TORONTO, Dec. 15, 1997 -- As the sector that employs almost one in five Canadians faces rapid change, increased scrutiny and greater competition, York University is pleased to announce it has secured $1 million from the Royal Bank to support a Professorship in Nonprofit Management and Leadership.

"As the issues facing the nonprofit sector become more complex and intertwined with wider social and economic challenges, the need for advanced management education and leadership development in the sector is clearly increasing,"said Professor Brenda Gainer, PhD, the first holder of the new Royal Bank Professorship in Nonprofit Management and Leadership at the Schulich School of Business, York University.

"Change is occurring in our society at a dizzying speed. The demands on the nonprofit sector to respond to immense social change while facing a radically altered funding environment highlight the importance of developing managers and leaders who have both a deep understanding of community needs and strong business skills," added Gainer, who came to York University in 1991 after working for such non-profit organizations as the Canadian Opera Company.

Gainer, who specializes in nonprofit marketing, said she applauds the Royal Bank's investment in education in this increasingly important sector. "The Royal Bank has long been recognized as the leader in charitable giving in Canada. This support of our program shows that the Bank is also a leader in recognizing the critical role of building management and leadership capacity in the charitable sector. This investment will contribute to the ability of nonprofit organizations to respond to the challenge of building the communities in which Canadians want to live and work in the future," she said.

York University President Dr. Lorna Marsden said she appreciates the generosity of the Royal Bank and anticipates that this support will help bring fresh insights and understanding to the nonprofit sector and the communities it serves.

Through the Royal Bank's $1 million investment, the Professorship will concentrate on developing innovative teaching materials for advanced management and leadership education both at York and in other nonprofit programs across Canada; researching such contemporary issues as organizational accountability, diversity, new governance models and inter-sectoral partnerships; and disseminating knowledge widely in the sector through co-operative activities such as workshops, round tables, conferences and collaborative applied-research projects.

George Gaffney, Royal Bank executive vice president and general manager of Metro Toronto, said the merits and needs of York's unique program were compelling. "We believe that the Schulich School of Business has the faculty resources, the research capability, the administrative support, the educational philosophy and the track record to respond to the growing need for more education in this field," he said.

In Canada, almost one in five paid jobs is in a nonprofit organization, more than in manufacturing or retail, and almost three times as many as in the financial services industry. Julie White is Executive Director of the Trillium Foundation, a member of the Advisory Board for the Nonprofit Management and Leadership Program -- and an MBA graduate of the Schulich School of Business.

"We need to recognize that the voluntary sector will increasingly be in the forefront of the move to build a just society. That means we need to develop leaders who can think 'outside the box,' who do not just react to new problems in old ways, but who are capable of developing and building innovative and sustainable community resources. Leadership education has a critical role to play in this process," said White.

While public interest in the nonprofit sector and in charitable giving has grown recently, York University recognized early on -- back in 1983 -- the need for education and training in a sector whose well-being is essential to the economic and social health of communities across the country.

York's Schulich School of Business has been guided since its inception by a vision of developing effective leadership in all three sectors of the economy. For 30 years, the business school at York has differentiated itself from other management schools in Canada by its belief that there is a core platform of managerial knowledge that is equally relevant to the administration of organizations in the private, public, and 'third' sectors.

Schulich offers Canada's only MBA-level degree in nonprofit management that leads to careers in a rich variety of nonprofit organizations focusing on health care, human services, education, culture, religion or the environment. The Schulich School is the only Canadian institution with a PhD minor in nonprofit management studies. While working to improve the quality of life in Canada and around the world, Schulich graduates entering this sector will be able to build strong careers in general management, marketing, fundraising, human resources or financial management. In addition, many Schulich students planning to build their careers in for-profit organizations take electives in nonprofit management to prepare themselves for positions as board members of important charitable organizations operating in their communities.

For more information, please contact:

Sine MacKinnon
Senior Advisor for Media Relations
York University
(416) 736-2100, ext. 22087
email: sinem@yorku.ca

Teresa Pagnutti
Manager, Marketing Public Relations
Royal Bank
(416) 974-4794
email: tpagnutti@xe.net
YU/108/97