Goodman Family Invests in Laurentian University’s School of Mines

October 15, 2012 – Ned Goodman, CEO of Dundee Corporation, and The Goodman Family Foundation - JODAMADA, announced today a historic gift to Laurentian University’s new School of Mines. In recognition of the Goodman family’s generosity, Laurentian University President Dominic Giroux announced that the university will name the school in the Goodman family’s honour.

Ned Goodman’s business and investment experience spans more than 40 years as a geologist, securities analyst, portfolio manager and senior executive, and he has an established reputation as one of Canada's most successful investment counselors. He was the driving force of the Dundee group of financial companies, which grew under his family’s leadership from a $300-million base to a $50-billion mutual fund entity. Mr. Goodman’s work in the mining sector helped bring investment and jobs to many remote northern Canadian communities. By providing financing to many junior companies and helping to build successful, growing companies, he helped thousands of other Canadians prosper. He described his family’s gift as a vote of confidence in the future of mining.

“Greater Sudbury has the best ore body and the largest concentration of expertise in mining supply, products and services in the world. We want to be associated with Laurentian University because it’s undoubtedly the go-to university for mineral exploration and mining in Canada. When I heard about Laurentian’s plans for a new innovative School of Mines, I knew I wanted to be a part of it. We will be encouraging our friends in industry to also support this great effort,” said Ned Goodman after a recent visit to Sudbury.

The combination of an aging workforce, competition for skilled workers, and declining enrolment in mining-oriented academic programs in most other Canadian universities is of great concern to the mining industry. These deficiencies will likely cause accelerated cost increases, delay of new projects and squeeze profit margins. Many industry leaders have reported a critical need for graduates whose technical competencies are supported by skills in commercial, cultural and environmental aspects of mining. 

A global search for the Founding Executive Director of The Goodman School of Mines is in its final stages. The position will work towards: 

• Enhancing the skills of future professionals in mineral exploration and mining, in areas such as occupational health and safety, Indigenous relations, mining management and finance;
• Driving the creation of executive programs at the undergraduate and graduate levels, in modular, short-course or distance education formats, and other delivery mechanisms as opportunities may arise;
• Formalizing new provincial, national and international alliances with other post-secondary institutions, including an International Network of Schools of Mines with Laurentian serving as a major hub;
• Doubling enrolment in mining related programs by 2020;
• Improving the university experience for students in Earth Sciences and Engineering.

The Goodman School of Mines is a cross-Faculty initiative, reporting directly to the Vice-President, Academic and Provost, which will be supported by a Global Advisory Council and a $20 million endowment funded by donations from industry and by philanthropic gifts, a majority of which has now been raised. In addition, Laurentian University will be investing $5 million in the Goodman School by 2023.

The Goodman Family Foundation has placed a proviso that any financial commitment, present or future, remains confidential. The gift will be used exclusively by The Goodman School of Mines. “It will support the development of new mining-related courses and programs, improvements to the learning environment and opportunities both inside and outside the classroom, student recruitment, career and placement services, and guest speakers, and other specific use of funds to be mutually agreed upon,” explained Dominic Giroux. “Moreover, the Goodman family gift will ensure that we can attract the best and brightest students from around the world through scholarships, and promote our mining-related programs internationally.”

Mr. Goodman’s eldest son, Jonathan Goodman, PEng., CFA, MBA, a graduate of the Colorado School of Mines and a JODAMADA participant and director, will serve as an Adjunct Professor at Laurentian.

Ned Goodman was also attracted to Laurentian because he is a resident of Barrie. “I want to do everything possible to help secure Laurentian University’s new downtown Barrie campus, including attracting private gifts towards this important effort. Barrie absolutely needs it, and Laurentian has so much to offer.”  Laurentian has already pledged $14 million towards its new downtown Barrie campus, a commitment which is being matched by the City.

Laurentian University’s Next 50 Campaign, chaired by Terry MacGibbon, founder of FNX Mining, has now largely exceeded its original goal of $50 million, having raised $63.3 million so far with six months still to go before the end of the campaign.

For photos of the event, visit our Facebook page.

The honourable, Minister of Training, Colleges and Universities,  Glen Murray. 

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About Ned Goodman

Ned Goodman was inducted to the Canadian Mining Hall of Fame in 2012 and he was the 2012 recipient of the Fraser Institute's T. Patrick Boyle Founder's Award recognizing outstanding achievements in entrepreneurship, dedication to competitive capitalism and free markets, and philanthropic support for private-sector, non-profit enterprises. He has made transformative and enduring contributions to Canada’s minerals industry and capital markets as a company-builder, merchant banker and investment advisor during a dynamic career spanning almost half a century. He applied his geological training and business acumen to help build several successful mining companies — notably International Corona and Kinross Gold — and nurtured many other mineral producing companies through astute and timely investments.

In addition to being an outstanding member of the philanthropic community, Montreal-born Goodman is considered one of the leading architects of Canada’s investment management industry. Along with his partners, he founded the first exploration flow-through partnership, CMP Group, which has raised almost $5 billion since the 1980s to help companies explore and develop mining and petroleum companies, leading to the generation of jobs and benefits for rural and northern economies in Canada. He was also the driving force of the Dundee group of financial companies, which grew under his family’s leadership from a $300-million base to a $50-billion mutual fund entity.

An early interest in science prompted Goodman to obtain a BSc degree in geology from McGill University. When geological employment was sparse and Goodman was laid off by Noranda in 1960, business also caught his attention, leading to him achieving an MBA degree from the University of Toronto in 1962. His career path took a financial turn in 1967, when he earned the designation of Chartered Financial Analyst and co-founded Beutel, Goodman & Company Ltd. which offered pension funds and private client investment advice. The firm also established a reputation as a “go-to” destination for mining and oil investment, with junior companies particularly benefiting from Goodman and his partners Seymour Schulich and Pierre Lassonde’s ability to recognize resource mineral projects of merit — as well as sound management teams — and raise funds for their exploration and development.

Goodman played a leadership role in the re-emergence of Canada’s gold-mining industry in the 1980s, ultimately becoming the largest shareholder and chairman of International Corona, which held interests in world-class gold mines in Northern Ontario’s Hemlo region. He was part of the creation of Kinross Gold, Repadre (later IAMGOLD) and Dundee Precious Metals, and was an early backer of FNX Mining Company Inc. (later Quadra FNX Mining) and its discovery and development of new nickel deposits in Greater Sudbury.

Mr. Goodman formed the Dundee group of financial companies in the 1990s which became Canadian leaders in providing investment and wealth management advice and a wide-array of investment products through DundeeWealth and Dynamic Funds which were sold to Scotiabank in 2011.

Goodman is Chancellor of Brock University and founder of the Goodman Institute of Investment Management at Concordia University where he is an adjunct professor. He is a meaningful benefactor of many worthy causes. Among his many awards and honours are PDAC’s Developer of the Year Award, presented in 1989; the Entrepreneur of the Year Award in 2004 and the Morningstar Investment Career Achievement Award in 2005.