The
GERALD SCHWARTZ S C H O O L of BUSINES S
Liam Elbourne, Rhodes Scholar
S T. FR A N C IS X A V IE R U N IV E R S IT Y
2 01 8 - 2 019 A N NU A L R E P O R T 1
MESSAGE FROM THE DEAN
Dr. Tim Hynes
The 2018-19 academic year proved to be a momentous period for the Gerald Schwartz School of Business. In the fall of 2018, Mr. Schwartz, through his family foundation, made the single-largest private gift to the School of Business in the long history of the University. The multi-million dollar gift was to establish a scholarship and bursary program that will benefit business students for years to come. This “game changer” of a contribution will allow the Schwartz School to compete with the best business schools in the country for the brightest high school students looking for a home for their undergraduate studies. The faculty and students within the Schwartz School could not be more excited for the future as a result of this support. We also could not be more grateful to Mr. Schwartz and his foundation for the confidence this shows in our mission and programming. Later in the academic year, StFX was thrilled with the announcement that Mr. Liam Elbourne was selected as one of Canada’s newest Rhodes Scholars. Liam is a senior student in the Schwartz School, graduating in May with a joint honours in business and economics. He is the first Rhodes Scholar from the Schwartz School of Business and we could not be more proud of his accomplishments. He is a wonderful example of a student who not only excels in the classroom but is active in a wide variety of university and community initiatives. Our feature article in this Annual Report illustrates why Liam was selected as one of only 11 students across this country for this tremendous honour. I hope you enjoy this report on the many initiatives and accomplishment of our students and faculty over the past 12 months.
Tim Hynes PhD Professor and Dean, Gerald Schwartz School of Business St. Francis Xavier University
SCHWARTZ BUSINESS STUDENT WINS PRESTIGIOUS RHODES SCHOLARSHIP
Liam Elbourne
Liam Elbourne received the news that he was named a Rhodes Scholar while at his parents’ home in Halifax. “I was lost for words when I found out I’d actually won,” recalls Mr. Elbourne, “I was in shock and a bit lost in it all for a few weeks until I got to go process it over the holidays in Halifax with my family and in Vancouver with my partner.” It may have been a shock to Mr. Elbourne, but many around him would not be so surprised. Aside from an impeccable academic record, Mr. Elbourne is also captain of StFX’s varsity soccer team, and volunteers extensively within the StFX and Antigonish communities. The scholarship will provide Mr. Elbourne with full funding to study postgraduate work at Oxford University in the UK where he intends to complete his MPhil in Economics. Only 11 students from across Canada are annually selected to receive the award, and Liam Elbourne has the distinct honour of being the first student from the Gerald Schwartz Business School to have earned the award.
St. Francis Xavier University
1
Gerald Schwartz
SCHWARTZ SCHOOL OF BUSINESS RECEIVES LARGEST SINGLE PRIVATE DONATION IN ITS HISTORY
This year, the Gerald Schwartz School of Business received a $5.3 million donation from The Gerald Schwartz and Heather Reisman Foundation. This is the school’s largest single private donation. The impact of his gift will translate into 220 entrance scholarships over the next 5 years and 100 additional financial aid bursaries. Here’s a look at what this donation will make possible: The gift means that 40+ new renewable entrance scholarships for business students will be available, starting in 2019. • 4 renewable entrance scholarships valued at $80,000 each over 4 years. • 14 renewable entrance scholarships valued at $32,000 over 4 years. • 8 renewable entrance scholarships valued at $30,000 over 4 years. • 14 renewable entrance scholarships valued at $16,000 over 4 years. • 9 renewable entrance scholarships valued at $9,000 over 3 years The donation will also provide bursaries for students in need or those looking for funding for: • International Exchange (8 x $2,000), • Summer Research Internship Support (3 x $7,000) • McKenna Fellowship ($33,000) The scholarships created out of this donation include scholarships specifically designated for women, international students, and students transferring from college diploma programs.
2
The Gerald Schwartz School of Business
ACCOUNTING HONOURS STUDENT, ANGUS RAWLING, RACES TO VICTORY
Angus Rawling
Angus Rawling has mastered the art of balancing sports and academics. The Calgary native excels not only in the classroom where he is a fourth-year honours student in accounting, but also on the track. He most recently earned the gold medal at the AUS championship in Moncton, NB in the 3000-metre race with a time of 8:18.82, breaking a 28-year old AUS record. The victory was not really a surprise as this was hardly Mr. Rawling’s first victory on the track. Last spring, he earned a gold medal at the U SPORTS track & field championship where he also topped the field in the 3000m race. Shortly after that, Mr. Rawlings’ learned that his hard work earned him a trip to the World University Cross Country Championship in Switzerland. The championship in Switzerland last April was his first experience at the competition and on the international stage, and by the looks of his most recent season, it surely wasn’t to be his last.
