New school year, new opportunities

President Judith Woodsworth, at left, takes part in a dance of indigenous peoples at the signing of the Accord on Indigenous Education duringCongress 2010. The agreement provides for a new framework under which university programs will work to better reflect the educational purposes and values of Indigenous people. Photo by Concordia University.

Message from Judith Woodsworth, President and Vice-Chancellor:

The halls and streets are once again teeming with new and returning students, staff and faculty.

As we anticipate the opportunities and challenges of the year ahead, we also take stock of some of the strides we have made in recent times. Research funding from government granting councils has increased by 28% over the last five years, a faster pace than at comparable Canadian universities. And year after year, we receive high marks for student satisfaction.

For eight days this past spring, the campus was abuzz as we hosted the annual Canadian Congress of the Humanities and Social Sciences. The largest Congress in history, it was also judged by many participants to have been the best. It brought acute awareness of Concordia’s urban, cutting edge character to nearly 9 000 delegates, and also a sense of profound pride to Concordians, one of whom described the event as “our Expo ‘67”.

I am immeasurably proud of these accomplishments and deeply grateful to all the members of the Concordia community who have played a part.

We will continue to share our knowledge worldwide with our leadership in Open Access. Locally, we’ll do the same through a variety of initiatives – the latest being a unique partnership with Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec. The fourth President’s Conference will be held at the Grande Bibiliothèque on St. Denis St. this October, allowing Concordia researchers to present their vision of Montréal to the general public.

To enhance university-wide communication, we are introducing a series of meetings called “Open To Question” at which senior administrators and other Concordia experts will address a range of topics in conversation with the Concordia community.

And, as you can tell as you read this, we’ve also redesigned the way Concordians find out about what’s happening. Our news site Now.Concordia.ca, our weekly email newsletter Now and the Concordia Journal have a renewed, contemporary look with improved interactivity to gather your comments and ideas.

We’ll strengthen our commitment toward our community with two recently launched initiatives. The Concordia Leadership, Initiative, and Volunteer Engagement (LIVE) Centre will give students, staff and faculty unequalled access to volunteer experiences. We are also introducing the Co-Curricular Record – a formal transcript of students’ volunteer activities to supplement their academic transcript, recognizing the value of community engagement and giving them a leg up in their future search for employment.

The coming year is about moving forward, achieving our goals and envisioning our future. There’s no better time to seize the opportunities it presents than now. I invite you all to join me in making our community, and our world, a better place – right now.