You may not have heard of the Schulich Leaders program, but you most certainly will be hearing from its graduates in the future. Since 2012, there have been 870 of them, studying at 20 universities across Canada.

Their stories are amazing – and so is the story of the man who believes they are the next generation of technology innovators.

Schulich Leaders are studying STEM and aim to harness technology to solve problems and improve lives. They are pursuing careers in technology, engineering, entrepreneurship and business enterprise, and applied scientific research.

To mark the program’s 10th anniversary, the program celebrated the achievements of ten notable Schulich Leaders whose work is not only shaping how we live today, but what our future will look like tomorrow. They remind us why good leadership matters, and their stories are also inspiring.

It was in October 2011 that philanthropist Seymour Schulich announced a $100 million scholarship program targeting students entering the science, technology, engineering and math fields (STEM) in Canada and Israel. It is the largest undergraduate STEM scholarship opportunity in the two countries.

A Schulich Leader receives $120,000 or $100,000 to pursue an undergraduate degree in STEM, and join an elite network and benefit from student enrichment opportunities throughout the year.

Growing up in financial need, Mr. Schulich received a life-changing scholarship to attend McGill University’s first-ever MBA class in 1965. He attributes much of his success to his education and now he’s paying it forward to the next generation.

His career began at the Shell Oil Company, and then Eastern Securities Ltd. Later, he joined the newly formed firm Beutel, Goodman & Company Ltd., where he became a partner and Vice-President from 1968 to 1990. 

In 1985, he pioneered the concept of royalty payments in the mining industry and created two gold royalty companies, Euro-Nevada and Franco-Nevada in partnership with Pierre Lassonde. As co-founder, chairman and co-chief executive officer of Franco-Nevada Mining Corporation, his team developed it into the largest royalty resource company in the world.

In 2002, Franco-Nevada merged with Normandy Mining Limited of Australia and Newmont Mining Corporation, creating the largest gold mining company in the world, Newmont Mining Corporation.

He was awarded The Order of Canada in 2000 and has been inducted into Canadian Mining Hall of Fame (2006) and the Canadian Business Hall of Fame (2011).

He has donated or pledged in excess of $400 million to university facilities of business, medicine, dentistry, nursing, engineering, chemistry, music, law, education and science in numerous Canadian and a few foreign universities. Schulich endowments created over 1,000 scholarships in these schools. He has also endowed libraries, dormitories, honour courts, medical health centres, lecture and music halls.

In 2007, he wrote a #1 – selling nonfiction book, Get Smarter, aimed at mentoring young Canadian adults. It has sold over 100,000 copies.

Cover image: Pixabay/Pexels