Concordia Firsts - 2020s
Highlights of what we achieved in the 2020s
Kitty Scott, BFA 90, is the first woman to become chief curator of the National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa. She also takes on the role of new deputy director.
Concordia launches the Black Perspectives Initiative (BPI), a first hub of its kind at the university, which connects and supports activities related to Black perspectives, initiatives and scholarships on campus and within the broader Montreal community.
Annick Maugile Flavien, BSc 13, GrDip 15, MA 18, is the BPI's founding coordinator.
Emily Kopley marks her successful completion as the first researcher-in-residence at Concordia University Library. Introduced in 2017, the Researcher-in-Residence program is part of a strategic plan to foster a strong research culture within the library.
In a university first, Concordia responds to a global challenge — the COVID-19 pandemic — in real time, by offering most of its classes online. The university trains more than 1,000 full- and part-time faculty to deliver their courses via Moodle.
Concordia introduces CU at Home, a virtual support network to help our community move from isolation to connection. The initiative includes online events, webinars, workshops and programming for children.
In response to the COVID-19 public health crisis, Concordia launches CU Cares, a community outreach initiative that connects volunteers with organizations across Montreal in need of people power.
A video production from University Advancement and University Communications Services wins Concordia's first national award for a video.
Concordians: take pride in your alma mater! receives bronze at the 2020 CCAE Prix d'Excellence, awarded by the Canadian Council for the Advancement of Education, in the category of best use of video/film.
Concordia University Press publishes its first book, Everything is Relevant: Writings on Art and Life, 1991-2018, a collection of texts by Vancouver-born Ken Lum.
The work is part of a series of writings by Canadian artists launched by the press in 2019.
Fred Pye, BA 85, EMBA 88, president and CEO of 3iQ, reaches a professional milestone as his firm becomes Canada's first Bitcoin fund on the TSX.
Roch Glitho, a professor and cloud network expert at Concordia’s Gina Cody School of Engineering and Computer Science, is appointed the holder of Canada’s first Ericsson/ ENCQOR 5G Industrial Research Chair in Cloud and Edge Computing for 5G and Beyond.
Fay Arjomandi, BEng 98, the Concordia University Alumni Association's 2018 Alumna of the Year, and CEO of mimik, develops Pandimik, the world's first anonymized infection-tracing app designed for COVID-19.
Catherine Mulligan is the first Concordian to be named president of the Canadian Society for Civil Engineering (CSCE) — and the third woman in that role.
Concordia hosts the 2020 Privacy Enhancing Technologies Symposium (PETS), the university's first international virtual conference.
Concordia and World Wildlife Fund Canada sign a new partnership agreement, making the univeristy the first in Quebec to join the Living Planet @ Campus program.
Concordia Library welcomes its — and the university’s — first public art lead. Sandra Margolian will oversee Concordia's permanent collection on both campuses.
Debbie Folaron, specialist in multilingual and Romani translation practices in the Département d’études françaises, is named Concordia's first-ever Jean Monnet Chair by the European Union.
Montreal poet Carmine Starnino, BA 94, MA 01, goes down in literary history by being quoted, not once but twice, in the Oxford English Dictionary.
Concordia officially launches the Applied Science Hub on Loyola Campus. The virtual ceremony includes remarks from members of both provincial and federal governments.
The $63.1-million state-of-the-art facility was strategically designed to enable interdisciplinary collaboration and research between faculty and students in the Faculty of Arts and Science, Gina Cody School of Engineering and Computer Science as well as the District 3 Innovation Centre.
Samira Nasr, BA 93, becomes the first Black woman to be named editor-in-chief of Harper's Bazaar fashion magazine.
Concordia's pension plan earns the first-ever Investment Governance Award from the Canadian Investment Review for performing among the top 25 per cent of Canadian pension plans of the same size.
At just 20 years old, Concordia student Jamie Fabian is sworn in as one of the youngest English Montreal School Board (EMSB) commissioners in Quebec history.
Concordia joins the National Council for Science and the Environment Leaders' Alliance. The university is the first Canadian institution to become part of this sustainability and energy education community.
Mitacs and Concordia partner to create the first-ever Business Strategy Internship for John Molson School of Business students. The program is structured to allow participants to undertake a strategic analysis of an organization disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Concordia launches its Next-Generation Cities Institute, which brings together more than 200 researchers within 14 university research centres to help shape the future of urban life.
A first-of-its-kind in Canada, the Jonathan Wener Centre for Real Estate opens at Concordia’s John Molson School of Business. The centre will be a hub for teaching and research on commercial and residential real estate.
Concordia launches the President's Task Force on Anti-Black Racism to oversee and coordinate the work needed to generate recommendations that will address systemic anti-Black racism as it occurs across the university.
Rachel Wilson, BFA 98, becomes CEO at the Ottawa Food Bank, the first female in that position.
