A legacy spanning decades: a Rotman family history

Dec 16, 2024

For generations, the Rotman family has been an indelible part of the University of Toronto’s journey toward excellence in management and healthcare education. Their unwavering commitment to advancing both has been nothing short of transformative.

Visionary contributions to entrepreneurship

It all began in the early 1990s when Joseph and Sandra Rotman initiated their visionary donations, seeding the growth of what is now known as the Rotman School of Management. These contributions paved the way for groundbreaking research in critical areas such as healthcare management, entrepreneurship, AI and financial innovation. Over three decades, the Rotman family has donated more than $80 million to U of T and cultivated a generation of business leaders who have significantly contributed to the global economy. Their impact reverberates through the halls of academia and beyond, shaping the trajectory of countless lives.

Sandra Rotman’s passion for healthcare has been integral to shaping the family’s philanthropic focus. Their support has strengthened research and teaching in healthcare and the life sciences at Rotman by establishing the Sandra Rotman Centre for Health Sector Strategy. The centre has helped deepen our understanding of some of the sector’s most pressing challenges, including the role of the private sector in healthcare delivery and organization and the commercialization of life science products and services.

We are profoundly grateful to the Rotman family for their dedication to advancing management education. Over the past three decades, their contributions have been instrumental in shaping
U of T’s impact on society, particularly in the business and healthcare sectors. The Rotman legacy serves as inspiration, driving us to continually innovate and make a positive difference in the lives of others.
– Susan Christoffersen, dean, Rotman School of Management

Tackling critical issues in healthcare

The centre has tackled critical issues such as improving wait times in our emergency departments, addressing our backlog of surgical procedures and allocating our scarce nursing resources in the home care sector. Other examples include ensuring seamless handoff of information to improve patient safety and distributing vaccines most effectively within a given population. The role of market-based incentives in a public healthcare system and effective payment models and governance systems are other research areas with far-reaching implications for public policy. With such a wide array of leading research, Rotman is well-positioned to be a global leader in health sector management.

Recruiting top-tier researchers further demonstrates the centre’s dedication to finding innovative solutions to healthcare management problems. Avi Goldfarb, chair in Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare, exemplifies the Rotmans’ commitment to research and innovation.

We are profoundly grateful to the Rotman family for their dedication to advancing management education. Over the past three decades, their contributions have been instrumental in shaping
U of T’s impact on society, particularly in the business and healthcare sectors. The Rotman legacy serves as inspiration, driving us to continually innovate and make a positive difference in the lives of others.
– Susan Christoffersen, dean, Rotman School of Management

Building on the school’s expertise in data analytics and big data, his research delves into the integration of AI in healthcare, shedding light on both its potential and the barriers to its adoption. By understanding these complexities, Goldfarb and his colleagues are paving the way for informed decision-making and improved policy design, which are critical for adopting new technologies in our healthcare system.

A timeline of the Rotman family's involvement with U of T

Diverse paths to making an impact

Not only is Rotman leading research in healthcare management, but it is putting these ideas into practice through its executive education program. The centre supports some of Canada’s top programs in which healthcare leaders are equipped with management skills to oversee hospitals, home-care services, community-based services and long-term care facilities. This is particularly critical in a resource-constrained sector like healthcare. It also helps healthcare professionals develop essential organizational and team-building skills that are so important in the current environment, given the complexity of delivering patient care with multiple professionals.

In 2017, the Rotman School introduced the Global Executive MBA in Healthcare and the Life Sciences (GEMBA-HLS), giving students a much deeper understanding of how sound business practices positively impact healthcare delivery. Students complete the program with the tools and insights to lead in a complex and dynamic industry, empowering them to drive change locally and globally.

The Rotman family’s gift has bolstered the centre’s impact and thought leadership at local, national and international levels. It will ultimately help improve healthcare delivery and outcomes in Canada.
– Brian Golden, the Sandra Rotman Chair in Health Sector Strategy

The MD/MBA program was established in 2021, allowing MD students to complete an MBA while finishing medical school by adding only one additional calendar year to their studies. We can see firsthand how transformational the MBA experience is for the medical careers of our recent graduates. In addition to core management skills, students expand their critical thinking, decision-making and team effectiveness skills, enabling them to be more effective clinicians and preparing them for leadership roles in the future.

The Rotman family’s gift has bolstered the centre’s impact and thought leadership at local, national and international levels. It will ultimately help improve healthcare delivery and outcomes in Canada.
– Brian Golden, the Sandra Rotman Chair in Health Sector Strategy

Preparing global leaders

Across all Rotman MBA programs, students have opportunities to gain valuable hands-on experience through case competitions and experiential learning opportunities. Industry-based projects allow students to apply their classroom learning and theoretical knowledge to practical scenarios. Examples include implementing a new quality framework for anesthesia at a large hospital, examining the effectiveness of management tools to support mental health in the workplace and developing a business plan for an online intervention to relieve depression in palliative cancer patients. Students can also showcase their innovative problem-solving approach through case competitions, placing first in the Yale Healthcare Services Innovation Case Competition in 2023.

Rotman continues to profoundly influence the global business and healthcare landscapes, a testament to the enduring vision and philanthropy of the Rotman family. Over many decades, their commitment has fostered an environment of innovation and excellence, enabling the school to cultivate leaders who drive positive change worldwide. This ongoing support honours the past and paves the way for future advancements, reinforcing the school’s position as a global leader in business and healthcare education.

By Rebecca Hull