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THE DOWNTOWN ISSUE
Live, study and work in the core
MacEwan University’s urban
campus energizes downtown
CAPITAL IDEAS
Students and
business leaders
connect at annual
conference
COMMUNITY
COLLABORATORS
Why industry and academia
are good neighbours
This section is an excerpt from Aspire magazine, a MacEwan
University School of Business publication showcasing the success of
its faculty, staff and students. For a complimentary copy, please call
780-633-3785 or e-mail business@macewan.ca
GOOD FOR
PHOTO: BLUEFISH STUDIOS
The downtown location of
MacEwan University School
of Business benefits students,
faculty and the community
aspire
E
dmonton’s downtown is receiving renewed attention, with a number
of planned projects set to revitalize the city’s core. But for faculty and
students who attend MacEwan University, downtown is already the
place to be. “It’s important for our business school to be downtown because we’re
connected to businesses, and the people who live, work and play downtown,”
says Mike Henry, Associate Dean of MacEwan University School of Business.
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business
Elsie Elford, Dean of MacEwan University
School of Business, agrees that an urban
campus – with its physical presence stretching across a six-block span in the city’s
core – is good for many reasons, including
partnerships with local businesses. And at
MacEwan, such relationships have been
growing for almost 20 years. “We’ve been
a physical presence in the downtown since
1993,” Elford says. “Since that time, when we
opened as a community college, and through
our transition to college and now university,
we’ve maintained very strong relationships
with local businesses.”
Downtown revitalization is a hot topic
right now, with planned development in the
area including a new hockey arena, Royal
Alberta Museum and restoration of Jasper
Avenue. While these projects are set to create
a more vibrant downtown, Henry points to
MacEwan University’s role in an earlier revitalization of downtown. He says that building MacEwan itself on the old CN rail yards,
in partnership with the City of Edmonton
and the Province of Alberta, marked the
beginning of the revitalization of downtown
in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
“The people who were leading MacEwan at
the time were real visionaries and they said,
‘let’s build this downtown university’ and
so they created this incredible community
of learners here in 1993.” Over the past 20
years, MacEwan University and its faculty and
students have formed many connections with
the local community. Those connections will
grow as downtown Edmonton does.
“I think anytime you bring a group of
younger generation people to an area you
create a more dynamic life,” says Mayor
Stephen Mandel, of MacEwan University’s
role in Edmonton. “MacEwan University is
really committed to downtown and to bringing thousands of younger generation people
downtown and many hundreds of faculty.
I think that in itself creates a dynamic of
people doing things downtown.”
In addition to bringing students and faculty downtown to work and study, MacEwan
MacEwan University School of Business
University also plays a role in the community
through its career-focused business programming. “Our programs have internship or
work experience components, so we have
these relationships built with our business
partners and they often welcome students
into their offices for practical work experience,” Elford says. Students who complete
a summer internship may continue on with
the company part-time during the school
year, as it’s easy to commute between campus
and downtown offices. “That’s been going on
for a long time and that’s why we’re wellknown in the community and our students
are well-known and our employment rates
are so high,” Elford says.
As students gain work experience in
downtown offices, some business professionals also leave the office and come to
MacEwan University, to teach students.
“We have dozens of practicing business
professionals downtown, from accountants
to lawyers to human resource professionals,
who come and teach part-time with us. Our
students get the benefit of these business
practitioners with industry expertise teaching
them,” Henry says.
MacEwan University also partners with
businesses in other ways. Henry cites a
recent example: an inaugural speaker series
that hosted big names, like former Bank of
Canada Governor David A. Dodge. “That
is possible because of our partnership
with Bennett Jones LLP, a law firm that’s
downtown, and we’re downtown. So
Bennett Jones and its clients get the benefit
of MacEwan downtown and our students
get the benefit of being part of that,” he says.
Connecting business leaders and future business leaders at such discussions in just one
way Edmonton’s downtown university
is reaching out to the community.
As MacEwan University transitions to a
four-year degree-granting institute, Elford
says the partnerships and opportunities
continue to grow. “We are establishing
another level of engagement, in addition to
employment, and that’s research,” she says.
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AT THE HEART: MacEwan University is, and will continue
to be, a big part of the energy that exists downtown. Here,
Edmonton’s future skyline is pictured, as part of a project
commissioned by City Hall
PHOTO: DIGITAL ART IMAGING
“We want to be able to engage the business
community in another way now, to reach out
and assist them more with their own issues
and questions and need for information.”
