Abraham Jedidiah Rogatnick’s passion and support of Emily Carr University was enthusiastic and diverse.  He delivered inspirational speeches to Design and Foundation students, funded lectures – and was a familiar face at exhibition openings, auctions and events.  In 1997, he established two endowments: the Abraham J. Rogatnick Industrial Design Scholarship and the Alvin Balkind Visual Arts Scholarship, in honour of his late partner.

Abraham had a zest for life and was a true renaissance man. Before moving to Vancouver in 1955, Abraham he was a WWII veteran who spent most of his time at the front lines. After the war, he studied in Europe before eventually returning to the US. In 1952, he received his M.Arch. from Harvard, and taught architecture at UBC from 1958 to 1985. He was the Interim Director at the Vancouver Art Gallery; the Architectural Advisor for the National Gallery of Canada; and co-founder of both The New Design Gallery and The Arts Club of Vancouver. Always the entertainer, Abraham became an actor late in life, performing in numerous movies, television programs and plays.

When Abraham passed away in 2009, he left a legacy gift in his Will, a passionate last gift to emerging designers and visual artists.  Abraham Jedidiah Rogatnick was a war hero, teacher, architect, actor, activist and philanthropist – but to the Emily Carr community his most important role was that of friend.