Haskayne receives $1 million gift for a student collision space in Mathison Hall

Calgary, Alberta – On a day in the not too distant future, business students will crowd around tables, drink coffee, catch up on assignments and chat with friends. They’ll fill the first floor of the new Mathison Hall with the lively energy that comes from a collision space for bold leaders to talk big ideas. This new space on campus is now taking shape. Today the University of Calgary announced it has received a gift of $1 million from CPA Alberta to support the Haskayne Capital Expansion Project and the construction of Mathison Hall. In recognition of this gift, a large undergraduate student space on the first floor of Mathison Hall will be called the CPA Alberta Commons. The gift will be bestowed in installments over a 10-year period.

CPA Alberta is proud to continue its long legacy of supporting Haskayne School of Business students and accounting education in the province. Innovation and the accounting profession have always gone hand in hand, and as leaders in business, Chartered Professional Accountants are at the forefront of change and help Alberta businesses prepare for the future.

-Rachel Miller, CEO, CPA Alberta

One of the busiest areas of the school, the CPA Alberta Commons, will be a place to study and gather — a destination for group work, for socializing and for engaging community leaders. The commons area will be surrounded by new technology-enhanced classrooms and will be the place to be in the new and growing home of the Haskayne School of Business.

“The CPA Alberta Commons is the perfect grounds for fostering and building the leaders of tomorrow, and I look forward to seeing how the ideas that originate in the new space become the future tools and drivers of business and finance,” says Miller.

The connection between Haskayne and CPA Alberta runs deep. The accounting concentration is among the most in-demand concentrations in the BComm program. In 2020 alone, 138 Haskayne grads completed the CPA Professional Education Program by successfully passing the profession’s final exam. As well, the school itself bears the name of one of Alberta’s most eminent CPAs, Richard Haskayne FCPA, FCA. CPA Alberta and the CPA Education Foundation have been champions of the school for decades, and this $1 million gift builds on their previous financial support for enhancing accounting education, and supporting scholarships, faculty and research.

Projected to be complete in late 2022, Mathison Hall is currently under construction next to Scurfield Hall. This second building for the Haskayne School will be a student-centered learning environment with 12 new classrooms for business students. The new building is essential to meeting the growing demand for undergraduate and graduate programs at the school.

CPA Alberta have been dedicated supporters of our students for decades. Our students will benefit tremendously from this gift, and on their behalf I want to thank CPA Alberta for their timely and generous donation.

-Jim Dewald, dean, Haskayne School of Business, University of Calgary

“More than ever, we’ve heard from our students how much they miss in-person activities. They miss their peers, running into profs and they miss seeing their friends. The personal connections made in university are fundamental to the post-secondary experience, and those important connections will be forged in the new CPA Alberta Commons,” says Dewald.

The money raised for the capital expansion project is part of Energize: The Campaign for Eyes High, UCalgary’s transformative fundraising initiative. Fueled by the generosity of UCalgary’s friends and supporters, we are igniting discovery, creativity and innovation to make lasting positive change at the University of Calgary, in our city and beyond. Learn more now.

Media inquiries
Karen Perl-Pollard
Senior Communications Strategist, Haskayne School of Business
University of Calgary
403.620.7260 (cell)
karen.perl.pollard@haskayne.ucalgary.ca

About the University of Calgary

The University of Calgary is a global intellectual hub located in Canada’s most enterprising city. In our spirited, high-quality learning environment, students thrive in programs made rich by research, hands-on experiences and entrepreneurial thinking. Our strategy drives us to be recognized as one of Canada’s top five research universities, engaging the communities we both serve and lead. This strategy is called Eyes High, inspired by the university's Gaelic motto, which translates as 'I will lift up my eyes.' For more information, visit ucalgary.ca/eyeshigh.

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About the Haskayne School of Business

The Haskayne School of Business was founded at the University of Calgary in 1967, and was named in honour of Richard F. Haskayne, OC, AOE, FCA, in 2002. The business school has approximately 4,000 full- and part-time students enrolled in bachelor's, master's, doctorate and executive education programs, and stays connected with its more than 26,000 alumni in 90 countries worldwide. Haskayne is where big ideas come to life and bold leaders thrive. Our mission is to create innovative research, unparalleled learning opportunities and meaningful engagement with our community.

For more information, visit haskayne.ucalgary.ca or follow on Twitter @HaskayneSchool.