Looking Back,
Moving Forward
T
his year the Asper School
of Business celebrates
75 years of excellence in
business education. Looking back
over the history of our school,
and even the accomplishments
of the past year, we clearly have
a lot to be proud of – and even
more to look forward to in the
years ahead.
Excellence has formed the bedrock of our values from the very
start. The original Department
of Commerce, launched in 1937,
worked hard to attract the “best
and brightest”– a lasting commitment whose legacy is all around
us today.
As the leaders of tomorrow, our
students are making outstanding
contributions to communities and
businesses at home and around
the world. They’re making names
for themselves and our school:
this year, the Asper School has
achieved a world record of 50
wins at international business plan
competitions.
Our best and brightest also
include our award-winning faculty
and staff. Through innovative
research and inspired teaching,
they have climbed mountains
(in some cases, literally) to ensure
the School provides not just an
education but an experience
that is meaningful, relevant and
second-to-none.
Asper isn’t just a school, it’s a
community – and our relationships
with businesses in Manitoba and
beyond have been with us from
the start. I’m thrilled at how these
relationships have evolved over the
years and opened up opportunities
for students to succeed in their
careers and their lives.
In 2012 our Co-operative
Education Program celebrates
five years of connecting students
with life-changing work
placements. Our International
Exchange Program has widened
our community even further by
building partnerships with more
than 35 business schools around
the globe. And as you will see,
the Associates and the Young
Associates of the Asper School
continue to strengthen
our links to Manitoba’s
pre-eminent business
(cont. page 2)
School
of
Business
Update
asper
Spring
2012
75
Years
of Excellence
in Business
Education
2
ASPER SCHOOL OF BUSINESS
Department of Commerce opens with 52 students | 1937
The original Department of
Commerce, launched in 1937,
worked hard to attract the
“best and brightest”– a lasting
commitment whose legacy is
all around us today.
75
Years
of Excellence
in Business
Education
2012 Milestones
This year we proudly
celebrate these
anniversaries:
100th of the introduction
of actuarial science courses
at the University (1912)
75th of a degree program
leaders by opening the doors to an
unbelievable future for so many of
our students.
We’ve gained a lot of momentum
in the past 75 years, but there’s
no better time than the present to
take that next great leap into an
exciting future. Now is a thrilling
time to be studying business in
Winnipeg, Manitoba. With the
return of the Jets, the opening of
a new terminal at the James A.
Richardson International Airport,
the construction of the Canadian
Museum for Human Rights, and a
new Bomber stadium going up
at the U of M, our city is making
a transition, and the world is
taking notice.
Economic growth will create
opportunities for people with
knowledge, passion and vision,
and the Asper School of Business
stands ready to lead the charge.
Programs such as the Asper MBA,
new courses in entrepreneurship,
the Stu Clark Distinguished
Speaker Series and expanded
programs in the Stu Clark Centre
for Entrepreneurship are providing
the entrepreneurs of tomorrow
with the foundation they need to
turn their ideas into reality. The
recent installation of Bloomberg
Terminals in the Albert D. Cohen
Library has equipped faculty and
students with one of the world’s
leading financial knowledge
tools, and sharpened our School’s
competitive edge.
With so much going on in the
present, and about to happen in
the near future, it’s only appropriate
here to reflect on the loss of three
individuals who made an indelible
impact on our school. Reg Alcock,
Mike Byrne and Albert D. Cohen
were respected teachers, researchers
and businessmen whose contributions to the Asper School of Business
are beyond calculation. Their
passing underscores the importance
of remembering those who have
shaped who we are, and who we
will become.
Michael Benarroch
Dean, I.H. Asper School of Business
CA Manitoba Chair in Business Leadership
Dr. Benarroch was named Dean
of the I.H. Asper School of Business
and CA Manitoba Chair in Business
Leadership in November 2011.
Prior to joining the Asper School, he
served as a Professor of Economics
and the Founding Dean of the
Faculty of Business and Economics
at the University of Winnipeg.
He was awarded the Robin H.
Farquhar Award for Excellence in
Contributing to Self-Governance
in 2008. His research focuses on
international trade with specific
applications to innovation and the
environment, and he is a recognized
expert on international trade and
government economic policy.
in business at the University
(1937)
63rd of becoming the
School of Commerce (1949)
43rd of becoming a faculty
(1970)
30th of the Associates
(1982)
29th of the first IDEA
Award, presented to Albert D.
Cohen (1983)
25th of the opening of the
Drake Centre (1987)
19th of the Young
Associates and the Aboriginal
Business Education Partners
program (1993)
15th of the Stu Clark Centre
for Entrepreneurship (1997),
formerly the Asper Centre for
Entrepreneurship
13th of accreditation
from the Association to
Advance Collegiate Schools
of Business (1999)
5th of the Co-operative
Education Program (2007)
Open for Business, the
commemorative history book
celebrating 75 years of excellence in business education in
Manitoba, will be launched at
Homecoming on Sept. 14, 2012
7 5 y ears of e x cellence in B usiness E d ucat ion
How a Lunch Can
Change Your Life
A
t this year’s Bachelor of
Commerce Business
Luncheon, keynote
speaker Laurie Kepron encouraged
first-year Commerce students to
say “yes” to every opportunity –
advice that has served her own
career well. Kepron graduated
from Asper in 1992, and her first
job was in brand marketing for
the old Winnipeg Jets team. She’s
now Vice President, Integrated
Marketing for the NHL.
In the audience, listening to
Kepron speak, was student Frank
Veert, who says he was almost
too busy to attend. Now he’s glad
he went. He says the luncheon
was “one of the most significant
experiences” of his life, all because
of a chance encounter that turned
into an amazing professional
opportunity.
“Before the luncheon,” Veert
explains, “my dad and I talked
about some of the influential
Winnipeg business people that
might be there. One of them was
Mr. R.M. Chipman, founder of
Birchwood Automotive Group.
My grandfather sold cars for
Mr. Chipman over 20 years ago.”
Veert’s grandfather, a man of
“charisma, wit and personality,”
is also his namesake. “Dad told
me that if I saw Mr. Chipman at
the luncheon, I should introduce
myself, and maybe he would
remember my grandfather’s
name. Of course the chances of
Mr. Chipman being there were
very slim.”
As fate would have it, Chipman
was indeed at the luncheon – and
at the very same table as Veert.
“I didn’t realize it was him right
away, but sure enough, when
I introduced myself a second
time, he remembered the name
Frank Veert!”
Chipman, father of Winnipeg
Jets owner Mark Chipman,
attended the luncheon as a member of the Associates, a network
“Asper gives us so many
opportunities, and if
you take the initiative,
you can turn them
into so much more.”
3
of over 250 senior business leaders
from Manitoba and Canada.
The goal of the annual event,
which took place on September
6 at the Fairmont Winnipeg, is to
introduce new Asper students to
the mentors, employers and role
models who will play a major role
in their professional future.
For Frank Veert, the luncheon
couldn’t have been more successful. Soon after his conversation
with Mr. Chipman, he applied for,
and was hired within, Birchwood’s
special projects internship program.
He’s since worked in different parts
of the business.
“It’s been an amazing experience,”
Veert says. “Asper gives us so many
opportunities, and if you take the
initiative, you can turn them into so
much more.”
Frank Veert
turned a chance
encounter at this
year’s BComm
Luncheon into
an unbelievable
career opportunity.
