An interview with Concordia's Chancellor L. Jacques Ménard
L. Jacques Ménard brings a wealth of experience and a longstanding history with the university to his post as Concordia’s chancellor.
A graduate of Loyola College (1967), he served on the university’s Board of Governors from 1994 to 2000 and chaired the Campaign Leadership Gifts Division of Concordia’s Campaign for a New Millennium from 1996 to 1999. He was also appointed deputy chancellor in 2009. The Board named him chancellor in December 2010.
Ménard, currently chairman of BMO Nesbitt Burns and president of BMO Financial Group, Québec, champions two issues of vital importance: combating student drop-out rates, and improving Quebec’s fiscal future and the social and economic well-being of its citizens. Both have been the topics of books he has authored, Beyond the Numbers: A Matter of the Heart (2009) and Si on s’y mettait… (2008).
Ménard is also chair of a student support and mentoring organization, Youth Fusion (founded by Concordia alumnus Gabriel Bran Lopez). In addition, he is an officer of the Order of Canada and of the Ordre national du Québec, and is a member of the Academy of Great Montrealers.
Prior to his installation as chancellor at the June 20 convocation ceremony, Ménard sat down with the Concordia Journal to share his thoughts on his new role and the importance of supporting Concordia’s mission in higher education.
Q: What do you see as the role of the chancellor at Concordia?
A: I think a chancellor needs to be a role model for students who come through the university and hopefully live up to the values the university stands for … and I say that with humility. Beyond that responsibility, I think the job is to advise the university’s president and the chairman of the Board of Governors, and also to represent the university in the community vis-a-vis governments and elected officials, the business community, and the community at large to defend Concordia’s interests, and those of universities across Canada.
Q: What are the biggest challenges for education in Quebec and across Canada?
A: In Quebec, 40 per cent of the working population is functionally illiterate, i.e. 2.5 million people have difficulty reading and understanding basic texts. We have to realize what our failings have been as a society and what we have to do to rectify the situation. Education is about building a foundation from which students can deal with adversity and achieve their full potential in adult life. We need to educate the public as to the benefits for young people in achieving academic success.
Q: A major focus of yours is the growing gap between the rising costs associated with an aging population in Quebec and the province’s lagging productivity. What needs to change?
A: Our population in Quebec is the fastest aging population worldwide, next to Italy and Japan. Twenty years from now, those supporting this population are going to have to be extremely productive if our society is to maintain the standard of living we enjoy today. Unless we improve our game in the field of education, we are condemned to seeing our standard of living erode. Investing in education is the single most important factor that will allow us to make our society more productive. To a significant degree, at Concordia we are in the business of shaping the future. If we focus on creating leadership around the key economic and social issues, we will plant the seeds for a much stronger and productive society.
Q: What do you wish to accomplish as chancellor?
A: I hope to contribute to Concordia’s image as a leader in both the way we educate people and as an institution committed to engaging the community. I will have made a contribution if I can convince governments and civil society to see Concordia as a key partner in advancing the public good through academic excellence. I also expect to speak to students about their expectations and aspirations, so I can better respond. Because, in the end, it’s not about me, or even the faculty as much as I respect it — it’s all about the students at Concordia.
Related links:
• L. Jacques Ménard named new chancellor - Concordia NOW, January 18, 2011
• L. Jacques Ménard, OC, OQ - Executive bio (English)
• L. Jacques Ménard, OC, OQ - Biographie des dirigeants (Français)