Gift from CIBC helps Sheridan boost supports for students with disabilities

Sheridan is welcoming a $250,000 gift from the CIBC Foundation that will directly support students with disabilities through bursaries to help remove financial barriers and allow them to achieve their dream of obtaining a postsecondary education.

The gift, announced in time to mark the International Day of Persons with Disabilities on December 3, will provide students with access to bursaries valued between $1,000 and $2,500. The new CIBC Bursary for Students with Disabilities will be available to all full-time and part-time students who are registered with Sheridan’s Accessible Learning department and enrolled in select programs in the Pilon School of Business and the Faculty of Applied Sciences and Technology.

“The CIBC Foundation’s gift will further our commitment to providing holistic, meaningful supports for all our students,” says Sheridan President and Vice Chancellor Dr. Janet Morrison. “The bursary will have a positive impact on personal well-being, academic success and, consequently, the long-term goals of students with disabilities. Sheridan, in partnership with CIBC, remains deeply vested in inclusivity and equity so all students can learn, thrive and achieve their dreams.”

CIBC’s support deepens its relationship with Sheridan that has grown for over 55 years. “At CIBC, we’re creating a culture of inclusion, and accessibility plays a large role in this,” says Ronan Ryan, Executive Director of the CIBC Foundation. “We believe that everyone should have the opportunity to achieve their ambitions. The new CIBC Bursary for Students with Disabilities will help remove the financial barriers that can get in the way of students achieving their academic dreams."Sheridan’s Director of Accessible Learning and Inclusion, Dr. Janice Fennell, says the need for greater financial supports for students with disabilities, both visible and invisible, was identified during the pandemic and it continues to soar.

“The CIBC Bursary for Students with Disabilities opens the doors to higher education for learners with disabilities, many of whom experience greater financial barriers due to expenses related to disability care. They often require more time to focus on their studies and are not always able to work a part-time job to meet the rising cost of living,” she says. “I want to thank CIBC for recognizing this important need and working to address it with their gift.”

The bursary will be a part of the comprehensive supports Sheridan continues to develop to ensure all students succeed. In November, the College’s Accessible Learning team launched a new resource to provide strategies, best practices and principles to help students with Autism Spectrum Disorder thrive in the classroom.

Applications for the bursary will be open in January 2024.