Partnerships with businesses are a win
for all involved, as students gain research
experience and the chance to interact with
real businesses and help solve problems.
At the same time, faculty engage in applied
scholarship and businesses benefit from
the results and connections formed.
“Whether it’s examining intergenerational
workplaces, marketing campaigns, promotions or rebranding, there are so many issues
out there that we feel our students can have
real-world experience by partnering with the
local community,” Elford says.
For Leo Wong, an Assistant Professor at
MacEwan University’s School of Business,
making the material taught in the classroom relevant to the local community is
a regular part of his job. Wong describes a
group project he led students through in a
marketing course on consumer behaviour,
which enabled them to practice what they
had been learning throughout the semester.
“Students had to seek out local businesses
and consult with them on how to improve
their marketing from a consumer behaviour
perspective, particularly around their social
responsibility,” he says. The project engaged
students and the local business community,
and Wong says the business community was
responsive to students’ work.
Outside the classroom, Wong continues
to build community involvement among
students. He’s an advisor with Students in
Free Enterprise (SIFE), a campus club that’s
part of a global non-profit aiming to bring
together the top leaders of today and
tomorrow to create a better, more sustainable world. Since starting on campus in
2011, SIFE has attracted more than 30
students. One of the projects the SIFE club
recently worked on was consulting work
with a non-profit to help improve the
organization’s mandate. An upcoming project will see them partner with businesses in
the City Centre Mall to help small companies be more efficient. “Students have the
opportunity to apply the things that they’ve
learned in a real world setting. They’re taking that classroom knowledge out into the
real world,” Wong says.
Wong believes those opportunities are
only set to grow. “MacEwan University is
MacEwan University has had a physical presence in downtown
since 1993. Over the years, MacEwan University has built strong
relationships with local businesses.
embedded in the community, physically,
but also through knowledge. I think there’s
a huge potential that we’re just discovering
and through more and more examples of
our students getting out into the community,
our faculty getting out into the community,
we’re going to have a lot more. I think the
ingredients are all here,” he says.
MacEwan’s single sustainable campus plan
will further such community connections, as
the operations of all four MacEwan campuses
are consolidated downtown. While completion of the plan is at least a decade away,
excitement about the initiative is already
strong. “Our board has really embraced
sustainability by saying let’s put all of our
operations on one campus downtown.
We’re making maximum use of public
transit, with the LRT coming right to our
doorsteps. It really is putting sustainability
into practice and I think that it reflects what
is happening downtown, with businesses,
the city, and the province,” Henry says.
“As downtown revitalizes and brings in
energy, you can also feel the energy on campus from our students. As a business professional said to me not too long ago, ‘there’s
a real buzz downtown about Edmonton’s
potential.’ We’re a city that’s about to take
major leaps in terms of our place in Western
Canada and the world, and that’s emulating
where our students are at – they’re about to
take a major leap into their careers and into
their lives.”
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COMMUNITY ROOTS
While downtown Edmonton has been
home for MacEwan University since the
City Centre Campus opened in 1993,
MacEwan’s existence in Edmonton
extends even further.
MacEwan was founded in 1971 as
Grant MacEwan Community College
(GMCC), located in Scona Campus
(Strathcona High School).
Over the years MacEwan has operated out of various campuses, including
the Jasper Place Campus in Edmonton’s
west end in the 1970s and the Mill
Woods Campus, which opened in the
city’s southeast in 1976.
In 1988, the provincial government
committed $100 million for the construction of MacEwan City Centre Campus.
Construction began in 1991 on the north
edge of downtown, on the former Canadian National rail yards. The downtown
campus took up four full city blocks and
is a combination of angular concrete
towers and three storey glass buildings.
In 1999, GMCC was renamed Grant
MacEwan College.
According to an article published the
year after the City Centre Campus
was completed, building a downtown
campus was an innovative project. In
the Merit Contractors Association’s
magazine Open Mind, MacEwan’s
Vice-President of Administration, Barry
Snowden, said the City Centre Campus
was designed to be a neighbourhood
of buildings that would be open and
inviting to the community, rather than
an intimidating institutional structure.
