News from Development and Alumni Relations
September 12, 1996
While McGill's capital campaign has come to a close--with the final total to be announced September 16--the benefits of the funds raised will continue to be felt on campus for years to come. At the same time, other forms of private support--gifts from graduates, parents, faculty, staff and friends--are at work year in and year out to make the University a better place. "Generosity at Work," a new column from the Office of Development and Alumni Relations, will tell some of the stories that show the impact these gifts are having.
When Shyam Swaroop Sablani opens a can of tomato soup, he rarely just pours it into a pot. He swishes it around, carefully examining its contents by analyzing its colour, thickness and texture. If everything checks out, then he'll consider eating it.
This behaviour might seem compulsive, but Sablani's caution stems from years of experience with the food-canning process--the basis of his PhD research at McGill.
The graduate student hopes to improve the quality of canned foods, keeping the maximum amount of essential nutrients and retaining as much of the food's natural colour and texture as possible. He has dedicated almost four years to this work at the Food Science and Agricultural Chemistry Department at Macdonald Campus.
But Sablani's hopes of continuing his research were almost crushed like a tin can about a year ago.
With a wife and a new baby on the way, his savings were quickly drying up. Although he received an $8,000 grant--from a research project being carried out by his supervisor, Dr. Hosahally Ramaswamy--and worked part-time as a teaching assistant, these earnings were not enough to cover tuition and living expenses. Then he learned he was the latest recipient of a $10,000 Hydro-Québec fellowship. Sablani says the utility's support really made a difference to his life. "The financial aspect of it was a great relief," he says, "but most important, it really allowed me to focus on my work, to stay up to date on what's happening in the food industry and, of course, to spend more time with my family. I couldn't have done it without the fellowship."
Hydro-Québec's support--open to graduate students from all faculties--was part of a $1.8 million commitment to The McGill Twenty-First Century Fund, the University's $200 million capital campaign. The campaign wrapped up on May 31 with almost $203 million in gifts and pledges.
Student aid was a high priority for the campaign, with $41.1 million earmarked for graduate and undergraduate support. This priority was a popular one with donors, who helped the campaign surpass that goal and create a total of 151 endowed and direct-funded scholarships and fellowships.
The campaign will touch students across campus in many other ways. A few examples:
Students were themselves major participants in the campaign. They raised well over $9 million, while faculty and staff pledged more than $4 million to the cause. From a new state-of-the-art athletics facility to a restored costume workshop to first- and second-year medicine courses on CD-ROM, the effect of campaign funds will be felt throughout campus.
"This fellowship has opened up so many opportunities for me," says grateful PhD candidate Sablani. "I know all this work will one day pay off, and I'll be able to get a good job."
If you would like more information about the activities of the Office of Development and Alumni Relations, please call local 8459.