Balsillie School of International Affairs
Encyclopedia
The Balsillie School of International Affairs (BSIA) is a centre for advanced research and teaching on global governance and international public policy, located in Waterloo, Ontario
. The school is a collaborative partnership among Wilfrid Laurier University
(WLU), the University of Waterloo
(UW) and the Centre for International Governance Innovation
(CIGI). The BSIA is housed in the north and west wings of the CIGI Campus
building.
co-CEO and CIGI Founder Jim Balsillie
donated $50 million to the initiative. WLU and UW would also make investments toward the school totalling $50 million ($25 million from each) over the next decade. From 2008-11, classes at the BSIA took place at WLU and UW.
In 2009, plans were announced to house the BSIA within a “CIGI Campus” that would be built alongside the think tank’s headquarters in Waterloo. The resulting $68 million complex received federal and provincial funding totalling $50 million through the Knowledge Infrastructure Program and Ontario's 2009 Budget. The City of Waterloo donated the land for the campus through a 99-year lease.
Construction began in 2009 and lasted for approximately two years. In October 2011, the BSIA held its first classes in the CIGI Campus.
. In 2010, he was succeeded by David A. Welch, CIGI chair of global security and professor of political science at UW.
As one of the largest social sciences initiatives in Canada, there are over 60 affiliated faculty members teaching in the BSIA’s three academic programs. Notable faculty currently include Maurice Kugler
, Andrew F. Cooper
and Thomas Homer-Dixon
.
Waterloo, Ontario
Waterloo is a city in Southern Ontario, Canada. It is the smallest of the three cities in the Regional Municipality of Waterloo, and is adjacent to the city of Kitchener....
. The school is a collaborative partnership among Wilfrid Laurier University
Wilfrid Laurier University
Wilfrid Laurier University is a university located in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. It also has campuses in Brantford, Ontario, Kitchener, Ontario and Toronto, Ontario and a future proposed campus in Milton, Ontario. It is named in honour of Sir Wilfrid Laurier, the seventh Prime Minister of Canada....
(WLU), the University of Waterloo
University of Waterloo
The University of Waterloo is a comprehensive public university in the city of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. The school was founded in 1957 by Drs. Gerry Hagey and Ira G. Needles, and has since grown to an institution of more than 30,000 students, faculty, and staff...
(UW) and the Centre for International Governance Innovation
Centre for International Governance Innovation
The Centre for International Governance Innovation is an independent, non-partisan think tank on global governance. Led by experienced practitioners and academics, CIGI supports research, forms networks, advances policy debate and generates ideas for multilateral governance improvements...
(CIGI). The BSIA is housed in the north and west wings of the CIGI Campus
CIGI Campus
The CIGI Campus, located in Waterloo, Ontario, is a hub of academic study and policy-based research in global governance and international affairs...
building.
History
The BSIA partnership was announced in 2007 when Research In MotionResearch In Motion
Research In Motion Limited or RIM is a Canadian multinational telecommunications company headquartered in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada that designs, manufactures and markets wireless solutions for the worldwide mobile communications market...
co-CEO and CIGI Founder Jim Balsillie
Jim Balsillie
James Laurence "Jim" Balsillie is a Canadian businessman and co-CEO of the Canadian company Research In Motion. He is a member of the Trilateral Commission, a private political organization...
donated $50 million to the initiative. WLU and UW would also make investments toward the school totalling $50 million ($25 million from each) over the next decade. From 2008-11, classes at the BSIA took place at WLU and UW.
In 2009, plans were announced to house the BSIA within a “CIGI Campus” that would be built alongside the think tank’s headquarters in Waterloo. The resulting $68 million complex received federal and provincial funding totalling $50 million through the Knowledge Infrastructure Program and Ontario's 2009 Budget. The City of Waterloo donated the land for the campus through a 99-year lease.
Construction began in 2009 and lasted for approximately two years. In October 2011, the BSIA held its first classes in the CIGI Campus.
Academic Programs
The BSIA, with its degree-granting partners WLU and UW, offers three degrees programs:- The joint university PhD in Global Governance (offered by WLU and UW) offers specialization in one of six fields: global political economy, global environment, conflict and security, global justice and human rights, multilateral institutions and diplomacy, and global social governance.
- The one year, intensive Master’s in International Public Policy (offered by WLU) provides graduate training for global policy development, implementation and training.
- The Master of Arts in Global Governance (offered by UW), designed to be completed in 16 months, consists of two terms of course work, a third term in which students complete a major research paper ,and an internship in a fourth term.
Faculty and Personnel
The inaugural director of the BSIA was Ramesh Thakur, a former CIGI fellow and vice-rector at the United Nations UniversityUnited Nations University
The United Nations University is an academic arm of the United Nations established in 1973, which serves purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations. The UNU undertakes research into the pressing global problems of human survival, development and welfare that are the concern of...
. In 2010, he was succeeded by David A. Welch, CIGI chair of global security and professor of political science at UW.
As one of the largest social sciences initiatives in Canada, there are over 60 affiliated faculty members teaching in the BSIA’s three academic programs. Notable faculty currently include Maurice Kugler
Maurice Kugler
Maurice Kugler is a Colombian economist born in 1967. He received his Ph.D. in Economics from UC Berkeley in 2000, as well as a M.Sc. and a B.Sc. both from the London School of Economics. He was named in 2007 to the inaugural CIGI Chair in International Public Policy by the Laurier School of...
, Andrew F. Cooper
Andrew F. Cooper
Andrew Fenton Cooper, D.Phil. is Professor of Political Science at the University of Waterloo, and a Distinguished Fellow at The Centre for International Governance Innovation , Canada....
and Thomas Homer-Dixon
Thomas Homer-Dixon
Thomas Homer-Dixon holds the Centre for International Governance Innovation Chair of Global Systems at the Balsillie School of International Affairs in Waterloo, Ontario, and is a Professor in the Centre for Environment and Business in the Faculty of Environment, University of Waterloo...
.