Senate receives update on rankings and fundraising efforts
President’s Remarks
At the October 2 Senate meeting, Concordia President Alan Shepard opened his remarks by noting the passing of Christopher Jackson. The early music scholar and dean of the Faculty of Fine Arts from 1994 to 2005 was very welcoming to Shepard when he arrived in Montreal in 2012, he noted. There was a special concert on October 18 in Jackson’s honour.
The president also highlighted Concordia’s upward trajectory in international rankings. In the QS World University Rankings, Concordia finished in the 411-420 range out of 18,000 universities worldwide. This is the fourth consecutive year Concordia has moved up in QS; it finished in the 461-70 range last year.
In the Times Higher Education rankings released in late September, Concordia once again placed in the 401-500 range, but improved its score in three of the five measurements.
The first of four phases of the Webster Library renovations opened on September 28. The larger, brighter study space has already been received very positively by students, said Shepard. Working and advising students from the Webster Library’s Richler reading room, author and former CBC host Anne-Marie Macdonald will be the first Richler writer in residence.
Still on the unveiling front, the ribbon-cutting ceremony for District 3’s new space also took place on September 28. The incubator’s runaway success — over 100 jobs created and company valuations over $30M in just two years of operation — necessitated the move to the sixth floor of the Faubourg Building, a space three times the size of its original home in the EV building. The occasion was marked by the announcement of a $1M gift from Concordia alumnus André Desmarais and his wife, France Chrétien Desmarais, to propel startups.
On the Concordia community fundraising front, Shuffle 26 raised $65,000 this year for scholarships and bursaries, and the Memorial Golf Classic raised $240,000 toward the same goal. These funds are especially important given the tight financial climate Concordia and all Quebec universities find themselves in, said Shepard.
Convocation – Fall 2015
Senate approved the graduation list for the 2015 fall convocation ceremonies.