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By Amanda Pelham - October 14, 2009
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| A new sign goes up on the Weldon Law Building. (Bruce Bottomley Photo) |
Canadian philanthropist Seymour Schulich will be on campus today to share the details of a $20-million leadership gift.
Anticipation of a formal announcement of the precedent-setting gift to Dalhousie has been building in recent weeks.
The atrium outside the Sir James Dunn Law Library in the Weldon Law Building will be the site of the celebration taking place Thursday, Oct. 15.
"Dalhousie will be the only Canadian law school to receive support from Mr. Schulich," says Dalhousie President Tom Traves. "His donation is a demonstration of confidence that will allow our law school to carry on with renewed vigor far into the future."
The atrium is a fitting location to recognize a gift that will secure the continuation of the Weldon tradition of public service and community leadership.
The major portion of Mr. Schulich’s leadership gift of $20 million to the law school will be dedicated to supporting students on the basis of academic merit, community service and financial need.
The event will include a ceremony to name the school.
"In honour and recognition of Mr. Schulich's support, the Faculty of Law will become the Schulich School of Law at Dalhousie University," says Dr. Traves. "This name maintains the original connection with the university, while celebrating a commitment to its future."
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| Tanna Goldberg-Schulich and Seymour Schulich pose for a photograph at Dalhousie last year. (Danny Abriel Photo) |
The building itself is named as a tribute to Dean Richard Weldon, a scholar and an idealist, who retired in 1914 after three decades of service. The student newspaper at the time remarked on his "strength of character."
“There is still a lot of pride in the Weldon tradition,” says Michelle McBride, president of the law students’ society.
Most of the students in Weldon’s day hailed from the small towns and countryside of the Maritimes, where work was hard to come by.
James Dunn (LLB 1898) from Bathurst, New Brunswick used his legal education to become an internationally recognized financier. During his days as a struggling student, his dean noticed his circumstances and found him a job in the law library. Later knighted, Sir James attributed much of his success in life to “…the influence and guidance of Dr. Weldon,” according to author John Willis. Through his foundation, he supported the specialized legal library reconstructed after lightning destroyed its predecessor in 1985.
There are parallels with Mr. Schulich’s student days at McGill, where a timely scholarship enabled him to continue his education and continue to become an international business entrepreneur. He has never forgotten the importance of student assistance.
Mr. Schulich has strong family connections in Halifax, through his wife Tanna (nee Goldberg). In 2008, Dalhousie named the Goldberg Computer Science Building in recognition of the family's advocacy of higher education. At that time, the Seymour Schulich Scholarship Fund created scholarships in computer science and science.
Did you know?James Robinson Johnston (LLB 1896) was the first member of Nova Scotia’s Black community to graduate with a law degree and practice in Canada. R.B. ‘Dick’ Bennett (LLB 1893) from Hopewell, New Brunswick came from a modest background and needed student assistance to continue his legal studies. He was elected Prime Minister of Canada. Frances Fish (LLB 1918) from Newcastle, New Brunswick was the first woman law graduate and first woman admitted to the Bar of Nova Scotia. At the time, women were not ‘persons’ admissible to the bar in New Brunswick, but she later qualified to practice there in criminal law. Caroline McInnes (LLB 1919) from Halifax, Nova Scotia, was one of the first three women to graduate and she practiced for two decades with her father Hector McInnes (LLB 1888). Professor Patricia Doyle-Bedwell (LLB 1993) is the director of Dalhousie’s Transition Year Program (for First Nations and African Canadian adults) and an academic specializing in Aboriginal peoples, law and resources. Thomas Burke (LLB 2001) is a practicing lawyer and academic who is the first Native to be elected to a provincial legislature in Atlantic Canada. (Sources: A History of Dalhousie Law School by John Willis, University of Toronto Press, Toronto, 1979; Indigenous Blacks & Mi'kmaq Initiative website, http://ibandm.law.dal.ca/ ) |
Readers Say
October 15, 2009 2:29 PM
Furthermore, law students, or indeed any students were consulted about it. It is another example in a growing list of examples of Dalhousie neglecting to consider student opinion in matters that directly affect us. Now law students will graduate from the Schulich school of law rather than the Dalhousie law school.
