Arpad Benedek/Getty Images/iStockphoto
The Globe's biweekly business-school news roundup.
Jo Mark Zurel, founder of a Newfoundland-based financial services company, is a chartered accountant who sits on numerous provincial and national boards.
In 2011, he decided to go back to the classroom to hone his skills as a director, graduating in 2012 from the directors education program developed by the Institute of Corporate Directors and the University of Toronto's Rotman School of Management.
"I had a reasonable amount of experience and had worked with, and learned from, some experienced directors," says Mr. Zurel, president of Stonebridge Capital Inc. "But we really don't know what we don't know, and I figured I owed it to the organizations I serve to get the best training I could."
The directors education program, already delivered at nine business schools across Canada, including Rotman, will add two more by April of 2016: the University of Ottawa's Telfer School of Management and the faculty of business administration at Memorial University in St. John's.
"We will go where there is market demand and the recent [expansion] moves have been about that," says Christian Buhagiar, vice-president of education for the Institute of Corporate Directors.
The 12-day directors course, aimed at those serving on boards of large, complex organizations, is offered in four weekend instalments over six months in a classroom setting.
That format appealed to Mr. Zurel (who joined the Institute's board in 2012, before graduation).
"Through those four weekend sessions we did in Toronto, we did a ton of simulated board meetings dealing with difficult and complex issues in group sessions," he says. The result, he adds, "was great practice without the pressure of real-live issues."
Since it was established 12 years ago, the program has turned out 4,000 graduates.
While the Institute and Rotman retain overall responsibility for the national program, regional variations in the program account for about 20 per cent of the content, says Mr. Buhagiar. In Nova Scotia, which has a lot of family-owned businesses, the program added a session on family enterprises taught by a director experienced in that sector. In Saskatchewan, the program added material on co-ops and credit unions given their importance to the provincial economy.
Embedding the director's program in Canadian business schools was a deliberate strategy, in contrast to the compliance-oriented training for directors in the United States, says Mr. Buhagiar.
"As a director, you are there to oversee the whole business," he says, with the program offering a blend of academic and applied learning. "This isn't just about theoretical thought and not just about practicality," he says. "It is the blending of those things together that makes the program work."
Business schools urged to get involved beyond the campus
Joseph Doucet, dean of the University of Alberta's school of business, said "yes" right away when Premier Rachel Notley asked him to lead a broad-based committee to advise her on how to diversify the oil-dependent province.
"Universities broadly speaking, and certainly business schools, need to be more active in issues that impact our society in the short or longer term," says Dr. Doucet. "We need to work as effective bridges between the university and what goes on in the public and private sector."
The Premier's 10-member advisory committee, which met for the first time this month, is made up of provincial representatives from industry, academia, non-profits, labour and the research and innovation community.
The committee, scheduled to meet quarterly with the Premier and her top officials, has a mandate to provide confidential advice over the next three years. As such, there will be no published report on findings.
"By the nature of our discussions and relationships, we can be good at the honest broker role," says the dean, of his role as committee chairman. "We can bring people from the business community into effective conversations with public policy decision makers and leaders in the government and the public service."
Dr. Doucet is not the only one from his faculty assisting the provincial government.
Andrew Leach, an energy economist at the business school, is chairman of a climate change review panel examining next steps on how to price carbon, phase out coal-fired electricity, promote renewal energy and, it is hoped, polish the province's environmental image.
Dr. Doucet credits his predecessor, Mike Percy, an economist and former politician, with promoting an outward view for the school. "In Canada, we are publicly funded to varying degrees and thus we have a responsibility, if nothing else, because of public funding," says the current dean. "As well, we work on important issues and have tremendous intellectual contributions we can bring to some important questions, whether they are related to fiscal [problems], infrastructure, innovation and energy."
He adds, "We are not the only voice to be heard but we have a great opportunity to be leaders."
Follow Jennifer Lewington and Business School News by subscribing to an RSS feed here.
Contact Jennifer at jlewington@bell.net