Simon Fraser University Engage Summer 2016

“What’s my responsibility?”

That’s the question business leader and entrepreneur Charles Chang, BBA ’95, asked himself as he prepared to sell his plant-based protein powder business, Vega.

“I wanted to not only make my parents proud, but show my kids how it’s done, and help the community,” says Charles.

Charles recently donated $10 million to the Beedie School of Business. In many ways, this transformational gift marks the end of one wildly successful chapter – growing Vega from a company run out of his basement and financed by multiple lines of credit, into a game-changing, category-defining multimillion dollar company – and the beginning of another one, as an active philanthropist who wants to do more than simply write the cheque.

“How do I give back meaningfully, to contribute to the next generation? The visions weren’t that grandiose early on but they develop as you have

engage

DONOR PROFILE

more capacity and time and resources. My family and I, we’re really excited about it.”

Coupled with his deep flair for business innovation, a gift to establish the Charles Chang Institute for Entrepreneurship, housed within Simon Fraser University’s Beedie School of Business, was a natural fit. A flagship initiative of the institute will be the Charles Chang Certificate in Innovation and Entrepreneurship, aimed at nurturing entrepreneurs across all faculties.

His ties to SFU are long-standing – family members have attended university here, and in his words, it’s thanks to SFU’s renowned co-op programs that he met his wife.

Today, what inspires Charles about SFU is the possibility to make SFU and the Lower Mainland a hub for innovation and entrepreneurship.

The gift is the second largest in the history of the Beedie School of Business. And like all good entrepreneurs, Charles is making his mark on exactly how this gift can have the greatest impact.

To honour his outstanding generosity, SFU’s newest property at 308 Hastings will be named the Charles Chang Innovation Centre.

DONOR NEWSLETTER Summer 2016

When you’re beginning as an entrepreneur, your first order is to survive.

Thinking about giving comes a little bit later.

– Charles Chang

RESEARCH

The competition is for people with disabilities who use robotic technology. Danny, along with SFU’s team of researchers known as M.A.S.S. Impact (Muscle Activity Sensor Strip), tested their prototype at the Cybathlon trial last summer. They performed well, and felt hopeful for a win at the real event being held in Zurich, Switzerland this October. But there was one problem: they didn’t have the funds to pay for travel expenses.

Donors send SFU researchers to cyborg Olympics After losing his hand in a workplace accident, Danny Letain dreamed of one day moving his fingers again.

That day has come. SFU researchers have been working with Danny to design a new control system for one of the world’s most advanced bionic hands.

And this life-changing technology is about to grab international attention at the inaugural Cybathlon 2016 (dubbed ‘cyborg Olympics’) – thanks to the generosity of donors like you.

STUDENT PROFILE

You help students achieve more…than ever expected Rachel spent three weeks this summer researching volcanoes in Terrace, B.C. – yes, we have volcanoes here! She had this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity because our donors believe in setting our students up for success with competitive job skills.

But wait, let’s rewind a moment. Rachel’s journey to SFU was not straightforward. She faced obstacle after obstacle, and the donor-funded scholarship she recently received was a welldeserved reward for a life of perseverance.

Summer 2016 • SFU ADVANCEMENT

Using SFU’s crowdfunding platform, the team asked our community of donors for help. To date, they’ve raised over $23,000. Because of you, M.A.S.S. Impact is heading to Zurich!

Cybathon 2016 will bring together over 80 teams from 30 countries, representing the world’s best researchers and innovators, and will be attended by over 10,000 spectators. Danny will perform everyday tasks such as slicing bread and opening jars in an obstacle course for people with powered arm prostheses.

With this new system, it feels like I’m opening and closing my hand. The most exciting moment was feeling my left index finger and the little finger for the first time since my accident.

– Danny Letain

As the only team representing Canada, M.A.S.S. Impact hopes to bring back gold, but even more than that, they hope this international platform will give amputees around the world the best chance to regain their independence. Go team, go!

Rachel had two open-heart surgeries before her third birthday. She wore a back brace due to scoliosis from age six to fourteen. As a young child, her parents were told that she might not graduate high school due to medical conditions that delayed her academic development. She grew up with permanent hearing loss and struggled with learning disabilities.

She overcame all of these setbacks and not only graduated high school, but was able to pursue a university degree at SFU. Here, Rachel discovered a passion for Earth Sciences, specifically natural hazards. Math and physics were never her strong subjects, but she’s worked hard to maintain a strong GPA. The scholarship Rachel received allowed her to work in the field in Terrace, studying a volcanic event. She’s grateful to have practical experience outside of academics that will be instrumental as she pursues a career in Earth Sciences.