Mandatory four-year honours degree introduced | 1980
4
ASPER SCHOOL OF BUSINESS
Success at Sundance
And the Award for
Best Editing goes to…
Best Editing award may
not seem like a big deal
– maybe just an esoteric
deal – but, and this is a BIG but,
when it comes from the Sundance
Film Festival, Robert Redford’s
brainchild that has become the
showcase for experimental and
independent films from around
the world, it is a BIG deal. And
this year, it went to James Swirsky
[MBA/05], and his filmmaker
colleague, Lisanne Pajot. The
honour was the “world cinema
documentary editing prize” for
Indie Game: the Movie that focuses on small independent video
game-makers and their fight for
recognition. Their film was recognized more than once: HBO and
mega-Hollywood movie producer
Scott Rudin bought the rights to
the film to adapt it for television.
A
indiegamethemovie.com
(Rudin is the producer of film hits
such as The Social Network and
Moneyball, a 2011 Oscar nominee
for Best Picture.) Their film has
also been selected for showing
at the prestigious South by
Southwest Film Festival in Austin,
Texas. In its review, the Globe and
Mail said Indie Game was “both
polished and poignant.”
The film had a $100,000 budget.
The money was raised from
personal savings and through
two “internet crowd-sourcing
campaigns.” You make a demo of
your movie. You publicize it on a
website and you invite people to
contribute by offering them little
rewards in return, like an associate
producer credit, for example.
It is a way of financing your movie
and building an audience for it at
the same time. And, if you visit
the movie’s website there are more
money-raising opportunities.
You can buy posters, T-shirts,
or special and standard editions
of the film itself.
Swirsky is both an awardwinning filmmaker and an entrepreneur. He formed BlinkWorks
in 2004, a digital film production
company, the year before he graduated. If the roles were reversed
and it was Swirsky doling out
honours for excellence, he’d
reward the Stu Clark Centre for
Entrepreneurship, and the
new venture competitions that
were part of his MBA studies.
Their influence on him deserve
recognition, not editing.
Lisanne Pajot and
James Swirsky [MBA/05].
An award-winning filmmaker, Swirsky was a
proven entrepreneur well
before he graduated.
5
7 5 y ears of e x cellence in B usiness E d ucat ion
An Asper MBA
Opens Up a World
of Opportunities
W
aleed Asim [MBA/10]
and Jaioti Thakur
[MBA/11] know what
it means to truly go the distance.
Both had to come a long way –
literally – to pursue a Masters of
Business Adminstration at the
Asper School of Business. And for
both, the journey has paid off in
more ways than one.
Asim moved to Winnipeg from
Pakistan in 2009 with the goal of
earning an MBA in marketing.
Before that, he worked in the
telecommunications industry for
six years. His decision to enroll at
Asper came, he says, at the end of
a great deal of research into similar programs throughout North
America. What convinced him to
pick Asper? The School’s reputation and the program’s accelerated
pace, which let him finish his
MBA in one year.
Part way through his studies,
Asim decided to focus on supply
chain management – a decision he
hasn’t regretted. “What I learned
through my MBA is that management is not just about managing
work, but about managing people
and business,” he says.
Apart from giving him the
skills and know-how he needed
to succeed in business, Asim
says the program also gave him
a strong sense of independence,
perseverance and self-confidence.
These qualities served him well
when it came time to apply for a
job as a project manager at MTS
Allstream’s Network Services and
Planning Department. “I thought
my lack of management experience
would work against me, but
having an Asper MBA made all
the difference.”
Waleed Asim
[MBA/10]
cations before deciding to pursue
an Asper MBA. In India, she provided legal advisory and contract
management services to a telecom
company. Before that, she practiced corporate law and worked
as a consultant with Standard
Chartered Bank in Mumbai –
so it’s no wonder she decided to
focus her degree on finance.
“My studies really enhanced my
financial analysis acumen,” says
Thakur. Her outstanding work in
finance project reports impressed
recruiters at S.J. Grand, a firm
specializing in financial and tax
advisory services. “The Asper
Jaioti Thakur
[MBA/11]
For both, the journey has paid
off in more ways than one.
He now oversees projects with
a total budget of $10 million.
“My job lets me bring my technical and business skills together,”
he says. “It’s really the job of my
dreams.” He says he plans to
expand his experience by working
in different industries, and
ultimately start his own project
management consulting firm.
Like Asim, Jaioti Thakur also
had experience in telecommuni-
MBA helped me hone my English
language proficiency and adaptability to an international work
culture, which are also reasons
why they decided to hire me.”
They initially hired Jaioti as an
intern; in February of 2012 she
was offered a full-time position.
She is based out of their Shanghai
office as a Financial Analyst
working mainly with international
corporations.
75
Years
of Excellence
in Business
Education
Commerce Council established | 1944
6
ASPER SCHOOL OF BUSINESS
Calling All
Entrepreneurs
W
of the Asper School to honour a
business executive who has achieved
outstanding entrepreneurial success
and made an exemplary contribution to economic life. The goal of the
course is to show students what
they can learn about enacting one’s
entrepreneurial potential from
people like Richard Branson, Anita
Roddick and Howard Schultz.
Nathan Greidanus offers courses
in small business management for
non-business students who generate
and evaluate new venture ideas,
and assess the role of innovation in
an organization and society.
The final exam for his fourth-year
entrepreneurship class challenges
here would the world be without entrepreneurs: individuals with the passion,
knowledge and vision to turn exciting
new ideas into successful business ventures?
Through dynamic courses, business planning
competitions and distinguished lecture series, the
Asper School of Business and the Stu Clark Centre
for Entrepreneurship
are creating the next
“My university experience helped
generation of entreprecreate the opportunities that
neurs in Canada and
I’ve taken advantage of in my life.”
around the world.
Stu Clark [BComm (Hons)/76]
Enterprising
Education
A great idea goes nowhere without
the skills and knowledge to make
it work. This year, the Business
Administration Department offered
Asper students a number of courses
examining small business management and entrepreneurship from
unusual and compelling angles.
Reg Litz’s course in Social
Entrepreneurship focuses on
urban youth homelessness and
how entrepreneurial energy can be
directed at making more than
just money. Another
course studies
winners of the
International
Distinguished
Entrepreneur
Award (IDEA), an
award established
by the Associates
students to use their planning,
negotiating, sales, decision-making
and bookkeeping skills to generate
as much profit as possible from
items such as pens, hats and bags
of chips. Greidanus says, “In the
two years I’ve run this assignment,
students have turned $30 of initial
products into $300 in a matter of
just 30 minutes.”
Stu Clark –
A True Visionary
Launched in 2008 thanks to a $5
million donation from philanthropist
and entrepreneur Stu Clark, the Stu
Clark Centre for Entrepreneurship
aims to foster new businesses
and entrepreneurial thinking by
encouraging students to consider
entrepreneurship as their life’s calling.
(cont. page 7)
7 5 y ears of e x cellence in B usiness E d ucat ion
7
Students Learn
from the Best
Jim Treliving, (centre), with Asper students
In the spring of 2011, the
University of Manitoba recognized
Mr. Clark with an honorary degree
for his tireless support of a variety
of charities and educational institutions. Aside from donating over
$9 million to the Asper School of
Business over the past nine years,
Mr. Clark has volunteered countless hours to entrepreneurship
at the Asper School, travelling to
international business plan
competitions and serving as a
member of the board of advisors
of the Stu Clark Centre.
Mr. Clark graduated with a
BComm (Hons) from the U of M
in 1976. Since then he’s started,
financed and piloted several companies to achieve extraordinary
business success.
