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Balsillie (RIM) - Uni of Waterloo/Wilfred Laurier University

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Jim Balsillie. James Laurence "Jim" Balsillie (born February 3, 1961) is a Canadian businessman, philanthropist and co-founder[3] and former co-CEO of the Canadian company Research In Motion ('BlackBerry').

Jim Balsillie

He is also the founder of the Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI), Canadian International Council (CIC) and the Balsillie School of International Affairs (BSIA). Following his retirement as co-CEO of RIM in January 2012, Balsillie assumed a director role on RIM's Board of Directors. In March 2012, he resigned from the Board due to strategic differences[4] with RIM's new leader and CEO, Thorsten Heins, who abandoned the licensing strategy[5] that Balsillie was pursuing. He served as a member of the United Nations Panel on Global Sustainability until 2012. In June 2013, the Government of Canada appointed Balsillie as the Chair of Sustainable Development Technologies Canada.[6] Background[edit] Hockey[edit] Philanthropic work[edit] Statement regarding patents[edit] Resignations[edit] Centre pour l'innovation dans la gouvernance internationale. University of Waterloo. The Only Ph.D. and Masters Programs in The World with an Interdisciplinary Focus on Global Governance and International Public P.

(pdf)Findlay_Report Final. Investigation finds Waterloo and Wilfrid Laurier universities unjustly dismissed Balsillie School director. Français Search Share CAUT Bulletin Controversial Ontario report says teaching loads should be higher.

Investigation finds Waterloo and Wilfrid Laurier universities unjustly dismissed Balsillie School director

Report: Dr. Ramesh Thakur's dismissal from Canada's BSIA unjust. When Balsillie School of International Affairs' director objected to inappropriate pressure by the Centre for International Governance Innovation he was dismissed.

Report: Dr. Ramesh Thakur's dismissal from Canada's BSIA unjust

A report has found that dismissal was unjust. The Canadian Association of University Teachers commissioned an investigation that was undertaken by by University of Saskatchewan professor and academic freedom expert Len Findlay for the case of Dr. Ramesh Thakur's dismissal from BSIA. Mr Ramesh Thakur - Researchers - ANU. York University, Balsillie think tank near $60-million deal on partnership. York University is closing in on a $60-million deal with a think tank launched by BlackBerry co-founder Jim Balsillie to create 10 research chairs and 20 graduate scholarships probing modern challenges of international law. The partnership with the Centre for International Governance Innovation would invest a $30-million gift from Mr. Balsillie and another $30-million in provincial funds first promised in the 2010 budget.

In financial terms, it would be a major win for York, comparable in scale to landing 10 of the prestigious federally financed Canada Research Chairs in one year. But the agreement, which is expected to be sealed within weeks, has not come together without controversy. Administrators encountered objections from faculty members who worry the terms could threaten academic freedom and autonomy, a criticism CIGI faced over its shared governance of an international affairs school with the University of Waterloo and Wilfrid Laurier University.

To allay fears, Mr. Open Letter of Concern regarding the CIGI-York agreement « YU Talk. The following is an email distributed to York faculty on March 22, 2012.

Open Letter of Concern regarding the CIGI-York agreement « YU Talk

It informs about the Open Letter of Concern regarding the CIGI-York University agreement, signed by 273 full-time faculty members and librarians, to be delivered to York’s Administration and Senate on that day. The list of signatories follows, as well as the rationale for the letter, media reports, and relevant links. Len Findlay: College of Arts and Science . University of Saskatchewan. Universities bowed to pressure by Balsillie-funded think tank over academic freedom, report says. It was a clash at the intersection of private money and public education, with a big-name cast of characters: BlackBerry titan Jim Basillie, Governor General David Johnston and Ramesh Thakur, a former United Nations diplomat renowned as one of the world’s leading scholars on peace and security studies.

Universities bowed to pressure by Balsillie-funded think tank over academic freedom, report says

The story of Dr. Thakur being bounced out of his job as inaugural director of the Balsillie School of International Affairs in Waterloo, Ont. has led to claims of violation of academic freedom and demands that Dr. Thakur receive apologies from Wilfrid Laurier University, the University of Waterloo, led at the time by Mr. Johnston, and the private think-tank created by Mr. Balsillie, the Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI). An academic inquiry into Dr. Mr. Turnover at Balsillie school raises questions of academic freedom. The construction crews are still at work on the new Balsillie School of International Affairs in Waterloo, Ont., but already there are cracks in the plan to build a world-class hub for global studies in Canada's high-tech heartland.

