For Ned Goodman, supporting a university isn’t about the financial return on investment.

“To see the Goodman School of Business flourish and know that my support and involvement played a critical role in it provides me with a return that is not measurable in dollars or percentages,” Goodman said Friday as he toured the $22-million renovation and expansion project currently underway at Brock. “It provides the ultimate meaning of a lifetime of work and study.”

Former Brock University Chancellor Ned Goodman, his son Dan and his grandson Anthony all got a first-hand look at the dramatic progress being made on the project to expand or refresh 79,000 square feet of classroom, office and collaborative space.

Before the tour, the Goodman family met with business school students and offered some valuable advice.

“I always advise students to work hard and focus on the work in front of them,” Ned Goodman said. “If you give your best effort today, tomorrow seems to surprise to the upside consistently.”

He also emphasized the importance of taking risks.

“Make sure to regularly push yourself out of your comfort zone,” he said.

Dan Goodman said the family is “completely blown away” to see the progress on what started years ago as a seed of an idea.

“We look at the Goodman School of Business and we think the future has endless possibilities. We’re so confident in the direction that it’s going and we’re delighted to see the physical infrastructure and how well it’s turning out,” he said.

He said the Goodman Family Foundation has made supporting post-secondary education one of its mandates because his father wants to make access to education easier than it was for him.

“My brothers and I all have significant post-secondary education, as does my father. For him it wasn’t as easy to continue his studies at university. He has seen how his family has taken those steps and he wants to see other families get the same opportunity,” Dan said.

Goodman School Dean Andrew Gaudes said it was a privilege to be able to lead the Goodman family on the tour of the new building.

“The Goodman School of Business greatly appreciates the support we’ve received from the Goodman Family Foundation over the years,” said Gaudes. “It was the first opportunity for myself as the new Dean to meet Ned Goodman and his family, and it was an honour to be able to give him a tour of the building project that will take us into the next era of the Goodman School of Business for students, faculty and staff.”

The $22-million Goodman School of Business expansion project will feature:

• 79,000 square feet of new and renovated space
• Six new and nine refreshed classrooms with state-of-the-art technology
• Large two-storey engagement Atrium
• Five employer interview rooms
• Bloomberg financial research lab
• Graduate student study space, faculty research space and additional offices