In 2002, Alberta College became
officially integrated with Grant MacEwan
College, to become the college’s fourth
campus (in addition to the Mill Woods
Campus, City Centre Campus and
Jasper Place Campus on Stony Plain
Road and 156th Street). More development happened in the next few years:
In 2004, MacEwan became an accredited degree-granting institution,
in 2005, the student residence opened
at the City Centre Campus and in 2007
the Robbins Health Learning Centre
opened. In 2009, Grant MacEwan
College became MacEwan University,
Alberta’s sixth university.
the community. One way we do this is
through continuing education. We have
20,000 people who come to MacEwan
University for some kind of programming, in addition to the 12,000 full-time
equivalent students.
as the centre for business, being located
in the downtown core of Edmonton
seems a natural fit for MacEwan
University School of Business.
Downtown Advantage
Leaders discuss why MacEwan University’s urban campus is a great boon to
local businesses and students alike.
David Atkinson
President, MacEwan University:
If you look across North America right
now, 20 per cent of all undergraduate
enrollments are in business – that’s
huge. If you look at business schools
across the country you will find that
their reputation is built as much on
their relationship with the business
community as it is on the students
that they prepare for the business
community. We will continue to listen
to members of our business community,
to talk with them, to interact with them.
Part of being an urban institution
is reaching out and connecting with
MacEwan University School of Business
Elsie Elford
Dean, School of Business:
Downtown Edmonton is energized.
New developments are underway or on
the horizon. Energy, vibrancy and the
core of business are great words
to describe an urban downtown, and
they are also great words to describe
a downtown university.
MacEwan University has been a
cornerstone of Edmonton’s downtown
since its iconic clock tower was completed in 1993. As downtowns are seen
Mike Henry
Associate Dean, School of Business:
MacEwan University is Edmonton’s
downtown university and our School
of Business is a proud part of both.
The future of our institution and the
downtown community is extremely
bright, with shared growth, revitalization
and energy.
The School of Business is our
university’s window into the business
community. This portal allows us to
graduate business students who are
well prepared to contribute relevant
and social value to their community.
aspire
By Caroline Barlott
Photos by Stephen Wan
-
Sports and business define Bill Comrie’s life.
Now the retired CEO and hockey dad is sharing
lessons learned with MacEwan University students
W
hen Bill Comrie talks about giving up his draft into
the NHL over 40 years ago he sounds nonchalant, as if
it’s something that happens every day. It was 1969 and
19-year-old Comrie had been drafted by the Chicago Blackhawks.
When Comrie’s father passed away suddenly, Comrie left his
promising career to support his mother and younger brothers. “We
didn’t have any money and when my dad died, my little brothers
and my mother said, ‘You can’t go. You can’t leave,’ ” Comrie says.
“So I stayed.”
He gave up his spot in the NHL and took over his father’s business,
a furniture store called Alberta Factory Sales. While Comrie’s career
path veered in a different direction than he had expected, he quickly
shifted all his energy into the store. He had a knack for business,
including experience buying and selling cars, and he soon looked at
ways to improve the store.
Over the next 30 years, he grew the single 4,500-square-foot
downtown Edmonton business, which averaged just a few customers
a day, to an impressive retailer of household furniture, mattresses,
appliances and home electronics. Alberta Factory Sales became Bill
Comrie’s Furniture Warehouse and was renamed the Brick Warehouse, and later The Brick. When Comrie stepped down as The
Brick’s CEO and chairman in 2004, the organization became an
income trust with an initial public offering worth $400 million.
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Now Comrie, the 2012 Dr. Charles Allard Chair of Business, is
sharing that story and many others with MacEwan students. The
Dr. Charles Allard Chair is an honorary teaching position with the
School of Business that recognizes a business person who has demonstrated remarkable business talent, skill and philanthropy. This is an
apt description of Comrie, who is the 26th Allard Chair. As part of his
new role, he attended a private dinner, which welcomed him as Allard
chair, visited MacEwan University classrooms and students, presented
the keynote speech at the Student Business Conference and participated in panel discussions.
After a few months of engaging with MacEwan business students,
Comrie, who holds an Honorary Degree of Doctor of Laws from the
University of Alberta, says he is impressed with the students’ desire
for knowledge. Students are eager to hear about his experiences and
ask questions on topics such as The Brick’s marketing practices and
techniques for distribution.
In March, Comrie spoke to Bob Gurney’s advanced leadership
class of 40 students. Gurney, School of Business faculty, says his
students gained more than just an inside look at the business world
from Comrie. They also learned the importance of community
involvement, compassion and a desire to give back. “All of the hidden work that Bill does – including his work with the community,
with charities and for his employees – is phenomenal, and he tends
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LESSONS LEARNED: As the 2012
Dr. Charles Allard Chair of Business,
Bill Comrie shares his business
experience with students
to stay quiet about it. He’s very humble,”
Gurney says.
