MONTREAL/December 4, 2007—
Left to right: Michael Di Grappa, Acting President of Concordia University; Peter Kruyt, Chair, Board of Governors of Concordia; L. Jacques Ménard, President of BMO Financial Group, Quebec, and Chairman of BMO Nesbitt Burns; Kathy Assayag, Vice-President, Advancement and Alumni Relations; Ronald Monet, Director, Regional Corporate Communications, BMO Financial Group and Filip Papich, Managing Director, BMO Bank of Montreal.
Concordia University and the John Molson School of Business (JMSB) are pleased to announce a generous gift of $2.5 million from BMO Financial Group. The funds will go toward the construction of the BMO Amphitheatre, a 300-seat space to be built over two levels, incorporating the latest in sound and visual technology. The BMO Amphitheatre will be located on the first-floor concourse of the new JMSB building presently under construction at the corner of Guy Street and De Maisonneuve Boulevard West.
The Amphitheatre, a central venue for internal and external events, will offer the JMSB’s 7,000 graduate and undergraduate students a first-class facility that’s destined to become a nucleus for intellectual and cultural exchange. The venue is the centrepiece of the new JMSB building’s ground floor and lobby.
“In addition to supporting the BMO Amphitheatre that will further enhance the student experience at the John Molson School of Business, we are proud to contribute to the BMO Lecture Series that will explore subjects in business and finance, but also governance and social responsibility that are defining features of leading corporations such as BMO,” said L. Jacques Ménard, President of BMO Financial Group, Quebec, and Chairman of BMO Nesbitt Burns.
“I strongly believe that behaving ethically and responsibly in a manner that is socially and environmentally sustainable, while in the pursuit of corporate goals, is necessary to ensure the long-term success and viability of any organization,” added Mr. Ménard.
“This support from the BMO Financial Group, under the leadership of L. Jacques Ménard, is a public recognition of the quality of teaching and research at the JMSB,” said Dean Sanjay Sharma. “Since graduating from Loyola College in 1967, Mr. Menard has always been there to lend a helping hand to Concordia, as a member of our Board of Governors and as Chair of the Leadership Gifts Division of Concordia’s last Capital Campaign. He is an alumnus par excellence and an inspiration to others.”
The new 15-storey JMSB building is expected to open its doors to students, faculty and staff in the fall of 2009, grouping all JMSB departments under one roof. It will be LEED certified (the Green Building Rating System’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design), the nationally accepted benchmark for the design, construction and operation of high-performance green buildings.
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Source :
Tanya Churchmuch
Senior Media Relations Advisor
Concordia University
