Purpose and hope

More than a year has passed since COVID-19 emerged as a global threat to public health and a looming presence in our daily lives.

Despite, or because of, the urgency of the circumstances, our community has responded with purpose and determination.

Concordians have shown genuine compassion and demonstrated remarkable generosity in the face of adversity.

In the first wave of the pandemic, we raised more than $1 million to help students in need. Donors provided emergency support through the COVID-19 Emergency Student Relief Fund and, at a time of heightened food insecurity, the Student Emergency and Food Fund.

Some 9,243 supporters contributed more than $2.3 million to our 2019-20 Community Campaign through gifts of $5 to $25,000. Leadership gifts from a distinguished group of 740 donors made up an impressive 72 per cent of total funds raised.

All told, our university raised close to $15 million for the Campaign for Concordia in 2020.

In a gesture of extraordinary resourcefulness, our community also created CU Cares and CU at Home — two outreach programs that fostered networks, friendships and solidarity.

CU Celebrate proved that until in-person events can safely resume, there are novel and fun ways to meaningfully honour the achievements of our graduating students.

On December 1, with government and industry leaders connected remotely, we celebrated the launch of our $63-million Applied Science Hub and, with it, began an exciting new era of transdisciplinary research on Loyola Campus.

We also took pride in the launch of our Next-Generation Cities Institute, where our Canada Excellence Research Chair in Smart, Sustainable and Resilient Cities and Communities will facilitate new approaches to sustainable urban development.

At a time when anti-racism activism has swept the globe, we also mobilized a President’s Task Force on Anti-Black Racism to determine how Concordia can best address and dismantle systemic injustice and inequality. Equally important, we continued to make excellent progress in advancing our Indigenous Directions Action Plan.

Concordia leads as Canada’s nextgeneration university thanks to initiatives like these — all of which depend on the generosity of a community that helps us go from good to great.

As we reflect on what forward-thinking higher education can accomplish for society and the world, I hope you and your loved ones remain well and stay confident and optimistic about our future.

Thank you for your generosity!

Graham Carr
Concordia President