On Dec. 17, 2003, Michael G. DeGroote and his family made history for individual giving in Canada with a gift of $105 million to McMaster. The donation is one of largest cash donation in Canadian history.
The gift established research centres in infectious diseases, pain, and molecular cancer as well as research chairs in medicine and stroke prevention and treatment. Mr. DeGroote’s support helped McMaster attract some of the world’s best researchers and finalize the construction of the Michael G. DeGroote Centre for Learning and Discovery.
In 2004, McMaster named its medical school the Michael G. DeGroote School of Medicine.
In May 2014, Mr. DeGroote announced he was making a new gift of $50 million during a surprise visit during convocation. The new support increased the university’s focus on health leadership and biomedical research.
In 2019, the Michael G. DeGroote Initiative for Innovation in Healthcare was established to enhance innovation
within the Faculty of Health Sciences, and support activities which otherwise would not have occurred.
Over the past few years, the major focus has been the Michael G. DeGroote Initiative for Health Innovation, Commercialization, and Entrepreneurship (MGD Health ICE). This is a pan-faculty initiative, but much of its initial activity has occurred within the Division of Education and Innovation in the Department of Medicine. MGD Health ICE supports faculty, students, and staff who aspire to create innovative approaches, or products, to benefit and change health care. Both degree and non-degree options and education content come together in The Clinic @ Mac.
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Michael G. DeGroote
Michael G. DeGroote, entrepreneur and philanthropist extraordinaire, died at the age of 89 on September 12, 2022. Mr. DeGroote left a legacy that lives on at McMaster and in the countless students who have gone on to change the face of healthcare and impact the world.