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.
