By Вen Li
The U of C’s Faculty of Management became the Haskayne School of Business on Tue., May 28, 2002. About two hundred local business leaders and members of the campus community honoured Richard Haskayne for his charitable and other contributions to the university and the community.
“He’s been active in business for the past four decades,” said U of C Dean of the Haskayne School of Business David Saunders. “Dick’s very experienced in the business sector… and knows what business wants from graduates. He’s been a driving force behind our vision to create a world-class business school at the U of C.”
Haskayne was made an Officer of the Order of Canada and has received many awards for his work in the community. His contributions to the university total $16 million including a recent donation of land valued at over $8 million and funding to establish the Haskayne Endowment for Achieving Excellence last year.
“The gifts represent one of the largest donations to any Canadian business school in history,” said Saunders.
U of C President Dr. Harvey Weingarten congratulated Haskayne and praised his previous work with the university and the community.
“From 1990 to 1996, Dick was the chair of the Board of Governors and in that capacity he was able to provide leadership and strength to the university,” said Weingarten. “We are truly fortunate to have the advantage of [his] past contributions and the U of C is fortunate to have enjoyed the support. [His] contributions deserve long-term and tangible recognition and we are excited to place [his] name on our school of business.”
Like current BoG chair Brian McNeill, Haskayne’s experience is in the energy sector. He has been chairman, president, director or CEO of at least 18 different companies and is the current Chairman of the Board of TransCanada PipeLines Limited and a past Chairman of NOVA Corporation.
“The Board is very pleased to bestow this honour on Dick,” said McNeill. “As a member of the business community, I can attest to the excitement this honour has given the business community. Haskayne will serve as a wonderful role model for graduates. They would be well served to emulate this individual in future careers.”
As the festivities progressed, Haskayne took pride in the praise.
“The honour is overwhelming,” he said. “I’m very honoured to have my name associated with this business school.”
Haskayne expressed high goals for his namesake.
“This business school is number 83 in a class of 3,000 world-wide. It should be in the top 50,” he said to thunderous applause, noting Calgary has the second largest number of head offices in Canada. “I am absolutely convinced that we have to do a better job. I intend to enhance and advance the stature of the business school at the U of C.”
Haskayne hopes that a focus on research will help enhance the U of C’s position but had broader concerns about modern business.
“The reputation of business has never been lower,” he said, citing several newspaper articles about recent corporate financial misdeeds. “The ethics and conditions of business conduct have been shameful-we have to change that. Business schools are the place to start.”
Weingarten shares Haskayne’s goals.
“The key to excellence is the degree of community support we receive,” he said. “We are setting the bar very high and will only meet our goals with continued support from the community and the City of Calgary.”