Defy Gravity: The Campaign for the University of Toronto
With the support of our alumni, the Faculty of Information is preparing students to meet the information challenges of the 21st century. The Defy Gravity campaign supports Faculties as they raise the funds necessary to meet their highest priorities. Gifts go toward endowing student aid, ensuring faculty excellence, supporting new program initiatives, and meeting capital project objectives.
The Defy Gravity campaign will enhance the Faculty of Information’s ability to attract top students and faculty as well as strengthen our ability to offer innovative programs and provide an outstanding teaching, learning and research environment.
For information, please email claudia.
The Faculty of Information is part of the University of Toronto’s Defy Gravity campaign, the most ambitious campaign in Canadian history.
Our goal is to raise $10 million and inspire 2,500 members of our alumni community to get involved as volunteers, mentors, donors, participants and leaders.
Defy Gravity Campaign Priorities
Bissell Building Revitalization
Equity, Diversity and Inclusion
- OLA/Grace Buller Indigenous Student Scholarship
- Grant for Black or Indigenous Students
- Lynne C. Howarth Award
- John Smart Memorial Scholarship for Social Justice and Democracy
Student Success and Support
- Scholarships, bursaries, awards and fellowships, internships
Teaching and Research Excellence
- Chairs and Professorships (endowed or term)
Community Engagement and Partnerships
- GLAM Incubator
Giving to the Faculty of Information
A full list of giving opportunities, including featured funds and specific areas, can be found on the Faculty of Information giving page where you can donate online at your convenience.
You can donate by phone or by email, as detailed on the University’s “Ways to Give” page. This page also provides information on many other topics including how to make a legacy donation, get donations matched and claim a tax receipt.
See the names of alumni, friends, faculty, staff, foundations and corporations who have generously donated to the Faculty of Information.
If you are considering a donation of any kind, please feel free to contact Claudia Hughes, Associate Director, Advancement at claudia.
Giving in Action
Class Act: Anonymous donor honours top teachers
An anonymous donor has funded a new award to publicly and formally recognize teaching excellence by mid-career professors at the Faculty of Information. In honour of Dean Emeritus and Professor Brian Cantwell Smith, the award embodies the Faculty’s commitment to maintaining and building the best possible learning experience for students. In this interview, the donor […]
Alumna’s gift will help students get the boost they need
Studying at the Faculty of Information changed the trajectory of Esther Wan’s life. Now, she wants to help today’s students reap the kind of benefits she did There are many ways that attending the Faculty of Information, then known as the Faculty of Library and Information Science or FLIS for short, changed Esther Wan’s life. […]
Sustaining lifelong passions with a legacy gift
An alumna’s generous donation supports research and innovation in cultural heritage Joyce Sowby spent her long life actively engaged with books, art and history so it’s fitting that the unrestricted gift she left to the Faculty of Information will go to support its GLAM Incubator, whose mission is to work with community partners to address […]
Launching the Eric Yu Human-Centred Systems Design Award
To mark the retirement of Professor Eric Yu, a distinguished scholar who’s had a major influence on the field of information systems and human-centred design, the Faculty of Information has established a new award for Master’s and Doctoral students. This award will recognize outstanding work in advancing human interest in the design of technology systems […]