University of Calgary
Alumni awards
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L-R: Sean Mullen, account executive and assistant vice-president, MBNA Canada Bank, alumni bursary recipient Paul Bridger, and Alumni Association President Ken McKinnon. / Photo: Ewan NicholsonAlumni Association increases support for studentsThe University of Calgary’s Alumni Association is ensuring the continued growth of its scholarship and bursary program by being the first in Canada to commit all revenue from its partnership with MBNA Canada Bank to financially support current and future students.“The U of C’s partnership with MBNA has, to date, generated $350,000,” says Alumni Association president Ken McKinnon, BComm’80. “Starting this year, 100 percent of these funds will go towards Alumni Association student awards and I’m proud we are in the position to commit all future MBNA revenue in this same way.” Thanks to the support of thousands of alumni and friends of the University of Calgary, the Alumni Association has given more than $1.3 million through 871 student awards since 1975. “It is clear that the first priority of our alumni family of 135,000 is to support our future students,” adds McKinnon. Sixty-four students, the most in any one year in the U of C’s history, are receiving 2009-10 Alumni Association bursaries valued at $149,000 to enhance their studies and student experience. Most of the awards are named after recipients of the Distinguished Alumni Award, which recognizes outstanding career success. Paul Bridger, a 37-year-old single father of two teenagers, is in his fourth year in the Faculty of Social Sciences. “In returning to school, I made the decision to get by on student loans,” says the recipient of the Alumni Association 1985 Dr. Robert Thirsk Distinguished Alumni Bursary. “The bursary represents two months’ rent for me, so my gratitude is huge.” At a Robbie Burns-themed reception honouring the student recipients last Thursday, Bridger was given a letter written by Thirsk, BSc’76, LLD’09, the Canadian astronaut who returned to Earth in December following a six-month stay aboard the International Space Station. “I look forward to writing Dr. Thirsk to thank him personally so he has a sense of the work his name is associated with,” Bridger says. “I feel a lot of pride through my association with him—I haven’t experienced school pride before.” The U of C’s relationship with MBNA, an Ottawa-based national bank and the largest MasterCard issuer in Canada, dates back 10 years. “MBNA Canada is proud of the 75 college and university partnerships across the country and we are especially proud of the University of Calgary Alumni Association for being the first to direct all funds to student awards,” says Sean Mullen, an MBNA Canada account executive and assistant vice-president. “There are 11,000 University of Calgary MBNA credit cards in use, and every time one is used, they will be helping send a student to one of Canada’s finest universities.” For more information on the U of C MBNA credit card, visit ucalgary.ca/alumni/benefits/mbna. 
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January 26, 2010