Canadian University Press Releases/Newswire

Source: University of Toronto
http://www.news.utoronto.ca/bin6/061017-2634.asp

Munk Centre Receives a further $5-million endowment from Peter Munk

October 17, 2006

Gift guarantees future
of world class institution at University of Toronto
Oct 17/06
by Karen Kelly and Elaine Smith (about) (email)

The University of Toronto today announced that Peter Munk, a graduate and
major supporter of the university, is creating a $5-million endowment for
the university’s Munk Centre for International Studies. The gift is one of
the largest sustaining gifts for a Canadian international studies centre.
Together with other earlier donations, it raises Munk’s contribution to the
Munk Centre to $12.2 million.

The Munk Centre opened in 2000 with a mission to become the paramount
interdisciplinary institution in Canada for the study of global issues.
Today it is acknowledged to be a leader in the international community. The
endowment enables it to create new programs and digital platforms through
which it can present the face of Canada to the world.

"This gift from Peter Munk allows us to expand our role as an incubator and
a gathering place for a unique mix of scholars and policy experts who create
knowledge and solutions for real world problems," said Janice Gross Stein,
director of the Munk Centre and Belzberg Professor of Conflict Management
and Negotiation.

The initial $6.2-million gift from Munk helped established the new Centre in
Devonshire House at Trinity College. Since then it has created 36
international studies and research programs and earned an international
reputation for academic research excellence, public engagement and
innovative cross-sectoral partnerships.

"The Munk Centre for International Studies is a leading Canadian institution
on the world stage and as such it supports my vision of creating more
Canadian global champions," said Munk, founder and chairman of Barrick Gold,
a Canadian world leader in the gold mining industry. "In addition, as an
engineering graduate of the University of Toronto, I want to support the
institution which helped me get a solid start in life."

David Naylor, president of the University of Toronto, expressed his
appreciation for the gift, saying, "Peter Munk is not only a great Canadian
businessman with a global vision but an extremely generous and wise
philanthropist. He has chosen his benefactions through the years with the
same clarity and focus as his business investments. We are therefore
honoured by his vote of confidence in international studies at the
University of Toronto and proud that the Munk Centre carries his name."