September 27, 2006 Source: :
http://newsrelease.uwaterloo.ca/news.php?id=4777 Toyota gift to UW creates graduate awards WATERLOO, Ont. (Wednesday, Sept. 27, 2006) -- Toyota Motor Manufacturing Canada is donating a one-time gift of $250,000 to the University of Waterloo to help commemorate 20 years of success and corporate leadership in Waterloo Region. The gift will be spread over three years. It will fund graduate student fellowships, to be named the Toyota Fellowships in Mechanical and Mechatronics Engineering. The gift will help the faculty of engineering realize a goal, set out in its Vision 2010 strategic plan, to increase graduate enrolment from 1,000 students to 1,500 by 2010. There are currently 150 graduate students in the department of mechanical and mechatronics engineering. Vision 2010 calls for an additional 100 new graduate positions in the department. "We hope this support for the University of Waterloo will help to attract more top students and eventually strengthen our region's base of highly skilled engineers," said Ray Tanguay, president of Toyota Motor Manufacturing Canada. "This very generous gift is an outstanding example of the community leadership demonstrated time and again by Toyota," said UW president David Johnston. "UW is grateful for the support shown by Ray Tanguay and his leadership group at Toyota. They clearly understand the importance of investing in education and research development for the betterment of society." Adel Sedra, dean of the faculty of engineering, extended the faculty's gratitude for the important gift. "The effect of this gift will be far-reaching," said Sedra. "Not only will graduate students benefit, but our entire faculty will sustain enrichment through higher quality graduate awards, the exceptional students these fellowships will help us attract and the multiplier effect that could easily top $1 million." An example, he said, is that the private gift means the faculty would be eligible for new capital funding to support infrastructure required for the proposed graduate student expansion. The Toyota fellowships will be awarded at the annual engineering student awards dinner each fall. About Toyota Motors Manufacturing Canada Inc. TMMC has been manufacturing vehicles at its Cambridge, Ont., plant since Nov. 30, 1988. The automotive plant manufactures Matrix, Corolla and Lexus RX 350 vehicle models, and has received numerous J.D. Power and Associates plant quality awards, including four gold. TMMC is currently building a second assembly plant in Woodstock, Ont., scheduled to begin production of RAV4 vehicles in 2008. About Waterloo Engineering Waterloo engineering is widely recognized as a premier engineering school, providing top-quality education to undergraduate and graduate students and conducting leading-edge research. An outward-looking approach informs its system of co-operative education, its research goals and its network of partnerships. Currently, Waterloo engineering is home to about 225 professors, 1,100 graduate students and 5,100 undergraduate students, and has over 27,000 alumni. Last year, it attracted $32.3 million in research funding.
| 