(Left) Centre for Sport and Wellness sign with the Christenson Family name on Nov. 12, 2025. Thai Sirikoone/the Griff.

(Right) Centre for Sport and Wellness sign without the Christenson Family name on Jan. 6. Thai Sirikoone/the Griff.

Christenson did not fulfill their pledge commitment to MacEwan, but both parties remain positive on their relationship.

Long-time donor and supporter of MacEwan University, Christenson Group of Companies, has failed to fulfill their pledge commitment to MacEwan, resulting in the removal of the Christenson family name from the campus’ Sport and Wellness building. The Centre for Sport and Wellness has been named for the Christenson family since March 2010, according to a report in the Griff’s archives. 

MacEwan’s associate vice-president (alumni and development) Corinne Vollrath said the family’s name was removed from the building last year on Dec. 22. The portion of the sign that reads “Centre for Sport and Wellness” remains on the outside of the building. MacEwan intends to update the signage and wayfinding around the university to remove the Christenson name, including the plaque located at the top of the Sport and Wellness staircase. The interior signage changes will happen in February, said Vollrath.

“And so in this instance, the commitment of the pledge was not fulfilled, and that’s what led to the naming coming off the facility.”

– Corinne Vollrath, MacEwan associate vice-president (alumni development)

Vollrath said the decision to remove the name was not made lightly and involved conversations beginning around last spring with MacEwan’s executive committee and board of governors before the board decided to remove the name last fall. 

“Donors make a pledge, or a commitment to the institution, and that’s the total dollar value of the donation they plan to make to the institution in support of that gift. Usually, donations are made over a number of payments, not all at once, especially when they’re large, and so we call that a pledge, or a pledge commitment,” Vollrath said. “And so in this instance, the commitment of the pledge was not fulfilled, and that’s what led to the naming coming off the facility.”

The president of Christenson, Greg Christenson, said “the sport and wellness program basically expired and came to its natural end.” He said he became aware of the removal sometime in June or July of last year.

Christenson said that they have had a long, supportive relationship with MacEwan, have enjoyed working with the institution as it has grown, and are looking forward to the “continued success” of MacEwan. Christenson points to other MacEwan contributions and programs that are continuing, such as the Christenson Communities Health and Wellness Link pedway, which connects the parkade to the Robbins Health Learning Centre. 

 “The sport and wellness program basically expired and came to its natural end.”

– Greg Christenson, president of Christenson Group of Companies

Last year, the CBC reported that the Christenson Group had entered creditor protection and had over $300 million in debt, including mortgages, construction loans, and life lease deposits owed to seniors and their families. Christenson was charged earlier last year, but those charges have since been stayed.

However, Vollrath said Christenson entering creditor protection “was not a factor in the naming coming down.”

Christenson said that the relationship with MacEwan is going well, but “there’ll be no income in the future to pay” for the Sport and Wellness name and that the agreement was always intended to expire.
Neither MacEwan nor Christenson shared the details of their agreement, but MacEwan told the Griff in an email that “MacEwan has received well over $1M from Christenson since 2010 and he has been a strong supporter to the institution.”