Decades of dedicated service

"I did not foresee that I would be here speaking with you today about working at Concordia for 35 years,” said Interim Director of Environmental Health and Safety Rick Young, addressing the crowd attending the university’s recent annual Long Service Luncheon. “But then again, this is Concordia.”

During his speech, Young, who began working at Concordia in 1976 as an apprentice plumber, thanked the many “extraordinary individuals” who have helped him to advance his career within the university.

“The wisdom and knowledge I gained from them provided me with the skills necessary to take on various roles within facilities management, and now in environmental health and safety,” he said. “When I look back, I have to say to myself, not bad for a youngster who started on the shop floor as an apprentice plumber.”

The annual Long Service Luncheon honours and celebrates faculty and staff members who have provided more than 20 years of service to the university.

During his address, President Frederick Lowy thanked people for their commitment to the university: “Your staying power is an inspiration.”

The range of talent that Concordia has attracted and retained over the years is astounding said Provost David Graham. “People who do my job know that getting good people to Concordia is a small part of what we do, but keeping you here is really the challenge. That’s what I really want to acknowledge today: our collective success in keeping all of you here.”

Dale Doreen, professor in the Department of Decision Sciences and Management Information Systems in the John Molson School of Business, said he came to Concordia from his home state of Alabama 40 years ago, mainly because he wanted to experience living in Montreal.

From left to right: Caroline Willsher, associate vice-president, Human Resources, President Frederick Lowy and Rick Young, Interim Director, Environmental Health and Safety, who was being honoured for 35 years of service to Concordia. | Photos by Ryan Blau/PBL Photography

“The fact that it was a bilingual city, an international city; I thought it would be very attractive to be in a place that had international connections, and linguistic and cultural diversity,” he said.

Doreen said he wasn’t overly impressed by the university when he first arrived, but that a lot has changed since then. “It was mostly a commuting school for local residents,” he recalled. “Now it’s a world-renowned, respected university that captures the essence of what education should be.”

Stan Charbonneau began working at Concordia 30 years ago in printing services, and now works as an administrative assistant in the Department of Art Education. He has enjoyed watching Concordia grow and change over the years.

“We used to be a teeny tiny, friendly, family-type organization and now we’re huge,” he said. “Sometimes it boggles my mind, just looking up and seeing how Concordia has actually changed the visual narrative of Montreal … It’s pretty exciting.”

When they heard about the occupation of the Henry F. Hall Building’s computer centre in 1969, Frances Shaver, chair of the Department of Sociology and Anthropology, and her husband William Reimer, professor in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology, were initially reluctant to seek employment at Sir George Williams University. But the attractiveness of living in Montreal won them over, and they made the move from Vancouver. 

“Bill’s position turned into a full-time tenure-track position. So we’ve really been here since 1972,” said Shaver. “Our kids grew up here, and are perfectly bilingual, and we really think of Montreal as home.”

Like Charbonneau, Shaver said it has been exciting watching Concordia grow into a recognized institution as she and her husband pursued their academic careers. “It’s a good place to be. Our children did their degrees here, and worked here … so there’s a real family connection for us.”

The luncheon also honoured people who took retirement in 2010, including Ellen Jacobs from the Department of Education. She worked for the university for 35 years. She came to Concordia because it was willing to take chances in the development of an innovative early childhood education program.

“[The university began] using theories of child development as a way of educating future teachers. It was a really novel approach at the time,” she said. “We’ve had a very successful teacher education program since the 1970s.

And now that she’s retired? “I’m making jewellery,” she said, smiling. “But it’s nice to come back and see everybody and hear what’s going on.”

Hear the conversation
To hear what more long-serving Concordians have to say about coming to work at Concordia, their first impressions of the university and how it has changed over the years, listen to the podcast: