New Faculty of Management established at McGill University
During the 1960s, the School of Commerce cemented its impact at McGill University. Under Donald E. Armstrong’s helm, the School of Commerce opened its doors to the new Graduate School of Business Administration and welcomed its first cohort of Master of Business Administration (MBA) students. With a growing range of programs, the School of Commerce and Graduate School of Business Administration came together to establish the new Faculty of Management at McGill University.
1960-1965 – Donald E. Armstrong
1960-1965 Donald Eugene Armstrong, Director, School of Commerce
1963-1965 Director, Graduate School of Business
A native of Nanton, Alberta, Dr. Armstrong earned degrees in Arts and Commerce at the University of Alberta and a Ph.D. in Economics at McGill. He joined McGill as an assistant professor before assuming a full professorship and transitioning into the role of Director of the School of Commerce.
Dr. Donald Armstrong played a pivotal role in the creation of the new Graduate School of Business and the launch of an MBA program in 1963. Today, the Donald E. Armstrong Building houses Desautels’ MBA and master’s programs, paying tribute to Dr. Armstrong’s efforts in shaping the future of business education at McGill.
Sources: BCom 100: 1964; BCom 100:1965; Announcing the Donald E. Armstrong Building
1962 – Notable Alumni
Richard Pound (BCom’62, BCL’67, LLD’09) is a lawyer, former Olympic swimmer, and leading advocate for ethics in sports. Included in Time magazine’s List of 100 Most Influential People in 2005, he is widely known and admired for his ongoing crusade against doping in sports as the first president of the World Anti-Doping Agency and the former vice-president of the International Olympic Committee.
A native of Montreal, Pound earned degrees in Commerce (BCom’62) and Civil Law (BCL’67) at McGill University. As a swimmer on the McGill team, he set school records in every freestyle event before going on to compete for Canada in the 1959 Pan American Games in Chicago and the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome. He won four medals for Canada at the 1962 British Empire and Commonwealth Games in Perth, Australia, before retiring from swimming and accepting a role as president of the Canadian Olympic Committee.
Pound joined McGill University Board of Governors in 1986 and assumed the chairmanship in 1994. He also served as the Chancellor of McGill from 1999 to 2009. As Chancellor Emeritus, he passionately champions the University’s athletic programs through his service on the McGill Athletics Board. He continues to maintain his legal practice as a partner at the Stikeman Elliott law firm.
Sources:
McGill Research Honours: Richard Pound
Richard Pound formally installed as Chancellor of McGill
Dick Pound to preside over his last McGill Convocation
BCom 100: 1962
1962 – Notable Alumni
John Cleghorn (BCom’62, LLD’05) is a highly regarded corporate leader, philanthropist, and university administrator. He graduated with a Bachelor of Commerce degree from McGill University in 1962 and worked as a chartered accountant and sugar futures trader before pivoting to the banking industry.
As CEO of the Royal Bank of Canada from 1994 until his retirement in 2001, he advocated for corporate restraint and led the company to record-setting profits.
Cleghorn served as the Chancellor of Wilfrid Laurier University from 1996 to 2003. As a long-time member of the McGill University Board of Governors, in the 1990s Cleghorn led one of the University’s capital campaigns, the Twenty-First Century Fund, which reached $205 million in support.
He and his wife, Pattie (herself a McGill graduate of Education in 1962), helped create the McGill Sports Centre’s Cleghorn Hyperbaric Oxygen Laboratory and the Pattie Cleghorn Fund in Diabetes Research at the Polypeptide Hormone Laboratory at McGill.
In addition to his investment in higher education, Cleghorn has served on the boards of a number of private and public organizations, including the Atlantic Salmon Federation, the National Gallery of Canada Foundation, Nortel Networks, the Canadian Pacific Railway, and Finning International.
He is an Officer of the Order of Canada, a recipient of the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal, and a Companion of the Canadian Business Hall of Fame.
Sources:
Honorary Lifetime Member of International Advisory Board
John Cleghorn and Joni Mitchell to receive honorary degrees from McGill
BCom 100: 1962
1964 – Notable Alumni
Aldo Bensadoun (BCom’64, LLD’12) is an internationally renowned business leader and philanthropist with a history of supporting innovation at McGill University. The son of a shoe merchant and grandson of a cobbler, Bensadoun is the founder and Executive Chairman of The Aldo Group, Inc., a global retail shoe empire with operations in more than 100 countries.
Born in Morocco and raised in France, Bensadoun studied at Cornell University before earning a Bachelor of Commerce degree at McGill’s Desautels Faculty of Management.
In 2017, he gave a $25 million gift to fund the creation of the Bensadoun School of Retail Management, a new school within Desautels that houses the cutting-edge McGill Retail Innovation Lab.
Bensadoun is known for his generous spirit as well as his creative genius and entrepreneurial fervor. In addition to his contributions to McGill, he plays an active role in supporting numerous community and charitable organizations, including Mt. Sinai Hospital, Jewish General Hospital, the Montreal Symphonic Orchestra, the Canadian Cancer Society, and the Canadian Association for AIDS Research. He is a recipient of the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal, a Companion to the Order of the Business Hall of Fame, and an Officer of the Order of Canada.
Sources:
Aldo Bensadoun: Honorary Lifetime Member of International Advisory Board
Bensadoun School of Retail Management: About Aldo Bensadoun
BCom 100: 1964
1965 – McGill graduates its first MBA class
McGill graduates its first MBA class. Businessman and future McGill benefactor Seymour Schulich is one of the graduates.
1965-1968 Peter C. Briant, Director and Vice Dean, School of Commerce
Dr. Peter C. Briant was a long-time professor of economics at the McGill Faculty of Management, where he served as Director and Vice Dean from 1965 to 1968. Born in London, UK, he flew missions in the Royal Air Force during World War II before earning a BCom from McGill in 1951 and graduate degrees from the University of Michigan. Known for his quick wit and intelligence, Dr. Briant also invested his time and energy in civic leadership as Chair of the Manitoba Development Corporation, Co-Founder and President of Brindon Management Institute, Mayor of Dorval Island, and Chair of Carepoint Medical Centres.
Source: Peter Charles Briant: 1924-2005
BCom 100: 1968
1966-1969 Peter Johnston Sandiford, Director of the Graduate School of Business
Dr. Peter J. Sandiford served as Director of the Graduate School of Business from 1966 to 1969. Outside of academia, he left a mark in the airline industry as Director of TransCanada Airlines. His memorial service was held at the McGill Chapel upon his passing in 1978. Sandiford Lab, the only student-run computer lab on campus, was named in recognition of his contributions to McGill.
Sources:
Management Undergraduate Society Student Resources
Knots and Borromean Rings, Rep-Tiles, and Eight Queens by Martin Gardner
BCom 100: 1968
1968 – The Faculty of Management of McGill University is established
The Faculty of Management of McGill University is established, incorporating the School of Commerce and the Graduate School of Business Administration.
1969 – Carl A. Winkler, Acting Dean, Faculty of Management
A native of Virden, Manitoba, Dr. Carl A. Winkler earned doctorates at McGill and Oxford. After working as a biophysicist for the National Research Council of Canada, he became an Assistant Professor of Chemistry at McGill in 1939. He eventually received a promotion to a full professorship and served as Chairman of the McGill Department of Chemistry, Chairman of the Physical Sciences Group, and Vice Principal of Planning and Development before his brief tenure as Acting Dean of the Faculty of Management in 1969. He is remembered as an outstanding instructor and a pioneer in the field of chemistry.