From The Dean - Summer 2008
There’s no shortage of news about academic achievements by Queen’s School of Business students – from scholarships to top finishes in case competitions. We pride ourselves on academic excellence, so each of these achievements is an encouraging validation that motivates us to keep raising the bar. But thousands of students, alumni and supporters have always told us that academic excellence is only half of our story.
It’s the exceptional experience that our students gain at QSB that resonates. In fact, a recent Environics survey of Canadian executives confirmed again that among all Canadian business schools, Queen’s provides the best overall experience for students. Often, these exceptional experiences occur outside the classroom.
The cover story of this inaugural issue of QSB Magazine (formerly Inquiry), profiles two former Executive MBA teams that chose to focus their Global Business Projects on the not-for-profit sector – one in Tanzania and the other in Kenya. Read how both projects are making a difference to communities in these developing nations in the story on page 12.
As a business school that develops future business leaders,we have a vital role to play in influencing good corporate citizenship. Four years ago, Queen’s was the only Canadian business school selected to help develop the Principles for Responsible Management Education, a UN-backed global project to promote corporate responsibility and sustainability in business education. This important initiative is gaining momentum, and in April 2008 we celebrated a membership of more than 100 business schools and universities from around the world. We’ve been at the forefront of educating students – and the Canadian business community – on corporate social responsibility for many years, and formalized this expertise with the launch of the Centre for Corporate Social Responsibility in 2005.
An example of students giving back can be found right here in Goodes Hall, our beautiful home made possible by the visionary gift of former Warner-Lambert CEO and alumnus Mel Goodes, BCom’57, LLD’94. Earlier this year, the Commerce student society (ComSoc) approached us with a proposal for a Commerce student fee to support the School of Business building expansion project. This optional fee would raise $1.2 million over ten years. ComSoc put the pledge to a student referendum, and an overwhelming majority voted in favour. Read more about this important student initiative on page 27.
We are delighted and honoured to receive this level of support from our students, and hope that many of you will take inspiration from these young donors and support the Goodes Hall expansion.
I would like to extend my personal thanks to the hardworking team behind the inaugural issue of QSB Magazine. I hope you enjoy it, and we look forward to your feedback and suggestions.
Please stay in touch and enjoy your summer.
David M. Saunders, PhD
Dean, Queen's School of Business
dsaunders@business.queensu.ca