“My university experience
helped create the opportunities that
I’ve taken advantage of in my life,”
he says. “I have a passion for entrepreneurship: I’ve started a number
of my own businesses, sold them,
profited from them, and now it’s
time to give back.”
Stu Clark
Distinguished
Speaker Series
Thanks to a strategic initiatives
endowment from Mr. Clark, the
Asper School of Business has
recently launched the Stu Clark
Distinguished Speaker Series,
where prominent researchers from
outside the U of M are brought in
The Dean, staff, students and board
members from the Stu Clark Centre for
Entrepreneurship helped Siam Organics
ring the closing bell of NASDAQ Stock
Exchange in August 2011.
to present their research and to
connect with faculty and graduate
students. The inaugural speaker
was Dr. Aparna Labroo from the
University of Toronto, whose
seminar on embodiment, selfregulation and decision-making
drew a diverse audience from
across the School, the University
and the city.
World-Class
Competition
Now in its seventh year, the Stu
Clark Investment Competition is
Canada’s premiere business plan
competition for enterprising
university students worldwide.
The winner of the 2011 competition was the Siam Organics team
from the Sasin Graduate Institute
of Business Administration of
Chulalongkorn University in
Bangkok, Thailand. The prize
package included an automatic
berth at the Global Venture
Labs Investment Competition –
“The Super Bowl of Investment
Competitions.” The Stu Clark
Centre for Entrepreneurship is
the only Canadian institution to
also offer winners of a competition
the opportunity to ring the
NASDAQ closing bell.
A
sper students, faculty
and staff recently
enjoyed some frank and
engaging face time
with three of Canada’s
leading business
Aman
da Lan
g
executives. All three
were keynote speakers
at events hosted by the School – and all
three took time out of their busy schedules to
speak to students and answer questions.
Jim Treliving, Chairman and CEO of Boston
Pizza International and a Dragon on Dragon’s
Den, spoke candidly of his success as an entrepreneur. Costco Wholesale Corporation co-founder/
CEO and IDEA recipient Jim Sinegal took a
group of students on an insightful personal tour
of a local Costco. And at the Associates’ Fishbowl
Speaker Series, Amanda Lang, senior business
correspondent for CBC News and co-host of
The Lang and O’Leary Exchange, hosted a lively
discussion on the importance of innovation in
Canada. Her comments on co-host Kevin O’Leary?
“What you see is what you get!”
egal
Jim Sin
8
ASPER SCHOOL OF BUSINESS
Aboriginal
Leadership
Excellence
H
osted by the Asper School
of Business and the School’s
Aboriginal Business Education
Partners (ABEP) program, the 7th
annual Excellence in Aboriginal
Business Leadership Awards
(EABLA) celebrated three business
leaders for being inspiring
entrepreneurs and role models.
Excellence in
Aboriginal Business
Leadership Award
winners (l to r),
Chubb Chabot,
E.J. Fontaine and Eva
Wilson-Fontaine.
75
Years
of Excellence
in Business
Education
E.J. Fontaine and Eva WilsonFontaine of Amik.ca, Anishinabek
Consultants Inc. and Anish
Corporation won the Excellence
in Aboriginal Small and Medium
Enterprises Award. Chubb Chabot,
president of L. Chabot Entreprises,
won the Excellence in Aboriginal
Business Leadership Award.
Dr. Wanda Wuttunee, EABLA chair,
Director of ABEP and professor
of Native Studies at the U of M,
emceed the event.
Fontaine said he was inspired
by Billy Diamond, the late Cree
leader from Northern Quebec,
who impressed him as a risk taker,
a man who looked out for his
people, and who operated his
businesses with sound principles.
Chubb said in his acceptance
speech, “Events like this make all
those sleepless nights worthwhile,
because if you work hard, someone
will notice.”
HSBC Banks on
Asper Students
I
t’s a gift that keeps on giving.
HSBC, Canada’s largest
international bank, has
donated $100,000 to the Asper
School of Business. The donation
funds, in perpetuity, the annual
HSBC Bank Canada Award,
which will go to a first-year
Asper student who demonstrates
exceptional academic achievement
and community service.
Andrew McPherson, VicePresident, Commercial Banking,
HSBC Bank Canada, announced
the donation at the annual
Commerce Students’ Association
banquet held on Nov. 17. “HSBC
believes strongly in helping to
create greater access to higher
education,” he said, “which is
why we fund awards for students
at post-secondary institutions
across Canada.”
Michael Benarroch, Dean of
the Asper School of Business,
gave sincere thanks to HSBC
for supporting the School’s
mandate to attract “high-quality
students and insuring that they
become the visionary business
leaders of tomorrow.”
Photo above: Andrew McPherson, VicePresident, Commercial Banking, HSBC Bank
Canada (left) presents a cheque to Michael
Benarroch, Dean of the Asper School of
Business, while Asper students celebrate.
Domagalski Recipient
Jaysa Nachtigall, the immediate past
president of the Commerce Students’ Association, is
this year’s recipient of the Ignacy “Iggy” Domagalski
Award. Nachtigall, a double major, 3rd-year student,
considers winning the award “an absolute honour.”
The award was established ten years ago by
students in honour of Domagalski, also a CSA
president, to recognize outstanding leadership of a
student organization within the School and someone who exemplified the
fact that “young people can make significant outstanding community
contributions and act as mentors to others.” Those were Iggy’s trademarks.
“I have heard so many positive things about Iggy, his connection with
students, and the ways he gave back to the School,” says Nachtigall of the
Commerce graduate, who is now COO of Tundra Process Solutions in Calgary.
7 5 y ears of e x cellence in B usiness E d ucat ion
9
The Co-op Connection
I
n 2012, the Asper
Co-operative Education
Program celebrates five years
of giving students a head start
in their careers. Since its inception, the program has connected
more than 500 Asper students
with valuable work experience
while they’re still in school. It’s the
largest program of its kind at the
University of Manitoba.
Co-op Director Kelly Mahoney
says the program owes much
of its success to strong partnerships with leading businesses in
Manitoba and across the country.
Co-op Student of the Year Kim Fierback (l),
with Co-op director Kelly Mahoney
“Co-op gives students the
opportunity to bridge theory and
practice while working for some
of Canada’s most dynamic companies,” she explains. “When they
graduate with that kind of experience under their belt, they’re way
ahead of the competition.”
“What I gained
from Co-op goes
far beyond financial
knowledge.”
At the recent Celebrating Co-op
event, third-year Accounting
student Kim Fierback was named
Co-op Student of the Year for
her outstanding work as an
analyst and auditor at Great-West
Life. RBC/RBC Capital Markets
was named Co-op Employer
of the Year for its commitment
to providing students with an
exceptional work experience.
Fourth-year Finance student
Selena Kasdorf nominated RBC
Capital Markets following a Co-op
journey that swept her from
The program owes much of its
success to strong partnerships
with leading businesses in
Manitoba and across the country.
Toronto to London to New York.
“What I gained from Co-op goes
far beyond financial knowledge,”
she says. “RBC treated me not
simply as a short-term Co-op
student, but as a valued employee
right from the start.”
Glenn Crook, Vice-President of
RBC Commercial Financial Sales,
says the Co-op program is “a key
ingredient to our talent management strategy. It’s the best way for
us to see how an Asper student
incorporates their own skills and
abilities with RBC’s values, culture
and business model. It’s also an
excellent way for a student to gain
first-hand experience at what a
career with RBC really looks like.”
