Concordia on the Hill

Ottawa officials were impressed by the university’s innovative research advances when they met President Judith Woodsworth and other Concordia representatives.

Woodsworth, along with Louise Dandurand, Vice-President, Research and Graduate Studies, and Russell Copeman, Associate Vice-President, Government Relations, spent November 30 in meetings with six government officials involved in the science and technology sector.

They presented Concordia’s growing emphasis on research and academic excellence and stressed the importance of government support for research and infrastructure funding, using examples such as the Knowledge Infrastructure Program (KIP). That program supported construction of Concordia’s genomics lab and the PERFORM Centre dedicated to research, training and community programs in exercise sciences on the Loyola Campus. Meanwhile, KIP funding has made possible the construction of an environmental chamber in the Hall Building for engineering research, and improvements to venues on the Sir George Williams Campus to support the performing arts.

Discussing the upcoming federal budget and federal research and development policy, the three university representatives endorsed higher education funding as a driver for overall economic growth.

Over the course of the visit, Woodsworth, Dandurand and Copeman met with:
• The Hon. Kelvin Kenneth Ogilvie, Senator, Deputy Chair, Senate Committee on Social Affairs, Science and Technology
• David Sweet, MP, Chair, House of Commons Standing Committee on Industry, Science and Technology
• Marc Garneau, MP, Liberal Party Critic for Industry, Science and Technology
• The Hon. Marlene Jennings, MP
• Richard Dicerni, Deputy Minister, Industry Canada
• The Hon. Gary Goodyear, Minister of State (Science and Technology)