Montreal rapper Naya Ali, BA 11, is recognized with the SOCAN Foundation's inaugural Black Canadian Music Award.
Roshi Chadha, BFA 10, MA 14, and her husband Baljit Chadha found the first Indigenous literary prize at Montreal’s Blue Metropolis literary festival, the First Peoples Literary Prize.
Jennifer Hayes, BA 96, MBA 01, is the first woman to chair the Canadian Dairy Commission.
Étienne Cantin-Bellemare, BEng 10, and his team are the first to use glass powder in bridge design — not just a first in Montreal, but also in the world. He is the lead designer of the Darwin bridges on Montreal’s Nuns’ Island.
Lisa White, BA 12, becomes the first executive director of Concordia's Equity Office, which was launched in October 2020.
Concordia launches a new minor in science journalism — a first in Canada. Students in any Bachelor of Science program can now expand their communication skills through hands-on reporting and multimedia courses.
Isabelle Hudon, LLD 17, is named president and CEO at the Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC). She’s the first woman to hold that title at the BDC.
Monelle Hébert, BA 00, becomes the first female motorcycle officer in the history of the SPVM. The former Stinger women's hockey player successfully completed a demanding selection process that is only passed by 30 per cent of applicants.
Concordia’s John Molson School of Business is one of the first institutions to participate in a first-of-its-kind program launched by Mitacs. The Mitacs Business Strategy Internship (BSI) covers half of the student’s $10,000 stipend for a four-month internship.
Eunice Bélidor, BFA 12, is named the Gail and Stephen A. Jarislowsky curator of Quebec and Canadian contemporary art (1945 to today) — the first Black curator at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts.
March 18, 2020 is our first Gina Cody School Day! In recognition of her generosity and achievements in her field, the faculty is renamed the Gina Cody School of Engineering and Computer Science in 2018. It’s the first university engineering faculty in Canada to be named after a woman.
Maya Johnson, BA 06, becomes the first Black woman to helm the anchor desk of CTV Montreal.
Akshay Kumar Rathore becomes the university’s youngest academic to hold the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) highest honour of fellow.
Concordia launches its first university-recognized Indigenous research centre in November 2021. Supporting work led by and for Indigenous peoples and communities, the Indigenous Futures Research Centre represents years of hard work and a collective leap forward for Indigenous-led scholarship at the university.
Concordia associate professor of economics Prosper Dovonon is elected fellow of the Econometric Society, becoming the first in his department to receive the prestigious honour.
Shaya Ishaq, interdisciplinary artist and undergraduate student in the Fibres & Material Practices program, is the first recipient of a research fellowship from Concordia’s Black Perspectives Office.
Mandy Gull-Masty, BA 06, BA 08, is elected the first female Grand Chief of the Cree Nation Government in Quebec.
Our first-ever John Molson School Day on November 18, 2021, sees hundreds of students, alumni, faculty and staff show their pride for our business school, recognized as one of the top schools of its kind in the world.
Katsistohkwí:io (Tsisto) Jacco is the first coordinator of student success at Concordia’s Otsenhákta Student Centre, where she will act as an advisor to Indigenous students on academic and non-academic programs and services.
Rajiv Gupta becomes the first Guru Nanak Dev Ji Academic and Research Visiting Scholar at Concordia's Gina Cody School. The Government of India established the position with funding from the Indian Council for Cultural Relations and Concordia grad Cuckoo Kochar, MEng 78.
Aiden Cyr is named Concordia’s first Schwarzman Scholar and will pursue a master’s degree in global affairs at Tsinghua University in Beijing, China.
Space Concordia's Rocketry Division sets a world record for being the first rocket engine developed and fired by civilians.
Business leader Emilio Imbriglio, BComm 80, GrDip 82, is named the John Molson School’s first-ever executive fellow.
Dave St-Amant, CBC
Shreyas Vasudevareddy Movva, MEng 19, is the first player based in Quebec to be selected to represent Canada internationally in cricket since July 2009.
Liam Maloney, courtesy National Film Board of Canada
An award-winning documentary short by Kanien'kehá:ka (Mohawk) filmmaker Courtney Montour, BA 07, is the first film to share the story of Mary Two-Axe Earley, a pioneer in the fight for Indigenous women’s rights in Canada.
Gina Cody School student Marion Thénault competes in her first Olympics — taking home the bronze medal with her Canadian teammates in mixed team aerial skiing at the Winter Games in Beijing.
Three Concordians bring home medals from the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics and Paralympics: Pascal Dion (Olympic gold), Anton Jacobs-Webb (Paralympics silver) and Marion Thénault (Olympic bronze).
The Stingers Women's Hockey team wins gold for the first time in 23 years at the U Sports women's hockey national championship.
Concordia offers the first-ever course on rapper Kendrick Lamar.
