Awarded annually to a deserving student enrolled in the Bachelor of International Business (BIB) program in the Sprott School of Business at Carleton University. Eligible students will have demonstrated financial need and will be entering their mandatory year abroad. The fund became endowed in 2014 and renamed in 2016 in honour of David Cray one of the founders of the Bachelor of International Business program.

“Of my professional accomplishments the one that I most treasure is helping to found the BIB program. When we first discussed the structure of the program we considered sending students abroad for a semester as most exchange programs do. We decided that three months was not long enough; students needed time to move beyond the status of a visitor and become a real part of the local culture. In talking to hundreds of BIB students and grads over the years I have been convinced that we were absolutely correct in our assessment. When I retired and the Sprott School named the BIB bursary in my honour, I was deeply touched not just because of the recognition, but also because my colleagues could not have done anything that would have pleased me more”

– David Cray, Adjunct Professor, Sprott School of Business

Carleton’s Bachelor of International Business program is the most comprehensive international business degree program in Canada requiring students to become proficient in an additional language as well as spending a year abroad engaging in academic, linguistic and social activities. While the experiential component of the BIB program is priceless, the travel costs associated with going abroad can be challenging for some students especially if unanticipated circumstances arise.

As BIB graduates will tell you firsthand, the life lessons they learn during their year abroad are irreplaceable in advancing their comprehension of cultural differences and how they can be overcome as well as helping them to understand their own identities. The year abroad is one of the most distinctive and rewarding aspects of the BIB degree; this bursary is designed to make sure that all students are able to complete it successfully.

“BIB set me on a global path that has winded around the Middle East, Latin America, and the Caribbean, among other places. My skills – in particular management, strategy, and communication, across languages and cultures – were first instilled in me at the BIB. As for all BIBers, the friends I made are the most lasting impact of my year abroad, in life but also my career. The two men by my side at the altar on my wedding day are from my time abroad, and my business trips regularly feature lunches with contacts from BIB years”. – Peter Holland BIB/98

The David Cray BIB Bursary currently produces at least $1,000 each year for bursaries that will directly support BIB students embarking on their year abroad. Increasing the base of the fund will allow us to offer more support.

Past David Cray BIB Bursary recipients can will attest to the impact the access and support for this type of funding as meant to them and just how grateful they are for our donor’s generosity.

“From the bottom of my heart, thank you. Know that your generosity has made the lives of many students so much better. I will be forever grateful for your kindness. With the help of your contribution, I am on my journey to become the first in my family to obtain a Bachelor’s Degree. Your generosity has allowed me to learn a fourth language (Japanese) and develop intercultural competency, having lived and studied in Japan as an exchange student. Your trust in us, students, fuels us to do better and dream, for a better future, a better world. Rest assured, I will give back what I have received”. – Mae, Bachelor of International Business, Minor in Japanese

“As a recipient of this bursary, I can say it made a huge difference financially in allowing me to take on as many opportunities as possible before and during exchange. As many of us know, picking up life and moving to a new country is not an easy task but the help received from this bursary, and knowing there is a community of like-minded people behind it, made a huge impact on my experience. Thank you!” – Megan, recent 2020 Bachelor of Business alumna with a minor in Spanish