When speaking to Gurney’s class, Comrie
had tears in his eyes while talking about a
one-time bonus cheque he gave to all The
Brick employees in 2004. The combined total
of the bonus was over $40 million and the
individual amount depended on length of
service, meaning some longtime employees
received $50,000. Comrie says he gave bonus
cheques because he wanted to show appreciation for his employees in a concrete way.
“The students felt and shared his emotions,”
Gurney says.
Comrie doesn’t just give back to his
employees; he’s also a generous supporter of
the community. His reason for giving back is
simple: “I think that when you make money,
[you have] an obligation to give back,” he
says. Comrie’s volunteer positions include
chairing the Stollery Children’s Hospital
Foundation’s capital campaign in 1997,
which raised $14 million for the establishment of the hospital. He also helped raise
over $45 million as chair of the Mazankowski
Alberta Heart Institute campaign.
And while Comrie retired as CEO of the
Brick eight years ago, he is still involved
with the company’s Sports Central program,
which last year gave 11,000 pieces of sports
equipment, including items such as hockey
helmets, skates and bicycles, to kids whose
families couldn’t afford the gear. At the moment, the only Sports Central store where
kids can receive donated sports equipment
is located in Edmonton but Comrie says he
would like to expand into other parts of the
province because he believes sports positively
impact kids’ lives.
In fact, he credits his hockey career for
his ability to create a strong team environment at The Brick. He played for the Moose
Jaw Canucks and the Edmonton Oil Kings
prior to being drafted into the NHL by the
Chicago Blackhawks. “I wasn’t lucky enough
to be able to go to university, but I was lucky
enough to play hockey and it taught me the
team concept. Not too many people make it
individually; we need to work together,” he
says.
Comrie’s passion for hockey is still strong.
He encouraged his four sons, Mike, Paul, Eric
and Ty, to pursue the sport; Comrie’s daughter Cathy works as a psychologist. Mike and
Paul played for the Oilers while Eric was a
first-round pick in the Western Junior Hockey
MacEwan University School of Business
LOCAL LEADER: Bill Comrie says MacEwan University students
are eager to ask questions and hear about his experience
League. Fourteen-year-old Ty plays for a team
Comrie coaches.
One of the stories Comrie shared with
MacEwan University students is how his sons,
Paul and Mike, made it to the NHL. Both
for the sale. Customers could shop from
midnight to 6 p.m. the next day on marked
discounted items. While Comrie ran an ad in
the newspaper and on the radio for the first
sale, no one, including his partners in the
“All of the hidden work that Bill Comrie does is phenomenal,
and he tends to stay quiet about it. He’s very humble,” says
Bob Gurney, MacEwan University faculty.
boys played hockey growing up, but Comrie
says both were smaller than the other players.
“People often told them ‘There’s no way you’ll
ever play junior hockey, no way you’ll ever
play college hockey and you’ll never play in
the NHL.’ But they both did all of that.”
The Comrie boys adopted their dad’s strong
work ethic and a positive, nothing-stands-inmy-way attitude. “Bill is one of those people
who has both a competitive spirit and strong
values,” Gurney says. Those values helped
Comrie succeed in business, even though
some of his early marketing ideas were initially a source of amusement for others, such
as the “Midnight Madness” sale.
It was while at a busy late night drive-in
movie that Comrie came up with the idea
business, thought it was a good idea. “They
said, ‘Are you crazy? We can’t get more than
one or two people during the day. How are
we going to get anyone at midnight?’ ”
But the night of the sale, three hours before
the doors were unlocked, Comrie looked
outside and saw close to 1,000 people lined
up. He called his two brothers and a friend to
help and when the doors opened for the sale,
people rushed in and inventory sold out.
The furniture store made more money in
two and a half hours than it had in the previous year. Comrie tells that story in classroom
visits with MacEwan University students. “If
you believe in yourself and you’re willing to
work hard towards your dream, you can be
successful,” he says.
