uSask business school receives $1-million donation

The University of Saskatchewan’s Edwards School of Business has received a $1-million gift from former Cameco Corp. board member George Dembroski that will help students invest real money in the stock market. The donation — made in Cameco shares — will be used for scholarships, a virtual trading floor, and data sets for financial research. Part of the gift will establish the George S. Dembroski Student Managed Portfolio Trust, adding Edwards to the number of other Canadian business schools that offer a student-managed portfolio program. uSask News Release (Academicagroup)

uAlberta receives $15-million gift for APPLE Schools program

The University of Alberta announced Tuesday a $15-million donation from alumnus Allan P. Markin to expand a program aimed at reversing poor health trends among Alberta children. The gift follows Markin’s initial $5-million donation in 2008 for the Alberta Project Promoting active Living & healthy Eating in Schools (APPLE Schools), bringing his total contribution to the initiative to $20 million. By September, APPLE Schools will run in 41 provincial schools, including urban, rural, and Aboriginal schools. uAlberta ExpressNews (Academicagroup)

CASA Lends Support to Early Outreach Program

The Canadian Alliance of Student Associations (CASA) is happy to have donated two $500 RESP scholarships to the University of Western Ontario Student Council’s 5^th Annual “Choose your Own Adventure” Conference beginning May 6^th 2011.

“This conference will help 150 students from low-income communities to broaden their planning path and provide them with tools to overcome barriers they will encounter,” said Zachary Dayler, National Director of CASA.

CASA congratulates the University of Western Ontario Students’ Council for their early outreach efforts to help students build and plan for their future education.

“Post-secondary education should be an option for any students once they have completed high school and we must continue to help students bridge the accessibility gap, and remind all levels of government that the accessibility of education should be a priority investment,” concluded Dayler.

For more information on the University Student Council’s conference, please see this link: Choose Your Own Adventure     

Mount Royal University receives $1.1 million towards the new Innovation and Entrepreneurship Centre from RBC

Mount Royal University is pleased to announce that it has received its largest corporate donation since becoming a university in Sept. 2009. RBC, through its charitable foundation, presented Mount Royal with a generous donation of $1.1 million this morning. The gift will go towards the creation of the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Centre within Mount Royal’s Bissett School of Business.

“RBC believes that investing in education is one of the most important things we do. By helping to fund the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Centre we are investing in the next generation of business leaders and therefore contributing to the communities where we live and work,” says Bruce MacKenzie, regional president for RBC, Alberta & the Territories. “We are very excited to be part of the RBC Innovation learning lab, which will be an open concept space for physical and virtual student collaboration at the Centre.”                  

RBC’s donation coincides with the federal government’s declaration of 2011 as the Year of the Entrepreneur.  Lee Richardson, Member of Parliament for Calgary Centre provided remarks on behalf of the Canadian government at the event.

“Mount Royal is very excited to receive such a wonderful donation from RBC today,” says Dave Marshall, president, Mount Royal University.

uCalgary School of Public Policy receives $1-million gift

TransCanada announced Friday a $1-million donation to the University of Calgary’s School of Public Policy to study issues related to energy policy and regulation. The donation will create the TransCanada Corporation Program in Energy Policy & Regulatory Frameworks, a 5-year program that will develop a more efficient and predictable regulatory environment for businesses across North America. UToday (Academicagroup)

SFU launches Beedie School of Business with $22-million donation

Ryan Beedie, president of The Beedie Group, an industrial real estate development firm, and his father Keith have donated $22 million to Ryan’s alma mater, Simon Fraser University’s business school, which will now be named the Beedie School of Business. SFU will use the gift — the largest in the institution’s history — to create an endowment supporting students, professorships, and research chairs. The business school dean says the donation will help make the Beedie School of Business a global thought leader in areas such as innovation and entrepreneurship, Asia Pacific business studies, risk management, and sustainability. SFU News Release (Academicagroup)

University lands unique present

‘A marvellous piece of land’; Ranch donated by Calgary couple to U of A is largest such gift in Canada

The University of Alberta is the recipient of the largest gift of land to any Canadian university, a working 5,000-hectare ranch east of Calgary.

The gift came from Edwin and Ruth Mattheis, two alumni who have lived in Calgary since 1958. The couple bought the 19 sections of Three Walking Sticks Ranch near Duchess 33 years ago. It is about 150 kilometres east of Calgary.