Schulich School of Business Professor Peter Macdonald appointed new co-director of the Hennick Centre for Business and Law

Schulich School of Business Professor Peter Macdonald has been appointed the new co-director of the Hennick Centre for Business and Law at York University. Macdonald is a lawyer, mediator and co-director o the joint MBA/JD program at Schulich, and graduated from York’s Osgoode Hall Law School in 1985. Between 1987-94 he practiced corporate, commercial and securities law with two downtown Toronto law firms and a large multinational corporation in Montreal. Since 1995, Macdonald has acted as a commercial mediator and dispute resolution trainer in a broad range of litigious, regulatory and business-oriented contexts. In 2001, he joined the faculty at Schulich School of Business to teach business law to undergraduate and graduate students. He has received numerous teaching excellence awards. “We’re very fortunate to have Peter join us as a co-director of the Centre,” said Ed Waitzer, director, Hennick Centre for Business and Law. “As co-director of the JD/MBA program, Peter already plays a key role in, and has made a huge contribution to, many of our programs and priorities. He’s a terrific resource.” Launched on Feb. 6, 2009, the Jay and Barbara Hennick Centre for Business and Law at York University is the first Canadian centre to promote and develop joint business and law scholarship and education. Made possible by a transformational gift from Jay and Barbara Hennick, the Hennick Centre is a hotbed for initiatives and programs that deliver the competencies professionals need to analyse business and legal problems in a holistic way. It is a joint initiative of Osgoode Hall Law School, the largest common-law law school in Canada, and world-leading business school Schulich School of Business. The Hennick Centre also draws together the teaching and research strengths of the Davies Fund for Business Law and other endowed Chairs including the Jarislowsky Dimma Mooney Chair for Corporate Governance and the Osler Chair in Business Law. The Centre has launched a business certificate program for practicing lawyers with Osgoode Professional Development and the Schulich Executive Education Centre. The Centre also hosts an annual lecture series and awards endowed medals of honour for academic achievement to JD/MBA students, and career achievement to international leaders in business and law. The Hennick Centre’s long-term strategic plan is “Defining the Intersection of Business, Law and Public Policy.