It’s one for the record books — philanthropic support at Simon Fraser University hit an all-time high in 2006, with donors providing close to $36 million – breaking the previous year’s record by almost 20 percent.

Approximately $23 million is funding new equipment and facilities, $3.5 million is directly supporting students through scholarships, bursaries and awards, and $9 million is enhancing research and teaching capabilities through chairs and centres.

Major donations include SFU’s largest gift to date — $12 million from Dr. Stewart and Marilyn Blusson to create a home for the university’s new Faculty of Health Sciences.

Another $5 million in equipment from IBM is fueling the most computing-powered criminology research centre in the world.

An additional $1 million from the Lalji family in the Lower Mainland is funding the establishment of an educational centre that will focus on Muslim diversity.

In addition, SFU opened two major new facilities that are benefiting from strong donor support – the Segal Graduate School of Business and SFU Surrey.

Says Cathy Daminato, SFU Vice President for University Advancement: “This high level of support tells me that the community is happy with the direction that SFU is taking with its new initiatives.”

Current fundraising priorities, such as the new School for the Contemporary Arts that SFU is building as part of the Downtown Eastside’s Woodward’s redevelopment project, and a research chair focusing on youth violence are also generating enthusiastic response.