$12 Million Man
Nasser family gift largest in U of S history

March 12, 2010

The form may be a little unconventional, but the substance is no less significant – $12 million donation to the University of Saskatchewan, the largest gift in the university’s history.

By Derrick Kunz

On Feb. 26, Vice-President University Advancement Heather Magotiaux revealed that Professor Emeritus Dr. Karim (Kay) Nasser and his family were donating $12 million in the form of two Saskatoon properties. The announcement received a standing ovation from a crowd of about 200 people in Convocation Hall that included President Peter MacKinnon, Vice-President Finance and Resources Richard Florizone, Chancellor Vera Pezer, Board of Governors Vice-Chair Nancy Hopkins and Mayor Don Atchison.

The gift includes the Vienna Building in downtown Saskatoon, home to the Edwards School of Business K.W. Nasser Centre, and the three buildings that make up the Idylwyld Apartments on Idylwyld Drive North. The properties have a combined assessed value of $18 million. The university paid Nasser $6 million to make the gift in-kind total $12 million.

Committed to helping students, the Nassers have identified several priority areas for their donation. The bulk of the money will go toward student scholarships and bursaries, complementing an existing endowment fund the family has been contributing to since 1967. The Gordon Oaks – Red Bear Student Centre and the student amenities building in the College Quarter student residence development will also get some funding, as will the College of Engineering and the Edwards School of Business. The amount of each commitment has yet to be finalized.

The university has two options on how to handle the donated properties, explained Florizone. It can keep the properties as an investment, take out an internal loan to fund the priorities identified by the Nasser family, and use the revenue generated from the buildings’ tenants to pay interest on the loans. “The university often receives revenue in advance of expenditures. We cannot spend that money, but we can and we should invest it prudently. We would simply be taking some of that money available for investment to fund the $6 million initial payment and the $12 million [in project spending].”

The other option is to sell the properties, which is something the university is likely to do “sometime in the next year,” he said. The Vienna building may be kept as an investment since it is the home of the Edwards School of Business MBA program. “We will most likely keep that property as it is, and Victory Majors will continue as the property managers.”

In her remarks about Nasser, Magotiaux said, “pursuing an education wasn’t easy for Kay financially, but he was determined and clever, and above all he worked hard. He enlisted people along the way who would be able to help him on his journey.” Nasser received financial assistance to pursue his education in his homeland of Lebanon, from the University of Kansas, where he obtained his master’s degree, and from the U of S. In addition to the U of  S gift, he has made contributions over the years to both the American University of Beirut and the University of Kansas.

“When I think of the Nasser family, two qualities come to mind above all others. The first is the desire to learn,” said Magotiaux. The value the Nasser family places on education is evident. Nasser, his wife Dora, and their five children have earned a total of 13 U of S degrees. Among them are a medical degree, two law degrees, an MBA, a master of science and Nasser’s engineering PhD.

Nasser taught in the Department of Civil Engineering for 33 years. In his early days at the U of S, then-head of civil engineering, Howard Douglas, advised him to “get some Canadian experience” to help with his research and teaching, Nasser told the Convocation Hall crowd. So, he started developing apartment buildings in Saskatoon. This “pounding nails to get some experience” grew over the years, and Nasser formed Victory Majors Investments Corporation to handle the management of the properties.

“The other quality that I want to mention,” said Magotiaux, “is the loyalty of the Nasser family. He has never forgotten anyone who helped him along his way—his family and friends, his countrymen, colleagues and partners.”

Just before leading a number of engineering students attending the announcement in an engineering cheer, Nasser spoke of why he and his family chose to express their loyalty to the U of S through this gift. “My four daughters and one son are all University of Saskatchewan graduates and have joined us in making all our donations. The U of S allowed me to practice my profession. I was treated kindly and fairly. What is our response? On behalf of Dora and our children, we love the university and our community so much we give and we give; we share all we can with the university and our community.”

MacKinnon, in acknowledging the gift, said that among the “thousands upon thousands of stories accumulated to express the enormous richness of life at the university over the years,” that of the Nasser family is “a source of inspiration.”

Derrick Kunz is editor of the Green and White