Ram Panda, MEng’71, MBA’77, is already one of McGill’s most prominent volunteers, and he’s about to take on yet another leading role.
The former Chair of McGill’s Board of Governors and past Chair of the Faculty of Engineering’s Advisory Board is currently a member-at-large on the Board of Governors and an executive member of Made by McGill: the Campaign for Our Third Century. Now he’s taking on a new challenge: succeeding Ann Vroom, BA’67, as the Lead Planned Giving Ambassador for McGill’s Bequests and Planned Gifts unit.
“I said yes to this role because I feel strongly about legacy giving,” says Panda. “There are so many advantages people aren’t aware of.”
“Ram is the perfect choice for this important role to promote legacy giving,” says Marc Weinstein, McGill’s Vice-Principal of University Advancement. “He has consistently been one of McGill’s most dedicated volunteers and supporters, providing guidance, expertise and philanthropic support both at the faculty level and University-wide.”
Formative McGill years
Panda is originally from India, and first arrived in Montreal as a 21-year-old McGill graduate student. He still remembers long days in the McConnell Engineering Building, late nights at Bens deli, and the excitement of meeting students and professors from around the world.
“I had such a wonderful experience at McGill that I never left,” says Panda. “I remember every event: attending Expo 67, going to my first concert, the October Crisis, the referendums. Through all the highs and lows, I’ve stayed in Montreal.”
The city became the headquarters for Invera Inc., the software company he co-founded shortly after completing his McGill MBA. Today it has offices overseas but its home base remains in Montreal, “and the primary reason for that is McGill.”
Giving back
Panda stayed in close contact with the University after graduating, making annual gifts to Engineering and becoming a McGill parent twice over – his daughters, Seema, BA’97, and Tanya, BCom’01, both graduated from McGill. One day he received a call from Martha Crago, then Dean of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies; she encouraged him to take on a leadership role, which led to his volunteering.
“It’s been a wonderful experience, and I wish I had even more time to devote to it. I can honestly say that the last 10 years of campus projects have been some of the most exciting initiatives I’ve seen at McGill.”
He’s also taken on a major philanthropic role at McGill, particularly in supporting sustainability. He established the Eric L. Adler Fellowship in Electrical Engineering to honour his former research supervisor; the James and Daisy Mathison Scholarships in Sustainability in Engineering as a tribute to a former faculty member; the Ram and Durga Panda Scholarships in Sustainability in Engineering, named after he and his wife; and the Panda Faculty Scholar in Sustainable Engineering and Design award. Most recently, he has made a major gift in support of McGill’s new Students and Scholars at Risk Fund.
“My conviction has always been that people should support their community while they’re active, alert, and fully engaged,” says Panda. “I’ve done that in two ways: by giving now and by leaving a legacy gift.”
His legacy gift will go to Engineering's Faculty Legacy Fund, which will maintain his annual donation to the Faculty after he’s passed away.
There are many misconceptions related to legacy giving, but Panda hopes to dispel those during his time as Lead Planned Giving Ambassador. “There can be tax benefits, and people can donate a small percentage of their estate; it does not have to be a million-dollar gift to be called a legacy gift. No one knows how much they’ll need in the future, but upon reflection people often realize that almost everyone can do something through legacy giving.”
See McGill’s full roster of Planned Giving Ambassadors here.
Support McGill’s Third Century. Leave a legacy gift today.