Classes raise funds to establish named faculty position

2005-06-22 - Late last year, the classes of BCom ’64, BCom ’77 and BCom ’83 began quietly working towards the creation of funds dedicated to recognizing the research and teaching excellence of Queen’s School of Business professors. In hearing from Dean David Saunders, these dedicated groups of classmates learned that now that we have a wonderful building in which to learn and teach, our challenge is to populate them with the best possible faculty members. This means keeping the outstanding talent that we have and attracting new members to the School.

Named faculty positions are a symbol of prestige and recognition that provide a professor with dedicated funds to create an outstanding classroom environment or enhance their research. “These classes are being the next generation of leaders for the School,” remarks Dean Saunders. “As Queen’s School of Business continues to enhance its reputation internationally, we become a very attractive place from which to recruit faculty. We want to be the destination of choice for scholars, not the first step to building an outstanding career.”

Class organizer Mike Forsayeth, BCom ’77 and CFO of Cara Operations, agrees with Dean Saunders. “I had an outstanding education at Queen’s and now my son, David, is entering second year Commerce. It is important that he and his classmates get the same caliber of teaching that we had 25 years ago.”

Ken Wong, an award-winning faculty member has been named the BCom ’77 Faculty Fellow in Marketing. Even before the word went to the class that Ken had been named, he had already modified his signature line on his email to proudly display his new title. Before getting on a plane to meet with one of his many international clients, Ken had this to say: “I am honoured to have my teaching recognized by the School and to be associated with the Commerce class of ’77. Queen's has always been as much about "how" we teach as "what we teach". Awards like this will enable us to tap into new techniques and technologies that will continue to differentiate us from other schools.”

Milton Hess, a partner in the law firm Stikeman Elliott and Wayne Musselman, recently retired from Deloitte and Touche, both BCom ’64, have a different perspective on faculty at Queen’s. “When we were here,” says Wayne, “there were only about 30 in our class and it was easy to develop a relationship with your professors. Now that classes are larger, it’s very important that Queen’s attract faculty members who can engage and challenge many students.” They were delighted to learn in late May that Peer Fiss, a Strategy and Organization Assistant Professor, has been named the first BCom ’64 Faculty Fellow. “His research on governance is outstanding and we look forward to introducing him to our classmates,” affirmed Milton.

The Commerce class of ’83 has been delighted to learn that Bill Cannon has been named the first BCom ’83 Faculty Fellow in Finance. “I had classes with Professor Cannon when I was here,” exclaims lead organizer Ed Speal, Managing Director of BNP Paribas (Canada). “Finance was hard, but Bill was always available to make sure that we understood the material. It is great that another generation of students have the opportunity to learn from him.”

Each of these classes is still actively fundraising to meet their goal of an endowment of $300,000, and Dean Saunders will provide supplemental funding for the first three years. “This is such a critical area for us that we wanted to work with classes that would help make these positions happen. My thanks to everyone who has contributed so far and I ask everyone who has not yet to please give this serious consideration.”

If you would like information about these class funds, please contact Theresa Mitchell at 613-533-2665 or tmitchell@business.queensu.ca

Below is a full listing of Professors and Fellows awarded a named position.

Research
Kee Hong Bae – Bank of Montreal Associate Professor of Finance
Susan Brodt – E. Marie Shantz Associate Professor of Organizational Behavior
Yolande Chan – E. Marie Shantz Research Fellow in MIS
Peter Dacin – Nabisco Brands Professor of Marketing
Tina Dacin – E. Marie Shantz Professor of Strategy & Organizational Behavior
Peer Fiss – Commerce ’64 Research Fellow in Organizational Strategy
Yuri Levin - Distinguished Faculty Research Fellow in Operations Management
Jana Raver – E. Marie Shantz Research Fellow in Organizational Behavior
Steven Salterio – TBA* Faculty Research Fellow of Accounting
Shirley Taylor – Distinguished Faculty Research Fellow in Marketing
Dan Thornton – TBA* Professor of Accounting Nicolas Turner – Toller Family Research Fellow in Organizational Behavior
Jane Webster – E. Marie Shantz Professor of MIS
Mike Welker – TBA* Faculty Research Fellow in Accounting

Teaching
Bill Cannon – Commerce ’83 Teaching Fellow in Finance
Peggy Cunningham – E. Marie Shantz Teaching Associate Professor of Marketing
Elspeth Murray – CIBC Teaching Fellow in Entrepreneurship
Doug Reid – Distinguished Faculty Teaching Fellow in Strategy
Ken Wong – Commerce ’77 Teaching Fellow in Marketing