Alectra Inc. and York University’s Faculty of Environmental and Urban Change (EUC) announce the establishment of the ‘Alectra Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (ED&I) Undergraduate Awards’ to provide scholarship opportunities for Black and Indigenous students accepted into an EUC undergraduate program.

“We are proud to have Alectra as one of our partners and are very grateful for their sustained and active involvement with the York University community, especially in support of students, research and transformational initiatives,” said Alice Hovorka, Dean of the Faculty of Environmental and Urban Change at York University.

“The Alectra EDI Undergraduate Awards will empower students to become champions of justice and sustainability – and will increase equitable access to post-secondary education. In EUC, we are committed to providing accessible education, embracing diversity and empowering all students as changemakers in their own lives and in the lives of others. The Alectra EDI Undergraduate Awards will ensure sustainable pathways and financial support to historically underrepresented students.”

“At Alectra, we believe that making positive change requires dynamic and diverse thinking,” said Brian Bentz, President and CEO, Alectra Inc. “We’re excited to support the efforts of York University’s Faculty of Environmental and Urban Change to expand opportunities for under-represented students to thrive in a program devoted to addressing the serious urban and environmental challenges that are facing us today.”

Alectra will contribute $84,000 (over four years) to support two domestic undergraduate Black and/or Indigenous students with full tuition, a flex fund, textbooks and supplies for their full-time degree at York University’s Faculty of Environmental and Urban Change. The Alectra EDI Undergraduate Awards will create opportunities for Black and Indigenous students and create positive change in our communities and the world around us.

In 2020, Alectra began to launch a series of broad-based ED&I initiatives and has supported local anti-racism programs delivered through activism, community building and education. The partnership with York University’s Faculty of Environmental and Urban Change is the first undergraduate scholarship program for racialized students that Alectra has sponsored.

Serving more than one million homes and businesses in Ontario’s Greater Golden Horseshoe area, Alectra Utilities is now the largest municipally-owned electric utility in Canada, based on the total number of customers served.

York University’s new Faculty of Environmental and Urban Change (EUC) has been created as a call to action to respond to the most pressing challenges facing people and the planet. York brings together world class scientists and scholars, who are producing research on the climate crisis, biodiversity loss, intensive urbanization and how these dynamics impact the most vulnerable among us. The EUC is mobilizing knowledge for a just and sustainable future.