Alumnus Michel Valois makes $2-million bequest to strengthen School of Health
A university is not just buildings and faculty — it’s a community of supporters, and that’s what I want to help build.
Planned gifts & gifts-in-kind
Hani and Laïla Farag honour educator fathers with planned gift to Concordia
For Hani B. Farag, BComm 76, and Laïla Ward Farag, giving back to Concordia is a way to honour two extraordinary educators whose legacies continue to shape young minds.
Their planned gift will support the Berti Farag Science Excellence Award and the André Ward Award for Excellence in Teaching English as a Second Language, both offered through the Faculty of Arts and Science.
The existing awards — previously established by the couple’s philanthropic Farag & Ward Foundation — recognize exceptional student achievement in the Department of Biology and Department of Education respectively.
“Laïla and I want these awards to go on perpetually — even after we’re gone — as they carry deep family significance for us,” says Hani.
Berti Farag and André Ward immigrated to Canada in the mid-1960s. They seized opportunities to build better lives for their families and contribute meaningfully to the Montreal community.
Hani’s father, Berti, was a devoted teacher who inspired countless students in Egypt and in Montreal. He eventually joined Lindsay Place High School in Pointe-Claire, where he spent 16 years sharing his passion for science.
Laïla’s father, André, taught history and geography at Collège André Grasset and Collège de Montréal, guiding generations of students with wisdom and purpose.
The Farags’ bequest will ensure that future students continue to benefit from the encouragement that shaped their own families.
“Montreal welcomed our fathers,” says Hani. “As immigrants, assimilation, hard work and commitment were guiding principles — and that is what opened doors for us as their children.
“We were very fortunate and are now happy to be able to give back.”
Laïla Ward Farag and Hani Farag
Planned gifts
A major planned gift from René Balcer, BA 78, LLD 08, and Carolyn Hsu will support the Department of Communication Studies and establish the René Balcer Archives, which will preserve decades of creative work for research, teaching and public access.
A planned gift of $308,670 from Silvia Ugolini and Robert Paliotti will equally support the Access Centre for Students with Disabilities Development Fund and the School of Health Development Fund.
A bequest of $125,000 from Patricia A. Thornton will support undergraduate students in the Department of Geography.
Jim Haiman, BComm 78, GrDip 79, made a bequest of $120,000 to support Concordia’s Greatest Needs.
Constantine J. Kouvertaris, MEng 80, made a planned gift of $120,000.
Manon Lamontagne, BA 81, made a planned gift of $120,000.
A bequest of $81,515 from the Estate of Tibor Javory will be directed to Concordia’s Greatest Needs.
The Estate of Frank Stephen Boyd Whittall gave $71,248 towards Concordia’s Greatest Needs. Frank Whittall earned a Bachelor of Commerce from Sir George Williams University in 1953.
A planned gift from Philip W. Harden, BA 74, will support the Library Development Fund.
The Estate of Maryse Lafontaine provided support for scholarships, bursaries and fellowships at Concordia.
A planned gift from Brenda J. Laow, BA 64, will support Concordia’s Greatest Needs.
A planned gift from Immacolata (Mackie) Vadacchino, BComm 82, MBA 84, and Michel Robert de Massy will support the Mackie I. Vadacchino engAGE Fund for Empowered Aging, as well as the John Molson School of Business Fund.
Gifts-in-kind
A gift-in-kind valued at $1.38 million from Altus Group provides access to its industry-leading Argus Software for students studying real estate at the John Molson School of Business. This contribution will strengthen applied learning opportunities and student readiness for the property and valuation sectors.
CDN Isotopes Inc. donated equipment valued at $112,500 to the Department of Chemistry in the Faculty of Arts and Science. The in-kind gift of a Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) machine enhances the university’s research and teaching infrastructure in the chemical sciences.
John N. Gilmore, BFA 81, and Patricia Lynne Woodburn, BA 04, donated archival materials to Concordia Libraries and Archives from writer, editor, photographer and Department of English professor Terence Byrnes, MA 80. The gifts-in-kind are respectively valued at $42,375 and $34,050.
