It all started in 1985, now a program at the University of Lethbridge has expanded and is celebrating 40 years of perseverance.
In that time, the University of Lethbridge’s Dhillon School of Business has offered an Indigenous Business Management Education program to empower Indigenous people in southern Alberta.
“It was developed by Indigenous people for Indigenous people,” said Kerry Godfrey, the dean of the Dhillion School of Business.
“It’s not the university saying ‘this is how you do it,’ it’s creating a platform, a space for the Indigenous community to say ‘this is how we want to do it and this is how we’re going to do it.’”
It’s just another innovation coming out of the west side of Lethbridge.
“We’re the first business school to require all of our undergraduate students to take an Indigenous knowledge course as part of the degree program. That’s just one step on our road to supporting reconciliation through education,” said Godfrey.
During a celebration of the programs historic endurance, a new scholarship by two University of Lethbridge alumni was announced: the Labuhn Family Indigenous Impact Prize.
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“I think we’re at a unique time in Canadian history that says we need to see all of us rise within Canada,” said Roland Labuhn, a technology partner at Deloitte and founder of R8dius, an Indigenous-majority-owned services firm.
Roland launched the endowment fund alongside his brother, Harvey, who worked 42 years in accounting and is a retired partner at Avail LLP.
The two brothers both obtained their Bachelor of Management degrees from the U of L in 1982 and 1990.
“We’ve got this amazing and hidden capability within the Indigenous community, many of which go to post-secondary institutions but they may struggle to get in, they may require scholarships.
“Let’s allow this talent and workforce to find their way.”
In total, two students — one Indigenous and one of any background — who make the lives of Indigenous people better, will receive $2,000 from this scholarship. The University of Lethbridge is cost-matching the donations of the two brothers.
“I think every little bit helps. Is it going to solve their problems? No. But if it gets their foot in the door, that’s the important thing,” said Harvey.
The Labuhn brothers say their donation is a small step toward a big change that could one day have substantial impacts on the entire country.
“The research we’ve done is it’s north of $65 billion impact (to Canada’s GDP) just by getting Indigenous individuals across the country to the same median income as (other) Canadians. That’s something that should be within our reach and something we should aspire to,” Roland said.
The deadline for applications for the Labuhn Family Indigenous Impact Prize is April 25.
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