As new alumni association president, Nura Jabagi wants to keep Concordians connected
Nura Jabagi has been active in Concordia’s community for more than a decade, having led various associations as a student.
When Nura Jabagi, MBA 14, PhD 21, was finishing her PhD in Business Technology Management in 2020, she found herself feeling a bit anxious. “I didn’t want to be separated from Concordia,” she explains. “I thought: ‘This can’t be the end!’”
So, Jabagi volunteered to join the board of directors of the Concordia University Alumni Association (CUAA), which aims to serve and engage alumni of Concordia and its two founding institutions — Sir George Williams University and Loyola College — a group that is now 254,000 strong.
In partnership with University Advancement, the CUAA orchestrates opportunities for alumni to build relationships with each other, support current students and bring about positive changes in the community. Those opportunities can include anything from organizing an alumni mixology event or funding student scholarships and bursaries to supporting Concordia’s on-campus greenhouse.
After leading the CUAA’s philanthropy committee, Jabagi, now an expert in the future of work — from the gig economy to the impact of AI — recently became its president. Other roles have been filled by new faces as well, as senior members move on and newer ones step into leadership.
“That’s exciting to see, and it’s also quite a diverse board in terms of origins, ages and backgrounds,” Jabagi says. “This should help them to understand and serve the needs of different kinds of alumni.”
A dedicated volunteer
There will be plenty for the CUAA to do in 2024, says Jabagi. “It’s a difficult time for universities right now. We really want to focus on delivering more impact within the community.”
For instance, the CUAA is currently looking into ways to support the Canada Scholars Award, which will be helping to compensate for the rate hike that Quebec’s government recently imposed on new out-of-province students. “It’s a natural thing for us to be involved in,” she says, pointing out that the association also rose to the occasion to help students facing financial hardship during the COVID-19 lockdowns.
The year ahead also marks Concordia’s 50th anniversary, and the CUAA will undoubtedly find ways to mark it, Jabagi says.
Jabagi’s day jobs include teaching at Université Laval in Quebec City and consulting about the future of work on behalf of Deloitte. Despite a busy schedule, she says that the CUAA is one of the things in her life that brings her joy and energy.
“I want to make sure everyone on the CUAA’s team feels similarly: like they’re doing something meaningful and having fun doing it,” she says. “Because that’s a big part of volunteering.”
Regarding Concordia and its grads, Jabagi couldn’t be more complimentary — and sincere. “We have an amazing network of alumni,” she says. “The energy of Concordia is just different from that of other universities. Concordia helped me to build a lot of skills, not just in the classroom but also on a personal level. For one thing, it helped me grow a lot of confidence! I think there are plenty of people who genuinely want to stay involved with Concordia and see it succeed. Our goal is to get them engaged, or at least aware and connected.”
The Concordia University Alumni Association is always looking for volunteers and new board members. Jabagi invites those interested in learning more to visit the CUAA’s web page and to watch their inboxes over the coming weeks for its annual call for nominations.
