
Geoffrey Cumming, right, shares a moment with his mother, Madeleine, at his donation celebration.
June 19, 2019
I’ll never forget the question Geoff Cumming asked the first time we met. I didn’t know it at the time but he was about to change the course of our medical school forever.
“Where could this school be in 20 years?” he asked me pointedly. Geoff always thinks big. He’s incredibly visionary.
Indeed, he was on a mission to take medical research and education in southern Alberta to ambitious new heights. Over the next two hours we sat in our conference room and thoughtfully discussed many possibilities. We eventually focused on an investment in the people, platforms and partnerships that could propel the medical school into a major player on a global scale — a research leader in brain and mental health and chronic diseases.
Working to advance Geoff Cumming’s vision
On June 17, 2014, our school was renamed the Cumming School of Medicine (CSM) to honour his $100 million donation, the largest single philanthropic gift in UCalgary’s history. The gift was later matched by the provincial government.
It’s been a little more than five years since Geoff and I first spoke. And I am very pleased to report we are on track to see his vision through.
Some highlights include:
Geoffrey Cumming, right, shares a moment with his mother, Madeleine, at his donation celebration.
Drivers of our success
In looking back on the day we officially became known as the Cumming School of Medicine, I often reflect on the enthusiasm of Geoff’s mother, Madeleine. She was beaming with boundless energy and pride.
It’s a lasting reminder of how family served as the inspiration for Geoff’s gift. Geoff is a University of Calgary economics grad and his father had been a physician in Ontario.
Five years later, our school family — students, faculty, staff, alumni, donors and our many partners — is as strong as ever, focused on creating the future of health. At the CSM, our people remain the main drivers of our success. Finding, developing, engaging and fostering excellent people will always be at the heart of what we do.
Marcello ‘Cello’ Tonelli is the associate vice-president (health research), University of Calgary, and senior associate dean (clinical research), Cumming School of Medicine. He is also a professor in the Department of Medicine, and a member of the university’s Libin Cardiovascular Institute of Alberta and O’Brien Institute for Public Health.
Kathy McCoy is a professor in the Department of Physiology and Pharmacology and a member of the Snyder Institute for Chronic Diseases.
Hude Quan is a professor in the Department of Community Health Sciences and director of the World Health Organization Collaborating Centre in Classification, Terminology and Standards at the O’Brien Institute for Public Health. He is also lead for Alberta’s Strategies for Patient Oriented Research SUPPORT Unit Methods Support and Development Platform.
Bruce Pike is a professor in the departments of radiology and clinical neurosciences. He is the Campus Alberta Innovation Program chair in Healthy Brain Aging and a member of the Hotchkiss Brain Institute.
Geoff Cumming’s gift is part of Energize: The Campaign for Eyes High, UCalgary’s $1.3 billion fundraising campaign that formally launched in April 2016 in conjunction with the university’s 50th anniversary. Learn more or make a gift.