Merit E. Janow

Dean, School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA), Columbia University, USA Scholars

Merit E. Janow is an internationally recognized expert in international trade and investment, with extensive experience in academia, government, international organizations and business. In addition, she has had a life-long involvement with Asia and is an expert in that region. She was appointed dean of Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA) in 2013, previously she was a professor at SIPA and Columbia Law School. SIPA is a first-rate school of International and Public Affairs，with over 1300 master students, hundreds of faculties. SIPA offers six degree programs, focusing on a series of global policy issues including international finance, economic development, urban policy, sustainable development and global security.

While at Columbia University, Professor Janow was elected in December 2003 for a four-year term as one of the seven Members of the World Trade Organization’s (WTO) Appellate Body, which is the court of final appeal for adjudicating trade disputes between the 153 member nations of the WTO.  From 1997 to 2000, Professor Janow served as the Executive Director of the first international antitrust advisory committee of the U.S. Department of Justice that reported to the Attorney General and the Assistant Attorney General for Antitrust.

Prior to joining Columbia’s faculty, Professor Janow was Deputy Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for Japan and China (1989-93). She was responsible for developing, coordinating and implementing U.S. trade policies with Japan and China. She negotiated more than a dozen trade agreements with Japan and China. In 2009, she became a charter member of the International Advisory Council of China’s sovereign wealth fund, China Investment Corporation or CIC. Early in her career, Professor Janow was a corporate lawyer specializing in cross-border mergers and acquisitions with Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom in New York. She is a member of the board of many technical and financial service companies such as American Funds, Nasdaq Exchange, and MasterCard.

She grew up in Tokyo, Japan, and is fluent in Japanese. She has a JD from Columbia Law School where she was a Stone Scholar, and a BA in Asian Studies with honors from the University of Michigan.