Concordia pilots a job-preparedness program for PhDs — a first of its kind in Canada.
The work of historian Dorothy Williams, BA 84, MA 89, is featured at the inaugural exhibit of Montreal's Afromusée, the first museum of its kind in Quebec.
Political Science student Sage Duquette is the first Concordian named a McCall-MacBain Scholar.
Emily Ah-Yen and Cole Dougherty, both master’s students in Concordia’s Department of Psychology, become the first to win the Nadia Chaudhri Wingspan Award, created by the beloved professor after being diagnosed with ovarian cancer.
Concordia launches Canada’s first grad artwork sales and rental service. The Art Volt Collection connects new artists and collectors to the art market.
A first of its kind in Canada, Concordia pilots its PhD Career Connect training program, highlighting how doctoral skills can be used to tackle real-world problems.
V1 Studio’s Scientific Venture Program — which guides PhD graduates to advance their research ideas to the marketplace — becomes the first of its kind in Canada. V1 Studio is a non-profit founded by Concordia in partnership with District 3.
KC Adams, BFA 98, wins the inaugural ohpinamake Indigenous Art Prize from the University of Saskatchewan.
Former Stingers defender Brigitte Laganière, BA 20, GrCert, is among the first players named to Montreal’s new professional women’s hockey team, Montreal Force.
Anna Barrafato, MA 98, is Concordia’s first accessibility change lead, reporting to the Equity Office.
Concordia’s Indigenous Student Librarian Program celebrates its first graduates: Chloe Belair-Morin (pictured) and Sarah Monnier. The program was designed to push for more diversity in the field and to directly support Indigenous graduate students by providing real-world experience.
Indigenous dancer, choreographer and educator Barbara Kaneratonni Diabo, BFA 91, is the first Kanien’kehá:ka winner of the Prix de la danse de Montréal, Interprète category.
BMO and Concordia partner for a sustainable future with innovative sustainability-linked loan — a first of its kind for a higher education institution in Canada.
A first in school history, the Stingers wear throwback uniforms to honour the legacy of the football program at Loyola College, one of Concordia's founding institutions.
Concordia staffer Johanne Pelletier is the first narrative storyteller to be named a finalist in the Quebec Writers’ Federation Spoken Word Prize.
Concordia becomes Canada’s first university to offer prospective donors access to the Giftabulator — a customized philanthropic tool that helps convey the positive impact of planned gifts.
A Quebec first: the Kaié:ri Nikawerá:ke Indigenous Bridging Program will help deliver university prerequisite courses to Indigenous students.
The John Molson School of Business launches the Dean’s CEO Speaker Series to a sold-out crowd. The inaugural speaker is Guy Cormier, LLD 22, president and CEO of Desjardins Group.
Concordia and Kiuna College are encouraging the next generation of Indigenous creators through a partnership enabling Kiuna graduates to transfer credits when entering certain Mel Hoppenheim School of Cinema programs.
Filmmaker Alanis Obomsawin, LLD 93, becomes the first woman to win the Edward MacDowell Medal, recognizing artists in the United States who make significant contributions in their field. The 90-year-old is a member of the Abenaki Nation and grew up in Odanak, Que.
Concordia’s jurist-in-residence, Morton Minc, BA 67, wins the inaugural Dean Jason Carey Distinction Award for Social Innovation: Law and Justice, presented by the University of Alberta, Campus Saint-Jean.
Concordia wins its first-ever grand gold Circle of Excellence Award for a fundraising publication from the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education. The international prize distinguishes our Campaign for Concordia publication and companion website.
Andrea Peña, BFA 17, wins the Venice Biennale’s first international call for new choreographies from artists under age 35. Her large-scale work Bogota makes its world premiere at the Venice Biennale's 17th International Festival of Contemporary Dance.
Photo: Dominic Blewett
Professional artists with cognitive disabilities and theatre students come together to create an original performance in a first-of-its-kind pilot project through Concordia’s Department of Theatre.
As part of the initiative, five professional artists with cognitive disabilities from Les Productions des pieds des mains join a three-week intensive performance course alongside students in the department’s Acting for the Theatre specialization program.
Photo: Nickolas Wolf
Members of Space Concordia launch the first space-bound student-built satellite in Quebec.
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on a resupply mission to the International Space Station on June 5. On board was Space Concordia’s Orbital Dust Imaging Nanosat (SC-ODIN), which was developed in partnership with the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) and Nanoracks — a satellite rideshare service provider.
Its primary mission is to gather multispectral images of aerosol particles from dust storms on the Namibian coast to provide data for climate research.
Teeanna Munro, BA 15, is the inaugural manager of the NouLa Centre for Black Students at Concordia. The long-time community organizer and educator helped get the effort off the ground during her time at the university’s Black Perspectives Office (BPO).
