Media releases

  • Panel talk to explore women in business

    MEDIA RELEASE: 28 March 2018 – R00065

    The rise of female entrepreneurs and underrepresentation of women in high profile business roles will be at the centre of a panel discussion held at Brock University next week.

    Women in Business Matter, being held Wednesday, April 4, is the fourth in a series of panel talks organized by Brock University’s Goodman School of Business. Previous Business Matters discussions have focused on the music industry, corporate social responsibility and innovation in business.

    This year’s panelists will discuss topics related to women in business, including gender balance on boards, the federal ‘gender equality’ budget and women’s approach to entrepreneurship.

    Panelists include Bonnie Lysyk, Auditor General of Ontario; Tayler Book, Co-owner, Beechwood Doughnuts; and Shawna Chen, Assistant Professor of Entrepreneurship, Goodman School of Business. Mishka Balsom, President and CEO, Greater Niagara Chamber of Commerce, will moderate the discussion.

    Lysyk has extensive audit, finance, risk management and governance experience and has previously served as the Provincial Auditor of Saskatchewan and Deputy Auditor General and Chief Operating Officer of Manitoba after holding senior positions in both the private and public sectors during a 25-year career.

    Book, a Brock alumna (BA ’14), developed an unexpected love for entrepreneurship and marketing after founding Beechwood Doughnuts, a popular vegan doughnut shop in downtown St. Catharines. A strong proponent of the power of word of mouth and social media, Book cultivated a loyal online following from the moment Beechwood opened its doors in January 2015.

    Chen, this year’s recipient of Goodman’s Untenured Researcher of the Year award, researches strategies and actions for startups from idea generation to venture growth. Before joining the University, she co-founded three internet startups and one private equity investment firm.

    Goodman School of Business Dean Andrew Gaudes says the event will help bring to light the underrepresentation of women at higher levels in organizations and on boards.

    “Our panel is a great combination of entrepreneurial spirit, business research and the auditor general for our province who has a history of working in senior-level organizations in what could be deemed as non-traditional areas for women,” he said. “We will all be able to learn something from their insight and their ability to lead and effect change in their respective areas.”

    The event starts at 7 p.m. Wednesday. Space is limited, but registration is still open online.

    The Women in Business Matter event is supported by the Wilmot Foundation and is part of the D.G. Wilmot leader series.

    What: Women in Business Matter panel discussion

    Who: Bonnie Lysyk, Tayler Book, Shawna Chen, Mishka Balsom

    When: Wednesday, April 4 from 7 to 8:30 p.m.

    Where: Scotiabank Atrium, Cairns Family Health and Bioscience Research Complex, Brock University

    For more information or for assistance arranging interviews:

    * Dan Dakin, Media Relations Officer, Brock University ddakin@brocku.ca, 905-688-5550 x5353 or 905-347-1970

    Brock University Marketing and Communications has a full-service studio where we can provide high definition video and broadcast-quality audio.

    – 30 –

    Categories: Media releases

  • $7.9 million in provincial funding means green light for Brock’s green energy project

    MEDIA RELEASE: 28 March 2018 – R00064

    The second phase of a massive project to upgrade Brock University’s co-generation power facility is moving forward after an Ontario government funding announcement made Tuesday, March 27 in Toronto.

    The Ministry of Advanced Education and Skills Development (MAESD) announced $85.2 million in funding for eight Ontario universities through its Greenhouse Gas Campus Retrofits Program (GGCRP) Innovation Grant Fund. The GGCRP is designed to help post-secondary institutions reduce their greenhouse gas emissions and improve energy efficiency.

    Brock will receive $7.9 million to complete Phase 2 of its District Energy Efficiency Project (DEEP), which will upgrade and modernize the University’s co-generation facility, a reliable and energy-efficient source of electricity, cooling and heating on campus.

    The first, $10.8-million phase of the DEEP project started 18 months ago and is replacing half of the existing natural gas-powered co-gen engines with state-of-the-art, high efficiency, electronically controlled units. That project is expected to be completed this summer.

    DEEP Phase 2, which is being funded entirely through the Ontario government’s $7.9-million investment, will replace the remaining co-gen engines and install a new high-efficiency electric chiller unit. Work got started earlier this month and will be wrapped up by March 2019. No power interruptions are anticipated on campus as a result of the work.

    “Phase 2 is fully focused on carbon reduction and efficiency,” said Scott Johnstone, Associate Vice-President of Facilities Management. “The existing plant is about 25 years old. We’re replacing it with the latest technology that will make the entire co-gen facility more efficient.”

    The completed DEEP project will result in Brock’s annual NOx (nitrogen oxide) gas emissions dropping from 55 tonnes to just 8 tonnes and non-methane hydrocarbons reducing from 15 tonnes to four. The new co-generation engines will also consume 26 per cent less fuel and result in hundreds of thousands of dollars in utility cost saving each year.

    “This project isn’t just about saving money, it’s about making Brock University more environmentally friendly and reducing our carbon footprint,” said Johnstone.

    St. Catharines MPP Jim Bradley said the province and Brock University share a common goal of significant carbon reduction.

    “This investment by the Ontario government reaffirms its commitment to reducing greenhouse gas emissions on university campuses. This will allow the province of Ontario and its post-secondary institutions to lead by example when it comes to being energy efficient,” said Bradley.

    Brian Hutchings, Brock’s Vice-President, Administration, said the government’s investment in the co-generation facility will have a positive effect elsewhere in the University.

    “What’s unprecedented for Brock with this project is that it’s 100 per cent funded by the province,” Hutchings said. “The upgrades will result in significant utility cost savings, which will allow us to keep those costs flat during a period of inflation.”

    With the completion of the second phase of the DEEP project, all of the equipment in the co-generation facility will be new, which Johnstone said “will set the University up for another 25 or 30 years of service.”

    For more information or for assistance arranging interviews:

    * Dan Dakin, Media Relations Officer, Brock University ddakin@brocku.ca, 905-688-5550 x5353 or 905-347-1970

    Brock University Marketing and Communications has a full-service studio where we can provide high definition video and broadcast-quality audio.

    – 30 –

    Categories: Media releases