OLYMPIC CHAIR Henri de Baillet Latour - Jacques Rogge
About the Olympic Chair
The Henri de Baillet Latour-Jacques Rogge Olympic Chair is a collaboration agreement between Ghent University and the Université catholique de Louvain (UCL) , with the financial support of the Baillet Latour Fund .
The Olympic Chair Henri de Baillet Latour - Jacques Rogge is the fifth Olympic Chair in the world and aims to stimulate the academic study of the various aspects of the management of sports organizations, with an emphasis on the Olympic values surrounding sports ethics and athletes' ethics. and to promote cooperation in sports science between both universities and parts of the country. The Baillet Latour Fund renewed its support for the Olympic chair until 2020.
At Ghent University, the Olympic Chair was led by Professor Marc Maes, until his unexpected death in 2010. Professor Annick Willem succeeded him as professor of sports management at the Department of Movement and Sports Sciences. Professor Thierry Zintz fulfills this function at UCL.
The Olympic Chair allows both universities to develop an expertise center within the Sports Management research groups in the field of sports ethics , sports management and Olympic values. Thanks to this Chair, both universities can further increase their intra- and inter-university cooperation. Research seminars and guest lectures are often organized at both Ghent University and UCL.
The choice of the universities of Ghent and Louvain-La-Neuve, as well as the choice of a name for this unique collaboration, were not just random. Count Henri de Baillet-Latour once studied at the Université Catholique de Louvain, Count Jacques Rogge in turn studied at Ghent University and received an honorary doctorate there in 2001. They were both the only two Belgian presidents of the International Olympic Committee; Count De Baillet-Latour fulfilled this task from 1926 to 1942 and Count Rogge was chairman from 2001 to 2013.
The Baillet Latour Fund also grants financial support to the Olympic Movement and to Belgian athletes, both to athletes from the Belgian Olympic and Interfederal Committee and to athletes from the Special Olympics and Paralympics .
The Olympic Week
Every year, the universities of Ghent and Louvain-La-Neuve organize an Olympic week as part of the Olympic chair. This week focuses on the socio-economic themes related to the Olympic movement and games. This includes a series of lessons on a current and relevant theme, taught by an international expert.
COLLABORATIONS
CSR in sports
Professor Kathy Babiak is director of the Michigan Center for Sport & Social Responsibility at the University of Michigan. She is an authority in the field of corporate social responsibility in sports.
