The Gupta Family Donates $1 million to Ted Rogers School of Management at Toronto Metropolitan University
TORONTO, January 26, 2024- Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) is pleased to announce that Dr. Steve and Rashmi Gupta have made a gift of $1 million in support of Ted Rogers School of Management and its students through The Gupta Family Foundation (external link) . The Gupta family’s generous donation was celebrated today in a cheque presentation ceremony on the TMU campus. The gift provides endowed financial awards to the school’s MBA students in hospitality and tourism management, as well as crucial unrestricted support, allowing the dean to focus on priority needs.
The donation to TMU’s business school aligns with Dr. Gupta’s success as a developer, hotelier, business leader and philanthropist. Dr. Gupta arrived in Canada in 1971 with $108. By 2000, his company, Easton’s Group of Hotels, (external link) was honored with the Pinnacle Award as "Hotel Company of The Year" by Hotelier Magazine. Dr. Gupta was voted “Businessman of The Year” by the Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce, has received the Queen’s Golden & Diamond Jubilee Medal for community service, the Markham Board of Trade Award of Excellence in Business and Entrepreneurship, and the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of The Year Award for Ontario in the Real Estate and Hotels category. He was appointed to the Order of Ontario in 2022.
Dr. Steve Gupta and Rashmi Gupta have a long-standing reputation for investing back in philanthropic causes locally and around the world. Together they have held eye camps in India, allowing more than 11,000 people to have cataract eye treatments and be cured of eye disease, and developed a water and sanitation project for a girls school in India. They have also spearheaded the construction of a retirement community in Richmond Hill, Ontario, and continue to see through a long-term commitment to the dearly loved Toronto International Film Festival with the TIFF Bell Lightbox box office officially named the Steve and Rashmi Gupta Box Office.
“I’m a great believer in higher education,” said Dr. Steve Gupta, Founder and Chairman of The Gupta Group (external link) . “Learning is like breathing – it should never stop. My family and I believe in giving back to our local community and creating opportunities for others to pursue their dreams of success. We are delighted to work with TMU to help make those dreams come true for students. We share with TMU a desire to help people build the skills that shape self-reliance.”
Dr. Cynthia Holmes, Dean, Ted Rogers School of Management, noted “The Ted Rogers School has one of the most diverse student populations of any business school in Canada: more than 50% of our students identify as racialized and 30% are first in their family to attend university. A gift like this, from a family rooted in the newcomer experience and earning their success in Canadian business, has special resonance for our community of learners. We are very grateful to the Gupta family for investing in the future of our students.”
“Dr. Steve Gupta is a prime example of what is possible when passion, grit and determination combine with business acumen and market insight," said TMU President and Vice-Chancellor Mohamed Lachemi. "These are the qualities and skills we cultivate in our students, as well as the community spirit that drives gifts such as the one we celebrate today. My thanks to Steve, Rashmi and the entire Gupta family for their support of our students and their vote of confidence in the TMU mission and vision.”
TMU is proud to recognize the Gupta family’s generosity through the naming of the Ted Rogers School’s premiere auditorium ‘The Steve & Rashmi Gupta Lecture Theatre.’ At 500 seats, the venue is TMU’s largest lecture theatre, and is used for business classes and for instruction in disciplines across the university. And, thanks to the Gupta family, in the winter of 2025, two deserving MBA students will receive the very first ‘Gupta Family Foundation Award’ – the first of an ongoing series of awards providing crucial financial support to two MBA students each year in perpetuity.
About Ted Rogers School of Management
The Ted Rogers School of Management is Canada's largest English-language business school. Home to over 12,000 students and more than 200 industry-connected faculty, it is a leader in diverse, entrepreneurial business education, centred in an urban learning environment at the intersection of Dundas and Bay Street. The Ted Rogers School MBA ranked in the top 20 globally and top five in Canada by the Corporate Knights 2023 Better World Ranking, and the Ted Rogers School of Hospitality and Tourism Management placed third overall in Canada in Shanghai Ranking’s global ranking.
About Toronto Metropolitan University
Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) is Canada’s leader in innovative, career-oriented education. Urban, culturally diverse and inclusive, the university is home to more than 46,000 students, including 2,900 Master’s and PhD students, 4,000 faculty and staff, and over 240,000 alumni worldwide. For more information, visit torontomu.ca.
About the Easton’s Group of Hotels and The Gupta Group
The vision, passion and integrity that have driven The Easton’s and Gupta Group since the founding of the companies continue to fuel its success today as it forges exciting new avenues to growth. The company has built a diversified business portfolio spanning hotels, event venues and residential development – all united by dynamic leadership and a singular commitment to excellence.
With its deep roots in the hotel industry, the Easton’s and Gupta Group has brought its extensive hospitality experience to the condominium market, with a series of exciting residential projects that are transforming the expectations of urban city living. With services akin to those found in hotels and resorts, and amenities customized to a building’s anticipated demographics, The Gupta Group’s residential projects offer a level of added value that has made these developments highly coveted and some of the most successful recent projects in the city of Toronto. For more information, please visit GuptaGroup.ca (external link)