Lecture series to commemorate Bata
06/11/2008
The Toronto-based Bata Shoe Foundation has announced that it will fund a new series of lectures on responsible capitalism to commemorate the life of footwear manufacturer Thomas Bata, who died in September at the age of 93. The programme of talks will be called the Thomas J. Bata Lecture Series on Responsible Capitalism.
It will be a collaboration between the Schulich School of Business at York University in Toronto and the Tomas Bata University in Zlin, in the Czech Republic, the country of his birth. 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.
It 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. The universities will host the lecture in alternate years. The speakers 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, 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."
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