UBC’s Chair in South-North Studies will be re-named
in honour of the late Dr. Ivan Head, the Chair’s first
holder, at a memorial service being held today at the university.
As part of the re-dedication, Canada’s International
Development Research Centre (IDRC) and UBC will each contribute
$500,000 to enhance the Chair’s current endowment of
$1.7 million. IDRC, a crown corporation, is one of the world’s
leading institutions in the generation and application of
new knowledge to meet the challenges facing developing countries.
UBC hopes to raise $3 million total in funding with the
goal of attracting world-renowned scholars to the Chair.
Dr. Head, who passed away on November 1, 2004 in North Vancouver
at the age of 74, was a professor of law and founding director
of UBC’s Liu Institute for Global Issues. He spent ten
years with former Prime Minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau advising
on foreign policy and the conduct of foreign affairs. As president
of the IDRC from 1978 to 1991, Dr. Head set the standard for
innovation and excellence in supporting developing country
scholars and institutions to undertake research they recognized
as important to the development of their regions.
“Ivan Head was an outstanding scholar and diplomat
with a deep understanding of international law, and he recognized
that the best way to achieve global peace and security is
to help the people of all nations improve the quality of their
lives through social and economic reform based on justice
and tolerance,” said UBC president Martha Piper. “By
dedicating the South-North Chair in his honour, we hope to
give scholars worldwide the opportunity to add to Dr. Head’s
great body of research on South-North issues.”
“Ivan Head grasped the implications of the widening
gap between people of the South and North as well as anyone
and better than most. What made him a giant of his time was
what he did about it. Through this Chair, his work is continuing,”
said IDRC president Maureen O’Neil.
UBC’s Chair in South North Studies was established
at the Liu Institute for Global Issues in 1991 with support
from IDRC. Dr. Head held the chair from 1991-2000.
Recognition of Ivan Head’s Life and Legacy
will be held today in the Great Hall of the First Nations
House of Learning from 4:30 to 6:00 p.m. All are welcome to
attend. In lieu of flowers, the family has requested that
donations be made to:
The Ivan Head South-North Chair, UBC
UBC Development Office,
6253 NW Marine Drive, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z1
Contact: Michelle Messinger 604.822.8904
OR
SOS Children’s Villages Canada
Contact: 200 – 244 Rideau Street, Ottawa, ON K1N 5Y3
Phone: 613.232.3309
For more information on the memorial service and on Dr.
Head’s life and work, visit www.ligi.ubc.ca
and click on announcements.
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