A new scholarship has been created by Gerry and Margaret Kazma and the Kazma Family Foundation to honour the memory of Margaret’s brother and his wife. The John and Margaret Forbes Award in Entrepreneurship is a renewable scholarship which will be awarded annually to two third-year students with exceptional entrepreneurial spirit in the Business program at Acadia.

“Thank you to the Kazmas for their recognition of what a special place Acadia truly is and for choosing to honour the Forbes family and their connection to the University with this gift,” said Dr. Peter Ricketts, President and Vice-Chancellor of Acadia.

Created by the Kazmas in 1997, the Kazma Family Foundation is a non-profit organization that provides scholarships and support for educational initiatives. Over its 20-year history, the Foundation has granted more than 1000 scholarships to students and funded the construction of various schools and classrooms in the United States and Central America.

“I’d like to express our gratitude to the Kazma Family for supporting our school in this way,” said Paul Callaghan, Director, F.C. Manning School of Business, “Their generosity is going to have a real impact on the lives of deserving students over the last two years of their program. This award will help to significantly alleviate the financial burden we know is a real challenge for many of our students to manage.”

While John and Margaret Forbes didn’t have the opportunity to benefit from a university education, they ensured their children did emphasizing the importance of learning and stoking their entrepreneurial spirit. All of their children and many of their grandchildren attended Acadia and the University became a part of their family legacy.

Sandra Greer and Heather Cannon, the daughters of John and Margaret Forbes, were touched by the generosity of their family. “We are so grateful to our family (the Kazmas) for creating this award to honour our parents,” said Sandra Greer, “Entrepreneurship runs in our blood and we know how important it is to inspire and excite students about their ideas and help further their education.”

Julia Russell from Dartmouth Nova Scotia and Allan Galbraith from Canaan, Nova Scotia were the first recipients of the inaugural award. Both Julia and Allan will receive a $7,500 award for their third and fourth years, totalling $15,000 each during their time at Acadia.

At a fall gathering in 80 Commons at Patterson Hall, the FC Manning School of Business, Julia and Allan were overjoyed to express their gratitude to the Kazma and Forbes families for their kindness.

“My words cannot begin to fully capture how appreciative I am of the help this gives to me and my family,” said Russell. “With three sisters at home who have the same passion and drive as me, there is nothing more important than for them to find inspiration in this gift and for them to believe that they too may one day have the opportunity to attend a school like Acadia.”

“This opportunity to attend Acadia is thanks to donors like the Kazma family. It will allow me to focus on my education here but also on the community at large,” said Galbraith. “My hope is that one day I will have both a student impact and family legacy like the one the Forbes have left here today.”

The generosity of these families will continue to help students at Acadia achieve their dreams and will ensure that the entrepreneurial spirit remains alive and well at the University for many years to come.

Creating a named award
Named awards can be created at Acadia University for less than $100 a month, making an incredible impact on our students. To discuss your options, please contact Executive Director of Philanthropy Nancy Handrigan (’92) at 902-585-1042 or nancy.handrigan@acadiau.ca.

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