U of M to create student bursaries in honour of Richardson & Sons leader

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The University of Manitoba will honour Manitoba business leader Hartley Richardson in creating a pair of bursaries for students at the Asper School of Business.

Two of the province’s best-known business leaders — Arni Thorsteinson and H. Sanford Riley — will take the helm of a $2-million fundraising drive to establish the monetary awards.

“In honour of Dr. Hartley T. Richardson and his innovative leadership in business and commitment to the community, a new initiative is underway to create the Hartley T. Richardson Student Support Fund,” U of M said in a statement Thursday.

The bursaries will help students with limited means cover tuition, texts and fees on a renewable basis.

“Our students are the future drivers of cultural, social and economic prosperity for our province and our country,” said Gady Jacoby, dean of the I. H. Asper School of Business. “This fund will help ensure that these future leaders will have the opportunity to pursue the education that will prepare them for success.”

Richardson leads the Winnipeg-based James Richardson & Sons Ltd. as its president and chief executive officer. His family has a generous philanthropic history in Manitoba.

The university highlighted Richardson’s academic honours and business achievements, beginning with his commerce degree in 1971 from the U of M. In 2014, the university bestowed on him one of its most prestigious awards: a doctor of laws degree.

Thorsteinson (president of the U of M Business School Foundation) and Riley (president and CEO of Richardson Financial Group Ltd.) will head up a fundraising drive for the new bursaries. The university set up a platform for contributions on its website (https://give.umanitoba.ca/).

“Hartley Richardson’s longstanding commitment to youth and education inspired us to create this fund,” Thorsteinson said. “Providing support for students to pursue a world-class business education seemed like the perfect way to pay tribute to Dr. Richardson.”

The U of M also recently announced Richardson as the 2019 recipient of the esteemed International Distinguished Entrepreneur Award (IDEA). The award has been presented since 1984 to associates of the Asper School of Business to recognize outstanding entrepreneurs and their contributions to global economic life.

“The bestowing of the IDEA on Hartley provides us with the perfect opportunity to thank him for all his efforts to make our country a better place and for his many contributions to the community,” Riley said. “Over the years, the Richardson Foundation, family and firm’s group of companies — led by Hartley — has had a transformative impact across the University of Manitoba campuses.”

The university will present Richardson with the IDEA award at a gala dinner May 23.

Past recipients include Huffington Post founder Arianna Huffington in 2018, and Indigo CEO Heather Reisman in 2003.

alexandra.paul@freepress.mb.ca