Friends join together for $4 million gift

What started out as a business partnership and a strong affinity to an alma mater has led to a combined four million dollar personal donation to SAIT Polytechnic.

Doug Ramsay and his wife Susan today announced their generous gift of three million dollars, along with friend and business partner Ron Mathison, who also pledged a one million dollar contribution toward SAIT’s Promising Futures™ Campaign for the Trades and Technology Complex.

“Partnerships can be powerful in all aspects of life,” says Irene Lewis, SAIT President and CEO. “Doug and Ron have partnered together in business, in friendship and now in education for the benefit of SAIT students. I thank them and their families for their generous contributions and for being role models to those seeking careers in the energy industry.”

Family and friends gathered alongside students, staff and faculty from the MacPhail school of Energy to honour the Mathisons and Ramsay during a luncheon on September 21.

Ramsay Centre for Petroleum Engineering Technology

In recognition of the Ramsay and Mathison gifts, the third floor of the Johnson-Cobbe Energy Centre in the Trades and Technology Complex will be named the Ramsay Centre for Petroleum Engineering Technology. The 57,000 square foot Ramsay Centre will include the Mathison Drilling and Geosciences Lab Suite, featuring a state-of-the-art drilling simulator to provide students with a unique learning experience in a safe environment.

“We have benefited a lot from SAIT’s training on a personal and professional level,” says Ramsay, SAIT alumnus and CEO and co-founder of Calfrac Well Services Ltd. “The education I received more than 30 years ago was the leverage I needed for my future. Now is the time for us to give back and help provide the next generation with opportunity to advance in their careers.”

Mathison, co-founder and Chairman of the Board of Calfrac Well Services Ltd., says he is contributing to the campaign to support Doug and other SAIT-educated industry leaders he admires and who have influenced him over the years. “World-leading businesses can be started by SAIT graduates – Keith MacPhail, Stan Grad, David Johnson, Murray Cobbe and John Aldred are trail blazers and all have an association with SAIT. For me, the proof is in the pudding. SAIT produces quality graduates ready for the workforce.”

Promising Futures

Construction of the three buildings that will comprise SAIT’s Trades and Technology Complex is well underway. When completed in 2012, they will provide the campus with more than 740,000 square feet of new training space to accommodate up to 8,100 more apprenticeship and full-time students every year. Areas of study benefitting most from the new space will be energy, construction and manufacturing.

The Promising Futures™ Campaign, currently at $82 million raised, continues to build on its success and is now raising funds in support of additional priorities. The additional funds will be used to support the tools and technical equipment for the Trades and Technology Complex, as well as scholarships and bursaries, and items to enhance program excellence.