Milloy joins team at Laurier

Wilfrid Laurier University and Waterloo Lutheran Seminary are gaining the experience and skill of real world politics with the addition of John Milloy to both institutions’ staff.

Having served as a Member of Provincial Parliament for Kitchener Centre for 11 years, Milloy retired from politics with a wealth of knowledge and practice across the field.

He also held numerous responsibilities within the provincial government, as well as having worked as an assistant to multiple cabinet ministers and even a former Canadian prime minister.

“With my decision to retire, I was trying to find a role which would allow me to continue my interest in politics and build upon my academic background,” said Milloy.

“[My positions at Laurier and the Seminary] really give me an opportunity to comment and work on issues that are of concern to me, issues at the intersection of religion and politics and public ethics.”

Milloy’s two-year contract with the Seminary not only includes the instruction of courses, but will have him serving as co-director of the Centre for Public Ethics, where he hopes to engage the university and municipal community with such initiatives as lectures, round tables and conferences.

“As a society I think we need to spend more time talking about what are the issues of the day,” he said.

“How do we engage people, how do we engage groups and organizations, you know people in a collective form, to try to address and interact with government. At the same time asking how does the government use these resources, the people that are out there, to make decisions?”

In addition to his work with the Seminary, Milloy has accepted a one-year contract as the first practitioner-in-residence in applied political science with the university.

Similar to his engagement with the Seminary, this will include public lectures, guest lecturing in university classes, participation in supervisory committees for graduate students, as well as new workshops leading to certification for senior students.

“He’s a practitioner who’s making the transition into academic life. He will help us to deliver what we are working towards right now, which is to have a strong political science program complemented by applied skills, to help students in the job force,” said Debora VanNijnatten, chair of the department of political science and North American studies program.

Milloy’s role will help to further the department’s efforts to highlight the importance of applied learning and transfer classroom knowledge out into the job market.

“We always have to make sure that that training and that education have elements of it that can be applied to real world situations,” said Milloy.

“Hopefully the applied politics programs give the best of both worlds. It gives the academic underpinnings, but also the applied knowledge that’s going to allow students to quite frankly go out and pursue careers.”