Redeemer on the road to eliminating debt

It’s no secret: the times are changing at Redeemer, and the excitement is palpable. Visual reminders such as the construction on the new vestibules, sketches of the new soccer complex, and the music room renovations are immediate and compelling. President Justin Cooper’s resignation is on everyone’s minds, and people are wondering what this will mean moving forward. At the Annual General meeting attended by Senate members, the Board of Governors, and contributing members of the Redeemer community, this excitement was put into words and numbers, with the impressive budget figures in the report, and with reflections from President Cooper.

In a recent interview, President Justin Cooper noted four key events from this past year, and this fall in particular, that have built a “sense of momentum and turnaround” around campus and the broader community. According to the Globe and Mail University Report Card, students once again gave Redeemer an A+ in overall student satisfaction, boosting Redeemer’s rapport with national media. Public recognition of Redeemer led in many ways to the millions of dollars in federal and provincial grants that have made most of the visible improvements possible. President Cooper made it clear that “it isn’t about the money, it’s the message that our mission as a Christian University is contributing to the public good, contributing to society, and is worthy of support.” Enrolment has also increased, and the new CLEAR programs have been a magnet for alumni and members of the broader community – a rare opportunity for students to rub shoulders with people who have made it through university and the workforce.

Underlying all of these causes for celebration is a surprising surge in financial support from the community. President Cooper stated that the debt Redeemer has been facing for most of its existence “loomed like a mountain.” He said that, “six weeks ago, I was promoting debt reduction. Now I’m saying, debt elimination. God has worked in the community and has shown us that we can say to that mountain, ‘be moved!’” According to the President, Redeemer has recently received approximately $4 million in deferred gifts, bringing the total amount of deferred gifts to nearly $12 million. Even more surprisingly, Redeemer has also received approximately $5 million in cash donations and forgiven debt. Besides the jump towards debt elimination, these gifts will also save Redeemer up to $200 000 in debt servicing each year.

The Crown reserves the right to edit or remove any comment that:

• is libelous, threatening, obscene, or constitutes hate speech
• directly and deliberately insults other posters
• is promotional or commercial in nature