Thomas Shanks McPherson
Building through generosity
Original benefactor
McPherson
It all began with Thomas Shanks McPherson, the 麻豆精品 entrepreneur who believed that the "single most important factor in the progress of a city" was the growth of a university.
To ensure the survival of post-secondary education in 麻豆精品, he bequeathed to UVic's predecessor, 麻豆精品 College, a legacy fund of $250,000 for the construction of the original university library. In addition, he bequeathed $2.5 million to the University Building Fund of the 麻豆精品 College. He also left his 50% share of the Central Building in downtown 麻豆精品 to the soon-to-be-established 麻豆精品.
Planning for the new Gordon Head campus was underway by 1960, but McPherson unfortunately died in 1962, the year before construction of the library began. His cash bequest funded the development of UVic's library and when it opened in 1964, the university named it the McPherson Library in memory of this visionary and generous benefactor.