December 5, 1997

A philanthropic pipeline to the U of A

Brian MacNeill, CEO of Calgary-based IPL Energy Inc.

Interprovincial Pipe Line Inc. is donating $500,000 to the university's fund raising campaign.

The gift will span a five-year period and will be used to support scholarships in the Faculty of Engineering. The money will enable the faculty to provide 20 annual undergraduate scholarships for civil, electrical and mechanical engineering students. IPL's CEO Brian MacNeill, one of the university's co-chairs of the fund-raising campaign, challenged other Albertans and Alberta-based companies to give. MacNeill told Edmonton Chamber of Commerce members recently that IPL's success is partly a result of the company's willingness and ability to step outside conventional corporate boundaries. "This includes involvement in and support for local communities."

University President Rod Fraser said strategic relationships, like those fostered with IPL, are mutually beneficial. "Such corporate involvement assists us in continuing to provide our students with the quality of education necessary to be competitive in our global marketplace. At the same time, employers are being supplied with qualified, intelligent graduates."

MacNeill says IPL depends on a great many engineers and highly skilled people for its continued success. The IPL CEO made it clear that corporations have a responsibility to back education. IPL, he pointed out, supports scholarship and bursary programs, youth science programs and the 1999 Canada-wide Science Fair.

IPL Pipe Line is a member of the IPL Energy Inc. group of companies, one of North America's largest energy delivery and services companies. It operates the world's longest crude oil and liquids pipeline systems and is Canada's largest natural gas distribution company.

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