Brock University officially launched its business school earlier this month under a new name: the Goodman School of Business.

The moniker honours Ned Goodman, a businessman, geologist and investment expert who has served as university chancellor for the past five years. This is the first time that the university has renamed a faculty for a donor.

The change comes after the Goodman Foundation gave the school a “transformational gift,” which will go toward a new building for the business school, as well as student scholarships, research and programming for community development, said Don Cyr, dean of the Goodman School of Business.

Cyr said Goodman’s donation came with the condition that the school would not disclose the amount.

The two-hour ceremony to officially open the renamed school took place Feb. 6, and was attended by more than 200 students, alumni, professors, university officials and members of the community.

Cyr said it was a positive formal start to the new school, which was met a great sense of spirit and confidence.

Goodman is the CEO and founder of investment management firm Dundee Corporation and the founder of Dundee Wealth, though his career spans more than 40 years in the industry. Among his many philanthropic activities, Goodman is a former vice-president of the national executive committee for the Jewish sports organization Maccabi Canada.

Cyr said that since the announcement of the new name, the business program has seen a 22 per cent increase in applications compared to the same time last year.

“I think of it akin to the market seeing his contribution to the school as the move of a wise investor,” he said.

The announcement first came in October, the same week Laurentian University announced that it, too, would honour the Goodman family by renaming its mining faculty after the Goodman Foundation gave the school a significant gift.

“We want to be associated with Laurentian University because it’s undoubtedly the go-to university for mineral exploration and mining in Canada,” Goodman said in a statement at the time.

Goodman was also inducted into the Canadian Mining Hall of Fame last year for his contributions to the industry, including helping to build several mining companies and investing in others.

In order for a new business school building to be constructed at Brock, the school must first apply to the provincial Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities for additional support, Cyr said, adding that the university has a very strong case.

“We have been one of the fastest-growing business schools in Canada in the past 10 years,” he said, adding that it’s now in the top 10 in terms of size in the country, with 2,800 undergraduate students, 400 graduate students, and 90 faculty members.

With Goodman’s name attached the school, Cyr said the university should see a very positive impact.

“He’s an extremely strong businessman with an entrepreneurial spirit and that’s certainly representative of the nature of our degree programs,” Cyr said.

“We’re very proud to be the recipient of the support and obviously the confidence in us.”