On Thursday, April 28th, 2016 the Hellenic Heritage Foundation (HHF) officially signed an agreement with the University of Toronto for the establishment of a permanent Hellenic Studies Program to be held within the Munk School for Global Affairs and the Centre for European, Russian and Eurasian Studies (CERES).
In an joyous atmosphere of hope and partnership, the Hellenic Heritage Foundation committed to a $1.75 million endowment fund for the program with the intent of an additional $250,000 to go towards scholarships in the near future.
The 2014-15 academic year marked the return of the Greek courses at UofT through a 3 year pilot project designed to determine and evaluate student demand and community support. The initiative began thanks in large part to a student led appeal on the part of the university’s Greek Student Association (GSA) who approached the Foundation to re-establish the program after a more than decade long absence.
Needless to say, the inaugural year of the pilot program, was a huge success with classes reaching full enrollment and a series of guest speaker lectures reaching capacity crowds. The program also offered an opportunity for students to travel to Greece as part of their studies for credit.
“Thanks to the Hellenic Heritage Foundation, U of T is revitalizing Hellenic Studies at the Munk School during a time when Greece finds itself in a key position in the European Union and in global affairs,” says Stephen Toope, Director of the Munk School of Global Affairs at the University of Toronto. “Understanding the region, in all its context and complexity, is as vital now as it was during the Second World War and during Greece’s postwar transition to democracy.”
– Director, Munk School of Global Affairs, Stephen Toope.
For the full articles, you may click on both of the links below. The first article is from the Munk School of Global Affairs and the second link is from the University of Toronto:
https://www.utoronto.ca/news/hellenic-studies-program-launched-175-million-endowment
You will also find several additional photos from the signing ceremony in the attachments.
This year the Foundation will be celebrating its 20th Anniversary milestone. With the renewed strength, focus and enthusiasm of its Board, Members and community, the HHF is looking forward to making this year a monumental one and take a giant leap in fulfilling this new major project initiative.