Turnover at Balsillie school raises questions of academic freedom

The school, a collaboration between the neighbouring campuses of Waterloo and Wilfrid Laurier universities, aims to be a go-to place for future leaders and renowned scholars. Those ambitions are fuelled by a $33-million gift from BlackBerry entrepreneur Jim Balsillie, which flowed through donations from his private think tank, the Centre for International Governance Innovation. Less than two years ago, the fledging school lured Ramesh Thakur, a scholar and former top UN official, to be its first director and signal its arrival on the academic map.

Prof. Thakur, familiar with Canada from his days as a graduate student and fresh from a stint as vice-rector of the United Nations University in Tokyo, appeared an ideal match to execute the school's vision. Prof. York, professors wrangle over think-tank cash from RIM's Balsillie. York University has a plan to settle a dispute with professors dismayed over a partnership with a private think tank founded by business giant Jim Balsillie.

York, professors wrangle over think-tank cash from RIM's Balsillie

But if it can’t get approval from the university’s senate, it will kill the initiative. More than 270 professors have signed an open letter that argues an arrangement with the Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI) gives the Waterloo, Ont. -based think tank “unprecedented” influence in academic matters. The letter demands that the senate, the university’s highest academic authority, be allowed to change the deal to maintain autonomy, and then approve it. A packed senate meeting on Thursday featured a lengthy discussion of the joint initiative, a lucrative arrangement that would fund research chairs and graduate scholarships in international law for the next decade using a $30-million donation from Mr. Prof. Unprecedented faculty mobilization achieves results: York terminates CIGI deal « YU Talk. The following email was sent to York faculty on April 3, 2012, following York’s announcement that the CIGI-York agreement had been terminated, to thank those who made it possible through a strong and courageous mobilization.

Unprecedented faculty mobilization achieves results: York terminates CIGI deal « YU Talk

Dear colleagues, A strong mobilization by York’s full-time faculty and librarians, effective action by colleagues in Senate, and careful research and a courageous stance by colleagues at Osgoode have brought about a decisive turn of events. Yesterday evening the York administration announced that the agreement with CIGI for the creation of a program in international law was terminated. This decision came in the wake of yesterday’s decisive rejection by Osgoode Hall Faculty Council (OHFC) of Provost Patrick Monahan’s latest effort to make the CIGI agreement palatable to York faculty.

We are struck by how flawed this governance process has been, from beginning to end. But the matter is not closed. York abandons plans to accept $30-million from Balsillie’s think tank. York University has abandoned contentious efforts to partner with a private think tank after its law faculty rejected the deal for the second time, maintaining it threatened York’s autonomy and academic freedom.

York abandons plans to accept $30-million from Balsillie’s think tank

The proposed collaboration with the Centre for International Governance Innovation would have funded 10 research chairs and 20 graduate scholarships over a decade. Former Research in Motion co-CEO Jim Balsillie, who founded CIGI, had pledged $30-million, to be matched by another $30-million in provincial funds. The deal became a flashpoint when hundreds of professors rallied against it, first quietly within York’s Osgoode Hall Law School, then more publicly when some 300 faculty members signed an open letter arguing the agreement would give the Waterloo, Ont. -based think tank “unprecedented” control over academic matters. On Monday, Osgoode’s Faculty Council voted 34 to 7 against a revised version of the partnership, with eight abstentions, sealing the initiative’s fate. Mr. Financial Post: uneasy ties between Canada's universities and wealthy business magnates. Protest Barrick : The uneasy ties between Canada’s universities and wealthy business magnates.

After almost three years of negotiation and internecine battles, a private think-tank established and chaired by Jim Balsillie has signed a $60-million deal with York University in Toronto to create a school of international law.

Protest Barrick : The uneasy ties between Canada’s universities and wealthy business magnates

Through the Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI), the co-founder of BlackBerry smartphone maker Research In Motion Ltd. has committed to donate $30-million to create 10 research chairs and 20 graduate scholarships over the next 10 years. York University. Skip to main content York U places #2 in Corporate Knights Future 40 Responsible Corporate Leaders in Canada Ranking >> Read More About York President's Message.

York University. York University (French: Université York) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's third-largest university.[3] York University has approximately 54,000 students, 7,000 faculty and staff, and 260,000 alumni worldwide. It has eleven faculties, namely the Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies, Faculty of Science, Lassonde School of Engineering, Schulich School of Business, Osgoode Hall Law School, Glendon College, Faculty of Education, Faculty of Fine Arts, Faculty of Health, Faculty of Environmental Studies, Faculty of Graduate Studies, and 28 research centres. York University participates in the Canadian Space Program.

History[edit] Wilfrid Laurier University.