uOttawa News

OTTAWA, November 7, 2012  —  The Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF) and the University of Ottawa are proud to announce the establishment of the SNF Scholarships at uOttawa, with a $1 million endowment fund. The announcement of their substantial gift marks the celebration of a 70-year partnership between Canada and Greece.

The SNF Scholarships will give two Greek graduate students per year the opportunity to pursue their studies at the University of Ottawa, and contribute to building the foundation for future collaboration between Canada and Greece.

“This generous gift from the Stavros Niarchos Foundation will help the University of Ottawa take the next step in becoming a top destination for international students.  I thank them wholeheartedly," said uOttawa President Allan Rock.  "Today's announcement is such a fitting tribute to 70 years of relations between Canada and Greece.  I look forward to strengthened collaboration and ties between our two countries as a result of this tremendous gift.”

The Foundation’s support will provide funds for transportation to Canada, books and living expenses for two master’s level students who currently live in Greece and study at a Greek university.

 “This collaboration will provide numerous qualified Greek students with much-needed financial assistance, and the opportunity to pursue their studies and benefit from the University of Ottawa’s excellent academic environment and programs,” said Andreas Dracopoulos, the Co-President of the SNF.

The University of Ottawa also offers Excellence Scholarships for international students who have won another prestigious scholarship of $10,000 or more through a competitive process. As such, SNF Scholarship recipients will be eligible for a uOttawa Excellence Scholarship, which is equivalent to the cost of tuition (renewable).

Furthermore, the recently launched University of Ottawa Destination 20/20 Challenge Fund will ensure that the SNF endowment is operationalized immediately, by providing the necessary funds until such time as the capital is fully funded.  This will allow the University of Ottawa to promote the SNF Scholarship in Greece,in order to select the first recipient for the 2013-14 academic year.

The University is also pleased to announce that for the next five years, it will be offering tuition that will cover the differential fees of four international students with Greek citizenship. These waivers will allow them to pursue graduate or undergraduate studies at the University of Ottawa at the cost of a Canadian citizen. As uOttawa is the world’s largest bilingual (English-French) university, two of these tuition waivers will be offered for study in French and the other two for study in English.

“We are appreciative of the University’s decision to offer differential tuition waivers for Greek students. Both the SNF Scholarships and the tuition waivers come at a critical juncture for Greece, where such opportunities are essential for future growth,” states Mr. Dracopoulos.

The SNF and the University of Ottawa would like to thank the Canadian Ambassador to Greece, Robert Peck for his collaboration that led to the establishment of these scholarships and tuition waivers.

The Foundation’s grant is the latest in a long tradition of supporting educational initiatives in Canada, including a significant contribution to Simon Fraser University for the creation of a Modern Greek studies center.  They are also currently discussing the establishment of scholarships with three more Canadian universities.