Newsroom > Press releases > 2014 > Formula Growth donates $1.1 million to four Quebec universities

Formula Growth donates $1.1 million to four Quebec universities

Donations will support initiatives at Concordia, Bishop’s, McGill and
HEC Montréal

Monday March 31, 2014


Montreal-based investment firm Formula Growth Limited is advancing business programs at Concordia, Bishop’s, McGill universities and HEC Montréal. Formula Growth through a combined donation of $1.1 million will support the following initiatives:

  • John Dobson—Formula Growth Investment Room at Concordia’s John Molson School of Business (JMSB).
  • The Dobson-Lagassé Entrepreneurship Centre at Bishop’s.
  • The Dobson Centre for Entrepreneurship at McGill’s Desautels Faculty of Management.
  • The Dobson/Formula Growth experience as part of the Parcours entrepreneurial Rémi-Marcoux at HEC Montréal.

“Formula Growth’s $1.1 million gift is a vote of confidence in higher education. It is an investment in our city, in Quebec and Canada,” says company president Randall Kelly.

Formula Growth’s donations reflect a half-century history of philanthropy and entrepreneurship initiated by its late founder John W. Dobson. The university gifts uphold a Formula Growth tradition of promoting entrepreneurship in Quebec universities and forging bonds between private enterprises and leading business schools.

“We are deeply grateful for Formula Growth’s support,” says Concordia President Alan Shepard. “This gift fosters our longstanding commitment to providing innovative learning environments for Montreal’s future leaders.” 

Formula Growth’s generous investment in Quebec’s landmark institutions will foster new thinking, propel business research and stimulate economic growth in Montreal, Quebec and Canada.

Michael Goldbloom, C.M., principal of Bishop’s University, says: ‘‘The Dobson-Lagassé Entrepreneurship Centre connects students and young entrepreneurs with experienced business executives. This is a great model. This gift will allow us to continue to see it grow.’’

Michel Patry, director of HEC Montréal, says: “Formula Growth’s generous gift is of tremendous value to HEC Montréal, especially given that entrepreneurship training and education are among our key priorities in coming years.”

Marc Weinstein, vice-principal of Development and Alumni Relations at McGill University, says: “John Dobson recognized that McGill-based ideas have the potential to be transformative on a global scale; it is our mission to integrate teaching, research, and practice to move these ideas into action with maximum impact. Mr. Dobson’s great support and vision have helped our McGill Dobson Centre for Entrepreneurship achieve extraordinary results, and with this generous gift, we will continue to educate our future entrepreneurs.”

Steve Harvey, dean of Concordia’s John Molson School of Business, says: “This timely investment in the John Dobson—Formula Growth Investment Room at the JMSB will continue to ensure that students have access to the financial information and related academic support that is vital in learning how to become top-notch investment professionals.”


Book launch:

The inter-university celebration coincides with the launch of Up and to the Right – The Story of John W. Dobson and His Formula Growth Fund by Craig Toomey (McGill-Queen’s University Press), an account of John Dobson’s life, his investment success and philanthropy centered on Canadian entrepreneurship. Dobson’s investment record was unparalleled over 53 years. An original investment of C$10,000 in the Formula Growth Fund in 1960 has grown to more than C$7 million today compared with less than $2 million for the Standard & Poor’s 500.
 

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Source:

Scott McCulloch
Senior Advisor, Communications
Advancement and Alumni Relations
Concordia University
Tel: 514-848-2424, ext. 3825
Cell phone: 514-513-8535
Email: scott.mcculloch@concordia.ca
 Website: www.concordia.ca/alumni-friends