Award honouring late professor empowers female students
The Elizabeth Maynes Memorial Award signals that “women are capable of great things,” says Schulich student Katelyn Chen.
International Women’s Day, celebrated on March 8 this year, has new meaning for Schulich School of Business student Katelyn Chen.
The fourth-year BBA candidate is the recipient of the Elizabeth Maynes Memorial Award celebrating the life and legacy of Elizabeth Marie Maynes, a distinguished associate professor at the School for 27 years. The award benefits a third- or fourth-year BBA/iBBA student who identifies as a woman. Recipients must be Canadian citizens, permanent residents or protected persons, and demonstrate financial need.
“Elizabeth was a strong advocate for affirmative action in respect to the role of women in educational and professional settings. It always pleased her to see women succeeding at the Schulich School of Business and in the business world,” says Bruce Rhodes, Maynes’s husband, who established the award with her mother, Jacqueline Maynes, and brother, Robert Maynes.
Among many research, teaching and administrative accomplishments, Maynes co-authored a textbook on the fundamentals of corporate finance, exploring how companies invest in real assets and how money is raised for investments.
“Receiving this award honouring an accomplished female professor and authority in corporate finance is another signal to me that women are capable of great things,” Chen says.
She got her first glimpse of the glass ceiling – and the power of women to surpass it – while studying financial securities in high school.
“There were only two women in the class, me and my best friend. We got the sense that our male classmates thought we were only capable of certain things. It felt belittling and it empowered me to work hard to show them that women are capable of the highest achievements.”
Chen won the award for the top class grade, and she never looked back.
On track to graduate this spring, she plans to complete a Schulich Master of Accounting degree and pursue a Chartered Professional Accountant designation. While women represent nearly half of the professional accountants in Canada, research suggests they are significantly underrepresented in senior leadership roles, something Chen hopes to change using the Elizabeth Maynes Memorial Award as leverage.
“This feels like such an amazing opportunity for both the financial relief it offers and the message it sends female students,” she says.
Rhodes wants every recipient of the award to know they have the “strong support of Elizabeth’s family.”
“My wife loved her role as professor, valued and respected her fellow faculty members, enjoyed working with the Schulich staff and worked her heart out for her students,” he says.
And now students like Chen are working their hearts out in return.
The Schulich School of Business turns 60 in 2026 and we are celebrating with the Schulich Student Access Fund. To help more high-potential students experience all Schulich has to offer, contact Schulich’s Advancement Office at advancement@schulich.yorku.ca.