St. Francis Xavier University
3
Dr. Bhavik Parikh, Dr. Hatem Ghouma, Dr. Opal Leung and Dr. Tim Hynes
ADDING TO OUR RANKS: STFX TENURES THREE MORE BUSINESS PROFESSORS
The Gerald Schwartz School of Business continues to grow. This year, three Schwartz School professors— Drs. Opal Leung, Hatem Ghouma, and Bhavik Parikh—have reached a career milestone in being awarded tenure. This means that these three impressive academics have proven themselves in both teaching and research, as evaluated by a committee of their peers and supervisors from across the university. Dr. Leung teaches a suite of courses on topics ranging from organizational behaviour to leadership in the Department of Management and has been active on many university committees. Dr. Ghouma’s research and teaching are in the areas ranging from sustainability to investment portfolio & management. He is a member of the Department of Accounting and Finance and has published academic papers with undergraduate students, which have been published in respected academic journals. Dr. Parikh, also teaching in the Department of Accounting and Finance, offers courses in Advanced Financial Management, Financial Markets and Institutions and Business Finance. The Gerald Schwartz School of Business is proud to count these three accomplished academics as part of its team.
4
The Gerald Schwartz School of Business
Emma Logan
2019 FRANK H. SOBEY CE AWARDS FOR EXCELLEN IN BUSINESS STUDIES: TS TWO SCHWARTZ STUDEN RECOGNIZED
Liam Elbourne
Another first for the Gerald Schwartz School of Business! Emma Logan and Liam Elbourne, both StFX Gerald Schwartz School of Business students, have each been awarded $25,000 as recipients of the 2019 Frank H. Sobey Awards for Excellence in Business Studies. Each year, the Sobey Foundation recognizes eight Atlantic Canadian business students with the prestigious award. It is not the first time Schwartz students have won the award, but it is the first time StFX has had two recipients of this prestigious award in the same year. Both Ms. Logan and Mr. Elbourne are excellent ambassadors of the Schwartz School of Business by living its values of academic excellence, community involvement, and social engagement.
St. Francis Xavier University
5
SCHWARTZ SCHOOL OF BUSIN PAYS DIVIDENDS: SIX STUDEN ESS EDUCATION TS WIN CFA® SCHOLARSHIPS If once is by chance, twice is coincidence, and three times is a pattern, what do we say when we have six? Well, for one thing it says that there is no denying that Gerald Schwartz Business School students know their finance. Six students from the finance program in the Schwartz Business School were awarded prestigious CFA scholarships this year. The Chartered Financial Analysts Institute is a global association of investment professionals with which the Schwartz Business School holds an affiliation under the University Affiliation Program. This ensures our programs embedded a significant percentage of the CFA® Program Candidate Body of Knowledge. These scholarships awards are a strong signal that when it comes down to it, Schwartz students deliver.
SCHWARTZ ALUMNUS IS FOUN MY FATHER’S BOWTIE COLLECDER OF TION Former Gerald Schwartz School of Business student, Demetrius Ferguson ’16, has had an entrepreneurial spirit since he arrived in Canada from the Bahamas in 2010. Mr. Ferguson started his own company selling bowties called My Father’s Bowtie Collection. It started small and is growing cautiously but promisingly. His bowties have already helped him pay for his schooling and are now available in select stores, as well as online. They appeal to Halifax public personalities, such as mayor Mike Savage and Island Storm basketball coach Joe Salerno, who have both already been spotted sporting Mr. Ferguson's original fashions.
6
The Gerald Schwartz School of Business
MAKING THE CUT: STFX STUD CENTRAL CANADA’S LARGEST ENTS WIN BUSINESS SCHOOL COMPETITIUNDERGRADUATE ON A team of Gerald Schwartz Business School Students have shown once again that their training is second to none. They placed first in central Canada’s largest undergraduate business school competition. The JDC Central competition was held at Guelph University this year with 11 universities and 700 students taking part. Reed Wigglesworth, Mairi Liska, and Matt McGlashan competed in the academic stream and were thrilled that their presentation was well-received by the four judges. The students didn’t just win, they made an impression. Faculty leader, Professor Rhonda McIver, shared that “when the team was presented with the first-place award for their performance, the judge presenting the award emphasized that it was ‘with honour that she presented the StFX team with their award.’”
A WIN BEYOND REASONABLE DOUBT: SCHWARTZ ALUMNI WINS NATIO ARBITRATION COMPETITION NAL LABOUR Former Gerald Schwartz School of Business student Meagan Thompson, ’17 is getting noticed as a law student at the Dalhousie Schulich School of Law. On January 27, Meagan and her teammate Calvin DeWolfe ’17, also a StFX grad, won the 21st Mathews Dinsdale National Labour Arbitration Competition in Toronto. The competition was a formative experience that provided Ms. Thompson with a better idea of what a labour arbitration would look like in practice. Judging the competition were Justice Malcolm Rowe; Bernard Fishbein, chair of the Ontario Labour Relations Board; and Ginette Brazeau, chair of the Canada Industrial Relations Board.