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Beyond
Bottom
Line
Photo: bluefish studios
MacEwan University
faculty members research
how corporate social
responsibility creates both
economic and social value
By Kristiana Indradat
PRME EXAMPLE: Fernando Angulo researches
how an integrated approach to corporate social
responsibility influences a corporation’s performance,
such as Enbridge’s sponsorship of the Ride to Conquer
Cancer, Syncrude’s support of the Sport & Wellness
Centre in Fort McMurray and Safeway’s partnership
with the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation
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W
hen shopping at his local supermarket, Fernando
Angulo sees a social initiative at work. The store’s
employees are sporting pink shirts and greeting customers
at the till. As they ring in groceries, those employees are doing more
than selling goods. They are part of Safeway’s breast cancer awareness and fundraising efforts. It’s an everyday example, says Angulo,
of a company integrating Principles of Responsible Management
Education (PRME) into its business model.
As a participant in the PRME program, which is a call to action by
the United Nations to institutions of management education around
the world, MacEwan School of Business conducts research on topics
related to PRME – just one of its many commitments to the initiative.
Faculty members, like Angulo, are researching how corporations create
sustainable social, environmental and economic value.
Angulo says that Safeway’s involvement in breast cancer awareness is
a classic example of a corporation exercising good citizenship, which is
one extension of his research in corporate social responsibility. Another
example is seen at Enbridge where, among other initiatives, there exists
a Volunteers in Partnership (VIP) program that encourages employees
to participate in volunteer activities in their communities.
“Employees benefit by making a positive difference in their communities and the environment in which they live and work,” says
Art Meyer, Senior Vice President, Enbridge, and past MacEwan
Allard Chair in Business.
Corporate social responsibility is also seen at Enbridge in its sponsorship of the Ride to Conquer Cancer, which is supported by many
staff. “We view corporate social responsibility as the right thing to do
in business,” Meyer says. “We also benefit when communities prosper
since the people we employ or work with live in those communities.”
Those sorts of benefits to business and the community are what Dr.
Angulo is after through his research.
Angulo, Albena Pergelova (MacEwan) and a colleague from Atlanta’s
Georgia State University are studying how an integrated approach to
the implementation of corporate social responsibility influences a
corporation’s performance. They’re using secondary data examining
companies in the United States and primary data studying profit and
non-profit organizations in Alberta.
“How can helping non-profit organizations and social causes –
good citizenship – influence the performance of a company?”
Angulo asks, “And how does integrating that way of thinking with
being a green employer that cares for the environment, and a good
employer that satisfies employees, create better financial performance?”
The positive relationship between financial performance and
different lines of corporate social responsibility has been drawn in the
past, says Angulo. Benefits of corporate social responsibility include
improved stakeholder perceptions and market competitiveness,
which are related to increased sales and investor interest.
His team, however, is keen to learn how the interactions of these
strategies generate not only economic value, but social value as well.
They want to switch the current conversation on corporate social
responsibility and offer a different view on the subject.
“The normal idea is to link social responsibility and financial
performance. We’re acknowledging social responsibility is important
to the bottom line, but we’re tweaking it a little and asking what are its
actual effects on society?” he says.
To that end, Angulo and colleague Pergelova have written and
presented a paper, titled “Marketing and Corporate Social Performance:
Steering the Wheel towards Marketing’s Impact on Society”. The paper
contends that social performance should be examined for its own
MacEwan University School of Business
legitimacy, not whether or not it might prove to be connected to
financial performance.
The paper explores why such a shift is needed, noting businesses
have increasingly had to respond to empowered consumers, and
calls for researchers to elaborate models and arguments that will help
organizations to be more oriented to societal impact.
Angulo presented the paper at a conference in the United Kingdom
in July. “It went unbelievably well,” he says, “It really offers a different
perspective than what’s in the mainstream right now, and people were
interested in that new angle.”
He continues to conduct empirical research, including interviews
with various non-profit and profit organizations in Alberta. Any
business owners who are interested in participating in this research
are encouraged to contact Angulo.
Angulo isn’t the only MacEwan faculty member researching corporate social responsibility. With a strong belief in regional development,
Eloisa Perez, a faculty member of MacEwan School of Business, and
her colleagues are embarking on a research project to determine the
social return of small to mid-size companies in the Edmonton region.
She believes the study will yield a valuable map of what companies do now and how they can create sustainable value while making
meaningful contributions to their communities. The challenge for the
researchers will be in defining what social return looks like and determining the measures that accurately capture it. The project may look at
measures such as job creation, customer satisfaction and innovation.
“We’re acknowledging social responsibility is important to the bottom line,
but we’re tweaking it a little and asking
what are its actual effects on society?”
says Fernando Angulo, MacEwan
University faculty.
