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CIBC has pledged $200,000 over four years to Laurier, providing learning opportunities for students in the Lazaridis School of Business and Economics. Half of the funds will support new scholarships for women studying finance. With the other portion, CIBC becomes title sponsor of the Lazaridis School of Business and Economics’ immersive learning vehicle, the Integrated Case Exercise (ICE).
"CIBC is proud to support women in finance and help develop young talent," said Sam Alfieri, district vice–president of CIBC. "We have a long-standing relationship with Wilfrid Laurier University and are happy to help support educational institutions and provide opportunities for career success."
– Sam Alfieri
The announcement was made at the March 2019 Winter ICE kick-off event at Lazaridis Hall on Laurier's Waterloo campus. ICE is a 42-year tradition at Laurier. During the 10-day compulsory case study competition, offered two times a year, more than 900 third-year Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) students analyze complex problems facing real companies and then compete as part of teams to present the best solutions to top business executives. Companies analyzed in the past include Linamar, Blackberry and Molson Coors Canada.
CIBC's gift of $25,000 per year for four years will provide $100,000 to support the next eight ICE competitions (one each year in winter and spring). The bank is also committing $100,000 over four years to strengthen the role of women and women-identified persons in the finance industry through CIBC Finance Scholarships. Five annual, one-time scholarships of $5,000 each will support women in the upper years of the BBA program who are also enrolled in the finance option.
"The CIBC gift represents two areas of development important to the long-term success of the Lazaridis School and its community," said Micheál J. Kelly, dean of the Lazaridis School of Business and Economics. "Supporting women in finance offers both academic and industry access to some of the brightest minds in the upcoming generations. Furthermore, support for our ICE Week case competition allows us to continue to provide real-world problems to our students and create value for the case companies themselves. I am grateful for this gift and our long-standing relationship with CIBC."
CIBC has a lengthy giving history to Laurier, with major gifts supporting library renovations, the Laurier Launchpad $50K Venture Creation Competition and the CIBC Leaders in Entrepreneurship Award, in addition to gifts supporting many other projects and programs across Laurier's Waterloo and Brantford campuses.
CIBC employs 238 Laurier alumni and has hired students for a total of 246 co-op work terms, including at CIBC World Markets and CIBC Wood Gundy.