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Dear friends,

The fall semester is well underway and although we continue to face challenging circumstances and restrictions, every day I feel extremely proud of the hard work, resilience and flexibility of everyone in our community in delivering our academic programs and providing a safe environment for all. Life on campus is significantly different this year, and although it can be easy to dwell on some of the current hardships, it is more important than ever to try focusing on all that is still great at McGill and Macdonald!

As you may have already heard, on October 14 McGill made an extremely exciting announcement. Alumnus Marc Bieler, DipAgr’58, BA’64, and his wife, Marie Bieler, BSc(Agr)’80, have made a landmark $15-million gift commitment to the McGill School of Environment. This is truly an inspiring and transformational contribution, which will have a tremendous impact—thank you so much for your generosity and dedication, Marc and Marie!

I am so pleased that despite the lack of in-person activities and events on campus, we have been able to remain very engaged with our Macdonald community. Although we certainly miss seeing our students, colleagues, alumni and friends face to face, we actually have been able to extend our reach with the shift to all events taking place online—connecting with even more of you far and wide!

It is clear that we have much to be grateful for, and that includes the support of our donors—which is instrumental in ensuring the continued success of our students, this year more than ever. Thanks to donations towards the AES Student Emergency Support Fund, we have been able to address some of the many financial difficulties currently faced by students. These funds are being used not only to support our students to overcome some of their technological challenges as they navigate online courses (facilitating the transition to remote learning), but also to offset lost income due to missed opportunities such as summer internships or stage placements, while supporting student wellness during the pandemic.

These funds, however, are still insufficient to meet the large and growing need that we forecast will continue throughout the academic year. I encourage you to help support this crucial initiative and give generously to ensure our students have the necessary financial support to navigate during this most difficult time. Please to make a gift.

I wish you all the best and thank you, once again, for your continued support.