Business & entrepreneurship research at the forefront through creation of new centres

1978-1986 – Laurent Picard, Dean

Dr. Laurent Picard is remembered as a vibrant, energetic leader and a gifted bilingual communicator who promoted a greater appreciation of multiculturalism and international engagement at the McGill Faculty of Management. Enrollment continued its meteoric rise during his tenure, partly due to an influx of francophone students.

In addition to serving a term as President of the CBC, Picard also held professorial positions at Université Laval, Harvard Business School, and HEC Montréal before taking the helm of the McGill Faculty of Management.

The current Laurent A. Picard Distinguished Lecture Series is named in his honour.

1980s – New research centre

The Faculty establishes the Management Science Research Centre with a capital endowment from the Royal Bank of Canada.

1986-1987 Morty Yalovsky (Interim Dean)

Dr. Morty Yalovsky has faithfully served the Faculty of Management for more than 50 years as a three-time Interim Dean (1986-87, 2014-15, 2020-), Vice-Dean of Faculty, and Professor. Widely appreciated for his optimistic spirit and dedication to students, colleagues, and alumni alike, Dr. Yalovsky has played an indispensable role in shaping the Faculty culture over the decades.

In 2018, the Faculty of Management established the Morty Yalovsky Distinguished Teaching Award to celebrate the legacy of Dr. Yalovsky. Dr. Yalovsky has researched, instructed, and consulted extensively in the fields of data analytics, statistical methodology, forecasting methods and modeling, and risk management.

1986 – Management Undergraduate Society

The Management Undergraduate Society is the organization that is in charge of student activities within the Faculty of Management.

The executive committee, plus the three class presidents are elected officials of this body.

Executive committee: Josie Daub, Management Representative to Student Council; Susan Bolen, Secretary; Guy Auger, V.P. Finance; Michele Guay, V.P. Internal; Bruce Lindsay, V.P. External; and, John Murphy, President of the Faculty Society.

1986 – Notable alumni

Michael Chan, BCom’86

Board Member, Institutional Banking and Financial Services

1987-2000 – Wallace Crowston, Dean

Dr. Wallace Crowston steered the Faculty of Management through an era of exponential growth. Under his leadership, the number of endowed chairs and research centres quadrupled, and the Faculty emerged as Canada’s most internationally active business school. Dr. Crowston spearheaded a sweeping redesign of the MBA program, a restructuring of the Faculty’s undergraduate programs, and the creation of specialized master’s programs. He also accelerated the Faculty’s shift toward experiential learning through the creation of work-study programs and worked with alumnus John Dobson (BCom’49) to launch the Dobson Centre for Entrepreneurship.

In 1991, under Crowston’s leadership, the Desautels International Advisory Board was developed to seek management education advice from leading Canadian and foreign business leaders. The Board continues to play a valuable role in helping to shape the future of the Faculty.

Before joining McGill in 1987, the Toronto native served as Dean of York University’s Faculty of Administrative Studies. He earned degrees at the University of Toronto, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Carnegie-Mellon University.

1988 – Founding of the Dobson Centre

Thanks to a generous donation from the John Dobson Foundation, the Faculty establishes the Dobson Centre for Entrepreneurial Studies, now known as the McGill Dobson Centre for Entrepreneurship.

The Dobson Centre is a hub for entrepreneurial activity at McGill and in the greater Montreal community and aims to offer entrepreneurial education and provide resources that support and develop entrepreneurs.

The McGill Dobson Centre for Entrepreneurship has grown considerably since its founding in 1988 under the late John Dobson, BCom’64, a known advocate for free enterprise and entrepreneurship.

The Foundation has continued to offer financial support to advance the Centre’s efforts, including a $2 million gift to support the McGill X-1 Accelerator in 2017.

1989 – New Research Centre

The Faculty establishes the Centre for Strategy Studies in Organizations (CSSO) with contributions from Royal Trustco, Imperial Oil, Steinberg Inc., Arnold Steinberg, and the McGill Management Institute. The CSSO is also created with an endowment from Power Corporation of Canada.