Schulich Celebrates Black History Month
Dear Members of the Schulich Community,
As communities and organizations across Canada celebrate Black History Month this February, we are invited to honour the legacy of Black Canadians and the many contributions they have made to our country and to our School.
Both York University and Schulich are hosting a number of initiatives this month designed to highlight the achievements of members of the Black community. Here at Schulich, the Black Graduate Business Network will once again host a series of events throughout February featuring industry leaders discussing issues related to this year’s theme, “The Power of Advocacy.” The events are being presented in partnership with CIBC and Accenture and include sessions on Championing Sustainable Change and Inclusion for Black Talents, as well as a session focused on Black Entrepreneurs and an Industry Mixer featuring keynote speaker and Schulich graduate Konata Lake (BBA ’03, MBA/JD ’08), a Partner at Torys LLP.
Black History Month is also a time for us to redouble our efforts to remove systemic barriers for members of the Black community. In our ongoing efforts to create an equitable, diverse and inclusive community, we recently established the Committee for Equity and Community with a mandate to undertake systemic action, including creating and changing policies, programs and other interventions to address barriers and promote full and equitable participation.
We’re also supporting the Black community through active engagement to bring about greater diversity and inclusion. The Schulich Real Property Alumni Association (SRPAA) recently launched the SRPAA Leadership Award for Black Communities, which will provide opportunities for promising young Black students seeking to pursue an undergraduate degree at Schulich. The award is the latest in a series of new scholarships that we’ve established over the past eight months to help create greater student representation from the Black community at our School.
And lastly, we’re taking action by engaging with the broader community. To address barriers that prevent the representation of Black students in Business programs, we’re looking to create a new program together with other business schools for Black students in Grades 10 through 12 to help deepen and enhance students’ understanding of academic pathways and opportunities for careers in business following graduation. The Schulich Executive Education Centre (SEEC), meanwhile, has launched more than 20 community-impact initiatives this past year focused on Diversity, Equity & Inclusion, including anti-Black racism programs and a program to help support Black entrepreneurs and businesses. The funding comes as part of the federal government’s first-ever Black Entrepreneurship Program – an investment of more than $400 million to support the long-term success of Black entrepreneurs and business owners in Canada.
Please join me and the entire Schulich community in celebrating the contributions of Black Canadians as we strive to make our School fairer, more inclusive and more diverse.
Sincerely,
Detlev Zwick
Dean & Tanna H. Schulich Chair in Digital Marketing Strategy
Schulich School of Business