“Innovation is hope in the human ability to bring change.”

“Innovation is not just the invention of new shiny things. If it was, it would have a feeble effect on economic growth and welfare. We should care about innovation, because it is the only way to ensure sustained long-term economic and human-welfare growth, not because it is new or cool.”

Observations like these reflect the kinds of insights that have established the University of Toronto’s Prof. Dan Breznitz as a leading expert on the power of innovation to shape industries, communities and entire societies for the better. The Munk Chair of Innovation Studies at the Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy, Prof. Breznitz has built a worldwide reputation as an expert in rapidly innovating industries and their global growth. His latest book, Innovation in Real Places: Strategies for Prosperity in an Unforgiving World received the inaugural Balsillie Prize for Public Policy, a prestigious $60,000 annual award for nonfiction works that advance policy debates on social, political, economic or cultural topics relevant to Canadians. It was also ranked among the top books of 2021 by the Financial Times and the management consultancy McKinsey and Company, among others.

In addition to his teaching and research at the Munk School (and via a cross-appointment in the Political Science department), Prof. Breznitz is Co-Director of the Innovation Policy Lab, a collaboration hub whose mission is “to study, teach and apply novel methods and disciplines to the study of innovation and its impact on growth and society.” He is also a Fellow of the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research (CIFAR), where he co-founded and co-directs the program on Innovation, Equity and the Future of Prosperity.

During the past year, Prof. Breznitz added to his distinguished CV: he was named University Professor, the designation extended to just a very small number of U of T faculty members in recognition of their scholarly achievement and international pre-eminence. “It’s a great honour,” Prof. Breznitz says, “to become a part of a group of scholars I’ve viewed as mentors all my life. I’m especially delighted that my work – on the distributional outcomes of innovation, and the public policy choices that affect this distribution – has been recognized as an exciting area of research U of T is pioneering.”

The rigorous scholarship and creative thinking that define Prof. Breznitz’s work are driven by the urgent demands of a fast-changing world, but also by a deep sense of purpose. As he sums it up: “Innovation is hope – hope in the human ability to bring change, and hope that, more often than not, human-brought change will lead us all toward a better world.”

The Munk Chairs and other endowed professorships at the University of Toronto are among the most significant academic appointments in Canada. They enable the University to attract respected educators and thinkers from around the world, who in turn attract top talent – including graduate students, postdoctoral fellows and early/mid-career faculty – as U of T continues to enhance its degree and research programs. Chairs and professorships accounted for about 29%, or $925 million, of the total $3.2 billion in endowment funds held by the University as of April 30, 2021.*