Nicely done Dalhousie.
November 27, 2009 3:35 PM
I understand that there are many who feel his money was earned through unethical operations and investments, but most of those people have not done their research. Mr. Schulich built his fortune through mining projects in Nevada, not by displacing families in Africa. Exploration in Ghana was conducted by the company who purchased Franco-Nevada. Please explain to me how it is fair to defame the name of this man for the actions of a company he no longer had control of.
I'm sure your response will inform me that Mr. Schulich is still chairman at Newmont Mining, but his role on the merchant banking side of the company does not lead to decisions Newmont's dumping of toxic waste into the Asia-Pacific.
I don’t think there is a point to debating whether this money was earned ethically or not. After all, everyone is free to determine where the line is drawn on ethical-conduct. We should be less focused on the means that got us here and more focused on the end because, ethical or not, this money will provide great opportunities to students who may be running out of financial options. Mr. Schulich himself was once in that boat, saved by an academic scholarship from McGill as he graduated in their first ever MBA class.
The article states, "The major portion of Mr. Schulich’s leadership gift of $20 million to the law school will be dedicated to supporting students on the basis of academic merit, community service and financial need". So in short, yes, this is the kind of money we want at Dalhousie.
Mr. Schulich, when donating money, often includes the stipulation that a certain percentage of the donation be paid out directly to students, regardless of the school’s financial condition and other financial responsibilities. In many cases only 5 cents per donated dollar is paid out to students. We should consider ourselves lucky to have such a powerful and generous man on our side.
November 27, 2009 3:35 PM
I understand that there are many who feel his money was earned through unethical operations and investments, but most of those people have not done their research. Mr. Schulich built his fortune through mining projects in Nevada, not by displacing families in Africa. Exploration in Ghana was conducted by the company who purchased Franco-Nevada. Please explain to me how it is fair to defame the name of this man for the actions of a company he no longer had control of.
I'm sure your response will inform me that Mr. Schulich is still chairman at Newmont Mining, but his role on the merchant banking side of the company does not lead to decisions Newmont's dumping of toxic waste into the Asia-Pacific.
I don’t think there is a point to debating whether this money was earned ethically or not. After all, everyone is free to determine where the line is drawn on ethical-conduct. We should be less focused on the means that got us here and more focused on the end because, ethical or not, this money will provide great opportunities to students who may be running out of financial options. Mr. Schulich himself was once in that boat, saved by an academic scholarship from McGill as he graduated in their first ever MBA class.
The article states, "The major portion of Mr. Schulich’s leadership gift of $20 million to the law school will be dedicated to supporting students on the basis of academic merit, community service and financial need". So in short, yes, this is the kind of money we want at Dalhousie.
Mr. Schulich, when donating money, often includes the stipulation that a certain percentage of the donation be paid out directly to students, regardless of the school’s financial condition and other financial responsibilities. In many cases only 5 cents per donated dollar is paid out to students. We should consider ourselves lucky to have such a powerful and generous man on our side.
November 27, 2009 3:35 PM
St. Mary's University is a short walk away and is one of many universities in the area. If you are so ashamed to be a Dalhousie student, why haven't you left yet? I don't appreciate your attempt to include other students in this rant by saying it is another reason for "us" to be ashamed. I couldn't be more proud to be a Dalhousie student and enjoy every year more than the last.
If you are going to take a shot at one of Canada's most prolific and respected businessmen, and expect it to receive some consideration, you should at least take the time to proofread your comments before posting.
November 27, 2009 3:35 PM
St. Mary's University is a short walk away and is one of many universities in the area. If you are so ashamed to be a Dalhousie student, why haven't you left yet? I don't appreciate your attempt to include other students in this rant by saying it is another reason for "us" to be ashamed. I couldn't be more proud to be a Dalhousie student and enjoy every year more than the last.
If you are going to take a shot at one of Canada's most prolific and respected businessmen, and expect it to receive some consideration, you should at least take the time to proofread your comments before posting.