15 October 1997

U of T ESTABLISHES NEW CHAIR IN BUSINESS ETHICS

The University of Toronto announced last night the establishment of a new chair in business ethics at the Joseph L. Rotman School of Management. The Geoffrey R. Conway Chair in Business Ethics was created through a $1 million gift to the university's fund-raising campaign from a group of professors and business leaders.

The gift was matched by the University to create a $2 million endowed chair, named in honour of Geoffrey R. Conway, who established CUC Broadcasting Limited as a major force in the Canadian telecommunications industry and who was known for combining business pragmatism with high moral standards.

The chair will be associated with the Clarkson Centre for Business Ethics at the Rotman School, a research centre devoted to understanding the inter-relationship of economic an social performance and ethical management. The role of the chair is to strengthen the study of business ethics in the curriculum and research of the Rotman School. The chair holder will be involved in teaching, research and public education.

"The new chair is crucial to the Rotman School's work in business ethics and to strengthening its position as a leader in the field," said Paul Halpern, interim dean. " The School is very grateful to the donors for their generosity and their commitment to the critical area of business ethics."

The new chair was made possible by the donations of: Max Clarkson, professor emeritus and director and founder of the Clarkson Centre for Business Ethics; James Fleck, professor and founder of Fleck Manufacturing; Lawrence Tannenbaum, president and CEO of the Kimler Group; Michael Koerner, president of Canada Overseas Investments and Sylva Investments of Vancouver; Charles Allen, president of Darmajac Holdings; David Graham, co-founder of Cablecasting Ltd.; Seymour Epstein, president and CEO of Seymour Epstein Enterprises and several other companies, and Ken Lefoli, a former broadcaster.

The Campaign for the University of Toronto, Canada's largest university fund-raising effort, has set a five-year goal of $400 million in private support. The campaign priorities follow on two years of academic planning by all 28 colleges, faculties and divisions, each having determined its strengths and its unique contribution to the university. The campaign will conclude in 2002, U of T's 175th anniversary.