American benefactor shows us the way
Scholarships celebrate provincial ties
The Financial Post, Thursday, June 3, 2010
Barry Critchley
The Richard Schmeelk Fellowship promotes intercultural awareness.
Photograph by: Chris Hondros, Getty Images, The Financial Post
The 25th anniversary of a most unusual scholarship will be celebrated at a dinner tonight in Toronto.
It was in 1985 that Richard Schmeelk, then a general partner at New York-based Salomon Brothers Co., set up the Richard Schmeelk Fellowships. That model — scholarships set up by an American for Canadian students — may be the only one of its kind. And it had admirable objectives: the promotion of intercultural awareness and interprovincial studies.
But there was a catch: The recipients had to study in the official language other than his or her own, meaning a French-speaking Canadian had to study at University of Western Ontario and an English-speaking Canadian had to study at Université Laval. Now the program, under which more than 80 scholarships have been handed out, has an "east-west view" given that it also includes the University of Calgary and the University of Montreal. Each winner receives a minimum of $10,000, if they sign on for one term, and a maximum of $40,000, if they enlist for four terms.
When he set up the program, Schmeelk said the reaction was very favourable, though "many wondered why a Canadian didn't do it." He did it as a thank you to Canada." "I prospered in Canada, got on the executive committee of Salomon Brothers through my Canadian efforts and for some time I wanted to give something back."
The breakthrough came at a dinner with Darcy McKeough, a former treasurer of Ontario and John Turner, a former prime minister.
"We came up with the idea to create a better understanding between French and English Canadians. At the time there was a lot of separatist talk and a lot of misunderstanding," said Schmeelk, who reached his 85th birthday last September. Other notables providing assistance include Bill Davis, former premier of Ontario; Raymond Garneau, former finance minister in Quebec; and Jean de Grandpré, former chief executive at BCE Inc.
McKeough said teh scholarship was Schmeelk's idea. "It has helped lots of students, many of whom were mature age, get an education. And two solitudes of Canada have become a little closer," said McKeough, 77, who still puffs away on his trademark pipe. While McKeough was treasurer, Ontario Hydro, whose financings were guaranteed by the province, did a lot of U.S. bond business with Salomon Brothers, now part of Citigroup Inc.
Under Schmeelk, Salomon Brothers won a lot of Canadian underwritings, including the government of Canada, seven of the provinces, government agencies (Canadian National Railway Co., Export Development Corp. and Federal Business Development Bank) and corporates including Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd. and Bell Canada.
We more or less brought deregulation to Canada given that it was a closed shop for some of the [borrowings by the] provinces and some of the big corporations. So we got involved," said Schmeelk, who is pleased with the results of the scholarships. "The great number, by far, is for Confederation."
Originally, Schmeelk put up $1-million — in the form of 14% CNR bonds — to fund the scholarships. Since then he has kicked in another $1-million. He has now challenged the recipients to raise some cash and given them the commitment that he will match what the students raise.
The list for graduates includes university professors, deputy ministers, oil and gas executives and high school teachers.
"All have taken the message of co-operation and it makes a difference" said Stephen Dopp, a vice-president of international business development at Ottawa-based Canadian Bank Note Co. "Going to Laval, doing a MBA and the Schmeelk schoarship changed my life."
Schmeelk, who had his honeymoon in Canada, has been awarded honorary doctorates from University of Western Ontario and Université Laval. And he continues his association with Canada, being a founding partner at CAI, a private-equity firm. David Culver, former chief executive at Alcan, was the other founding partner.
---britchley@nationalpost