Concordia President Alan Shepard addresses the Women’s Canadian Club of Montreal | All photos: Concordia University
“We’ll always need human contact to enrich learning and the exchange of ideas,” Shepard said. “This is the time for urban universities. People want to be in urban centres and these communities are growing around the world, so Concordia is well placed.”
“Some $600 million dollars in building investment have transformed the two campuses over the last 10 years,” Shepard said. Among the new buildings and top research facilities, he highlighted the Centre for Structural and Functional Genomics and the PERFORM Centre for research into illness and injury prevention.
“Universities are transformative places. I know that’s been true for me,” said Shepard, a first-generation university graduate. Concordia’s large and diverse population, including 46,000 students from around the world, forms a very social and engaged community, he said.
Shepard promoted greater exchange through study-abroad programs — an enriching experience he lived himself as a visiting student at the University of Cambridge.
It was a full house as Concordia President Alan Shepard addressed the Women’s Canadian Club of Montreal at the Unitarian Church in Westmount.