Kasdorf says her experience
changed her life. “RBC gave
me a job offer after I finished
my Co-op terms. I’m moving to
New York in July, full time!”
Asper’s Co-op
Program gave
Selena Kasdorf
(right) the opportunity to gain onthe-job experience
working in Canada
and around the
world. Along
with fellow Asper
student Stacey
Enns (left), she
also participated in
the International
Exchange Program.
John Mundie appointed first Dean | 1970
10
ASPER SCHOOL OF BUSINESS
What’s Gotten India?
T
T
here’s no better way to
study how a country
conducts business than
to visit it first-hand.
Dr. Mohan Agrawal, a regular
visiting instructor in the Department
of Marketing at the Asper School,
is inviting students from all across
the country to do just that in
August. Now in its second year,
the Marketing in India program
combines lectures, assignments,
company site visits, and interaction
with industry leaders to provide
students with a truly global learning experience.
The second-most-populated
country in the world, India has
recently emerged as an economic
powerhouse with impressive
growth in the service and knowledge sectors. The program covers
topics ranging from the country’s
economic and cultural landscape
to retailing and service marketing.
During the two weeks of the
program, students also visit some
of the famous cultural and religious
another
bright IDEA
sites in and around Delhi, including the Taj Mahal, Akshardham
Temple, and Old Delhi.
Fourth-year Asper student Robby
Norris, who went on last year’s trip,
says the program was the highlight
of her undergrad years. “What
surprised me most were the little
differences between Canadian and
Indian business cultures. Even the
way we give and receive business
cards is different. In India, it’s
considered rude to take someone’s
business card and put it in your
wallet. You leave it on the table or
desk until the meeting is over, and
then you place it in your briefcase.
We definitely learned a
lot while we
were there.”
his year marks the 29th IDEA
Award and dinner. It has come
a long way over the years.
The first award was presented to
Albert D. Cohen in 1983. He received
the honour at the low-key, annual
meeting luncheon of the Associates,
attended by 15 people. Cohen appreciated the honour but he envisioned
potential, on a grand scale. His bright
idea was to make it a social/business
occasion par excellence. He was right.
Paul Desmarais helped transform the
dinner into the kind of event Cohen
thought it could and should be when
he accepted the 1984 IDEA honour.
The Associates, a group of prominent
business leaders from across Canada,
promotes interaction between the
business community, faculty, and
students through a variety of programs,
including the IDEA Dinner. The organization marks its 30th anniversary this
year with a reception at The Manitoba
Museum in April.
Students in the Marketing in India
program gain valuable course credit
and invaluable cultural experiences.
11
7 5 y ears of e x cellence in B usiness E d ucat ion
Homecoming
2011
4
1
5
MBA 1971 40th Reunion
Class Dinner with Dean Emeritus
Dr. John Mundie, Senior Scholar
Dr. Terry Hercus and MBA Executive
Director Marci Elliott
1
2
BComm 1986 25th Reunion
Class Reception with Dr. Usha
Mittoo, Mr. Charles Tax and
Mr. Howard Harmatz
2
& 5 BComm 1986 “Race for
Space” Revival
3
4
BComm 1971 40th Reunion
Class Dinner with Dean Emeritus
Dr. Jerry Gray, Senior Scholar
Dr. Fred Starke and Instructor
Mr. Brock Cordes
3
75
Years
of Excellence
in Business
Education
First Commerce Businessmen’s Banquet held | 1967
12
75
Years
of Excellence
in Business
Education
ASPER SCHOOL OF BUSINESS
Open
for Busin
Opening the Door
The Asper School of Business,
celebrating its 75th year in 2012,
came into existence without
fanfare. There was no ribbon-cutting when the
Department of Commerce was launched in 1937.
It was one of the many academic
units within the Faculty of
Arts and Science. The fact that
there was a degree program in
business at the University of
Manitoba at all, ever, was a
triumph over circumstances:
a protracted gestation period,
no money, no books, and the
late arrival of the first Head of
the Department. What more
could you not want?
While the origins of business
education at the University
can be traced to 1904, the
University’s keen and consistent
enthusiasm toward offering something of a business-degree nature
was consistently neutered by a lack
of funds. The will was there, but
there was no financial way. That
changed in 1937.
The University, anxious to
address the patience and needs of
the business community, approved
the establishment of
a Department
of Commerce
and a four-year
program leading
to a Bachelor of
Commerce degree.
(l to r) Commerce students of the early 1960s in the Statistics Lab of the Isbister
Building. The Administration Building, once the site of Commerce classes.George
T. Richardson passing the Senior Stick to his successor, Harold Sellers.
There was a catch, however. Still
short of cash, a perennial occupational hazard of higher education
even then, the University told the
business community that the new
program would only go ahead if
$10,000 was raised from outside
sources to underwrite the cost of
its first four years, after which it
was deemed the program would
be self-sufficient. The cheque
books came out. The money was
raised and the Department opened
for business in September 1937.
Fifty-two men and women –
mostly men – enrolled, all guinea
pigs in an untried
and unproven course of studies
that didn’t have much going
for it other than $10,000 in the
bank. There was no library;
there were no books to shelve.
The program was launched
with an interim curriculum, an
academic detail that was not finalized and approved until January
1938. Administratively, the new
Department began leaderless: its
first head, James M. MacDonald,
ness
arrived a month after classes
had begun.
The Commerce program was
no walk in the park, however. The
bar was deliberately set high to
attract the best and the brightest and
to ensure a quality end product.
Of the 52 students who enrolled
in 1937 only 11 graduated in 1940.
It was a three- or four-year
program depending on whether
you entered it from Grade 11 then it was four years, with Year
One being a preparatory year in
Arts or Science - or Grade 12,
when it required only three years.
A fifth year Honours option
was introduced in 1938-39 and
available in both the regular commerce and actuarial
options.
(The Department of Actuarial
Science was established simultaneously with the Department of
Commerce. See separate article.)
Enduring Legacies
The 1940s saw the introduction
of what would become enduring
legacies. A highly successful series
of evening courses in personnel
administration and industrial
relations was introduced in 1943
and coordinated by Louis C.
Wagner, the Acting Head of the
Department. This was pioneer
human resources work that led
to the formation of the Personnel
Association of Winnipeg to which
a faculty member was appointed,
a practice that continues today.
The Commerce Club was
launched in 1940 and introduced
a banquet event that, over the
decades and through several incarnations, became the Commerce
Business Banquet, one of the most
successful and long-standing
student events in Commerce.
The Commerce Council, now the
Commerce Students’ Association,
is a mechanism for student government that came along in 1944
with George T. Richardson and Joan
Brisley being elected as its first
Senior Stick and Lady Stick respectively. The decade ended with the
Department being elevated to a
School, on January 18, 1949.
MacDonald was the first of 16
people who would lead
Commerce in
some capacity as it
marched forward
to become the School of
Commerce in 1949, the Faculty
of Commerce in 1970, of
Administrative Studies in 1972,
of Management in 1986 and,
finally, the Asper School of
Business in 2000. The renaming
of the School happened thanks
to a $10 million gift from Israel
H. Asper, a successful Winnipeg
businessman, with ties to the
School and a vast media empire
to his credit.
Until 1987, Commerce had
no fixed address. Initially,
Commerce courses were taught
in either the Arts (Tier) or
Administration buildings as
well as in a skating rink that
had been floated upstream,
from the foot of Osborne
Street, and docked on Dafoe
Road, on property south of the
current Power House. It served
as the University’s hockey
rink before being converted
into classrooms. In 1961,
Commerce moved to one of the
three floors in the new Isbister
Building, the others occupied
by Geography and Psychology.
