infusing Trent’s understanding of Indigenous
knowledge into the study of climate change, water science, biomaterials,
sustainable agriculture, ecology and conservation biology. In addition,
Trent’s expertise in Indigenous Knowledge infuses our understanding
of the environment.
The Inside Trent:
Lunch with the Experts series was launched in Peterborough in 2007 as a community
outreach event, designed to bring Trent’s
experts to the community to facilitate a sharing of knowledge on topical
subjects. The event is held on an annual basis in various communities
and is sponsored by the Trent University Legacy Society, visionary donors
who have made a future gift to Trent through their estate plans.
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