Business school named in honour of Zekelmans
St. Clair College has christened its news business and technology school in honour of the Zekelman family after the prominent philanthropists handed over $5 million — the largest donation in college history — to help build the downtown facility.
Students will start studying at the Zekelman School of Business and Information Technology in September at One Riverside Drive. Barry and Stephanie Zekelman were on hand Wednesday for a news conference to make the announcement as construction crews worked in the background. “It’s nice that Windsor’s on the map, it’s nice to put St. Clair College on the map,” said Barry Zekelman, chairman and CEO of Zekelman Industries, North America’s largest independent steel pipe and tube manufacturer. “It’s nice to attach our name to helping that.
“This is just what we do. I was raised that way as a young man. Certainly, my wife and I are raising our children that way. Stephanie was raised that way. So this is what we do and hopefully it can inspire others to do the same.”
The school will offer programs including data analytics for business, international business management and a new honours bachelor of business administration (information communication technology) degree, which will launch in September 2019. College president Patti France said about 500 students will start taking classes at the new school next month. By January, there will be 1,000 students.
The college settled on the building in June after looking at other potential locations, including the Paul Martin Building.
The new school, with more than 30,000 square feet, is a short walk from the college’s other downtown buildings — the St. Clair Centre for the Arts, the MediaPlex, and the TD Student Success Centre.
“This location, the synergies were wonderful because it literally is right across the street from the St. Clair College Centre for the Arts,” said France. “So we don’t have to duplicate a lot of the student services. A lot of those student services are already here downtown, and that was really important to us because we want to make sure our students have tutors, have support. They have all of that — not just a teacher in a classroom.”
She said having the Zekelman name attached to the school will add a “bolstered level of prestige” to graduates’ degrees, diplomas and resumes.
France said this is the first time in its history the college has named a school after someone.
“We have contemplated naming schools before and we never have, because there was never a great fit,” she said. “We were thrilled and so honoured to take the opportunity to name the School of Business and Information Technology after the Zekelmans. Everything they represent for this community, internationally, it was a wonderful opportunity and we are truly honoured.”
Zekelman also plans to spend time with students at the school that bears his name.
“It’s a good avenue for me to be able to get out there and speak to them a little bit, give them a real world, real life perspective of what goes on,” he said. “There’s always theory and reality. Certainly, I like the questions that come to me. It gives me a little bit of a background and aspects of what they’re thinking and what to expect from them. How to attract those young minds into our business, how to foster that development.”
Along with the new downtown campus, the Zekelman name will also be part of the yet-to-be built academic tower and indoor tennis complex at the South Windsor campus.
Zekelman, who also helped establish the Barry and Stephanie Zekelman Foundation, said he’s a fan of St. Clair College because “it’s not just a school of academics.” “I like the fact this school has vocational studies as well,” he said. “It allows kids to come out of high school, pick a career, don’t spend too much time in post-secondary education, and actually get out into the real world and start earning money and earning a living.”