When Psychology moved
out, ever-growing Commerce
moved in. Still in need of more
space, some ATCO trailers were
moved into place behind the
Elizabeth Dafoe Library to
13
First Commerce class graduates: 9 men, 2 women | 1940
n
7 5 y ears of e x cellence in B usiness E d ucat ion
MBA program introduced | 1968
14
ASPER SCHOOL OF BUSINESS
The Commerce program was no
walk in the park, however. The bar
was deliberately set high to attract
the best and the brightest and to
ensure a quality end product.
handle the overflow. These were
bedroom trailers converted
into office space, with four
offices each, but without indoor
plumbing. Staff and visitors
were encouraged to “Go before
you come.” In 1971, Commerce
moved to what became
affectionately known as the
Commerce Annex, a cramped,
claustrophobic, subterranean
setting. Student enrolment
surged from 350 in 1969 to
over 1600 by 1979. Although
the Annex was meant to be a
temporary, two-year location,
it would be 15 years before
the opening of its own building,
the Drake Centre, in 1987.
A Permanent
Home at last
The Centre was the result of
the “Race for Space”, a student
initiative to raise awareness of
the need for new digs (and some
money in the process). Generous
support also came from alumni,
corporations, the federal and
provincial governments, and
a lead gift of $1.5 million
from Bill Pollock, BComm/49.
Pollock is the Founder and
75
Years
of Excellence
in Business
Education
(l to r) The University Skating Rink in
the early 1960s. Her Majesty, Queen
Elizabeth II turns the sod for the Drake
Centre, October 6, 1984, in the company
of University dignitaries (l to r) Drs. Ed
Tyrchniewicz, Arnold Naimark, and
A.M.(Mac) Runciman.
Chair of Drake International,
a leading international firm
specializing in all aspects of
human resource management.
It began in Winnipeg, in 1951, as
Office Overload, a one-stop shop
for temporary office help.
For the most part, there had
always been a strong commitment
toward establishing and building
a healthy, close relationship with
the business community. That
relationship matured with the
establishment of the Associates
in 1982 and the introduction of
the IDEA Award Dinner in 1984.
The Associates is a business support group in a class by itself. It
was one of the contributing factors
behind accreditation in 1999 by the
Association to Advance Collegiate
Schools of Business, the most
prestigious accreditation agency
in North America, whose endorsement is deemed the mark of
excellence in business education.
The IDEA Dinner has become
one of Canada’s principal business
events as it honours individuals who
have achieved international stature
in the corporate world, the rarefied
company of the likes of Richard
Branson or Martha Stewart.
The present
situation
From its humble beginnings in
1937, following an inordinately
long gestation period of 33 years
and a prerequisite to find money
to get it launched, the Department
of Commerce has evolved into
the Asper School of Business, one
of the leading business education
institutions in the country.
Since its inception, the School
has had 16 heads, acting heads,
directors, acting directors, acting
deans, and deans. It has changed
its name six times and moved on
four occasions.
The School is the envy of other
business schools because of the
Associates program. It has had
faculty members honoured for
their leadership, scholarship, and
teaching skills. Its student body,
originally 52 in total, is now a
cosmopolitan mix in the neighbourhood of 1700 annually.
The School has a lengthy list
of achievements as reflected in its
graduates, whose numbers now
nudge 18,000. Their
global reach and
leadership speak
of the value and
importance of their
education. Their
7 5 y ears of e x cellence in B usiness E d ucat ion
support of the School, whether
in cash or in kind, has been
generous, sustained and key to
the growth and development the
School has achieved.
The School is not only proud
of its faculty, staff, students
and alumni and what they have
achieved collectively, and individually, both on and off campus,
but also of itself, proud enough to
want to document its story, to
capture in print where it came
from, how it started and how it
evolved into what it is today.
Much credit goes to Deans
Emeriti John Mundie and Jerry
Gray and their pioneering work
in capturing the School’s history,
a rich combination of personal
recollections, anecdotes, and
scholarship. Their work has
been expanded and rewritten
for a general readership and
will be available in book form.
Open for Business will be
launched on September 14th
during Homecoming 2012.
This article is a broad treatment
of the book and the engaging
story it tells.
15
A Century of Risk Taking
A
Department of
Actuarial Science and
Mathematics was created
in 1937 simultaneously
with the Department of
Commerce. Dr. Lloyd A.H. Warren
was its first Head, a position he
would occupy until his retirement
in 1949. Actuarial Science, however,
was no stranger to the University
of Manitoba. The first courses
in the subject were introduced
in September 1912 through the
Department of Mathematics and
Astronomy, a two-man enterprise
consisting of Dr. Warren and
the then Department Head,
Dr. Neil Bruce MacLean. There
is no evidence of a demand for
the courses by the local business
or insurance industries. It is as if
MacLean and Warren were
visionaries, saw the future, and
took the initiative to introduce
the courses. The initial offering
was well subscribed.
In 1949, together with the
Department of Commerce, actuarial science became a founding
discipline in the newly created
School of Commerce. With this
alignment, it became one of the
few actuarial programs in North
America attached to a business
school. (A degree in actuarial
science would, however, also
remain available through the
Faculty of Arts and Science, as
it was originally. This was initially
an Arts degree.
When Arts and Science split into
two in 1970, it became a Science
degree and still exists today.)
Actuarial science may have
had a smooth start within the
Commerce program, but the
relationship would not always
be copasetic. In the 1980s,
Commerce was faced with
serious budgetary problems, a
trickle-down effect from what the
University itself was experiencing.
The continuation of the program
within Commerce was threatened:
too many resources required to
service too few students, resources
that could be better deployed
elsewhere, or not at all, in order
to balance the books. The industry
and actuarial alumni generously
came to the rescue, and raised
sufficient funds to establish the
Dr. L.A.H. Warren Chair in Actuarial
Studies in 1986. This was the
cornerstone of what became
the Warren Centre for Actuarial
Science and Research in 1993.
Since its formation almost
two decades ago, the Centre has
become a recognized and leading source of actuarial education
in North America. It can point
to alumni who have become
captains of industry around the
world, a growing enrolment,
prize-winning students, and a
much-honoured faculty and staff.
The Centre itself has not gone
unnoticed. It was christened a
Centre of Actuarial Excellence by
the Society of Actuaries in 2010
and, last year, was accredited by
the Canadian Institute of Actuaries
under its inaugural University
Accreditation Program. In both
cases, it is in rarefied company.
Lloyd Warren would be proud.
A more complete history of
the Centre is
available on the
Centre’s website,
or in booklet
form. Copies of
Assessing the
Risk are available
upon request from
warrencentre@
umanitoba.ca
(l) Dr. L.A.H.
Warren, circa 1911,
the founder of
the University’s
actuarial program,
and son Earle,
age 2, who would
graduate from the
program in 1930,
age 19.
Lloyd A.H. Warren Chair in Actuarial Science established | 1986
16
75
Years
of Excellence
in Business
Education
ASPER SCHOOL OF BUSINESS
Our Students R
W
hether they’re improving the lives
of others, making waves as exceptional young leaders, or earning
competitive awards, students of the Asper School
of Business stand out from the crowd.
Making a Difference
First-year Asper student Matthew
Stewart knows what it means to
set the bar high.
