The Jackman Foundation
Among its many contributions to U of T since the 1970s, the Jackman Foundation’s generous support for the Dr. Eric Jackman Institute of Child Study helps maintain the Institute as a global centre of excellence in research-based early human development and childhood education. The Institute’s Lab School helps give children the best possible start in life.
The Jackman Foundation has been a force in Canadian philanthropy since 1964, supporting hundreds of charitable projects with grants that have totaled more than $69 million. The foundation was created by Henry (Harry) R. Jackman, a former Member of Parliament and the founder of E-L Financial, an insurance and investment holding company. Today, the foundation is chaired by Dr. Frederic (Eric) Jackman (BA 1957 TRIN, MA 1962, Hon DSc 2010), Harry’s son. Dr. Jackman received his PhD from the University of Chicago.
The Jackman Foundation has supported a wide range of research projects at the University of Toronto. The hundreds of donations total more than $9 million, and have supported libraries, book sales and conferences, professorships, student scholarships, and capital campaigns.
Notably, the Jackman Foundation has supported the Dr. Eric Jackman Institute of Child Study. The funds enabled an expansion of facilities, allowing the institute to welcome more children to its state-of-the-art lab school, while enabling U of T’s top researchers to discover the best ways to help children thrive and learn. The expanded facilities include multi-use and public spaces designed to facilitate community outreach programming.
None of this would be possible without the incredible generosity of Dr. Eric and Sara Jackman. As an alumnus of the Lab School himself, he has extra motivation for supporting the Institute. A clinical psychologist, Dr. Jackman devotes the latter half of his professional life helping children become mentally fit. His goal is to help Canada’s population become the healthiest in the world.
Eric’s brother, the Rev. Edward Jackman (BA 1962 VIC, Hon LLD VIC), has also supported key interests generously through the foundation. He has offered consistent support to St. Michael’s College’s Medieval Studies program and their Faculty of Theology, dating from the late 90s. Additionally, the foundation has supported Celtic studies, philosophy, opera and the Dictionary of Old English, to name a few.