Carolyn Egri named William J.A. Rowe EMBA Alumni Professor

Dr. Carolyn Egri, a professor of management and organization studies at the Beedie School of Business at Simon Fraser University, has been named as the school’s inaugural William J.A. Rowe EMBA Alumni Professor. The goal of the new Professorship is to promote excellence in research and teaching.

Egri has taught in the EMBA program for over two decades, and is a past winner of SFU’s TD Canada Trust Distinguished Teaching Award, the highest teaching honour of its kind at the Beedie School. She teaches leadership at the EMBA level and also teaches sustainability and research methodologies classes in the Segal Graduate School, recently receiving the 2012 David L. Bradford Outstanding Educator Award from the Organizational Behavior Teaching Society for Management Educators.

Egri is a longstanding research leader in the realms of international management, corporate environmental and social responsibility, leadership and organizational change — with over 67 publications and 105 conference presentations to her name. She is currently an Associate Editor for Academy of Management Learning & Education, and is a past Chair of the Organizations and the Natural Environment Division of the Academy of Management. She has also been a director of the Organizational Behaviour Teaching Society and serves on a variety of academic journal editorial boards.

“The naming of Carolyn Egri to the William J.A. Rowe Professorship is another important milestone for our Executive MBA program,” said Daniel Shapiro, Dean of SFU’s Beedie School of Business. “This Professorship has been funded by generous contributions of EMBA alumni, and there is no doubt that Carolyn is a most worthy recipient as an outstanding scholar and for her contributions to the development of the EMBA program.”

The Rowe Professorship was established by the Beedie School in honour of the late William Rowe, who earned his Executive MBA from SFU in 1972. Rowe, who passed away in 2010, established a longstanding relationship with both Simon Fraser University and the business school, and was a longtime advisor to the program, which is the first Executive MBA in Canada, established in 1968.

This is the second EMBA Alumni Professorship created at the Beedie School of Business. The other, held by marketing professor Leyland Pitt, is named for the late Dennis Culver, also an alumnus from the EMBA program.

About William (Bill) Rowe, 1933-2010

William Rowe was a longtime advocate of management education who will be remembered for his enormous contributions to Simon Fraser University. Bill earned his Executive MBA from SFU in 1972. He credited his experience at the university for helping him receive a number of promotions throughout his impressive career, and for giving him the opportunity to experience life in most of Canada’s major urban centres.

Born in Portage La Prairie, Manitoba, Bill worked 39 years for Air Canada, spending many of those years with the airline’s senior leadership team — all the while engaging the community through his contributions to numerous organizations. He was known by friends and colleagues for his “inquisitive, outgoing personality, and kind, caring disposition.”

At Simon Fraser, he held an Alumni Order-in-Council position on the university’s Board of Governors from July 1999 – 2005. He served for two years as the Deputy Board Chair, and seven years as the Chair of the 26-member External Advisory Board for the Faculty of Business Administration. He served as the Chair of SFU’s Finance and Administration committee, and served on the Audit, Nominating and Governance committees.

In 2000, Bill chaired the search committee for a new President for the university. He also played a valuable leadership role in Bridge to the Future, the university’s first major fundraising campaign.

He was a recipient of both SFU’s Chancellor’s Distinguished Service Award and the Outstanding Alumni Award for his service to the university.

His previously cited advice to students — “to recognize when opportunity knocks – never say ‘no’ officially” — speaks volumes about Bill’s spirit and positive attitude towards life and towards the community he cared so much about.

In honour of his spirit and commitment to SFU, the William J.A. Rowe EMBA Alumni Professorship was established by the Beedie School of Business in 2010.