Stewart was one of nine
Manitobans highlighted in
February by the Manitoba Council
for International Cooperation
during International Development
Week. This year’s theme was I Am
Making A Difference, and Stewart
did just that by helping raise funds
for a project that hopes to teach
a Tanzanian community how to
maintain sustainable farms.
As if that weren’t enough, last
February he received the University
of Manitoba’s prestigious Leader
of Tomorrow scholarship for high
academic achievement, leadership
excellence, community involvement and athletic ability. Not to
mention the Des Bevis Award for
being the Leader of Tomorrow
candidate with the most outstanding communication skills.
Matthew Stewart’s fundraising energies are
making a difference for farmers in Tanzania.
“It was all pretty surreal,” says
Stewart. “I felt blessed just to
be considered for the award, let
alone win it.”
As a high school student at
Kildonan-East Collegiate, Stewart
helped raise $175,000 to build
four rainwater harvesting tanks
in Karatu, Tanzania. He joined
Asper a few months later as one
of the School’s first direct entry
students. He plans to major in
entrepreneurship and international
business, and is considering starting
his own non-profit organization.
Taking the Lead
Each year, Canada’s Outstanding
CEO of the Year TM honours ten
Canadian university business
students with the Futures Fund
Scholarship for Outstanding
Leadership. The scholarship goes
to students who have distinguished
themselves with exemplary leadership in academics and extracurricular initiatives. This year, the
honour went to the Asper School’s
very own Matt Younger.
Younger is hardly a stranger to
accolades: he has been inducted
into the Beta Gamma Sigma
Honour Society and received the
William G. Eamer Professional
7 5 y ears of e x cellence in B usiness E d ucat ion
Rock!
Scholarship. Outside of school,
he’s an accomplished athlete
(badminton) who runs his own
coaching business.
He’s also an outstanding
President of the Asper Co-op
Students’ Association.
“I think successful individuals
are really good at surrounding
themselves with people who
challenge and inspire them while
having traits that complement their
own,” Younger says. “I have never
taken for granted how privileged
I am to live in a city with as much
opportunity as Winnipeg, and to
learn from some of the best and
brightest at Asper,” he says.
Bringing Home the Win
It was first place for Asper’s Team
Solvert at this year’s Georgia Bowl
business planning competition.
“Solvert” was the name of a company marketing a Geopolymer countertop, which the students planned
and presented at the competition.
The plan earned Solvert a bid in
the 2012 Venture Labs Investment
Competition, where MBA students
from around the globe present their
business plans to panels of investors.
Solvert’s triumph brought the
Asper School of Business to a total
of 50 wins at international student
business plan competitions – a
world record!
At this year’s Intercollegiate
Business Competition (ICBC)
at Queen’s University, Asper took
second place. The team had five
hours to analyze a new business
case, then present and defend their
analysis before a panel of senior
finance executives.
Asper had its best showing ever
this year at two other business
competitions. Our team took
the Silver Prize at the Operation
Stimulus Competition, a student
case competition focusing on
transportation and supply chain
issues. At JDC West, the largest
business school competition in
Western Canada, Asper
took fourth place for
the title of School of
the Year. Our team
placed first in the
Entrepreneurship and
Debate categories,
and third in Tax and
Human Resources. The School
was also recognized for donating
1,500 hours to charity work. Mary
Brabston and Howard Harmatz
served as the team’s faculty advisors, along with a host of coaches
from the faculty,
business community and alumni.
Asper also
placed fourth at
this year’s CaseIT
competition,
which focuses
on Management
Information Systems. Asper
students showcased their skills in
teamwork, problem solving and
critical thinking before a panel of
industry professionals.
And most recently, our undergraduate student team won first
place at the Global Investment
Research Challenge in Calgary,
put on by the CFA Institute
(Chartered Financial Analysts) –
thanks in part to data they gathered
using Asper’s new Bloomberg
Terminals.
17
Coach Jerrod Falk
(c), fourth year
Entrepreneurship
and Supply Chain
Management major
Brady Fisher (l) and
MBA candidate
Raif Richardson (r).
The two students
presented on
behalf of the fivemember team.
ICBC team coach
Malcolm Smith
(c) and students
Rowena dela Torre
and Ray Huynh.
In November,
50 JDC West team
members jumped
into a pool of
ice-cold water to
raise money for
the United Way, as
part of the charity
component of
the competition.
Career Development Centre opens | 1991
18
ASPER SCHOOL OF BUSINESS
International
Exchange Rates High
A
sper students are known
for going places, and,
for some, the journey
takes them literally around the
world. Through the School’s
International Exchange Program,
they earn transfer credits during
their studies abroad while gaining
life-altering experiences that open
doors to opportunity and success.
The Asper School of Busines
has partnerships with 36 business
schools in Asia, Europe, North
America and South America. More
than 40 students participate in the
Exchange Program every year.
In the fall of 2011, third-year
International Business major Calvin
Barrett studied Management
Science and Organizational Theory
at China’s Ningbo University. “I met
wonderful people and made lifelong friends. The exchange helped
me understand how other cultures
think, which will be invaluable to
my career because I plan to do my
MBA overseas and work in Asia.”
Commerce major Rebecca
Sisler traveled to the Bordeaux
School of Management (BEM) in
France along with fellow Asper
student Sara Craven, where she
took courses in e-commerce and
e-marketing, services marketing
and consumer behaviour. Outside
the classroom, she learned to
appreciate the French joie de vivre:
“I experienced so many invaluable
lessons and acquired many skills
that will be transferable in my
future,” she says. “I’m so happy
I decided to participate in the
program.”
More than 40 students participate in
the Exchange Program every year.
Calvin Barrett was the first Asper exchange
student to go to Ningbo University in China
(fall 2011). While in China he studied
Chinese and is enjoying speaking to incoming
Chinese exchange students back at Asper.
Sara Craven (l) and Rebecca Sisler (r) were
able to travel extensively throughout Europe
during their time abroad.
7 5 y ears of e x cellence in B usiness E d ucat ion
19
Meeting a Need
T
Bloomberg Terminals
Give Asper the Edge
A
sper students and faculty
now have the ultimate
business tool right at
their fingertips.
In September 2011, the School
installed ten Bloomberg terminals
in the Albert D. Cohen Library
and two more in the Accounting
and Finance Research Centre.
Analysts and investment bankers
around the world use such terminals to gather real-time financial,
economic and accounting data.
Most large financial firms subscribe to the Bloomberg service.
“Experience with the terminals
offers extraordinary benefits
to the School and the business
community at large,” says Dean
Michael Benarroch. “They bring
the real world into the classroom
and enrich our faculty’s teaching
and research because of the depth
and breadth of the information
they provide.”
Fourth-year Finance major
Tyson Morris agrees. He used
the terminals to research stocks
for the University of Manitoba
Investment Group Stock Market
Challenge and to produce an
equity research report for the
CFA’s Global Investment Research
Challenge. “Bloomberg is an
extraordinary resource, definitely
worth bragging about.”
Jordan Flynn, another Finance
major, says the terminals are “the
gold standard in the industry and
add incredible value to what grads
can offer future employers.”
The terminals will eventually
find a permanent home in the
Financial Data Centre, which the
School plans to open in the near
future.
BMO Financial, Cardinal Capital
Management, Great-West Life,
Investors Group and the Richardson
Foundation generously donated the
Bloomberg Terminals to the School.
he James W. Burns Executive
Education Centre opened in April
2011, giving a permanent home to
courses that had been taught around
the city since 2009.
