The University of British Columbia (UBC) has partnered with alumnus Peter Dhillon to commit $7.5 million that will be used to create the Peter P. Dhillon Centre for Business Ethics at the Sauder School of Business.
It was not immediately clear exactly how much money Dhillon is contributing but the new donation follows his family’s $2 million gift to UBC in 2006. That money, donated in memory of Dhillon’s father, Rashpal Dhillon, helped create the Rashpal Dhillon Fund in Idiopathic Pulmonary Research and the Rashpal Dhillon Track and Field Oval, which opened on the UBC Vancouver campus in 2010.
The new partnership will support the study, teaching and promotion of values-driven business practices locally, nationally and around the world, according to UBC.
“I’m partnering with Sauder to help ensure we are doing all we can to equip future leaders with the ethical perspectives they need to navigate the increasingly complex world of business,” said Dhillon, who is chairman of Ocean Spray Cranberries Inc., the world’s leading producer of cranberry foods and beverages.
Dhillon owns thousands of acres of farmland, largely in Quebec and in B.C.
“There is an impression that you can’t do well in business unless you set ethics aside. I want to break that image. You can be caring, you can be thoughtful, and still be successful.”
The Peter P. Dhillon Centre for Business Ethics is slated to be the first centre at a Canadian business school to take a comprehensive approach to the study, teaching and promotion of business ethics, according to UBC.
Its research is expected to investigate and influence best practices across business disciplines, from marketing and human resources to finance and accounting. It is also set to contribute to academic programming across UBC’s business school, from undergraduate and graduate curriculum to executive education.
“The impact of Peter’s gift will be substantial,” said UBC President Arvind Gupta. “Not only will it allow for the creation of new thinking that can have an immediate influence on the way organizations run, but its ripple effect through the students it touches will be felt in B.C. and around the world.”
