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| Volume 9, Number 1 | August 10, 2001 |
| CIBC donates $750,000 to College of Agriculture
CIBC gave the U of S $750,000 in a May 24 Agriculture Bldg. ceremony, to establish the CIBC Centre for Agricultural Entrepreneurship. More than 25 CIBC officials from Saskatchewan and Ontario, led by Mike Pederson, CIBC’s Vice-President of Retail & Small Business Banking, attended the official presentation, in a demonstration of how important the bank feels agricultural business will be in the future. In his presentation speech, Pederson said within the next few years $50 billion in farm assets will be transferred from one generation to the next. "Tomorrow’s farmer will have to be knowledgable in a challenging environment," Pederson said. He added young farmers must capitalize on our agricultural advantage and knowledge, since agri-business is "too important to be dominated by foreign competitors." Agriculture Dean Dr. Ernie Barber said the new Centre, based in the College of Agriculture, will deliver intensive career-building programs geared specifically towards the rapidly changing world of agribusiness. He said it will provide for more coursework for students that combines field experience and academic, intellectual, personal, and professional growth as they learn to partner with business. U of S President Peter MacKinnon cited a long list of leading-edge agriculture-related research currently under way on campus, that makes the University, the city and the province a key centre for research. "We are extremely grateful to CIBC, our founding sponsors, for their generous donation," MacKinnon said. Pedersen added, "The agriculture sector is facing unprecedented change that is placing enormous pressure on our farmers to change and adapt much more quickly than in the past. The establishment of the CIBC Centre for Agricultural Entrepreneurship ... will provide Canada's youth with the cutting-edge expertise they will need to compete in the global market." The Centre’s programs will be directed by the College of Agriculture with planned input from the agribusiness community. The Centre will function primarily as a virtual centre, administered by a manager employed by the College of Agriculture. It will develop and provide resource materials to enhance existing courses and initiatives in the College, such as the work experience program and international student exchange programs.
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