Supporting Education Important to Retired Accounting Professor
"We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give" – that famous quote by Winston Churchill is one that retired accounting professor Ab Ferris is fond of repeating. He uses it when he talks about the $100,000 gift that he and his wife Kathleen have just made to the new UPEI School of Business Administration through the Building a Legacy Campaign. Ab Ferris taught in the School of Business for 27 years and Kathleen Ferris graduated from the UPEI Faculty of Arts in 1991.
"My wife and I are making this gift because we can, and because we should. We are doing it for UPEI students, present and future. When I taught at UPEI I always believed in putting the students first. Our donation to the University is another way of doing just that," says Ab Ferris.
"Ab was loved and respected by our business students as a demanding teacher who was committed to high levels of achievement. We are extremely grateful to Ab and Kathleen for their generous gift to our new school. The support of our former faculty and students is very important to us," says Dean of Business Roberta MacDonald.
Ab Ferris obtained the designation of FCA (Fellow of Chartered Accountants) in 1995 for his outstanding contribution to education. He is now Executive Director of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of PEI. In recognition of the Ferris family's commitment to UPEI, the executive boardroom in the new School of Business will be named the Albert M. Ferris Executive Boardroom.
The UPEI School of Business Administration is expanding to include new research centres, create industry partnerships, and develop new educational offerings. It is introducing new undergraduate streams in Entrepreneurship and Biotechnology Management, Executive Education programming, and an MBA program has been proposed for 2008. To accommodate these developments, a new 50,000 square foot facility is under construction on campus. The building features a contemporary design, increased meeting space, modern technologies throughout, and more space for School of Business Administration initiatives. It is scheduled to open at the end of this year. More information is available at business.upei.ca.
