[img_inline align=”right” src=”http://padnws01.mcmaster.ca/images/Wilson_George1.jpg” caption=”Alex Wilson and McMaster University President Peter George. Photo by Mike Lalich.”]An Ontario couple's strong interest in quality of life for seniors has prompted a donation of $3 million to McMaster University.

Alex and Vera Wilson worked with the University for more than a year to develop the Gilbrea Centre for Studies in Aging, and an endowed chair, the Gilbrea Chair in Aging and Mental Health. In addition to mental health, the Centre will pursue other key issues such as economic security, independence, mobility and end-of-life care.

“Increasingly, we are recognizing that the support a society provides for its elder citizens is a measure of our fundamental humanity and of our collective wisdom,” said Peter George, president of McMaster University. “The Gilbrea Centre for Studies in Aging will produce significant results that will be vital to the future well-being of Canada's aging population.”

Alex Wilson graduated from McMaster's Faculty of Science in 1954 as a geologist, but quickly switched careers turning to money management in order to remain in southern Ontario and close to a fellow McMaster grad, Vera Munz. The couple was married for 50 years before Vera passed away last summer.

Vera earned a BA in social work in 1956, and devoted herself to the field for many years, both professionally and as a volunteer in the areas of mental health and seniors' issues.

“Canadians today are living more than 60 per cent longer than the generations of a century ago,” says Susan Elliott, dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences. “In some minority populations, life expectancies have more than doubled in that time. While this is a remarkable testament to the progress and health of Canadian society, it is also a direct challenge to our ability to manage aging, both personally and collectively.”

The Gilbrea Centre for Studies in Aging, named for the Wilson family's ancestral home in England's Lake District, is expected to have a powerful impact on society's ability to deal effectively and compassionately with issues of aging.

It will be a critical hub of interdisciplinary research, teaching and outreach that will involve the faculties of Social Sciences, Health Sciences and Science, and that will link with community organizations and caregiver groups as well as with those involved with national and international research, education, practice and policy.

The generous gift from the Wilsons represents a significant boost to The Campaign for McMaster University, the most ambitious fundraising initiative in the University's history.

The goal of the $400-million Campaign is to enrich undergraduate and graduate student support and enhance teaching and research opportunities through the creation of new endowed research chairs. The Campaign will also provide fundamental support to acquire leading-edge tools and create facilities that are vital for new discoveries, new knowledge and new solutions.