TORONTO, November 28, 2011 – The Schulich School of Business at York University today announced the launch of an MBA specialization in the mining industry, uniquely located in Toronto, the mining equity financing capital of the world. 

The MBA specialization in Global Mining Management will develop and mentor the next generation of business leaders in one of the global economy’s most vital and challenging sectors. The new specialization will be fully available in September 2012.

“Canadacontinues to play a critical role in the global mining sector, and Canadian mining companies are key players in responding to the unprecedented growth in demand for metals and minerals,” said Schulich Dean Dezsö J. Horváth, who announced the new program by opening trading on Toronto Stock Exchange this morning.

Canada’s mining industry is among the largest in the world, with some 1,627 mining companies listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange and TSX Venture Exchange as of October 31, 2011. Canadian-listed miners account for 58 per cent of the world’s mining companies and 80 per cent of the world’s mining equity financings have been done on theTorontoexchanges. 

Added Horváth: “An MBA specialization in mining is long overdue in preparing future business leaders for a key industry inCanadaand around the world.”

Richard Ross, former Chairman andCEOof Inmet Mining Corporation and Schulich Executive-in-Residence, said the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum approached the School to develop this specialization because of Schulich’s strong reputation as a leader in sustainable business management, its global reach and orientation, and its status as a top-ranked business school in a number of global MBA surveys.

“Graduates of this new MBA mining specialization will see incredible opportunities in the global mining sector due to the looming shortage of knowledge workers,” said Ross. “Businesses that support the mining industry, such as financial institutions, engineering companies, consultants, and accounting and legal firms, will also have a strong interest in recruiting our graduates.”

“It’s a very challenging time in the history of the mining sector due to the increasingly complex social, environmental and political climates worldwide,” added Ross. “A large focus of this specialization is to teach future managers and leaders the critical role they can play as responsible stewards of the world’s resources.”

The first course in the mining curriculum, Managing Growth in the Mining Sector, was introduced this fall. Other core courses in the specialization will focus on topics such as Financial Fundamentals in Mining and Mining & Sustainability, while elective courses in topics as diverse as Cross Cultural Management, Project Management and Crisis Management will also form part of the specialization. In addition, students will be required to complete their real-world, strategic consulting project at a mining company. Students in the specialization will graduate with a solid grounding in industry-specific topics as well as effective leadership and managerial capabilities.

Schulich’s new Global Mining Management MBA specialization joins a large and growing number of industry-sector specializations offered by the School, including financial services, real estate and infrastructure, health industry management, and arts & media management.

York University is the leading interdisciplinary research and teaching university in Canada. York offers a modern, academic experience at the undergraduate and graduate level in Toronto, Canada’s most international city. The third largest university in the country, York is host to a dynamic academic community of 55,000 students and 7,000 faculty and staff, as well as 240,000 alumni worldwide. York’s 10 Faculties and 28 research centres conduct ambitious, groundbreaking research that is interdisciplinary, cutting across traditional academic boundaries. This distinctive and collaborative approach is preparing students for the future and bringing fresh insights and solutions to real-world challenges. York University is an autonomous, not-for-profit corporation. 

For more information, please contact:
Dezsö J. Horváth, Dean
Schulich School of Business
416-736-5070
Email: dhorvath@schulich.yorku.ca 

Richard Ross, Executive-in-Residence
Schulich School of Business
416-666-0788
Email: rross@schulich.yorku.ca 

Elayne Shapiro
Media Relations
416-736-5546
Email: eshapiro@schulich.yorku.ca