Walking the talk

Dean Wanda Costen and Mike Murray, BCom’96

Over the last few years, Smith has committed to doing its part to address systemic racism and inequities that remain deeply rooted in our society.

As with any meaningful change, intent must be followed by action. So, in November, Smith took another step forward in its efforts toward progress with the launch of a $4-million matching campaign in support of equity, diversity, inclusion and Indigenization (EDII) initiatives at the school.

Smith will match dollar-for-dollar donations made to the school’s EDII Fund. Initiatives supported by the fund include reducing extracurricular financial barriers for students with financial need, scholarships for marginalized groups and the creation of welcoming and inclusive physical learning environments at Goodes Hall and SmithToronto.

It was an initiative led by aspiring artist/designer and Commerce student Keiran Rioux, Comm’23, to make the team rooms at Goodes Hall more inclusive that caught the attention of the team at Peloton Capital Management. “We appreciated the mental health benefits of having more bright and welcoming meeting spaces at the school,” says Mike Murray, BCom’96, cofounder and managing partner at the firm. “We have a passion at Peloton for mental health initiatives and we thought this was a good fit.”

Jessica Duggan, interim executive director of development and alumni engagement at Smith, is hopeful the launch of the matching campaign will inspire similar contributions to the EDII Fund and signal to the Smith community that the business school is serious about investing in positive change.

Alumni and friends of Smith can increase the impact of their gifts by visiting smithqueens.com/invest.