Honouring Leadership Excellence in Montreal with a $1 Million Donation

Suzanne Legge Orr and husband Jeff Orr create The Legge Orr MI4 Leadership Award.

MONTREAL, Feb. 18, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Suzanne Legge and Jeff Orr have been together for 41 years. Both born and raised in Montreal, they are committed philanthropists and have supported causes from the arts to education. Now, they are giving to help solve humanity’s deadliest puzzles with an important donation to the McGill Interdisciplinary Initiative in Infection and Immunity (MI4). This new award will provide critical funding to the McGill University Health Centre Foundation to support MI4’s leadership and drive its mission forward.

“Montreal is this great centre for medical research and this incredible base of knowledge. We can make a real difference by supporting the research and brain power at the MUHC. Our city came together to build this hospital, and now we are supporting the research happening inside.”
– Jeff Orr, President & CEO, Power Corporation of Canada

The $1 million donation supports the leadership of MI4 Director Dr. Don Sheppard, who created the initiative and is instrumental in its success. MI4 brings together over 250 researchers to find life-changing solutions to some of the world’s deadliest diseases including COVID-19, tuberculosis and hepatitis C. MI4 has more than 50 completed or ongoing projects related to understanding the coronavirus, halting transmission and developing vaccines. The Legge Orrs made an eight-year commitment to supporting Dr. Sheppard’s work, and that of MI4 leaders to come.

“I am both honoured and humbled to be the inaugural recipient of The Legge Orr MI4 Leadership Award. This transformative support will provide invaluable flexibility and resources to allow me to focus my energies on growing MI4’s already impressive legacy.” 
– Dr. Don Sheppard, Director, McGill Interdisciplinary Initiative in Infection and Immunity (MI4)

Jeff Orr is President and CEO of Power Corporation of Canada. Suzanne Legge Orr is a community leader and Co-Chair of the MUHC Foundation’s Dream Big Campaign, a $200 million dollar campaign raising money for everything from MI4’s Infection and Immunity to Cancer and Cardiology.

“While all the pillars of the Dream Big Campaign are extremely important, this one struck a chord with us. Enabling the work to continue—and what we are going through right now with the pandemic—is how we ended up deciding to support MI4.”
– Suzanne Legge Orr, Co-Chair, MUHC Foundation Dream Big Campaign

“We are so grateful to Suzanne and Jeff for their generous and continued support. They recognize how crucial MI4 is not only to controlling the COVID-19 pandemic, but combatting infectious diseases that have plagued humanity for thousands of years.”
– Julie Quenneville, President, MUHC Foundation

About the McGill University Health Centre Foundation
The McGill University Health Centre Foundation (MUHC) raises funds to support excellence in patient care, research and teaching at the MUHC. Built on a partnership between the MUHC and McGill University, MI4 reaches across campuses, hospitals, institutes and labs. The MI4 team is united by an ambitious plan to solve our most urgent health challenges, and change the course of lives and medicine. The MUHC Foundation is raising $60 million in support of MI4 as part of its Dream Big: Solve humanity’s deadliest puzzles campaign.

Media Contacts

Tarah Schwartz
Director, Communications & Marketing
McGill University Health Centre Foundation
tarah.schwartz@muhc.mcgill.ca

Kelly Albert
Communications Officer
McGill University Health Centre Foundation
kelly.albert@muhc.mcgill.ca

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/fed75c54-759c-4726-b3bb-92d27b04079a