Wilfrid Laurier University names business school after BlackBerry founder

BUSINESS

Wilfrid Laurier University names business school after BlackBerry founder

The Canadian Press Published Tuesday, September 8, 2015 12:13PM EDT

Mike Lazaridis, co-CEO of Research in Motion, gestures at the end of his keynote address to the BlackBerry DevCon Americas conference in San Francisco, on Oct. 18, 2011. (AP / Eric Risberg)

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WATERLOO, Ont. - Wilfrid Laurier University is naming its school of business after BlackBerry founder Mike Lazaridis.

The tech pioneer gave the Waterloo, Ont.,-based school $20 million earlier this year to establish a program for technology executives and leaders.

The Lazaridis School of Business and Economics will be housed in a new, $103-million building on Laurier's campus in Waterloo, which will be known as Lazaridis Hall.

Lazaridis founded Research in Motion in 1984 while a student at the University of Waterloo.

Research in Motion was a pioneer in smartphones and dominated the early years of the market with its email-enabled BlackBerry devices. Lazaridis led the company, later joined by Jim Balsillie as co-CEO, until 2012.

Research in Motion changed its name to BlackBerry in 2013.