Board of Governors and Senate highlights: May 2024

The university’s Board of Governors met on May 16 and Senate on May 17. Concordia President Graham Carr brought members up to speed on recent news not covered in his printed report.

• The winter term just ended and the first summer session is already underway.
• The months since the October 7, 2023, attack in Israel have been extraordinarily difficult for Concordia: in the space of a few days, the university community was shaken by the events in the Middle East and then by the decision of the Government of Quebec to penalize the province’s anglophone universities.
• Carr thanked all community members for their steadfast support during this unprecedented period.
• He acknowledged that while the university responded to the challenging circumstances as well as possible, it could have handled some things better; yet Concordia delivered its full term to students without moving courses online or cancelling any university-sanctioned events or activities.
• The previously announced Standing Together against Racism and Identity-based Violence (STRIVE) Task Force will focus on various forms of identity-based hatred on campus, including antisemitism, Islamophobia and anti-Muslim hatred; the task force includes six working groups plus a steering committee.
• Concordia’s earlier task-force models effectively provided public-discussion forums and inclusive participation mechanisms, and led to the development of actionable recommendations.
• The upcoming convocation will celebrate the graduation of more than 4,020 undergrads and 1,700-plus graduate students, the largest-ever graduate-student cohort in Concordia’s history.
• The university will bestow honorary doctorates on nine outstanding individuals at convocation.
• Adding to recent noteworthy Concordia student achievements, including Rhodes and Schwarzman scholarships, Board of Governors member Harley Martin has earned a McCall MacBain scholarship.
• Rosemary Reilly, professor and department chair of applied human sciences, won a coveted 3M National Teaching Fellowship Award.
• For the first time in its history, Concordia placed in the global top 100 in the Times Higher Education Young Universities Rankings, which assesses institutions under 50 years old; the university ranked number one in North America.

Carr provided further updates to the Board:

• The Stingers women’s hockey team, led by their coach Juli Chu, won their second USports championship in three years.
• On May 1, Carr delivered an address on knowledge diplomacy at CORIM (Montreal Council on Foreign Relations).
• Concordia was chosen as a recipient for the 2024 Canada’s Greenest Employers Recognition Award.
• For the first time, Public Service of Canada’s deputy minister champion for Concordia, Ted Gallivan, BA 96, is an alumnus; he’s currently executive vice-president at Canada Border Services Agency.

Find out more about Concordia’s Board of Governors and Senate.