Superstar bios

What are some of your responsibilities at the university?

My role is to ensure that a portfolio of 85 construction projects with a projected value of almost $130 million (with an annual disbursement of approximately $30 million), are well planned with stakeholders, detailed with professionals and delivered with contractors in order to support the university community and its mission.

What has been your biggest challenge during your time here?

Adapting to the reality of timelines and sequencing of projects, which means that sometimes areas in need of renovations must wait due to budgets or domino effects. Sometimes I wish we could renovate the lower floors of the iconic Henry F. Hall Building all at once to provide an improved student experience. Ultimately though, when I look at all we have accomplished, I know we will get there and renovate the space well!

What is the most rewarding part of the job?

Being a part of improving the built environment at Concordia through innovative designs and seeing various projects in construction after a collaborative planning process. It is extremely gratifying to hear that a client’s work environment and functioning have improved through the project delivery. I love walking through the university and seeing our renovations and running into people I have worked with over the past twelve years!

Has the job changed you in any way?

My work in planning has taught me take the time to understand a project from all angles with its complexities and personalities. I have a lot of pride in Concordia and what the university has accomplished and have realized that it is the teamwork of people from Facilities Management team, the clients and the users who ultimately make the projects a success. I have learned that the best architectural design will never be enough if the client is not happy with what is delivered.

What are some of your responsibilities at the university?

As AV-services manager, my main responsibility is to lead the AV-services group. Our team is responsible for providing consultation, design and implementation services of audiovisual technology solutions, for both classroom and business needs.

What has been your biggest challenge during your time here?

I have been at Concordia for a little over two years now and I would say that due to the size and magnitude of the institution, my biggest challenge when I first started was to understand the big picture from an operational standpoint. This involved getting to know key people within the organization that would help me grow, learn and, in the end, make a positive impact in my role.

What is the most rewarding part of the job?

There are actually two very rewarding aspects of my job, the first being that I have the opportunity to research new technologies and concepts and have the support of upper management to actually implement them. The second rewarding aspect of my job is when a project is commissioned and delivered to the client’s satisfaction.

Has the job changed you in any way?

I would say that my job has certainly improved my teamwork approach; every project, whether big or small, requires the active participation of many stakeholders in multiple departments within the university. To achieve project success, you need to appreciate everyone’s workload, time, and implication level by establishing a project plan that respects these variables, while encouraging active participation by all parties.

What are some of your responsibilities at the university?

My primary responsibility is to enhance the learning experience of Concordia’s students by making sure their course material is on the shelf before the start of classes. I also manage the financial and daily operations of the educational material departments within Concordia Stores. These departments include textbook, eBook, trade, reference, coursepacks, eCoursepacks and special order books.

What has been your biggest challenge during your time here?

Developing new plans for changing trends. By continually monitoring student buying trends; digital trends (content delivery); copyright and fair dealing custom publications; Concordia Stores services; and course material options, we are able to provide students with a better shopping experience. This year, with that goal in mind -- and after much teamwork and collaboration -- Concordia Stores introduced the new eCommerce platform with a Click and Collect option. This resulted in higher online sales and less in-store traffic -- yay shorter lineups!

Another big challenge is providing the correct mix of leadership and coaching to veteran and new staff members.

What is the most rewarding part of the job?

• Seeing that smile on a student’s face
• Hearing that thank you from a high school, CEGEP, or university parent
• Recognizing the understanding in a professor’s eyes and that nod of the head as to why we offer cost effective course material options to his/her students
• The sense of teamwork and pride when a plan comes together

What are some of your responsibilities at the university?

I supervise the security operations of the university, ensure that emergency incidents are attended to, evaluate potential risks and hazards, coordinate victim support services, as well as establish and maintain community relations. I also work on improving the professionalism of our employees, while ensuring that the policies and procedures of the university and the Security Department are applied. Lastly, I advise and follow up with other departments regarding incident reports in their area.

What has been your biggest challenge during your time here?

To offer and maintain the highest level of service to students, as well as the overall Concordia community.  

What is the most rewarding part of the job?

I’m very proud of our statistics regarding security incidents. Even though our university population and building areas have doubled in the past 10 years, we have managed to maintain or decrease incident levels. Also, recent surveys demonstrate that more than 80 percent of the Concordia community feels safe here. This is an honour for all our security department sectors.

Has the job changed you in any way?

Definitely. Technology is changing so fast, we have to adjust and learn more and more. There are new challenges each and every day.

What are some of your responsibilities at the university?

As the Sustainable Food System Coordinator, I’m in charge of identifying local food purchasing needs and opportunities, as well as developing constructive and collaborative relationships with our contracted food service provider, local food suppliers and on-campus food initiatives. This involves improving our food services’ procurement practices and supply chain relationships in order to serve healthy, local and sustainable food in the university’s dining halls, eateries and catered events. It also involves developing sustainable food-related activities, such as Fair Trade Campus Week, and educational material, such as a sustainable food guide designed for food service administrators.

What has been your biggest challenge during your time here?

Just calculating the percentage of local food products bought by our food services is a challenge in itself, as it requires tracking down the often unclear origin of the products that are ordered. Finding a Quebec beef supplier when the price of Alberta or Australian beef is otherwise more appealing is an additional challenge.

What is the most rewarding part of the job?

In 2015, the university signed a contract with a new food service provider that contained an unprecedented number of sustainability requirements, including sourcing specific percentages of local products. In August 2016, Concordia was designated a Fair Trade Campus, a status granted by Canadian fair trade organizations to colleges and universities that prioritize availability and visibility of fair trade products. Seeing continuing progress in our institutional sustainability practices is very rewarding.

Has the job changed you in any way?

I have learned so much about food services’ supply chains through my work here, yet I feel I’m only starting to scratch the surface. My passion for integrating local and sustainable foods into the institutional procurement has only grown since I have started in this position. 

What are some of your responsibilities at the university?

The number one responsibility of the team I work with is to ensure staff and faculty at Concordia are paid on time -- after all, we all depend on our paycheques.

I’m a resource person to the university community, as well as to governments and third parties Concordia unions and Centraide. I also represent the university (HR Employee Services department) in court when need be.

What has been your biggest challenge during your time here?

In the 41 years that I’ve been at Concordia, the biggest challenge was switching from paper to a computer. One day we came in to the office and there was this giant machine on the desk that we had to start using – I knew nothing about computers. 

What is the most rewarding part of the job?

The most rewarding part of my job is being able to assist and serve the entire Concordia community. I’m surrounded by students, staff and faculty that have helped me expand my knowledge and who have provided me a sense of achievement in life.

Has the job changed you in any way?

This job has allowed me to discover who I really am by working alongside many different types of people. I’ve learned to use my wise mind instead of my emotional mind. I’m so grateful to be working at the university I attended.