The ISIS Research Centre at the University of B.C.’s Sauder School of Business has officially changed its name in a bid to distance itself from the radical Islamic group carrying out atrocities in Syria and Iraq.
UBC announced December 8 the centre would now be called the Sauder School of Business Centre for Social Innovation and Impact Investing.
Executive director James Tansey said in a statement the centre has always made efforts to build associations between its brand and the work done there.
He said those efforts have been tarnished since the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) — otherwise known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) — rose to prominence in June.
The group has been known to behead hostages, execute those they believe to be infidels and enslave minority groups.
The centre, which launched in 2009, promotes social venture development and operates an accelerator program for startups that aim to have either a social or environmental impact.
“While what motivated the process is most certainly negative, the work we have done with our founding partners and community to arrive at a solution has been very rewarding,” Tansey said.
The centre originally announced in September it would be pursuing a rebrand following the significant gains made by the ISIS terrorist organization both in terms of territory and public awareness.
