TORONTO – Former Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff is taking half-time teaching posts at Harvard and the University of Toronto.
Ignatieff joins the Munk School of Global Affairs at the University of Toronto with a half-time appointment as professor this month.
In January he is to assume a half-time appointment as professor of practice at the Harvard Kennedy School.
The 65-year-old academic and author had already been teaching some courses at the University of Toronto.
Before becoming Liberal leader in 2009, Ignatieff enjoyed a career as an international intellectual, writing books and teaching at universities including Oxford, Cambridge and the Kennedy School at Harvard.
His short-lived political career ended in 2011 when the Liberals suffered their worst-ever election defeat and he lost his own seat in the Commons.
Janice Stein, director of the Munk School of Global Affairs at the University of Toronto, said Ignatieff’s appointment will benefit students.
“He brings a deeply global perspective to our biggest policy challenges and will work with our students to give them the analytic skills they need in today’s connected world,” she said.
David Ellwood, dean of the Kennedy School, said Ignatieff bridges the gap between academic and practitioner.
“His experience and insights on matters of politics, public policy and human rights bring a unique and invaluable perspective to the classroom,” Ellwood said.
Ignatieff has written 17 books, and has been a television presenter, documentary film maker, editorial columnist and university teacher in addition to being a politician.
He said he’s honoured to have a Munk School professorship and to return to Harvard.
“It’s a privilege to teach at these great schools of global affairs and public policy,” he said.
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