SCHWARTZ SCHOOL OF BUSIN PAPER PRESENTED AT FINANCIESS STUDENT ASSOCIATION (FMA) ANNUAL MEAL MANAGEMENT ETING THE WRIGHT SISTERS CONTIN
UE TO INSPIRE
You may already know the names Marie ’16 and Meaghan Wright ’16, but just in case you don’t, take note. They are the founders of Mirror Image Media, a full-service video company based in Halifax, which they founded while they were students in the Gerald Schwartz School of Business. They do corporate and non-profit projects, weddings and events, as well as documentaries. This year, the sisters have received impressive recognition for their two documentaries, The Social Shift and Transform. Not only were both films screened at the FIN Atlantic International Film Festival, but The Social Shift won the duo (along with Peter Giffen) the award for Best Atlantic Editor.
GETTING DOWN TO BUSINESS: SCHWARTZ STUDENT COLLAB FORMER PROFESSOR TO PUBLISH ARTICORATES WITH LE Publishing an article in an academic journal with a former professor is an achievement few students can claim. Ruiqian Yan ’15, is one of the few that can say he did, however. As a bright and thoughtful student, he caught Dr. Hatem Ghouma’s ear. Since graduating, they have continued to work together, and this fall, their efforts came to fruition. Together, they published an article on corporate governance in Canada. The article appeared in the Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance in 2018.
Matthew Hadfield, a finance honours student who graduated in the spring of 2017, presented work from his undergraduate thesis at the Financial Management Association (FMA) Annual Meeting, a prestigious finance conference that took place this past Fall in San Jose, California. The paper, “Algorithmic Trading. Market Liquidity and Flash Crash: Evidence from the Indian Market,” was co-authored by Mr. Hadfield in collaboration with StFX Schwartz School of Business faculty Dr. Bhavik Parikh and Dr. Yen Nguyen, as well as Ajay Kumar Mishra from the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur. The study examines the impact of algorithmic trading (AT) and non-algorithmic trading (non-AT) on market liquidity around the flash crash on October 5, 2012 that occurred on the National Stock exchange (NSE) India. Mr. Matthew is currently enrolled in the Master of Finance at Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand, and works for FMZ, a fintech company.
SCHWARTZ SCHOOL STUDENTS DR. TRUDY EAGAN WOMEN IN HONOURED WITH BUSINESS AWARDS This year’s recipients of the Dr. Trudy Eagan Women in Business Awards were Rachel Dickey and Emma Logan. These awards are presented annually to two senior BBA students who exemplify the qualities of leadership and service that were the hallmark of Dr. Eagan’s distinguished career as an executive at Sun Media Corporation. The awards were presented to Emma and Rachel by Marie Wright ’16 at the annual Schwartz Business Society Banquet where Marie was the featured speaker.
St. Francis Xavier University
7
Dana David, Grace Knowles and Bailey Wasdal
SCHWARTZ STUDENTS BECOME SOCIAL MEDIA AMBASSADORS
Who better to share the great things that happen at Schwartz than our very own students? Grace Knowles, Dana Davidson, and Bailey Wasdal are the Schwartz School of Business’ first Social Media Ambassadors. Putting their business acumen to good use, their objective is to engage and communicate with current and prospective students, their parents, and other influential stakeholders. The group meets weekly to discuss strategy and select up to seven topics to post on varying social medias for the week. The topics vary, and are usually chosen from their own experiences within the Schwartz community, upcoming events that current and incoming students may be interested in, or contests and actionable posts to increase engagements on each platform, providing their followers with a close-up look into what it is like to be a Gerald Schwartz School of Business student. There’s evidence their posts have impact; the pilot phase began three months ago with Facebook, Instagram and Twitter accounts, and to date those accounts have amassed over 750 followers. Already in its first year, the scope of the project has grown and the trio has plans to expand it even more. “It evolved from a simple marketing campaign to a method of reaching a wider audience of prospective students and offering valuable, informative content to the current BBA students,” explains Ms. Knowles. “One step forward that we are hoping to accomplish within these roles in the coming years is an online relationship with high schools and high school students.” Putting their education to work while in school also has its own rewards: “Each day we get to look for what's great about The Schwartz School of Business, about StFX, and about being a business student. It's such a cool and unique way to express our passion for our school,” explains Ms. Knowles. Follow the Gerald Schwartz School of Business on Facebook, on Twitter (@stfx_business) and on Instagram (@stfx_business).
8
The Gerald Schwartz School of Business
“
To be able to provide a solid foundation in a young person’s life, to help open up that world of possibilities, is a very worthwhile investment.
”
Gerald Schwartz
3090 Martha Drive • Antigonish, NS • B2G 2W5