Community to kick off campaign

By Michael Bourguignon | The launch of the University's most ambitious fundraising campaign to date will anchor a weekend of campus celebrations for the entire McGill community.

McGill's annual Homecoming Weekend, always a popular and fun-filled affair, will set the scene for the campaign launch, the first-ever Parents Weekend, the McGill Alumni Association's 150th anniversary and the culmination of the year-long centenary celebrations on the Macdonald campus. The festivities run from Thursday, Oct. 18, through Sunday, Oct. 21.

"I can think of no better time than Homecoming Weekend, with so many of the McGill family gathered together, to announce a campaign that will transform the University in ways that will be seen and felt for generations to come," said Marc Weinstein, Assistant Vice-Principal (Development, Alumni and University Relations) and Director of University Campaigns.

The main celebrations will unfold beneath a tent on the downtown lower campus, beginning Thursday, Oct. 18, 2:30 p.m., with the Healing Our World symposium. McGill scholars will debate some of the world's most pressing issues, from the environment to health to poverty and development, and respond to the audience's questions and comments.

The debate will be followed at 4:30 with fun, eco-friendly community barbecues on both campuses hosted by Principal Heather Munroe-Blum, who will officially announce Campaign McGill. The proceedings will be simulcast onsite to link the downtown and Macdonald campuses.

"This celebration will allow the entire McGill community - alumni, friends, faculty, staff, students and parents—to gather together to usher in one of the most exciting periods in the University's history," said Honora Shaughnessy, executive director of the McGill Alumni Association.

The Parents Association also has organized the first-ever Parents Weekend, featuring breakfast with Janine Schmidt, Trenholme Director of Libraries, lectures, hikes on Mount Royal and other activities.

"The Parents Fund supports McGill's libraries, so parents attending the breakfast will get to learn about the difference they're making," said Leisha Lecouvie, associate director of Alumni Services. "We really wanted to include and involve the parents in this year's Homecoming Weekend because they're such an important part of McGill's extended family."

To register for the Healing Our World symposium or community barbecue, visit www.mcgill.ca/campuscelebration. For a complete listing of events, visit www.alumni.mcgill.ca/sites/homecoming.