LEAD principal of Canadian mutual fund company AIC and chairman of Jamaica’s National Commercial Bank (NCB) Michael Lee Chin has been appointed chancellor of Wilfred Laurier University in Canada. He becomes that institution’s eighth chancellor.

Speaking on Lee Chin’s appointment, Wilfred Laurier University’s president and vice-chancellor Max Blouw said: “Michael Lee Chin epitomises Laurier’s institutional proposition of inspiring lives of leadership and purpose. His internationally recognised achievements in the business and investment arenas are matched by his astonishing record of philanthropic work. He is an ideal choice for this key role as the university celebrates its centennial and lays the groundwork for a bold and influential second century.”

Blouw further added: “One of the things that struck me about Mr Lee Chin is that he is a deeply caring individual; about society, about individuals and about issues of education. Mr Lee Chin has an enormous affinity for students and really enjoys working with them.”

Placing stock in a sound education

Back in 2008, the NCB boss was awarded an honorary degree by Wilfred Laurier University. It became a public institution back in 1973. As chancellor, Lee Chin will be a member of the board of governors and senate, and will serve on the senate honorary degree committee and the board development committee. He will also preside over graduation ceremonies and will officially bestow all degrees and diplomas. Lee Chin will serve for a term of four years and may be reappointed for another four years.

The new chancellor has always stressed the importance of education and he credits a good university degree as putting him on the path to a greater understanding of the world. He has said that his stated aim is “To make each student at Wilfred Laurier a globally oriented and a globally conscious individual.”

Underscoring this sentiment, Lee Chin recalls: “While I was in India a month ago, in the city of Kanpur, I was sitting in a boardroom surrounded only by people from India. I asked myself, ‘If I had been educated from primary, secondary and post-secondary school, only in Waterloo or in Burlington, would I be as comfortable in this boardroom and would these people be as comfortable having me here?”

He has won numerous awards and honours for his business and philanthropic achievements, including the Order of Jamaica, Canadian Entrepreneur of the Year and a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Canadian Youth Business Foundation. He holds several honorary degrees, including honorary doctor of laws degrees from Wilfred Laurier University, York University, Northern Caribbean University, the University of the West Indies, McMaster University, and the University of Toronto. He also sits on the board of The Trust for the Americas, a foundation affiliated with the Organisation of American States (OAS).

“It is a great honour and a pleasure for me to accept this position as Wilfred Laurier’s chancellor. I have been impressed by the university and by the track record and energy of its people. I look forward to doing whatever I can in my new role to help the university continue to build its reputation, differentiate itself from other universities, and do a great job of meeting students’ needs in the 21st century.

Before Lee Chin became Chancellor of Wilfred Laurier University another very successful Jamaican mutual fund manager living in Canada, Raymond Chang was appointed chancellor of a Canadian university.

Raymond Chang is Chancellor of Ryerson University Raymond Chang was named Ryerson University’s chancellor in 2006.

At the time Ryerson’s President Sheldon Levy said: “Dr Chang is an outstanding business and community leader, and a passionate advocate for education and for Ryerson. As chancellor, I know that Dr Chang’s outstanding leadership skills and ability to build partnerships locally, nationally and internationally will benefit our university, but also our communities, our city and our country. We are privileged to have Dr Chang as our new chancellor.”

The chancellor is the ceremonial head of the university and is appointed for a three-year term. Dr Chang is in his second term. In addition to acting as an ambassador for Ryerson on the local, national and international levels, the chancellor also presides at all convocations and confers university degrees. Dr Chang is Ryerson’s third chancellor, succeeding John Craig Eaton.

“I believe that education is the key to our success as individuals, as a city and as a country,” said Dr Chang. “As chancellor, I look forward to continuing to work with the Ryerson community — the executive, the board, faculty and, of course, the students. I am also proud to be an ambassador for the talent, energy and ideas of this wonderful university.”

Dr Chang was Chairman of CI Financial from 1999 to 2010, and continues to serve on CI’s Board of Directors. He acquired part ownership of CI Fund Management when it was a small investment firm. Under his stewardship, Dr Chang and his partners have grown CI to Canada’s third-largest investment fund company and second-largest publicly traded fund company.

He has been a member of Ryerson’s Board of Governors since 2001 and received an honorary doctorate from Ryerson in 2005.

Speaking with Caribbean Business Report, Mohammed Azan from Chelsea Capital said: “Both Mike Lee Chin and Ray Chang have made Jamaica and Canada proud. They are fantastic philanthropists and proven business leaders with a wide array of interests. It comes as little surprise that they have been appointed chancellors to two Canadian universities. They are the kind of men who you want heading institutions of learning because they lead by example.

“Let’s face it, Jamaica makes the news for all the wrong reasons, but here is some news that all Jamaicans can be proud of. No other Caribbean country can boast of this feat. The Jamaican Government should seek them both out in an effort to get Jamaica on the right track. They are both national assets.”