Lincoln College Announces New MacKinnon School of Business

LINCOLN, Ill., Oct. 1, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Business degree programs at Lincoln College are being consolidated under the new "MacKinnon School of Business," in honor of 1960 graduate Alexander "Sandy" MacKinnon.

"I can't think of a better role model for our business students," Lincoln College President David Gerlach said. "In the early 1980s, he took over a business that had gone bankrupt not once, but twice, and turned it into one of the most successful heavy equipment dealerships in the country. Along the way, he earned a reputation for integrity that led to numerous honors for business ethics and leadership."

MacKinnon spent most of his career working for and with Yale, the manufacturer of fork lifts and other heavy equipment that is now Hyster-Yale Materials Handling, Inc. He is retired from MacKinnon Equipment and Services, which began in 1982 when Sandy MacKinnon combined his 18 years of sales experience at Yale with a lifelong dream of owning his own dealership. The company's first locations were in Tampa and Orlando, adding locations in Jacksonville, Fl., in 1995, Tifton, Georgia, in 2005 and Fort Myers, Fl., in 2013.

MacKinnon has long been a supporter of Lincoln College, which he credits with helping him turn around his life and setting him on a path to success.

MacKinnon succeeded in business despite challenging odds stacked against him. He was diagnosed with ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) at a time when the learning disability was little known and few treatments existed.

An ethical, customer-focused approach has guided MacKinnon for decades, helping him build one of the most successful dealerships in the Southeast, and earning him a well-deserved reputation for business integrity.

Among his many awards has been the H.L. Culbreath, Jr., profile in leadership award selected by the Tampa Chamber of Commerce and the Tampa Bay Ethics Award, presented by the University of Tampa Center for Ethics. MacKinnon sees his own success as a testimonial to the combined power of education and the free market system. 

In his view, leaders aren't born, instead they come about through lots of great coaching from mentors. Mentorships and ethical training will be key components of the new MacKinnon School of Business, with the school offering opportunities for students to benefit from real world exercises and training. Initially, the program will encompass the Lincoln College Lincoln Campus and ABE (Accelerated Bridge to Education) bachelor's degrees in Business Management, Sport Management, Organizational Leadership, Supply Chain and Logistics Management, and Entrepreneurship. As additional business programs are added in the coming years, including business-related master's degree programs, they will be folded into the MacKinnon School of Business.

SOURCE Lincoln College

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https://www.lincolncollege.edu