Established in 2006, the Loyer-DaSilva Research Chair in Community and Public Health Nursing at the University of Ottawa is the first in its field in Canada. For Marie des Anges Loyer (BScN ’60, MEd ’68, PhD ’82), the donor who established it, the chair is both a dream… and a necessity.
“For nursing practices to be sound, it’s important that we be able to base them on research,” says Loyer, former professor, dean and director of the University of Ottawa School of Nursing.
Throughout her life, Loyer has worked for the public good and the advancement of knowledge. Starting her nursing career in the 1950s, she was shaped by her work with disadvantaged groups. As an academic armed with diplomas, certificates and postdoctoral positions, knowledge has always been her favoured path to help society.
Still, establishing a chair was no small thing for a woman who wasn’t born “with a silver spoon in her mouth,” as she vividly puts it.
Working with a trusted financial advisor (Charlie Brophy) and the Development Office, Dr. Loyer found a way to achieve her goals, in large part thanks to irrevocable gifts of life insurance that will be paid out to the University on her passing. It’s one way to give a lot without compromising on one’s lifestyle.
“We don’t give to get rid of something. We give to achieve a goal that matters to us.” — Marie des Anges Loyer
The Chair is the culmination of a great philanthropic legacy that Dr. Loyer has patiently built at the University of Ottawa, one which also includes offering graduate bursaries. “We don’t give to get rid of something,” she says. “We give to achieve a goal that matters to us.”
“The University was a springboard for me,” she says by way of explanation of her generosity. Today, she continues to embody her motto: sowing seeds to help others. And her harvest looks outstanding.