$1-Million Gift to Support Arts Scholarships
April 10, 2013 - News Release
The University of Guelph has received an investment in creativity.
Edward (Ted) Morwick, an honorary U of G graduate and lawyer-turned-businessman, has pledged $1 million to support arts students at the University.
He made the gift through the BetterPlanet Project, the University’s $200-million fundraising campaign for teaching and research in food, environment, health and communities.
The new funding will provide Ted Morwick Undergraduate Scholarships for nearly 20 arts students each year.
It will also provide additional support for two graduate scholarships in English literature and creative writing in Morwick’s name.
“This gift will have tremendous impact on our students, allowing them to reach their creative potential,” said president Alastair Summerlee.
“These scholarships provide support at critical stages in students’ development — as they enter their university years and as they decide whether to pursue graduate studies. Besides allowing students to focus on their studies and artistic endeavours, the scholarships will help the University attract top scholars across the arts.”
Don Bruce, dean of the College of Arts, added: “Ted Morwick’s gift does many things: it ensures that many more deserving students will be supported in their studies; it emphasizes the key role that liberal arts play in the University`s educational mission; and it demonstrates the depth of community support for humanities and fine and performing arts. His gift will have a lasting impact for the scholarship recipients as well as for society.”
Morwick said the scholarships will help build the University’s stature by attracting superior students, some of whom might go on to become literary greats. “That’s a subject very dear to my heart.”
Morwick enrolled at U of G in 1968 intending to become a journalist. He excelled in English literature and writing but changed his career plans when Osgoode Hall Law School offered him early admission.
A lawyer for nearly 40 years, he spent most of his early career practising criminal law in Hamilton, Ont. He later turned to property development and started a mortgage investment and venture capital firm.
He wrote The Chosen Breed, a book about the history of Holstein cattle in Canada, and The Holstein History, about the breed’s development in the United States. Morwick’s ancestors made significant contributions to Holstein breeding in Canada.
Morwick has supported graduate and undergraduate scholarships in the College of Arts for several years. He has given more than $1.4 million to Guelph.
“The University of Guelph is the place where I found myself and came to realize what I wanted to do with my life,” he said. “The professors and staff made me feel appreciated and encouraged me to exercise my talents. I owe them a debt of gratitude.”
He said he enjoys being able to help deserving students. “I have no children of my own, and I think of the scholarship recipients as my extended family.”
For media questions, contact Communications and Public Affairs: Lori Bona Hunt, 519-824-4120, Ext. 53338, lhunt@uoguelph.ca, or Kevin Gonsalves, Ext. 56982, kgonsalves@uoguelph.ca.