The Centre, in the heart of downtown
Winnipeg on the beautifully restored,
period-perfect second floor of the
former Great-West Life Building built
in 1911, is available on a rental basis
and is well used.
Its core activity, however, is executive
education. The Centre offers a comprehensive two-week advanced program
that focuses on management, leadership and strategy, targeted to midto senior-level managers. It also offers
open-enrolment courses to the
general public. These are usually oneor two-day courses on specific topics
such as finance, strategic planning
and marketing. Programs can also be
tailored to the specific needs of the
client. The faculty from the Asper School
are drawn upon almost exclusively to
teach what is required.
The School, in partnership with the
Manitoba Crown Corporations Council,
provides a variety of public-sector
governance education offerings to
provincial Crown corporations, including Manitoba Hydro and the Manitoba
Liquor Control Commission. Interest in
related programs has been expressed
by a number of regional health
authorities in Manitoba as well as in
Saskatchewan.
“Our revenues are growing
consistently,” says Steve Vieweg,
Director of Executive
Education for the Asper
School, adding, “a good
sign that our marketing
strategies are working
and that we are
meeting a need.”
(above) Examples
of the original
architectural
details. (below)
The building itself,
at 177 Lombard
Avenue, opened
in 1911 with four
stories. An additional four were
added in 1921.
Pattern program of study introduced | 1958
20
Dr. Barry Prentice (l)
and Dr. David Barnard,
President of the U of M
ASPER SCHOOL OF BUSINESS
Supply
Chain Gang
S
upply Chain Management
(SCM) is all about managing businesses that work
together to move products and
services from suppliers to the people
who need them.
At the Asper School of Business,
SCM is another example of research
being applied to real-world problems. The School’s SCM Department
and the Transport Institute, an
affiliated organization that researches
transportation and logistics, have
both made waves this past year for
doing cool things in diverse areas.
Look Up.
Look Waaaay Up
This past December, Dr. Barry
Prentice, a professor of Supply
Chain Management and former
director of the Transport Institute,
helped design, build and launch
Western Canada’s first airship.
Dubbed the Giizhigo-Misameg,
the sleek, silver 80-foot craft is
the centerpiece of a research
project examining the economics
of lighter-than-air freight services
to remote northern communities.
“The need for better transportation to the North is becoming more
critical as climate change progresses,”
says Prentice. “The temporary
ice roads that bring fuel, building
materials and non-perishable
food to remote communities are
becoming more unreliable as their
season grows shorter. All-weather
gravel roads are impractical,
given the distances and costs of
over $1 million per kilometer.”
Prentice and other researchers
are studying how airships may be
the perfect solution.
“It is our hope that Manitoba can
be the centre of this educational
and research activity, because it
will help attract other airship
companies to establish a presence
in the province.”
Fields on Wheels
Back on the ground, the Transport
Institute held its 16th annual
Fields on Wheels conference in
September 2011. The conference
focussed on current issues in grain
transportation. With the federal
government’s decision to end both
the Canadian Wheat Board’s
monopoly on wheat exports and
its regulatory role in transportation,
the topic couldn’t have been more
timely.
Nor could the conference have
been a greater success. Ian White,
President and CEO of the Canadian
Wheat Board, spoke at the event,
along with farmers, U of M
professors, officials from the federal
government, and representatives
from the grain industry, railways
and ports. Attendance reached a
record high.
Fields on Wheels is one of five
conferences hosted by the Transport
Institute. “These conferences are
a vital part of the Institute’s outreach
efforts,” says Acting Director Paul
Earl. “They forge invaluable connections between academics and
transportation professionals from
both government and industry.”
(cont. page 21)
21
7 5 y ears of e x cellence in B usiness E d ucat ion
Lean Health care
Professor Cyril Foropon of the
Department of Supply Chain
Management has launched an exciting research initiative that looks at
how a lean approach can improve
processes in the health care sector.
“A lean approach to
process improvement
Reg Alcock
seeks to relentlessly
actitivies, in favour of
those that add value
from the perspective
of the customer.”
~ Ron McLachlin, Acting Department Head
Supply Chain Management
Professor Foropon will be working with St. Boniface Hospital to
better understand the difficulties
of implementing and sustaining
lean improvements in the health
care sector. In addition to academic
research, the project will produce a
series of business case studies and
executive education workshops.
Recently, Cyril took his MBA
students to visit St. Boniface
Hospital, where they gained handson experience during an exercise
in the hospital’s nine-step lean
transformation process. The
exercise was based on an already
completed lean transformation
project that improved the transfer
of cardiac patients from the
operating room to intensive care.
This learning experience was very
challenging as the students had
only three hours to complete it,
compared to the one week taken by
the actual transformation team.”
Mike Byrne
Albert D. Cohen
Gone but not Forgotten
T
he deaths of Reg Alcock,
Mike Byrne and Albert
D. Cohen were a triple
loss to the Asper School. All of
them are deeply missed but they
left behind indelible legacies.
Alcock, well known as a highly
respected politician, served as
Associate Dean (2008-2009)
and most recently as Executivein-Residence. Involved with the
School in a variety of ways, he
concentrated on the research
and teaching of corporate- and
public-sector governance through
the Asper School’s Executive
Education Programs. Reg had a
clear vision of these areas that was
truly national in scope. “In addition to his outstanding work for
our university, he dedicated much
of his life to public service for this
city, province and country,” said
Dr. David Barnard, President and
Vice Chancellor of the University
of Manitoba.
Byrne had a successful career
in the insurance industry prior to
being appointed the first Warren
Chair in the Warren Centre for
Actuarial Studies and Research in
1997. He revitalized the program.
When he returned to the Centre
in 2010 as Executive-in-Residence,
his initiatives succeeded in growing student enrolment in the
actuarial program. Last year alone,
thanks to Mike’s commitment
and initiatives, particularly his
program to visit high schools, it
increased by 30 per cent.
Cohen was a highly successful,
self-made businessman. He
founded General Distributors, the
core of his success, which had
exclusive Canadian distribution
rights for Sony products and
Papermate pens. He was the first
recipient of the IDEA Award in
1983 and the man whose vision
transformed it into a public
occasion that became one of
Canada’s leading business events.
He was also the benefactor of the
School’s business library, which
bears his name.
Each of them is deeply missed.
All three left indelible legacies.
drive out wasteful
75
Years
of Excellence
in Business
Education
Executive-in-Residence position introduced | 1991
22
ASPER SCHOOL OF BUSINESS
Asper Faculty News
Paul Earl has been named Acting
Director, Transport Institute.
2011 Associates’
Achievement Awards
Teaching: Dr. Nathan Greidanus,
Assistant Professor, Business
Administration.
Marci Elliott, former Director
of Development for the Asper
School, has succeeded Steve
James as Executive Director of
the MBA Program.
Sandy Hershcovis is the new
Head of the Department of
Business Administration.
Ron McLachlin has been appointed Acting Head, Department
of Supply Chain Management.
Dr. Charles Mossman stepped
down as Interim Dean on
November 15, 2011, upon the
appointment of Dr. Michael
Benarroch as Dean.
AWARDS
Dr. Nick Turner, Associate Dean
(Research) and Professor, Business
Administration, received the
Early Career Achievement Award,
offered jointly by the American
Psychological Association and the
National Institute for Occupational
Safety and Health.
Teaching: Dr. Sergio Carvalho,
Associate Professor, Marketing.
