Senate approves new program in aerospace engineering

New BEng program in aerospace engineering

At its December 6 meeting, Concordia’s Senate approved a new undergraduate program in aerospace engineering, a collaboration between the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) and the Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering (MIE).

The program will begin to accept students in September 2014. During a brief presentation to Senate, Professor Marius Paraschivoiu, the program’s director, pointed out that Quebec’s robust aerospace industry employs 11,000 engineers, with new hires exceeding 800 every year. “That motivates us to create a specialized program to meet this need,” he said.

Concordia’s Faculty of Engineering and Computer Science already offers a master’s program in aerospace engineering, which graduated 139 students between 2002 and 2012. There are also two undergraduate specialization programs related to the aerospace industry.

The proposal for the new Bachelor in Engineering program states that, “The Departments of MIE and ECE at Concordia University have the resources and expertise to operate this program at the highest level of quality to meet the demands from students, industry and society.”

Webster Library renovations

Interim University Librarian Guylaine Beaudry presented an overview of planned renovations to the R. Howard Webster Library. The project, which is still in a preliminary planning phase, addresses the need for more study space and will more than double the number of study seats in the Sir George Williams Campus library — from 1,550 to 3,400.

The renovated library facility will provide an environment that will enhance the student learning experience and foster student engagement. There will be space for active and collaborative learning, designated spaces to support graduate students, and access to state-of-the-art digital learning tools and resources with the implementation of an innovative technology program.

“What we’re going to do will change our space, but also our service,” Beaudry told Senate. “We are creating the next generation of an academic library.”

Discussion on Quebec’s proposed Charter of Secular Values

The final item on the agenda of the December 6 meeting was a request for Senate’s input on how the university should respond to the Government of Quebec’s proposed Bill 60, the Charter of Secular Values.

On November 8, President Alan Shepard requested feedback from the Concordia community on the bill and, as he told Senate, he received more than 200 emails in response.

Vice-President of Development and External Relations and Secretary-General, Bram Freedman, gave a brief presentation on the bill, after which several members of Senate provided their input on the bill and the impact it would have on the university if it were to pass.

After the discussion, Senate approved a proposal by the president that the Senate Steering Committee would work with the Board Executive Committee to develop and approve the university’s statement on Bill 60.