A large donation to Western University on Wednesday will help foster the next generation of entrepreneurs.
Ron Schmeichel, a Canadian entrepreneur and financier, is lending his name to the new entrepreneurship and innovation building at Western — and with that, a $10 million donation.
Schmeichel said in a press release, “This space will help students from all academic disciplines come together around a common belief: You create innovation when ideas, enthusiasm and skills come together to invite and build.”
The 100,000-square-foot building is located at the heart of the Western Campus and is named after Ronald D. Schmeichel Building for Entrepreneurship and Innovation.
The project is expected to be completed in the fall of 2023, and will be Western’s first net-zero-energy building to be a space with state-of-the-art active learning classrooms, 3D printers, metalworking, machinery and equipment. Woodworking tools and a digital lab.
In the press release, Western says the new facility will be a hub for entrepreneurial teaching, learning, and experience.
“It is more than a building. It is a place where the entrepreneurs of tomorrow will develop their entrepreneurial spirit, whether they are in engineering, music, journalism, law, medicine, science, business or the arts. We have an entrepreneurial culture in Canada. needs to be encouraged and supported, and this new institution is going to play a big role in doing that,” Schmeichel said.
Schmeichel credits his experience in the Western region with starting him on the path of entrepreneurship, eventually co-founding and now chairing JJR Private Capital.
“What attracted me to Western countries was its respected brand and strong presence in the business community,” he said.
“Once I toured campus, I was hooked. I’ll never forget walking into law school and that deep understanding of history and education, from the paintings on the walls of judges, lawyers, and professors to the extensive library and quiet halls Till. I was terrified of my mind — but it was also magical,” Schmeichel said.