Lawyer, professor and human rights advoate Esmeralda Thornhill, LLD 97, becomes the first speaker for the Simone de Beauvoir Institute’s new Dr. Esmeralda Thornhill Black Feminist Speaker Series, named in her honour.
Photo: Rhett Hammerton
Léuli Eshrāghi becomes the first curator of Indigenous arts at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts.
Eshrāghi, a former Concordia Horizon Postdoctoral Fellow, will be responsible for the development and realization of exhibitions that showcase the exceptional work of Indigenous artists from Quebec, Canada and around the world.
Concordia doctoral student in psychology Rachel Dufour wins the first Grands Sages Brenda Milner Award for exceptional neuroscience research.
Newton becomes Concordia's first therapy dog. The six-month old Portuguese water dog is on campus to promote wellness by helping reduce stress and anxiety levels for students, faculty and staff.
MA student in Drama Therapy Madeline Montgomery is Concordia’s first Mackenzie King Open Scholarship winner.
Emmy-award-winning television broadcaster Gwen Tolbart, BA 95, becomes the First Canadian journalist and first meteorologist inducted into the National Association of Black Journalists Hall of Fame.
Concordia opens its first-ever Innovation Lab course, where students are guided in taking inventive approaches in a variety of environments.
Concordia staffer and master storyteller Johanne Pelletier is the first Canadian to be featured on WGBH Stories From the Stage, aired on PBS affiliates.
Montreal-based novelist Christopher DiRaddo, BA 98, is the inaugural writer-in-residence at The Hideout in Prince Edward Island.
Oglala Lakhota artist, academic and composer Suzanne Kite, PhD 23, wins the Ruth Award, a new prize for contemporary artists working in North America, in its inaugural year.
Concordia hosts its first symposium on advanced air mobility. The groundbreaking form of air transportation uses remotely piloted, autonomous or vertical take-off and landing aircraft to transport people and goods in remote and often emergency situations.
For the first time, Concordia scores the top spot in North America in the Times Higher Education (THE) Young University Rankings.
Charles Campbell, BFA 92, becomes the first-ever selected artist to create an installation for the public art program Honouring Black Presence at Concordia.
The first francophone cohort graduates from creative arts therapies programming for neurodivergent adults and individuals with intellectual disabilities, run by Concordia’s Centre for the Arts in Human Development.
Former Stinger Emmy Fecteau, BEd 24, is drafted by the New York Sirens, becoming the first and only Quebecer chosen by a Women's Professional Hockey League team in the 2024 selection round.
Mitch Mitchell, associate professor of Print Media, creates a unique, portable printing press available in aluminum and steel. The aluminum model is the first-ever portable and reasonably priced production printing press of its kind, and the steel model is the first and only of its kind available in Canada.
Katsi’tsakwas Ellen Gabriel, BFA 90, Kanien’kehá:ka (Mohawk) artist and activist, becomes the first Indigenous artist to win the Grand Prix from The Conseil des arts de Montréal.
Andria Hickey, MA 09, becomes the first-ever head of programs at Shorefast, a social enterprise, and Fogo Island Arts.
Concordia hosts the first roundtable on pragmatic translation of Indigenous languages in Quebec. The event marked the first of its kind, where individuals from various nations gathered to discuss translation issues.
Concordia becomes Ericsson’s first Tier 1 university partner in North America, the highest level an academic institution can achieve with Ericsson.
Concordia co-hosts the Inuit Futures Symposium, the first major gathering focused solely on Inuit visual arts since 2011.
Belen Blizzard becomes Concordia’s first-ever 2SLGBTQIA+ student support coordinator.
The university launches Canada’s first fully bilingual hub for research on migration in Canada. The Institute for Research on Migration and Society at Concordia brings a unique perspective on improving outcomes for newcomers to Quebec and Canada.
Mireille Paquet, a professor in our Department of Political Science and Concordia University Research Chair on the Politics of Immigration, becomes the first director of the newly created Institute for Research on Migration and Society at Concordia.
A first of its kind in Quebec, Concordia launches a Minor in Black and African Diaspora Studies in the Canadian Context.
The Faculty of Fine Arts announces a new graduate microprogram and graduate certificate in Curatorial Studies and Practices, offering unique, hands-on experience in a state-of-the art lab.
A new destination for coffee lovers and food enthusiasts, the Stingers Café officially opens on the fourth floor of the Henry F. Hall Building.
Concordia launches its first comprehensive, professional French terminology database. LexiConcordia offers 4,500+ terms for fields ranging from aerospace engineering to cognitive science and beyond.
Concordians host Montreal’s first Great Northern Concrete Toboggan Race since 2006.
Star Concordia Stingers captain Emmy Fecteau, BEd 24, becomes the first USports draftee to play a game with the Professional Women’s Hockey League.
2020s