Dan Breznitz appointed University Professor

Dan Breznitz has been appointed a University Professor, an elite designation bestowed on a small number of University of Toronto faculty members for distinguished scholarly achievement and pre-eminence in their fields.

A professor of political economy at the Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy, with a cross-appointment in the department of political science within the Faculty of Arts & Science, Breznitz is also a Fellow of the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research where he has co-founded and co-directs the program on innovation, equity and the future of prosperity.

“Dan Breznitz is a world-leading expert on rapid-innovation-based industries and their globalization, renowned for his pioneering research on the distributional impact of innovation policies – and the insights he has provided to governments and international organizations on science, technology and innovation policies,” said Vice-President and Provost Cheryl Regehr.

An award-winning author, Breznitz’s first book, Innovation and the State: Political Choice and Strategies for Growth in Israel, Taiwan, and Ireland, won the 2008 Don K. Price for best book on science and technology. His second book (co-authored with Michael Murphree) The Run of the Red Queen: Government, Innovation, Globalization, and Economic Growth in China, was chosen as the 2012 Susan Strange Best Book in International Studies by the British International Studies Association. His most recent book, Innovation in Real Places: Strategies for Prosperity in an Unforgiving World, was published by Oxford University Press earlier this year.

“This is a great honor to become a part of a group of scholars I viewed as mentors all my life,” Breznitz said. “I am especially delighted by the fact that my work on the distributional outcomes of innovation and the public policy choices to impact that distribution, has been recognized as an exciting new area of research that the University of Toronto is pioneering.”