McGill University is on the receiving end of a record-setting donation - in fact, the largest philanthropic donation in any field in Canadian history.
It's coming from John and Marcy McCall MacBain. They are giving McGill $200-million to finance bursaries for students in masters, medicine and law programs.
They were present for the announcement at a ceremony this morning at the university.
John McCall MacBain, @mcgillu BA ‘80 studying economics and law degree from Oxford and Marcy McCall MacBain, PhD from Oxford, on how giving back to the community comes naturally to them. Their $200M donation to McGill is the biggest in any field in Canadian history. #CJAD800 pic.twitter.com/4PuWCzXQyi
— Shuyee Lee (@sleeCJAD) February 13, 2019
The recipients of the scholarships will receive not just cash but also mentoring. Seventy-five recipients will be chosen each year, two-thirds of them from Canada and the rest from around the world.
John McCall MacBain, 61, received a degree in economics from McGill in 1980 thanks to a bursary. He went on to become a Rhodes Scholar and studied law at Oxford before taking his MBA at Harvard.
Today is John McCall MacBain’s birthday. Rather than getting a gift, the @mcgillu alumnus & wife Marcy McCall MacBain are gifting McGill record-setting $200M for scholarships for master’s students. Says they like the direction CAQ is going with higher education. #CJAD800 pic.twitter.com/QtSB37dCkR
— Shuyee Lee (@sleeCJAD) February 13, 2019
McCall MacBain worked at Power Corporation for several years before foundingTrader Classified Media in 1987. By the time he sold the company in 2006 for $1.2-billion, he was publishing 500 classified ad magazines in two dozen countries. .
His wife, Dr. Marcy McCall MacBain, teaches medicine at Oxford, and the couple previously donated $120-million to that institution to finance Rhodes scholarships.
“I’m Canadian so I wanted to give back to my home country. This is our largest gift by far &we wanted to give back to Canada& so in giving back to Canada we thought it was natural to go to Mtl &to go to @mcgillu.”-John McCall MacBain on $200M donation to his alma mater. #CJAD800 pic.twitter.com/r2r1ygpASs
— Shuyee Lee (@sleeCJAD) February 13, 2019