Business professor Gerry Kerr with Sue Skrobiak: an awards program will recognize her years of service to Odette MBA students and faculty.
Sue Skrobiak’s career of almost 40 years dedicated to the Odette School of Business will receive recognition with a new award. She joined the University’s staff as a secretary in the Faculty of Business Administration in 1980, and died in November 2018.
The Sue Skrobiak Award for Excellence will be presented annually to a recipient who has positively impacted the Odette School of Business MBA Program for a sustained period.
“Sue worked for the School of Business for almost 40 years and most of that time was devoted exclusively to our MBA program,” explains dean Mitch Fields. “The entire Odette team — faculty, staff, students, and alumni — really wanted to recognize her contribution.”
Award recipients can be an alumnus of the program, a past Odette faculty or staff member, or an engaged individual or organization. The Sue Skrobiak Award for Excellence will be bestowed at the Odette Dean’s Dinner, the culmination of the fall MBA orientation and an event that Skrobiak cherished.
In addition, an annual bursary will be given to a current MBA student in honour of the Sue Skrobiak Award for Excellence recipient. The school plans to raise funds for an endowment to support the student bursary.
Donations given beyond the endowment target will be directed to other worthy causes related to the Odette MBA program and its students. Priority will be given to the refurbishment of the Odette MBA student lounge; upon its completion, the space will be renamed in honour of Skrobiak. Any additional funds will be directed to activities and projects, like MBA case competitions, MBA leadership forums, and updates to the main MBA classroom within the Odette School of Business.
The Sue Skrobiak Award for Excellence was developed in consultation with her husband John and daughters Amie and Melissa.
“No words can express the devastating loss our family has endured,” explains John Skrobiak. “This award will be a constant reminder to us and others of Sue’s contributions, efforts, care, and kindness that she exhibited throughout her life and her career. We are honoured and humbled that Sue’s name will live on through Odette, the MBA program and in our family’s hearts forever.”