Toronto hotelier Steve Gupta and his family are making a $1 million donation to the Ted Rogers School of Management at Toronto Metropolitan University, formerly known as Ryerson University.
The money will be used to provide endowed financial awards to the school's Master of Business Administration students in hospitality and tourism management, the university said.
"I'm a great believer in higher education," Gupta, whose Easton Group of Hotels has 22 properties, said in a statement. "Learning is like breathing, it should never stop. My family and I believe in giving back to our local community and creating opportunities for others to pursue their dreams of success."
The donation is being made through the Gupta Family Foundation, according to Toronto Metropolitan University. Gupta is the founder and chairman of the Gupta Group. He came to Canada from India in 1971 and began his business with a car and truck stop in Port Hope, Ontario, a little over an hour's drive east of Toronto.
"A gift like this, from a family rooted in the newcomer experience and earning their success in Canadian business, has special resonance for our community of learners," said Cynthia Holmes, dean of the Ted Rogers School of Management, in a statement.
In conjunction with the gift, TMU is naming the 500-seat Ted Rogers School's auditorium The Steve & Rashmi Gupta Lecture Theatre.
Gupta and his wife, Rashmi Gupta, have long supported philanthropic causes locally and around the world, including eye camps in India that have allowed more than 11,000 people to have cataract eye treatments and be cured of eye disease. They have also developed a water and sanitation project for a girl's school in India.