When David Feeny and Darrell Tomkins met at McMaster in 1976, they never imagined that their shared love for academia would lead to not only a lifelong partnership, but also a lasting legacy.

Married for more than 46 years now, the couple have two children and share a deep commitment to expanding educational opportunities for future generations.

“McMaster provided really great opportunities for us to grow as scholars and teachers,” says Feeny.

“We want to encourage folks who may not be from academic families to know there’s an opportunity for them here.”

Feeny has taught economics for four decades — at McMaster and the University of Alberta.  Tomkins, a biological scientist and cytogeneticist, spent more than three decades providing clinical service and advancing research in McMaster’s departments of Pediatrics and Biology, and at the universities of Ottawa and Alberta.

A founding member of McMaster’s Centre for Health Economics and Policy Analysis (CHEPA), Feeny’s interest in health economics was largely inspired by his wife’s work in health care.

Both strongly believe in the transformative power of education and share a desire to help others access the opportunities they had.

Reflecting on their experiences, the couple realized how privileged they were to come from families that could support their postsecondary education.

“There’s an intergenerational component here,” Feeny says. “We want to help reduce barriers for first-generation students and make university more accessible.”

And that’s how the Feeny-Tomkins First Generation Academic Grant was born. The new grant will support undergraduate students across any field of study throughout their degree.

For Feeny, the decision to create the grant was deeply personal.

His father, the first in the family to attend university, received a scholarship in the 1930s that enabled him to become a physics professor. Because of that, his family was not only able to access postsecondary education, but is now in a position to contribute meaningfully to future generations of academia.

Feeny and both his siblings pursued postgraduate studies, as did his and Tomkins’ children — their daughter in public health and law, and their son in linguistics.

No stranger to philanthropy at McMaster, Feeny and fellow CHEPA co-founder George Torrance established a scholarship in 2023 for PhD students in CHEPA to advance innovative, policy-relevant solutions to the pressing issues facing health and social systems.

“That award is helping to perpetuate the kind of work that we do,” he says.

“This time, Darrell and I wanted to help open up opportunities for first generation students in any field — to help the next wave of folks get into and stay in university — and have a productive career and be informed citizens.”

It was important to the couple that the grant for first-generation students be established at McMaster.

“McMaster provided an environment that allowed us to succeed, and we want to create that possibility for all students.”

To learn more about giving at McMaster or establishing your own named award, visit giving.mcmaster.ca or contact our advancement team.

Why McMaster donors give

At McMaster University, every single gift, no matter the size, has the potential to make a difference in the lives of our students, the quality of our research and our ability to give back to our community and influence the future. We asked some of our donors and their families what motivates them to give. Read their stories.