McMaster in Burlington

President Peter George will lead a series of presentations to Burlington City Hall on Monday, Feb. 26 to update councilors on plans to open a McMaster campus in Burlington.

“Our discussions with Burlington have been ongoing but tonight gives us a chance to formally update council and the people of Burlington on progress we've made since signing a Memorandum of Understanding last fall,” says George.

The DeGroote School of Business is the primary focus of the Burlington campus and identified a number of site requirements that would need to be met. A downtown site at John, Pine and Elizabeth Street was identified as the preferred location in the MOU and would be part of Burlington's contribution to the project along with a $10 million commitment. The project and its many components still have to go through a series of approvals at both McMaster and Burlington City Hall.

DeGroote School of Business dean Paul Bates will also be presenting to council Monday night.

He says, “We've made a lot of progress on developing the business plan and on market analysis that shows that downtown Burlington is a prime location for the executive MBA, MBA and graduate programs envisioned for the campus. We've had an architect work on some concepts for the building and each development increases our enthusiasm for the development of the new programs and the campus itself.”

Bates says he's also encouraged by the economic impact report done by Urban Metrics Inc. that shows the campus will have a positive and sustained impact on Burlington's economic future.

Development of a Community Family Practice Teaching Unit at McMaster University has been part of the planning for the Burlington Campus and the chair of Family Medicine at McMaster, David Price, will present early concepts of its goals at the council meeting.

“This is an opportunity for McMaster to expand training opportunities for family medicine residents, and for Burlington to address its need for more family doctors,” he says.