Innovation, Perez says, is essential to the formation of a knowledgebased economy. Research conducted at universities like MacEwan can
foster innovation and is crucial in keeping Alberta competitive in the
global market.
Perez acknowledges that even if the intention to have a social impact
exists, businesses may not have the support they need to fully engage in
social initiatives. In order to address this, the study will also ask companies to consider what kind of supports they need in order to succeed.
Students involved in the study will gain real perspective on how
businesses are managed, while potentially making a significant impact
on the best practices of business owners. “PRME principles should help
create a shift in thinking for businesses,” Perez says. “Planting a seed in
the minds of students is a start.”
Angulo agrees and says that he sees social consciousness growing
in the minds of his students. “They’re seeing, for example, people
demanding companies to be more environmentally conscious.”
He says stakeholders are looking for leaders who not only produce
business and profits, but they’re also looking for leaders who can
deliver sustainable benefits for society.
As educators and practitioners of PRME principles, Angulo and Perez
believe sharing concepts, theories and empirical evidence with students
help them become more conscious of the social environment businesses operate within, and consequently, will inform them as future
business leaders.
aspire
A Sustainable
Conference
Premier School of Business event connects
students and industry leaders
By Kelley Stark
M
Photos: Stephen Wan
ore than 1,000 people gathered in downtown
Edmonton for MacEwan University’s annual
Student Business Conference, on March 6, 2012.
The conference, the premier event for MacEwan University
School of Business, featured speeches and panel sessions
with successful, local business leaders, and a career fair
where students networked with industry and learned
what jobs are out there when they finish school.
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Attendance was high, with
at the conference, students also
almost 950 students and an
took part in panel sessions.
additional 150 speakers, staff
There were eight different panels,
“When we start to think about the
and volunteers at this year’s conranging from Travel and Tourism
community more than ourselves, we create
ference. The speaker and panel
to Supply Chain Management
a better environment for everyone and it
sessions were well-attended and
and International Business. The
according to John Alexander,
panels offered the opportunity
becomes richer in the end,” says Gary Inglis,
Project Co-ordinator for the confor students to learn from people
a MacEwan University student and Student
ference, students were engaged
working in industry right now, as
Business Conference Co-ordinator.
throughout the day. “Tons of
panel members willingly shared
students walked into our career
their experiences.
fair and stayed,” he says.
For students, the chance to
The conference’s theme was
hear firsthand about the sucsustainability – as it applies to green practices myself at the edge of my seat when Peter was
cesses and journeys of various business leadand sustainable business practices, too. Peter speaking.”
ers was a highlight. “The presentations gave
Thum, Founder of Ethos Water, was a fitting
The afternoon keynote speaker, Bill Comus an ideal perspective of how the speakers
speaker for the topic. Thum, who led Ethos
rie, retired furniture business store CEO and
became successful in their careers. Hearing
as its president through its acquisition by
hockey dad, was just as popular. He told the
their stories inspires and allows students to
Starbucks in 2005, provided the morning’s
story of giving up a promising pro-hockey
become successful in their own careers,” says
keynote speech. Ethos was started in 2001,
career to take over his late father’s failing
Shaun Abel, one of the student
with the mission to address the world water
furniture store. Comrie made an impression
co-ordinators.
crisis and help children get clean water.
on Alysha Currie, another of the event’s
Inglis heard his peers say that they
Thum shared with students stories
co-ordinators. “Bill Comrie’s speech really
“learned to think outside of the box.” He
from his time in Africa in 2008. While in
showed the success that can come from
adds: “What I think the conference taught
Africa, Thum noticed a large amount of
hard work and determination,” she said.
students was to stop thinking about the ‘me’
weaponry and saw firsthand how war had
Victoria Forbes, a student who attended the
and rather about the community.
affected the continent. He was inspired and
conference, adds, “I was amazed at his rags to
When we start to think about the
founded a business that melts guns down to
riches story in creating The Brick.”
community more than ourselves, we
Not just students were inspired by Commake jewellery, then uses the profits from
create a better environment for everyone and
the jewellery to destroy even more guns.
rie’s speech, though. Alexander was touched
it becomes richer in the end.”
