Chair of the Board of Governors welcomes 5 new members

I am pleased to welcome five new members to our Board of Governors. They are taking up positions vacated by the departure of two external and three internal governors whose terms expired on June 30. The new governors are Françoise Bertrand, Gina Cody, Daniel Cross, Benjamin Prunty and Firas Al-Hammoud.

Bertrand is president and CEO of the Fédération des chambres de commerce du Quebec. A respected member of the business community for more than 30 years, she was recently made an Officer of the Order of Canada for her contribution to corporate governance.

Cody earned her doctorate in engineering from Concordia in 1989 and has built a successful career in the construction industry. She is currently Executive Chair of CCI Inc., a multi-disciplinary engineering firm with offices in major cities across Canada.

Cross, associate professor and chair of the Department of Cinema, will represent the faculty of Fine Arts. Prunty is president of the Concordia Student Union (CSU) and Al-Hammoud will represent the Graduate Students’ Association (GSA).

Having individuals of this calibre willing to invest their time and energy in Concordia says a lot about them and about this institution.

We also bid farewell to several outgoing members and thank them for their service to the university. The outgoing members are: Tim Brodhead, interim president of the Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation; professor of theatre Edward Little; Erik Chevrier, GSA representative; former CSU president Melissa Kate Wheeler; and Melanie Hotchkiss, the alternate undergraduate student representative.

These governors played an important role in keeping Concordia’s momentum going. Their loyalty and commitment to Concordia are deeply appreciated.

The term for the new governors representing the external and academic communities runs until June 30, 2017. Student representatives serve a one-year term.  

As well, Me Marie-José Nadeau and Shimon Amir were reappointed as Vice-Chairs of the Board for a term beginning on July 1, 2014 and ending on June 30, 2015.

It’s has been a great year for Concordia and I look forward to working closely with our new and returning governors as we continue to build on our successes.

Norman Hébert Jr.
Chair of the Board of Governors