Hari Varshney, FCA, Gives $1 Million to British Columbia School

Vancouver, Feb. 20, 2007
Abrar Alvi

Hari B. Varshney, FCA, Gives $1 Million to Sauder School of Business

The University of British Columbia today announced that B.C. business leader and longstanding UBC supporter Hari B. Varshney has made a $1 million gift to establish an enhanced Business Career Centre at the Sauder School of Business.

The establishment of the Hari B. Varshney Business Career Centre, part of a $65 million redevelopment and expansion plan for the Sauder School of Business facility at UBC, will expand existing career resources and be a vital base for connecting students with the business community and alumni.

“Thanks to Mr. Varshney’s generous gift, we shall be able to create a new space where students can establish key linkages for future success,” says Brad Bennett, Chair, UBC Board of Governors. “The Hari B. Varshney Business Career Centre will serve as an important venue for today’s learners to interact with tomorrow’s leaders.”

The Hari B. Varshney Business Career Centre will connect students directly with employers as a venue for company recruiting, career planning workshops, job interviews, and info sessions. It will serve as the base for the school’s co-op, mentorship and career networking programs.

“This gift is about helping students pursue and embrace new business career opportunities,” says Varshney. “Establishing a leading-edge business career centre at the Sauder School of Business will facilitate important career and industry interactions, while strengthening the ties between students and the business community.”

The establishment of the enhanced career centre is part of the redevelopment and expansion plan for the Sauder School of Business facility at UBC. The upgrade includes a new facility dedicated to graduate programs and the addition of 55,000 square feet to the existing 267,000 square-foot building.

Varshney’s generous gift will also be dedicated to establishing the Hari Varshney MBA Entrance Scholarship and the Madhu Varshney MBA Entrance Scholarship to provide graduate students with increased access to management education.

Varshney, a chartered accountant and principal at Varshney Capital Corp., has been in the venture capital business since 1985. During this period, he has served as a director and officer of many public companies in North America. He is currently the chair of St. Paul's Hospital Foundation, and a director of the Canada India Village Aid Association (CIVA), College of Denturists of B.C. and the Indo-Canadian Chamber of Commerce. He was elected a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in 2005. Varshney is a recipient of the 2006 British Columbia Community Achievement Award.

Hari and wife, Madhu Varshney, and their children Praveen, Peeyush and Vandana, have been active supporters of UBC for many years. All three children are alumni of the Sauder School of Business at UBC, and as a family they have donated more than $300,000 to the Centre for India and South Asia Research, the Hari and Madhu Varshney Lecture Series, and other scholarship funds at the university.

The Sauder School of Business at UBC is Canada’s leading academic business school, recognized globally for its contributions to the transformation of business practices, innovative research and teaching. (Surce-UBC)