Dr. Steve and Rashmi Gupta have made a gift of $1 million in support of the Ted Rogers School of Management and its students at Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) through The Gupta Family Foundation.
“I’m a great believer in higher education,” said Dr. Gupta, founder and chairman of The Gupta Group. “Learning is like breathing — it should never stop. My family and I believe in giving back to our local community and creating opportunities for others to pursue their dreams of success. We share with TMU a desire to help people build the skills that shape self-reliance.”
A cheque presentation ceremony was held at TMU’s campus on Jan. 26.
The gift will provide endowed financial awards to the school’s MBA students in hospitality and tourism management, as well as crucial unrestricted support, allowing the dean to focus on priority needs.
In the winter of 2025, two deserving MBA students will receive the very first Gupta Family Foundation Award.
The Gupta family, from Markham, is one of Canada's most successful entrepreneurial stories, beginning as immigrants to Canada from India in 1971 with only $108 in their pockets.
Led by Dr. Gupta, his company, The Gupta Group, now oversees one of the largest residential, commercial and hotel real estate portfolios in Ontario.
Dr. Gupta was voted Businessman of The Year by the Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce in 2001 and received the Markham Board of Trade Award of Excellence in Business and Entrepreneurship in 2004. He also won the Top 25 Canadian Immigrant Award in 2013.
In addition to economic contributions, the Guptas are also passionate about investing in philanthropic causes around the world.
Together they have held eye camps in India, allowing more than 11,000 people to have cataract eye treatments and be cured of eye disease, and developed a water and sanitation project for a girls’ school in India.
Dr. Cynthia Holmes, dean, Ted Rogers School of Management, noted that the institution has one of the most diverse student populations of any business school in Canada — with more than 50 per cent of students identifying themselves as racialized and 30 per cent being the first in their family to attend university.
“A gift like this, from a family rooted in the newcomer experience and earning their success in Canadian business, has special resonance for our community of learners. We are very grateful to the Gupta family for investing in the future of our students,” Holmes said.
To recognize the Gupta family’s generosity, TMU is going to name the Ted Rogers School’s premiere auditorium The Steve & Rashmi Gupta Lecture Theatre. At 500 seats, the venue is TMU’s largest lecture theatre and is used for business classes and for instruction in disciplines across the university.
Scarlett Liu is a federally funded Local Journalism Initiative reporter at Markham Economist & Sun
