Universities also offer scholarships

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Three months after the North York patriarch of footwear giant Bata Shoes died, a joint international university project has been named in his honour.

The Thomas J. Bata Lecture Series on Responsible Capitalism is a collaboration between York University's Schulich School of Business and the Tomas Bata University in Zlin, Czech Republic.

The series reflects the ideals of Thomas Bata, a resident of the Bridle Path area, who believed business should act as a service to better the circumstances of people around the world.

Each university will host the series, funded by the Bata Shoe Foundation, in alternate years.

The series will feature prominent lecturers selected by the universities and texts will be printed in English and Czech and widely distributed.

In addition, each university will create a scholarship - worth $20,000 at York - that will be awarded annually to promote the study of issues relating to responsible capitalism.

Each scholarship will be announced at the annual lecture series, which will continue for 10 years.

Bata, 93, was at the theatre in Niagara-on-the-Lake on Aug. 30 with his wife, Sonja, when he began complaining of severe stomach pains.

Fearing food poisoning, the couple rushed back to Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre.

However, doctors determined food poisoning wasn't to blame. During surgery, they found the main artery to his bowel was blocked and they were unable to operate further.

He was removed from life support.

Born in what was then Czechoslovakia in 1914, Bata took over the shoe factory that his father Tomas started just before the turn of the century, in 1932.

He fled to Canada in 1939 on the eve of the Second World War and dedicated his life to ensuring his company helped people everywhere.

"He was a visionary as far as business, as far as business as a service to society was concerned," Sonja said shortly after her husband's death.

"He had a strong people orientation. It didn't matter if they worked in a factory or were prime minister. He liked them all. He had a wonderful sense of humour."

At their peak, Bata factories in Canada and around the world, including Latin America and Africa, were producing one million shoes a day.

Bata became known as the "Shoemaker to the World."

He was named a Companion of the Order of Canada in 1971.

Both universities are applauding the lecture series, pointing out Bata and his family provided company-sponsored schools, health care and social facilities to employees and their families around the world.

"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," professor Ignac Hoza, rector of the Czech university, said in a statement.

"The lecture series and scholarships will ensure a continued focus on Thomas Bata's ideals for business as a services to society."

Schulich dean Dezso Horvath said Bata had a long history of supporting the school.

"Thomas Bata was an enthusiastic champion, loyal supporter and friend of the Schulich School. The lecture series and scholarships will honour his two decades of dedication to the Schulich community," he said.