May 10, 2022

The first allocations from The Jane Fund will contribute $250,000 to support equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) initiatives at Seneca for students in need, an artist-in-residence and an ongoing speaker’s series on campus.

While criteria are still being finalized, $25,000 will be dedicated to full-tuition bursaries for students enrolled in programs with pathways to Seneca, such as Youth to Postsecondary, Academic Upgrading and General Arts. The bursaries will cover costs for an entire Seneca program.

Established last year, The Jane Fund is a $12-million permanently endowed fund approved by the Board of Governors to support student-focused EDI initiatives. It is Seneca’s largest endowed fund and among the biggest EDI funds in Canadian higher education.

“We know there are many students who can’t pursue postsecondary education due to financial challenges,” said Dean Hughes, Executive Director, Advancement & Alumni, and a member of The Jane Fund Committee. “These students work hard and deserve the transformational benefits that education can bring. With these bursaries, we want them to feel encouraged and empowered to chase and achieve their dreams.”

The Jane Fund Committee is also inviting Seneca students, employees and community members to submit proposals for initiatives aimed at improving EDI at Seneca. In total, 10 projects will receive $5,000 each.

“It’ll be like a pilot fund,” Mr. Hughes said. “We hope that as we support these initiatives, one or two will turn into larger projects. We want to get the Seneca community to think about what they can do to support EDI in postsecondary education.”

The committee also plans to share EDI-related ideas in an engaging way by recruiting an artist-in-residence and speakers for the Seneca Talks series with a budget of $15,000.

“That’s the guiding principle of The Jane Fund,” he said. “We can learn with this and try different things. It might be a visual artist, an author or a musician. We want to keep it flexible and reach a diverse audience.”

In addition, $110,000 will fund the salary and benefits of a navigator position to help guide students through their postsecondary experience. A further $50,000 will support students experiencing unexpected financial challenges not covered by Seneca’s traditional emergency funds.

“We will be working with members of the Office of Equity, Diversity & Inclusion as well as the broader community to identify other needs,” Mr. Hughes said. “They will bring in unique perspectives to help us provide more meaningful and sustainable support to more students.”

Members of the Seneca community are invited to submit proposals for funding initiatives to support student-focused EDI at Seneca by emailing jane.fund@senecapolytechnic.ca.