Something big is building at SAIT: New Campus Centre receives transformative $30 million boost from Taylor Family Foundation

Calgary, AB (Thursday, May 30, 2024) — Today, the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology (SAIT) celebrated the future of its reimagined Campus Centre with a major gift announcement from one of Calgary’s most philanthropic families — Don and Ruth Taylor.

A $30-million gift has been made by the Taylor Family Foundation in the spirit of shared ambition and aspiration to support the now aptly named Taylor Family Campus Centre. The new centre is an important part of SAIT’s vision to provide world-class facilities where students learn, work, play and live. 

Don and Ruth Taylor are well known for their philanthropic support throughout Calgary and are dedicated to ensuring the success of people, community and culture.

“SAIT has populated our province and our country with well-trained and brilliant personnel for commerce and industry over the last 100 years. The Taylor Family Foundation is proud to support SAIT’s education program,” says Don Taylor. 

SAIT has seen unprecedented growth and challenges with a changing demographic requiring additional supports mentally, physically and holistically.

“As a future cornerstone of campus life, the Taylor Family Campus Centre will support the next generation of SAIT students and establish a sense of community and belonging in space designed to forge new connections and strengthen old ones,” says Dr. David Ross, SAIT President and CEO. “The needs and expectations of our students continue to evolve and change. Our vision for the centre is to offer a dynamic on-campus environment all about enhancing the student experience through a whole-person approach to wellness.” 

Scheduled to open in 2027, the state-of-the-art building — intentionally designed with a focus on sustainability and universal accessibility — will aim to operate at a reduced environmental footprint and minimize energy and resource consumption. Today’s ceremonial ground-breaking ceremony for the approximately 25,000 square metre (269,098 square feet) facility marks the start of the subsurface foundation work.

The new Taylor Family Campus Centre will house a number of wellness facilities:

• Welcome Centre
• health clinics
• conference and event space
• arena
• triple gymnasium
• running track
• fitness centre

Campus Centre was originally built in 1981 for a student population of approximately 8,000. With 15,622 full-time equivalent learners in 2022/23, the redeveloped centre will offer community, learning and athletic space.

The redevelopment began in 2022 with a sustainable building decommission and demolition strategy. An assessment of the building elements determined a sustainable salvage, resale, donation and recycling plan — allowing SAIT to achieve a 95 percent waste diversion rate. Working with partners at Green Standards, the project diverted 73 tons of material from landfills and contributed more than $95,000 of in-kind donations to support a variety of community organizations.

In March, Elder Betty Crazyboy, Piikani Nation, led a pipe ceremony and blessing of the construction site to honour the Treaty 7 land and those working on the project. The building will model themes derived from Indigenous knowledge and practices, such as shared communal spaces and culturally relevant offerings, as a critical step in SAIT’s path to reconciliation.

Along with those spaces, the centre will house world-class training facilities and the Trojans varsity sports program, positioning SAIT teams for future success and attracting prospective student talent by providing opportunity for athletic excellence.

Serving as a training ground for tomorrow’s talent, today, the centre will aid in delivering skilled practitioners to a range of fields through work-integrated-learning opportunities and hands-on training. The centre will also offer comprehensive physical and mental health care and wellness services such as pharmaceutical care, rehabilitation and sports medicine to support the health care needs of the greater Calgary community.

Progress and project updates will continue to be posted to sait.ca/taylor-family-campus-centre.

About SAIT

Established in 1916, SAIT was the first of its kind, publicly funded technical school in North America. As a global leader in applied education and research — serving nearly 40,000 students annually — SAIT offers certificate, diploma, post diploma, apprenticeship and applied degree programs, baccalaureate degrees, corporate training and more than 1,000 continuing education courses, along with four dedicated, award-winning areas of research and capacity for new and emerging research. Curriculum and research priorities are developed through industry partnerships to ensure graduates have the skills and knowledge required to fulfill the demand for talent. SAIT is honoured to be recognized by Mediacorp Canada Inc. as one of Alberta’s Top Employers for 2024, and to be ranked sixth by Research Infosource Inc. in the Top 50 Research Colleges in Canada for 2023. CEOWORLD Magazine ranked the SAIT School of Business #49 on the list of Best Business Schools in the World for 2024, and the School of Hospitality and Tourism placed #14 on their list of Best Hospitality and Hotel Management Schools in the World for 2024.  

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