SAIT alumnus donates $10 million toward trades and technology training. Government of Alberta matches with additional $10 million. SAIT announces Canada's first School of Energy.

December 7, 2005, Calgary, Alberta – Keith MacPhail, President and CEO of Bonavista Energy Trust, gave students seeking technical careers in the energy sector a major boost today by donating an historic $10 million to help SAIT Polytechnic meet Canada's demand for skilled workers. His donation of $10 million is the largest a Canadian college or technical institute has ever received from an individual.

In recognition of MacPhail'’s generosity and passion for education and for the energy industry in which he works, SAIT's Energy department will be renamed to create Canada's first-ever school of energy - the MacPhail School of Energy.  This is also the first time a department at SAIT has been named after an individual. 

"What makes this gift most special is that Mr. MacPhail is an alumnus of SAIT," says Irene Lewis, President and CEO of SAIT.  "As an educator, you hope the classroom experience and curriculum you provide to students brings them success in life.  It is heartwarming to know that Mr. MacPhail's SAIT experience helped bring him success and encouraged him to give back so generously."

MacPhail says his SAIT education provided the foundation for his career in the oil industry.

"SAIT was exactly what I needed. The program was focused on the oil industry which was an area I had grown to like over the summers that I spent working in it," says MacPhail.  "It was a great experience that provided me with an injection of confidence. Leaving SAIT I knew I could do anything."

The Government of Alberta announced that it will contribute $10 million to match Mr. MacPhail's gift when funds come available from the province's Access to the Future Fund.  This $3 billion fund encourages private sector donations to enhance and sustain access to affordable and high-quality post-secondary learning opportunities.

"The Access to the Future Fund demonstrates the Alberta government's commitment to make advanced learning a top priority and to encourage the private sector and Albertans to do the same," said Advanced Education Minister Dave Hancock. "These matching commitments to SAIT come at a time when growth in industry, especially the energy sector, is unparalleled. The funding will help produce knowledgeable, highly-skilled graduates who will help continue that growth and further reveal our province's energy potential."

"The $20 million investment will go towards the development of a new state-of-the-art Trades and Technology Complex," says Lewis. "This will help SAIT add more student spaces to better address skilled labour shortages in the energy industry. It will also provide opportunities for thousands more students to pursue a post-secondary education and build rewarding careers similar to business leaders like Mr. MacPhail."

With the development of a new Trades and Technology Complex, SAIT plans to double the number of seats it will offer in energy, construction, manufacturing and automation, and transportation. All are industry areas with huge demand for more skilled workers.  SAIT plans to meet the demand in these areas by offering an additional 2,735 student seats in certificate, diploma, and applied degree programs as well as 5,898 more apprenticeship seats.

MacPhail cites several reasons why he donated $10 million to SAIT – his passion for SAIT and the experience he had when attending, his belief in the importance of education, his desire to provide opportunities for more students to get a post-secondary education, and to help develop more skilled workers as a way to give back to the energy sector that has served him so well.

"I have had a great career and am proud to give back," says MacPhail. "I want to see the Trades and Technology Complex built and the energy school formed. But most of all, I want to see the bottleneck opened up so that there are more students going through programs and ultimately coming out with a technical education.  To the extent my donation does that and helps another 1,000, 2,000 or 5,000 students go from high school and into technical school, that’s what I'm really looking for."

Keith MacPhail graduated from SAIT's Petroleum Technology – Geology program in 1981

Heidi Sparks
Public and Community Relations Specialist
SAIT Corporate Communications Department                          
Cell: 403.284.8473                                                 

Alison Gates-Kriston
Alberta Advanced Education
Tel: 780.422.5400