You’re part of the community that helped Rachel achieve more than anyone ever expected. Thank you for believing in our students.

I genuinely feel that the community at SFU wants me to succeed. After everything I went through to get here, it means so much to have that support.

– Rachel Warwick

EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING

ITEM students received the great honour of a private audience with His Holiness the Dalai Lama. Shireen is pictured to his left, holding his hand.

Life-changing experience makes a better teacher Shireen was an aspiring teacher in the Professional Development Program at SFU when she heard about the International Teaching Education Module (ITEM) in India. She was immediately interested.

Every year, a group of student teachers from SFU complete their practicums in Dharamsala, India, a city perched on the southern edge of the Himalayan Mountains. The area is home to Tibetan refugees who live under the leadership of his Holiness, the 14th Dalai Lama.

“This module taught me how to be compassionate, flexible, adaptable and community-oriented,” shares Shireen. “The children in Dharamsala were so grateful to be given this education, and despite my own feelings of home-sickness and over-tiredness, I found myself wanting to be the best teacher for my students. By putting the students first and teaching them to be critical thinkers, I realize now I was developing into a professional teacher.”

Shireen learned first-hand how the people of Dharamsala place importance on upholding their heritage and values in the most peaceful ways

possible. To teach a group of children from a different cultural background is one thing, but to be mindful of what they and their community lived through, took the challenge to another level.

And there is no better teacher of mindfulness than the Dalai Lama.

“Meeting the Dalai Lama was a dream come true.

It was amazing to speak to such an important figure,” says Shireen. “He was very jovial…he joked and laughed along with us, but was also very frank.

One of the things that resonated with me was that he wanted us to teach the notion of ahimsa (nonviolence, to cause no harm). Especially nowadays with what’s going on in the world, I found his words to be very profound.”

It is vital that when educating our children’s brains that we do not neglect to educate their hearts – His Holiness, the 14th Dalai Lama

The generosity of donors like you provides critical support for students who would not otherwise be able to participate in this unique practicum experience. These students will go on to teach our children and grandchildren having learned valuable classroom skills, but also the invaluable skill of teaching with passion and humanity.

“This experience has made me think of ways in which I can create a mini-community in my classroom,” adds Shireen, “where everyone can feel that they belong and are cared for.”

SFU ADVANCEMENT • Summer 2016

PLANNED GIVING

I was dancing on air that night. I’d found the ‘Agent of Change’ I’d been looking for and life was perfect...until the middle of the night when I woke up realizing there was a glitch. I wasn’t dead yet…not even close to dying.”

– Lorna Court

You’re just one person.

How can you create change now?

NEW TO SFU I thought I’d take this opportunity to introduce myself as the new Director of Planned Giving at SFU. I’m excited to work with such a wonderful community of dedicated donors.

Just ask Lorna. While caring for her ailing father, Lorna experienced first-hand the gaps that exist within seniors’ health care, particularly for patients with dementia. She saw a desperate need for improvements and decided to take action.

As an SFU alumna, Lorna turned to the Department of gerontology – a leader in this field of study.

“I wanted to be part of the solution by helping to support the critical work of researchers and students,” shares Lorna.

“I decided I could do this by putting a gift to SFU in my will to support gerontology.”

She met with professor of gerontology, Dr. Andrew Wister, and he described the scope of his department’s work, and the results they were achieving – it was exactly what Lorna wanted to support.

She had intended to fund scholarships, but after Wister explained that he needed more instructors, Lorna took action to set up a professorship instead.

Yet Lorna knew the need for change was urgent. “We need these wonderful grads now, the healthcare system needs their ideas now, and Andrew needs his instructors now.”

Donors like Lorna... her passion is inspiring.

Many of us think about the future and hope to add stability to the unknown with a planned gift. But there is also satisfaction in fueling change now and giving today. It’s quite exceptional that Lorna chose to do both.

Please feel free to get in touch, so we can talk about what matters most to you.

Looking forward, Cary Gaymond Director of Planned Giving cary_gaymond@sfu.ca 778.782.7308

She called him the next morning asking, “How much would it take to make a difference now?”

Soon after they agreed on an amount over three years, set up a second professorship – and Wister engaged an additional gerontology instructor, who is presently helping to effect the change Lorna has supported.

“It’s one of the best things I’ve ever done,” declares Lorna.

“I can’t tell you how proud I am to feel a part of their work.

As one person, I couldn’t create the change I wanted to see, but by investing in SFU, on matters I care deeply about, I know the change has now started!”

University Advancement Simon Fraser University 2118 Strand Hall 8888 University Drive Burnaby, BC V5A 1S6 778.782.4154 give.sfu.ca