University of Guelph professor David Sparling will join the Richard Ivey School of Business as Faculty Chair of Agri-Food Innovation and Regulation effective August 1.
Ivey Business School has received $2 million in funding from the federal government through the Agricultural Adaptation Council to create a research capability in agri-food.
Many regulatory issues face the agri-foods, agriculture, and biotechnology industries. Professor Sparling will lead a team of researchers who will use evidence-based research to inform and influence regulations and assist in developing policies and strategies to support innovation across the industry.
Sparling joins Ivey from the University of Guelph where he is currently Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Studies in the College of Management and Economics. He has been on faculty at the University of Guelph since 1996. In 2006 and 2007, he was seconded as the Executive Director of the Institute for Agri-Food Policy Innovation.
As well as case teaching, writing and academic research, Sparling also brings extensive business experience to this new role. He has been president of a farming company, a biotechnology start-up and an agri-business insurance company. He is a Senior Associate at the University of Melbourne and has taught at the Australian Graduate School of Management in Sydney and at the business schools at McMaster University and Wilfrid Laurier University.
His research interests are in the areas of agri-food policy, value chains, innovation and commercializing new technologies.
“Canada’s competitiveness depends on fostering and supporting innovation in every industry. Regulatory renewal is an essential element in creating a supportive environment for the agri-food industry,” says Ivey dean Carol Stephenson.
“The Chair in Agri-Food Innovation and Regulation will bring Ivey’s expertise in innovation, sustainability, leadership and managing global supply chains to bear to support the industry as it is transformed to meet these new opportunities and challenges.”