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WATERLOO, Ont. -- A $1.5-million
donation will help the Waterloo Centre for German Studies based
at the University of Waterloo become one of the best in the
world.
 The late Fred Stork, a successful Kitchener-area entrepreneur of
German heritage, and his wife Ruth, donated $1.5 million in
support of Germanic studies at UW. The gift goes to the Waterloo
Centre for German Studies, with $500,000 to support student
exchanges including academic, cultural and work placements in
Germany.
"The gift was very close to his heart," said his son, Mike
Stork. "Although a true Canadian, he never lost his love for his
mother country, Germany. He was an engaged, community-minded
citizen and a generous philanthropist."
The centre plays a key role in supporting the mission of UW's
Germanic and Slavic studies department, which is to offer
courses in language, linguistics, literature, film and culture,
including applied language courses such as German for business
purposes. As well, it provides students with the opportunity to
visit and work in German-speaking communities.
"This gift is the largest the Waterloo Centre for Germanic
Studies has received and will position the centre and the
department of Germanic and Slavic studies among the very best in
the world," said Ken Coates, dean of arts. "Over the past 15
years, the University of Waterloo has become one of the major
centres in North America for the study of Germanic language and
literature."
The centre and department have received several major donations,
bringing private and institutional support to a total of $10
million. These gifts have helped to establish the Right
Honourable John G. Diefenbaker Memorial Chair in German Literary
Studies and allowed UW to recruit a world-class scholar,
professor Alice Kuzniar, to join the department.
Founded in June 2004, the centre has become a major hub for
German studies in North America. It focuses on research into all
aspects of German-language culture and provides outreach
programs to raise public awareness of the rich Germanic culture
in Waterloo Region.
Besides hosting conferences and lectures, the centre supports
the archiving of specialized library materials to complement
existing collections of historical papers. It also produces
publications to engage scholars and community members alike, and
links scholars around the world.
The centre is located in Canada's most prominent area of German
settlement. Built by German settlers and immigrants,
Kitchener-Waterloo is a significant German heritage site and
home to the greatest density of German-Canadians in the country.
As a result, a large body of knowledge about German-Canadian
culture exists in the area.
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