University initiatives continue to advance Concordia's strategic directions

President’s Remarks

At the January 20 Senate meeting, Concordia’s president Alan Shepard announced the appointment of Daniel Therrien as university registrar. He was serving in the role on an interim basis since June 1.

Shepard remarked that the university is experiencing its strongest enrolment, which includes an increase in the number of American students coming to Concordia.

Ten PhD candidates are receiving professional training as part of a new component of the Public Scholars Program, a collaboration between the School of Graduate Studies and the Montreal Gazette.

Introduced in the spring of 2015, this initiative serves to bridge the gap between academic research and the community, aligning with one of the university’s strategic directions, embrace the city, embrace the world.

He noted that the 2017 Teaching and Learning Winter Festival is focusing on experiential learning, its role in teaching practice and resources for getting started.

This year, the Office of Community Engagement is on board to support the programming. This is another example of how the university is advancing its strategic directions to mix it up and embrace the city, embrace the world.

Academic Update

The 36th annual John Molson MBA International Case Competition was a terrific success, said Graham Carr, provost and vice-president of Academic Affairs, in his update to Senate.

Thirty-six teams from universities from around the world squared off for a weeklong case competition organized by a team of students from the John Molson School of Business MBA program.

He also brought attention to the First Voices Week, an Indigenous-led event that celebrates First Peoples and communities at Concordia and within the larger community. Events were held from January 30 to February 3.

As part of its commitment to its strategic directions, the university has created two new portfolios. Anne Whitelaw, was recently appointed vice-provost of Planning and Positioning. She is overseeing the development of a strategic enrolment plan that will address the increasingly challenging post-secondary recruitment landscape.

Nadia Bhuiyan has assumed the role of vice-provost of Partnerships and Experiential Learning. She is working to champion community partnerships and expand opportunities for experiential learning. Carr congratulated Claude Martel, who was recently appointed the new director of the Institute for Co-operative Education.

Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering name change approved

With the approval of Senate, the Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering in the Faculty of Engineering and Computer Science has been renamed the Department of Mechanical, Industrial and Aerospace Engineering.

This new name reflects the department’s increasing focus on aerospace engineering, which includes the successful professional master’s program in Aerospace Engineering and the creation of the new undergraduate program in Aerospace Engineering.

The department would continue to offer existing undergraduate and graduate programs in Mechanical Engineering and Industrial Engineering.