Goodes Honoured

Alumnus Mel Goodes awards $10 million for building; challenges Queen’s to raise the rest

2000-01-19 - TORONTO, January 19, 2000 —As the last of ten students, each representing their home province, electronically placed a symbolic "$1 million brick" on the stack, the $10 million gift became official, and Queen’s School of Business took one step closer to its new home. This was the scene at Stock Market Place in Toronto today, where students, alumni, corporate leaders and officials gathered to honour Mel Goodes, recently retired chairman and CEO of the Warner–Lambert Company and the School’s most generous supporter.

In the past twelve months, Mr. Goodes has donated a staggering $15.5 million to Queen’s School of Business — $5.5 million to create the new Centre for Knowledge-Based Enterprises, and $10 million toward the construction of a new headquarters for the School, to be called Goodes Hall. Mr. Goodes, who retired in May last year, graduated from Queen’s with a Bachelor of Commerce degree in 1957. Admired around the globe for his remarkable business accomplishments, the Hamilton, Ontario-native is considered responsible for Warner-Lambert’s rise to prominence among the world’s most valuable companies in the last decade.

"I am reminded almost daily of my fondness and admiration for Queen’s by the many bright, vibrant graduates I meet who are either business leaders today, or soon will be in the future," said Mr. Goodes. "Making this gift is a way of showing my appreciation for the quality of education I received at Queen’s, along with the memorable student life I experienced there."

The $10 million donation for Goodes Hall is described by Mr. Goodes as a "challenge grant," as it is conditional on Queen’s successfully raising the additional $11 million required for the project.

"The remarkable level of alumni and private sector support for Queen’s has always been a key factor in my decision to support the business school," said Mr. Goodes. "The loyalty and generosity of these donors speaks volumes about the quality of the University and the kind of value systems that are implicit in it. I am confident that Queen’s many supporters will step up to complete this project, and I urge them to do so. "

Principal William Leggett and Dr. Margot Northey, dean of Queen's School of Business, officially accepted the challenge from Mr. Goodes, and expressed confidence in raising the balance of the funds.

"What makes Mel’s outstanding financial support for Queen’s School of Business so gratifying is that it’s accompanied by a genuine love for the University," said Dr. Northey. "We are delighted to accept the challenge to raise the remaining funds required to build our new home, and we do so with great inspiration from Mel Goodes."

Goodes Hall will be located in a historic property that formerly housed Victoria School. Originally built in 1892, Victoria School was one of Canada’s oldest public schools before it was closed in 1984. The building will be extensively renovated into a fully equipped centre for teaching, learning and research.

Included in Mr. Goodes’ $10 million challenge grant is a $2 million contribution from his former employer Warner-Lambert Company, a regular recruiter of Queen’s School of Business graduates and longtime corporate partner.

"The board of directors of Warner-Lambert could think of no better way to honour Mel's distinguished years of service to the company than by making this gift to his alma mater," said Lodewijk J. R. de Vink, chairman, president and CEO of Warner-Lambert Company. "Warner-Lambert has been a supporter of Queen's School of Business for many years, and considers it to be one of the leading business schools in North America."

Queen's School of Business is Canada’s leading business school. The School’s programs include: the undergraduate Bachelor of Commerce, with the highest entrance standards in Canada and a 100% success rate in placing students in career-quality jobs; Queen's MBA for Science & Technology, ranked #1 for three consecutive years by Canadian Business magazine; the market-leading Executive MBA program, Canada's first MBA program delivered by videoconference to sites from coast to coast; Queen's Executive Development Centre, ranked one of the world’s top 30 providers of executive education – and #1 in Canada – according to a recent survey by the Financial Times of London (UK); and MSc and PhD programs which produce leading researchers.

For more information:

Dan Tisch or Josh Cobden
Environics Communications
(416) 920-9000, ext. 260 or 275
dtisch@pr.environics.ca / jcobden@pr.environics.ca

or

Laurie Ross
Queen’s School of Business
(613) 533-2319
lross@business.queensu.ca