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.  She has extensive experience in academia, government and business, with life-long experience in the Asia-Pacific.  At Columbia University, Professor Janow became Dean of Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA) in July 2013 after serving as a Professor at SIPA and Columbia Law School. SIPA is a leading school of international and public affairs, with over 1300 graduate students, several hundred faculty, and six degree programs that focus on global policy issues from international finance, economic development, urban policy to sustainability and security. She has written three books and numerous articles and frequently speaks before business, policy and academic audiences around the world. Professor Janow has had several periods of government service.  She served for four years 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, she served as the Executive Director of the first antitrust advisory committee to the Attorney General and the Assistant Attorney General for Antitrust, US Department of Justice. 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 and negotiating strategies towards Japan and China. Professor Janow negotiated more than a dozen trade agreements with Japan and China.  Professor Janow is on the Board of Directors of several technology and financial services corporations including the American Funds, the Nasdaq Exchange, and MasterCard. In 2009, she became a charter member of the International Advisory Council of China’s sovereign wealth fund, 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 grew up in Tokyo, Japan and is fluent in Japanese. She has a JD, Columbia Law School and a BA in Asian Studies, University of Michigan.