Dr. Wanda Wuttunee, Director of
the Aboriginal Business Education
Partners program in the Asper
School and Professor in the
Department of Native Studies, has
been named one of Canada’s Most
Powerful Women: TOP 100, by
the Women’s Executive Network.
Wuttunee won the award in the
Trailblazers & Trendsetters
category for having the vision and
leadership to pioneer new paths
for women to follow. She was the
first Aboriginal woman in Canada
to earn an MBA.
Howard Harmatz, Business
Administration, received the
Commerce Students’ Association
Golden Shovel Award for excellence
in teaching and the University
Teaching Services Students’ Teacher
Recognition award.
New Faculty Members
Dr. Mingzhi Liu was named Assistant
Professor, Accounting & Finance, effective July 2011.
Dr. Liu earned his PhD in Accounting from Concordia
University. His research interests include corporate
disclosure, corporate governance and cost of capital.
75
Years
of Excellence
in Business
Education
Ying Zhang was named Assistant Professor,
Accounting & Finance, effective July 2011. She
is completing a Ph.D. in Finance from Concordia
University. Research interests include market
microstructure, corporate finance, executive
compensation and corporate governance.
Service: Dr. Usha Mittoo,
Professor, Accounting & Finance.
Research: Dr. Raymond Lee,
Professor, Business Administration.
SOME ACHIEVEMENTS
Dr. Hari Bapuji, Business
Administration, was honoured by having his book
Not Just China: The Rise
of Recalls in the Age of
Global Business (Palgrave
Macmillan) chosen by Choice
Reviews Online as one of its
Outstanding Academic Titles.
The publication annually reviews
some 7,000 titles.
Dr. Paul Larson, Supply Chain
Management, joined a team of
Canadian climbers that scaled
Mount Kilimanjaro as part of a
fundraiser for CARE Canada.
Dr. Jeffrey Pai and Dr. Sam Cox,
Warren Centre for Actuarial
Studies and Research, became
Associates of the Canadian
Institution of Actuaries.
Mr. Rob Warren, Stu Clark
Centre for Entrepreneurship, has
been appointed to the Board of
the National Research Council.
23
7 5 y ears of e x cellence in B usiness E d ucat ion
Hickson Research Day
t the recent semi-annual
Hickson Research Day a number of Asper faculty members shared
their current research project.
The relationships between what
happens in the work environment
and employee responses were the
focus of the afternoon panel.
Stimulated by considerable
attention in the media and academic
literature about the changing
natures of work in the medical field,
three of the presenters illustrated
how increased job demands
(e.g. staff shortages, health and
For four years running, faculty members in the Departments of Business
Administration and Marketing have received either the Dr. and Mrs.
H.H. Saunderson Award or the Olive Beatrice Stanton Award, prestigious
honours that recognize teaching excellence at the University of Manitoba.
The most recent recipient, Howard Harmatz, of Business
Administration, won the Stanton Award in 2011. Reg Litz, also of
Business Administration, received the Saunderson Award in 2010.
In the Marketing Department, Sergio Carvalho was honoured with
the Stanton Award in 2009, while Malcolm Smith started the
winning streak in 2008 by receiving the Saunderson Award.
Students are the source of the nominations and the four professors were
uniformly praised by their nominators. Commitment, ingenuity, passion,
unwavering encouragement are select examples of what was said about
them. A typical response from the professors was that of Dr. Carvalho:
“To me teaching is a passion. I love teaching and continuously strive to
provide superior teaching. Teaching is not only an opportunity to impact
knowledge; it is a means of helping people to improve their lives. To teach
is to prepare people to take their place in the creation of successful, active
economies. It is intrinsically satisfying and fulfilling.”
What more could you want, except more of that water.
Four for Four
Asper Media Centre
See us in action by visiting the Asper
School of Business Media Centre at
umanitoba.ca/asper/media_centre.
View news, upcoming events and
explore the School’s leading-edge
research. Photo and video galleries
showcase Asper faculty and students
involved in their School and their
community. The Media Centre is also
home to the online edition of Update
from this and previous years.
Is there something in the water?
Ray Lee and Sue
Bruning highlight
relationships
between health care
work environments
and physician and
health care workers’
well-being.
Malcolm Smith
he Occupy Wall Street
movement, which heightened
public awareness to social and
economic inequalities, did not
bypass the U of M. In December,
the Asper School hosted two public
forums, to discuss the relationship
between business and societal disparities. One was held downtown
in the James W. Burns Executive
Education Centre, the other at
the Asper School. The panelists
represented a broad cross-section
of business, the community, the
University, including the U of M
President, Dr. David Barnard,
and the Asper School, including
Dean Michael Benarroch, Reg Litz
and Hari Bapuji.
Bapuji has been researching the
financial crisis, not alone, but with
a growing team of eager colleagues
and graduate students who, like
him, want to find the answers to
the questions the crisis raised.
So far, their research has produced
a number of strategies that business
people could employ to reduce
inequities in their own companies.
safety threats, working conditions)
are related to employees’ capability
to deal with these demands.
Frequently, when these demands
exceed their resources to respond
effectively, burnout, in the form
of emotional exhaustion and related
responses, results.
Sergio Carvalho
T
Reg Litz
What does
“Occupy” mean
to Business?
Howard Harmatz
A
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asper alumni
ASPER SCHOOL OF BUSINESS
Open for Business
International Exchange Program begins | 1981
24
OUTstanding
I
Gala
Open
House
& Book Launch
Friday, September 14, 2012
4:30 pm to 9:00 pm
Drake Centre, 181 Freedman Cres.
University of Manitoba
Fort Garry Campus
All alumni, students, friends and supporters of
the I.H. Asper School of Business are invited to
join Dean Michael Benarroch, Senior Stick
Emily Ashley, professors, staff and administrators
in celebrating the School’s 75th anniversary.
Guests are invited to wander through the Drake
Centre and see the institution’s rich history,
while reconnecting with the familiar faces of
professors and classmates.
This event will also serve as the official launch
for the Open for Business commemorative
history book celebrating 75 years of business
education in Manitoba.
Refreshments and hors d’oeuvres will be served
throughout the Drake Centre. The event is
come-and-go style, and parking on campus is
free after 4:30 pm.
RSVP/Contact: Scott McCulloch, 204.474.6482 or
[email protected]
75
Years of Excellence in Business Education
t was the first business-school-led
event of its kind in Canada.
It attracted about 120 faculty, staff,
students and media, nearly filling the
343 Drake Centre Lecture Hall.
Its goal was to raise awareness of
sexual minorities in the workplace.
Mission accomplished.
OUT in Business was a unique,
one-hour panel discussion that took
place on March 22, 2011. Four
panellists from various walks of life –
law, government, culture, and human
resources – assembled to discuss
coming out in the workplace and
how to create safe work environments for gay, lesbian, bisexual, or
transgendered employees. Business
students cover diversity and human
rights in their courses, but very little
about sexual orientation issues.
A joint venture between the Asper
School and its Career Development
Centre, the event was the initiative of
two former students, Warren Pinto
and Matthew Boisjoli, both BComm
(Hons) 2011 grads. They hope that
OUT in Business was not just a
one-hit wonder, but that it will lead
to similar events in the future.
For more information about
the Asper School of Business
or additional copies of
Update, please contact:
Judy Wilson, Director
Marketing & Communications
306 - 181 Freedman Crescent
Winnipeg MB R3T 5V4
Phone: 204.474.8960
email: [email protected]
umanitoba.ca/asper