The Gift: $39-million
The Cause: University of Calgary's Hotchkiss Brain Institute The Reason: To fund a variety of research programs
Harley Hotchkiss has been involved in a lot of businesses over the past 60 years, ranging from oil and gas to real estate, agriculture and the Calgary Flames. But these days he is more interested in something else - the brain and how it works.
"The brain is a fascinating part of our body," Mr. Hotchkiss, 82, said from his office in Calgary.
He got interested in brain research in the 1980s while doing charity work with Calgary's Foothills Hospital.
"I met a lot of outstanding people and developed a real appreciation for brain research," he said.
His interest was heightened about 10 years ago when he was diagnosed with a tiny brain aneurysm.
"I get an MRI every year," he explained. "It's small, stays small, and as long as it stays small we'll leave it alone."
In 2004, his curiosity about the brain led him to contribute $10-million toward establishment of the Hotchkiss Brain Institute at University of Calgary. The institute has now become a leading centre in Canada for neuroscience as well as research into mental health and patient care.
"The main reason [for helping create the institute] was my appreciation for the importance of research and my almost amazement at the human brain and what it lets us do," he said.
Yesterday Mr. Hotchkiss unveiled a further gift to the institute worth nearly $40-million in total. His good friend, Texas oilman T. Boone Pickens, is also contributing $25-million to the institute. "I'm probably the first Canadian that Boone met," Mr. Hotchkiss joked, referring to their first meeting in Calgary in 1957. "We sort of took an immediate liking to each other."
Mr. Hotchkiss has tried to shy away from public attention about his gift, saying his profile is not important. "This is something that interests me and I believe that my family and I can make a real difference here and at this stage of my life, I like to do things where I think that's going to be the result." pwaldie@globeandmail.com