The Richard Ivey School of Business announced today a $1.125-million commitment by the Suncor Energy Foundation to establish and support the Suncor Chair in Energy Policy at Ivey. The new chair will be held by professor Guy Holburn, director of Energy@Ivey, and professor of Business, Economics and Public Policy. The gift will also support undergraduate student awards, program outreach, case-writing and research.
“This initiative will allow Ivey to become the leading forum for discovering and disseminating new knowledge about energy issues, and to prepare our students for leadership in this critical Canadian industry,” said Carol Stephenson, Ivey dean. “By thinking beyond traditional approaches, we can cultivate innovative, effective and responsible policy solutions.”
As chair, Holburn will promote greater engagement between academia, industry and government on national and global energy issues. In addition to enhancing energy policy research, the chair will lead the development of new teaching materials and outreach events.
“There is an urgent need for more informed debate on policy options in the energy sector,” Holburn said. “Our global economic and environmental challenges call for fresh approaches and innovative policy development.”
This five-year initiative will see Ivey developing a comprehensive program around energy policy and exploring how government can help foster a globally successful and environmentally sustainable energy sector.
“This partnership supports innovative programs that teach our current and future workforce how to solve problems using unconventional thinking,” said Deborah Gullaher, Suncor Energy vice-president, marketing. “At Suncor, we are focused on creating sustainable energy solutions, and this will enable us to explore and collaborate together with Ivey, to find solutions to the complex challenges our society faces.”