Gary Inglis, one of the student
when Comrie became emotional telling the
For student Jordyn Pivarnyik, the takeco-ordinators of the conference, says Thum
story of how he personally gave out bonuses
away from the conference will be helpful to
was an inspirational speaker. “Our theme
that totalled more than $40 million dollars
her future job search. “Most people look for
was sustainability and I think Peter Thum
to all of his employees, before retiring as
personality in someone rather than just credid an amazing job of inspiring students to
chairman and CEO.
dentials,” she says. “If you’re a great person
learn from every situation.” he says. “I found
In addition to the 12 speakers that spoke
and you show them that you have the drive,
they’ll be willing to train you.”
The conference proved to be a success on
all fronts. Students benefited from the speakers’ knowledge and past experiences, while
the job fair provided opportunity to see
what kind of jobs exist. For speakers at the
event, the Student Business Conference was a
chance to see the calibre of students studying
at MacEwan University: students who will
soon be working in the business world.
Conference attendee and student Shawn
Gander finished the busy day feeling
inspired, aware of the potential of him and
his peers. “The business world is open, and
anyone – regardless of age, sex, religion, etc. –
can make a mark,” he says.
ATTENTIVE AUDIENCE: (Left Page) Almost 950
students attended this year’s Student Business
Conference. Audience members listened to speakers including Peter Thum, Founder of Ethos Water.
(This Page) Students and industry leaders came
together for a day of learning and networking with
businesses at the career fair
MacEwan University School of Business
aspire
advertising supplement
Industry
Expertise
Meet three business
people who know the
value of a downtown
university firsthand
Rachel Gosse, Deloitte
Rachel Gosse works as a Partner in Deloitte’s
office in the City Centre mall, which picked
up five prospective accountants from
MacEwan University’s School of Business in its most recent round of hires.
She says students from the school emphasize the attention faculty are able to pay
to them because of MacEwan University’s
small class sizes. Deloitte is also involved
in teaching at MacEwan University and
Gosse says this lets the company stay
on top of the latest developments in the
world of up-and-coming accountants.
“It’s a positive influence in our work
environment to see people actively giving
back to and influencing those joining our
profession,” she says. “Having people on
campus also helps our awareness of changes
in programs and issues facing the school
or students. It adds an additional point
of contact to our firm for the school.”
By Eric Astley | Photos by Ryan Hidson
W
hile some of the benefits of what MacEwan University’s downtown campus
brings to the city’s core are obvious – such as the social capital created by
an enterprising and educated student body or the entertainment offered by
the school’s various sports teams – MacEwan University’s enriching relationship with
downtown Edmonton reaches far beyond this. Its impact on nearby businesses counts for a
lot and below, three local business leaders explain what MacEwan University’s downtown
location means to them.
John Haliburton, Sunlife Financial
Everyone is in sales, to hear John Haliburton tell
it. Haliburton, who spends his days recruiting salespeople for Sunlife Financial and his
nights teaching at MacEwan University, says
that sales skills are required for many aspects
of day-to-day life. And he thinks MacEwan
University does a better job of imparting
those skills than most schools. The move
to a single downtown campus, right next
to many head offices, will pay dividends.
“The closer the students are to businesses, the
more often business leaders will come to the
classroom as guest speakers. That will improve
the whole experience,” he says. “And the reverse
is also true. It will help the downtown core
with a higher calibre of part-time employees.”
When Haliburton’s role switches to recruiting
salespeople for Sunlife, he makes sure the company is visible at campus job fairs. “MacEwan
has a great number of students with business acumen ... It’s a great source of potential
managers and salespeople,” Haliburton says.
Danika Packwood, MNP
Danika Packwood co-ordinates human capital
for the accounting and consulting firm MNP. The
company employs 200 financial professionals
in its Edmonton offices. As a MacEwan University grad twice over herself, she appreciates that
students from the school who come to work at
MNP have learned their skills in small classes
with a strong emphasis on real-world skills.
“MacEwan University students are a little more
hands-on, a little more technical, I think, because
the classes are smaller,” she says. “They have more
one-on-one time with the instructors. They’re
not afraid to come out and ask questions.”
MacEwan University’s downtown location and
MNP’s office in the Bell Tower are just four blocks
apart. This also makes MacEwan University an
attractive choice for MNP professional functions. Packwood rented the CN Conference
room for intense sessions of accountant training,
and she says MNP employees studying for the
national accounting exam often find somewhere quiet on campus to hit the books.
This section is an excerpt from Aspire magazine, a MacEwan
University School of Business publication showcasing the success of
its faculty, staff and students. For a complimentary copy, please call
780-633-3785 or e-mail business@macewan.ca