Board of Governors receives the Ombuds Office's annual report
President’s report
In his report to the Board of Governors, at their February 17 meeting, Concordia’s president Alan Shepard thanked all those involved in the successful submission that resulted in Concordia being named one of Montreal’s top employers for 2016.
He also cited the high attendance at the February 13 Admissions Information Day as an example of the university’s strong start to the winter term. Some 2,200 people turned out to seek help with their admission process and to tour the university and its facilities for the first time.
President Evaluation Committee membership approved
The board ratified the membership of the President Evaluation Committee, which is tasked with considering Alan Shepard’s nomination for a second term as president. Shepard began his first five-year term as Concordia’s president and vice-chancellor on August 1, 2012.
Members of the committee are board chair Norman Hébert, Jr.; external board member representatives Françoise Bertrand, Jean-Pierre Desrosiers and Hélène Fortin; undergraduate student representative Terry Wilkings; graduate student representative Alex Ocheoha; full-time faculty member representatives Emilio Boulianne (JMSB), Ted McCormick (Arts and Science), Johanne Sloan (Fine Arts), and Ted Stathopoulos (Engineering and Computer Science); part-time faculty member representative Maria Peluso; and administrative and support staff representative Alex Macpherson.
Environmental Health and Safety report
In his annual Environmental Health and Safety (EHS) report to the board, Roger Côté, vice-president of Services, noted that increased emphasis on work safety awareness and prevention education, overall in 2015, reflected a rise in EHS activity.
For example, safety training sessions were up 43 per cent and session participation by 37 per cent compared to 2014. The increased awareness level helps to explain the 83 per cent increase in injury and near-miss investigations, said Côté. He stressed that increased reporting of near misses and injuries results in increases in investigations that, in turn, further enhance injury prevention.
Strategic directions update
In his brief report to the board on Concordia’s strategic directions initiative, the university’s roadmap for the future, Shepard thanked the board members for their participation at a productive retreat at the end of January. He said the planning process is on track and underscored how pleased he was with the broad participation across the university.
Ombuds Office annual report
Associate Ombudsperson Julie Boncompain reported that the office handled 427 cases in the 2014-15 academic year. While the percentage of cases received as a proportion of the overall student body has remained constant over the past three years (0.8 per cent), the office saw a 50 per cent decrease in cases from undergraduate international students compared to the previous year. The Ombuds Office is an independent office, which reports directly to the Board of Governors.
Student groups receive approval to use Concordia name
The Autodidacts’ Concordia Theatre Club (ACT), founded in 2015, and the Concordia Student Exchange Association (CSEA) both received Board approval to use Concordia in their club’s name.
ACT aims to provide non-theatre students with a space to share their passion for theatre and practise theatre-related activities. CSEA aims to facilitate the transition of incoming international students and inform Canadian students of the process of studying abroad by engaging past, current and future students in social, cultural and academic events.