ServiceNewsMedia Release: Thomas J. Bata Lecture Series & Scholarships established at Canadian and Czech Universities

30.11. -0001

The Bata Shoe Foundation today announced the establishment of the Thomas J. Bata Lecture Series on Responsible Capitalism. The Lecture Series has been created to commemorate the late Thomas J. Bata’s dedication to responsible entrepreneurship and service. He saw business as a vehicle for bringing economic growth and creating abundance to contribute to human well-being internationally. The Lecture Series also reflects his special attachment to Canada and the Czech Republic, the country of his birth. Known as “Shoemaker to the World”, Thomas J. Bata built the Bata Shoe Organization into the world’s leading footwear retailer and manufacturer with sales of over 20 billion pairs during his lifetime. He died at the age of 93 in September, 2008. His son Thomas G. Bata currently leads the Bata Shoe Organization.

The Thomas J. Bata Lecture Series on Responsible Capitalism will be a joint collaboration between the Schulich School of Business at York University in Toronto, Canada and the Tomas Bata University in Zlin, Czech Republic. Mr. Bata served as Chair of the Dean’s International Advisory Council at Schulich and was Chair of the Board of Governors at Tomas Bata University.

The Lecture Series will include an annual lecture on the subject of Responsible Capitalism, which stems from the long-held belief of the Bata family that businesses should be regarded as a public trust and have a duty to improve the living standards of the communities in which they operate. Historically in many countries where Bata had operations, employees and their families had access to company-sponsored schools, health care and social facilities. Notwithstanding the evolution of publicly funded facilities, many of those Bata traditions continue.

Each university will host the Lecture Series funded by the Bata Shoe Foundation in alternate years. The lecturers will be eminent individuals to be selected by the two universities, and the text of each annual lecture will be printed in English and Czech and widely distributed.

In addition, the Schulich School of Business and Tomas Bata University will each create a Thomas J. Bata Scholarship. The Scholarship will have a value of $20,000 in Canada, and Kc 328,000 in the Czech Republic. Each Scholarship will be awarded annually to promote the study of issues relating to Responsible Capitalism. Both awards will be announced each year at the annual Lecture Series, which will continue for ten years.

“Thomas J. Bata saw business as a service to society and as a vehicle for improving the lives of employees and their families, customers and communities,” said Professor Ignác Hoza, CSc., Rector of Tomas Bata University. “The Lecture Series and Scholarships will ensure a continued focus on Thomas Bata’s ideals for business as a service to society.”

“Thomas Bata was an enthusiastic champion, loyal supporter and friend of the Schulich School,” said Dezsö J. Horváth, Dean of the Schulich School of Business. “The Lecture Series and Scholarships will honour his two decades of dedication to the Schulich community.”

About Schulich
Known as Canada’s Global Business School™, the Schulich School of Business in Toronto is ranked among the world’s leading business schools by a number of global surveys. Schulich’s MBA program is ranked #1 in Canada by The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, The Economist (EIU), Expansión (a Time Warner publication) and the Aspen Institute (a US-based business think tank), and its EMBA program is ranked #1 in Canada by the Financial Times of London. Schulich is also ranked as one of the top ten schools in the world outside the US by Business Week. For complete ranking details, please visit www.schulich.yorku.ca.

Global, innovative and diverse, Schulich offers business programs year-round at two Toronto campuses – its new state-of-the-art complex on York University’s main campus and its downtown Miles S. Nadal Management Centre located in the heart of the city’s financial district. The School also operates satellite centres in Beijing and Shanghai, China; Mumbai, India; Seoul, South Korea; and Moscow, Russia. Schulich offers undergraduate, graduate and postgraduate business degrees that lead to careers in the private, public and nonprofit sectors, and has over 20,000 alumni working in more than 80 countries. Schulich pioneered Canada’s first International MBA (IMBA) and International BBA (iBBA) degrees, as well as North America’s first ever cross-border executive MBA degree, the Kellogg-Schulich Executive MBA. Schulich’s Executive Education Centre provides executive development programs annually to 16,000 executives in Canada and abroad.

About Tomas Bata University
Tomas Bata University in Zlín (TBU) was established after the 1989 Velvet Revolution and is unique among Czech universities in its rapid and dynamic development. The University was named after Tomáš Baťa (1876-1932), the internationally renowned entrepreneur, who founded the worldwide shoe organization in Zlín. The University’s motto is ‘Erudire et creare’ - Educate and create.

TBU is a highly respected public university with more than 12,000 students and 750 staff. It is the only higher education institution in the Czech Republic, which is bilingual: its official languages are Czech and English. TBU is open to people, places and all progressive ideas. There are more and more Czech and international students who are interested in studying at TBU. The students particularly appreciate the quality equipment and facilities, very good study conditions and individual approach to each student.

TBU focuses on the following fields of study: technology, informatics, economics, business management, marketing, visual arts, philology, pedagogy and health care. The University also has a strong focus on graduate research, development and innovation. For further information about TBU please visit www.utb.cz