For Episode 15, we chat with Stu Lang, a man who has forever changed the University of Guelph for the better with transformational gifts made through his charitable foundation, The Angel Gabriel Foundation. Over the past decade, Stu and his wife Kim have together gifted more $50 million to the University of Guelph, supporting a wide variety of areas on campus. Some of these historical donations made to the University include a $21 million donation to the U of G business school (now named the Gordon S. Lang School of Business and Economics, named after Stu's late father); an $11 million gift to U of G's Ontario Veterinary College; and a $10.5 million gift to the Gryphon football program in the form of a state-of-the-art Pavilion at Alumni Stadium.
Stu's decorated career in the business world saw him take a lead role in the family business, serving as President of CCL, Label International - the largest label making corporation in the world. The family business, which started as Lang Lamps back in 1951, has now grown to a multi-billion dollar company with CCL Industries listing annual revenues of $5.3 billion (CDN) in 2019. Stu chats with us about his role with CCL Industries, where he came on board in 1982 following a standout eight-year CFL career with the Edmonton Eskimos where he was a five-time Grey Cup champion. Stu's passion for football led him to the University of Guelph in 2009, when the nearby resident (Puslinch) volunteered as a receivers coach with the Gryphon football program. One year later, Stu would take over head coaching duties, marking the beginning of a phenomenal six-year stretch for the Gryphon football program (2010-to-2015), which was capped off by the Gryphons capturing the 2015 Yates Cup.