ROSE M. PATTEN AND THOMAS DI GIACOMO
ROSE (Hon. LLD 2009), THOMAS (BASc 1964 SMC)
Long-time donors, volunteers and leaders Rose M. Patten and Thomas Di Giacomo are helping to enhance human potential and break down barriers to a world-class education.
Chancellor Emerita Rose M. Patten and Thomas Di Giacomo, both celebrated Canadian business leaders, are widely recognized for their remarkable commitment to philanthropy and volunteerism.
Patten was one of the first women to rise to senior executive roles in Canada’s financial services sector. She now serves as a special advisor to the CEO and other senior executives at BMO, focusing on strategy execution, leadership development and succession.
Patten has contributed her time and expertise to pivotal university roles for more than 30 years, including two full terms as the University of Toronto’s 34th Chancellor (2018–2024). She served nine years on the Governing Council, including three as chair during a period of significant change, and later led a task force on governance that laid the foundation for ongoing improvements across the tri-campus system.
Patten was a member of U of T’s Boundless Campaign Executive Committee and today plays an active role on the Defy Gravity Campaign Steering Committee. As a former honorary patron of the King’s College Circle Heritage Society, Patten welcomed and celebrated the hundreds of alumni and friends who have remembered the university through a provision in a will or other form of planned giving.
An Officer of the Order of Canada, Member of the Order of Ontario and former board chair of the Hospital for Sick Children, Patten is widely recognized for her leadership in Canadian business and public service. U of T awarded her an honorary degree in 2009 for her leadership as a role model for women executives in Canadian banking, community volunteerism and service to the university. That same year, U of T established the Rose Patten Leadership Program in recognition of her deep and longstanding commitment to mentorship.
Patten teaches business management students as an adjunct professor in executive leadership programs at the Rotman School of Management. Her 2023 book, Intentional Leadership: The Big 8 Capabilities Setting Leaders Apart, arose from her experience leading this program.
Di Giacomo, a 1964 graduate of St. Michael’s College, is the president of Tadico Ltd., a private advisory and investment firm. He previously served as president and CEO of Manulife Financial and held senior volunteer roles with Toronto General Hospital and Kids Help Phone. As a dedicated volunteer, he has consistently supported the growth of the St. Michael’s College community.
Together, Patten and Di Giacomo have donated generously to U of T, with a focus on enabling access and enhancing human potential through needs-based scholarships across the university.
In 2024, the couple made a transformative gift to support the renewal of Convocation Hall’s grand, circular entrance hallway—a space where countless graduates have gathered to celebrate their academic achievements. In recognition of this remarkable gift, the hallway has since been renamed the Rose Patten Rotunda.
From the Temerty Faculty of Medicine to the Rotman School of Management, Woodsworth College and the University of St. Michael’s College, Patten and Di Giacomo have a long history of creating bursaries and scholarships that break down barriers for bright and deserving students, including those raising children on their own.
Their latest gift follows this tradition of support, creating a new endowed scholarship fund at the Temerty Faculty of Medicine called the Rose M. Patten Graduate Student Scholarships. With a goal of helping to break down barriers to a world-leading education for generations of health leaders, the scholarships will play a crucial role in fuelling a healthier and more equitable future.
Patten also established the Rose M. Patten Management Fellowships at the Rotman School of Management, which have enabled outstanding learning and research opportunities for up-and-coming management professionals.
Through their many years of volunteer service and their incredible generosity, leadership and friendship, Rose M. Patten and Thomas Di Giacomo are creating a more accessible future, enhancing the potential of generations of leaders whose impact will ripple across their communities and beyond.