Welcome back to Laurier and to the School of Business & Economics (SBE). This is a very exciting year for Laurier as we have much to celebrate.  For almost a century, the university and its predecessors have been inspiring lives of leadership and purpose. Graduates and other members of our multi-campus community are known for actively engaging with the world around them, and making positive, lasting contributions.

As alumni, you have experienced first-hand SBE’s commitment to students and to growing successful and international business in Canada and around the world.  And now, most recently, Laurier received a transformational investment of $72.6 million from the Ontario government for the construction of the Global Innovation Exchange, the new home of the School of Business & Economics.

The School of Business & Economics is poised for the national spotlight with this new facility. Designed to enable faculty, staff, researchers and students to achieve new levels of excellence, the Global Innovation Exchange will bring Laurier’s unique focus on integrated and experiential learning together with community, regional, national and international partners.

To produce Canada’s best graduates, we start with outstanding recruits. Ever increasing demand for admission to the Laurier School of Business & Economics speaks to our reputation for academic excellence, the marketability and reputation of our graduates in the business community, and our unique culture of innovation and entrepreneurship.

In order to continue to provide our students with an extraordinary experience, the School of Business & Economics would like to continue and flourish its relationships with our graduates.  Just because you have graduated, does not mean you are no longer part of the Laurier family.  There are numerous ways you can get involved.  At Laurier we aim to provide an unparalleled student experience, by offering the first and largest business co-op program in the province. If your organization is currently looking for the best and brightest students, send them our way, our co-op experts, can do the rest.  As well, we are always looking for guest lectures, members to sit on various university-based committees, to name just a few.

Lastly, a further investment of $30 million is required to complete the Global Innovation Exchange, in addition to the funding provided by the Ontario government.  We invite you or your organization to support our vision to provide a state-of-the art, LEED designed facility that will play a critical role in helping us build Canada’s best business school.

As the SBE community continues to grow, making an even larger footprint on the local and global scale, the relationships between past, present, and future students become increasingly important.  I look forward to meeting each and every one of you, and working together with you to ensure that the memorable years that you spent at Laurier School of Business & Economics continues to be supported and passed on to future generations.

Micheál J. Kelly, PhD

Dean