Entrepreneur, oilfield industry leader and philanthropist David P. Werklund and his partner, Susan Norman, have gifted Olds College with $16 million, the largest-ever personal donation to an Alberta college or technical institution.
The tiered donation will have a total cumulative impact of $32 million when all leverage opportunities can be realized.
The gift was officially announced during the annual Olds College Gala, a fundraising event held March 24 in the Ralph Klein Centre. In recognition of that gift, the couple was named the college's 2017 Partner of the Year.
Premier Rachel Notley was in attendance along with Mayor Judy Dahl, many other politicians and Lt.-Gov. Lois Mitchell.
Notley defended her government's decision not to cut back on money to post-secondary institutions, despite the economic downturn.
Werklund's donation begins with $2 million in cash, supplemented by a matching component where Werklund will provide one dollar for every three raised, up to $4 million.
When the announcement was made, President Tom Thompson announced the first two gifts that Werklund and Norman will match: $1.25 million each from the Students' Association of Olds College and the Olds College Alumni Association.
The final element is a $10M estate gift that will ensure the sustainability of the institution over time.
The donation is designed to encourage maximum participation and donations from other individuals, industry and governments.
The gift will result in the creation of the Werklund Agriculture Institute (WAI), which will specialize in smart agriculture.
The goal is to make the WAI the world's premier destination for an integrated agricultural leadership learning experience.
Through the WAI students, researchers and industry will collaborate in creating smart and sustainable solutions to agriculture and agri-business solutions and "contribute to Western Canada's leadership position as an agriculture and food powerhouse," a news release says.
"Mr. Werklund and Ms. Norman's generous donation will accelerate engagement, innovation and technology adoption within the agriculture and food industry, and open up new agriculture enterprise in Alberta and around the world," Olds College president Tom Thompson says.
The WAI will feature four key components:
∑ The Werklund Growth Centre will serve as a hub for companies, entrepreneurs, investors and students to access Olds College land and facilities in order to develop, scale up and demonstrate smart
agriculture technologies, products and services.
∑ The Thought Leader in Smart Agriculture and Sustainability will be a unique, fully endowed industry leader to serve as a connector and advisor on smart agriculture technology, innovation and business for
accelerating company growth and access to capital.
∑ A producer mentor program -- a year-long partnership with producers and agriculture industry leaders - will be created to expose students to smart agriculture practices.
∑ The Olds College Agriculture and Food Enterprise will be a vertically integrated "gate to plate" agriculture and food learning enterprise where students will learn how to make business decisions and manage enterprises.
"Certainly it's learning from the ground up. It's learning from the grassroots is really what it is. But they will be integrating computer technology where it advances front line farming," Werklund said during an interview with the Albertan.
"And of course, the computer sciences will be tied to the soil sciences and all of that scope educating the students from - I'm going to say from A to Z."
Werklund grew up on a farm in Valleyview, Alta., near Grande Prairie. He says the values and work ethic he learned there instilled in him a deep respect for protecting and nurturing the land as well as food production and job creation.
"I was born and raised on a farm, so it's my roots that I'm sharing with you. That's the main reason that I found Olds College an attractive place to give back to our community and to help young people learn what I got to learn, growing up on a farm," he says.
"Susan and I are thrilled to lead the way in support of this made-in-Alberta solution for specialized education, research and partnerships in smart agriculture," Werklund says.
"Our vision is that students will experience a world-class education centred around best practices in smart and sustainable agriculture -- practices that are environmentally responsible, fully leverage current technologies and ignite their passion for agriculture."
Report says $16 million is the largest-ever personal donation to an Alberta college or technical institution
