TORONTO – Former broadcasting executive and Ryerson University board chair Phyllis Yaffe is making a planned gift in her will of $1 million to the Toronto-based university.
“I wanted to make this gift because I wanted to make a difference at a place that was making a difference,” Yaffe said in a statement. “Giving to Ryerson felt like the natural thing to do once I had spent so much time here, and learned what sets it apart.”
Before being appointed to the board in 2005, Yaffe had no personal connection to the university, and said that she knew the school only through “the quality of its graduates” as an employer. Yaffe joined Alliance Atlantis Communications in 1993, and advanced through its ranks to become CEO from 2005 – 2007.
“I went to university but I didn’t know how one worked”, Yaffe continued. “Ryerson is the model of what a successful university is in Ontario and across the country. We’re leading the way by remaining focused on a practical education that leads to a career and, at the same time, works to develop well-rounded individuals. Our focus on the entrepreneurial has become part of the broader culture, and has really made a difference to what people think of Ryerson.”
When asked what prompted the gift, Yaffe said that it was probably attending all those convocation ceremonies.
“There you really see that Ryerson makes such a difference in so many lives. That gives you an overwhelming sense of the value of the education and the institution for students. You see it in the faces of the graduates and you see it in the faces of their families. I think this is a wonderful place, and it makes my family very happy to know we’re contributing to something meaningful.”
