The Lazaridis School of Business & Economics, Wilfrid Laurier University and its Waterloo and Brantford campuses are located on the shared traditional territory of the Neutral, Anishnaabe and Haudenosaunee peoples. This land is part of the Dish with One Spoon Treaty between the Haudenosaunee and Anishnaabe peoples and symbolizes the agreement to share, protect our resources and not to engage in conflict.
The Milton campus is located on the traditional territory of the Mississaugas of the Credit, and part of the Nanfan Treaty of 1701 between the British Crown and the Haudenosaunee Confederacy. We continue to work with our Indigenous partners and colleagues to ensure that we are appropriately acknowledging those lands and their stewardship.
When I began as Dean of the Lazaridis School of Business & Economics in July 2024 I was thrilled to join an exceptional school with a rich tradition of experiential learning and an engaged alumni network.
We are a school dedicated to nurturing independent thinkers and developing leaders who will have a positive impact on the world. I’m proud to be part of an exceptional group of hard-working faculty and staff who take risks, challenge convention and connect people.
In my first three months, I met with more than 125 staff, faculty and students as part of a “Listening and Learning Tour.” I also engaged with more than 60 members of our external community.
Those meetings were the first step in renewing our strategic plan. I asked ‘what should we aspire to be?’ and I heard key themes that highlighted our strengths and revealed opportunities, as well as the challenges that lie before us.
I also learned that the Lazaridis School is comprised of some of the most dedicated, caring, engaged and humble leaders I’ve ever met – and this mindset is in grained in heart of the Lazaridis School.
That ethos forms the overarching theme of our strategic plan: community.
Our community differentiates our school and it draws us together in a common purpose. We look forward to shining a spotlight on your achievements as we elevate our student experience, amplify our research excellence, and build on our culture of innovation.
To achieve our goals, we will work in partnership with our internal and external communities to help shape the future. This strategic plan aligns with the university’s strategic plan and recognizes our proud history while outlining what we aspire to be. It also provides a high-level roadmap of where we are heading over the next five years.
We invite you to join us on this journey.
Kyle Murray, PhD
Dean, Lazaridis School
To rank among Canada’s best through our pursuit of excellence in experiential education, impactful research, and community engagement.
We strive to be leaders in our communities to help shape the future. We generate, disseminate, and implement knowledge about business and economics for the betterment of the world in which we live.
We use our impactful research and experiential approach to education to meet the dynamic needs of our local, national, and international stakeholders.
Our mission and vision are grounded in a strong commitment to values that foster an inclusive and respectful community. We champion academic freedom – “Veritas Omnia Vincit” – and uphold the importance of a diversity of research, pedagogies, and opinions. Integrity is at the heart of everything we do.
The Lazaridis School is a global leader in experiential learning. We take pride in our robust and vibrant culture characterized by a welcoming, friendly, and fun environment. There are dozens of large and small opportunities for our students to learn-by-doing in every year of their studies within the Lazaridis School and through experiential opportunities abroad.
Experiential learning is our key differentiator — and one we will continue to prioritize as critical to our success.
We are research intensive. Our faculty members are at the forefront of innovation in business and economics — recognized leaders in their fields, securing grants for their work, serving on editorial boards and as journal editors, and regularly publishing in top-ranked journals. We generate, disseminate, and implement knowledge about business and economics based on rigorous and evidence-based investigations using a variety of methods and theoretical perspectives. We strive to produce impactful research that matters to our local, national, and international communities.
Academic freedom is central to our mission, driving innovation, critical thinking and a diversity of opinions. This commitment fosters an inclusive environment to engage in research, teaching, and learning, ensuring our work remains at the forefront of business and economics research.
Our namesake, Mike Lazaridis is one of the Canada’s great trailblazers. A gifted engineer and visionary entrepreneur, his name on our School inspires us to pursue a culture of innovation. We are surrounded by a community of innovators, builders, and entrepreneurs. We aspire to apply this approach – of taking risks and challenging convention – in our experiential learning and degree programs. The Lazaridis School has an established track record of being first to market and leaders in program innovation.
As the pace of change in our world continues to accelerate, we will continue to leverage this entrepreneurial spirit of innovation to distinguish us from our competitors.
Since 1966, our community has been comprised of champions, storytellers, and creators of knowledge. We are innovators and entrepreneurs, a caring community who enjoy helping others and who love to continuously grow and learn.
We have nearly 700 alumni who are currently CEOs and Presidents and thousands who’ve created their own businesses. We take our work seriously and work hard in building a caring and supportive culture while having a lot of fun.
The Lazaridis School is an integral part of Wilfrid Laurier University, whose strategy focuses on two distinct themes of “thriving community” and “future-readiness.”
Our plan contributes to every goal and objective within the university’s key themes.