Strengthening our governance: a collective challenge
A message from Concordia President Frederick Lowy
We have just taken another important step toward meeting our objective of strengthening governance at our university. On June 15, we released the 39-page report of our External Governance Review Committee, and invited members of the university community to provide input on its recommendations.
The creation of this external review committee, which stemmed from a joint initiative of our Board of Governors and Senate, was part of a process that we began some two years ago to ensure that we adopt the best practices in governance at Concordia. The committee’s report proposes 38 recommendations and includes a number of observations about the university’s governance practices and its institutional culture challenges.
The harshest language in the report focuses on Concordia’s governance culture, which is referred to as a “culture of contempt.” In fact, most of us at Concordia won’t recognize ourselves in this light. We have some 1,700 faculty members teaching and conducting research, 45,000 students studying and participating in research and 5,300 employees coming to work each day, and there is no culture of contempt or anything of that nature present in their experiences at the university.
Is there friction among those involved in governance at Concordia? Yes. While friction may be unavoidable in a dynamic environment, it had indeed risen to unhealthy and unsustainable levels within some quarters. We welcome this report for identifying it as an issue and for proposing concrete measures to help us address it. We believe that our governance structures should support and be more reflective of our core values and of the experience that the vast majority of Concordians live daily.
It is important that we continue to work together on governance issues. We will take the time, as a community, to review and consider the committee’s report. We will hold a public meeting on June 28, and gather further feedback on the committee’s advice. This fall, the appropriate bodies of the university will make decisions as to the changes that will help us improve our governance culture and facilitate the pursuit of success.
I am greatly encouraged by our progress over these past months in bringing Concordians together around these important issues, ensuring that our university continues to support the aspirations of our students, faculty, governors, alumni, staff, and community.
Frederick Lowy
President and Vice-Chancellor
Concordia University