It was a neat coincidence of numbers. Concordia celebrated 20 people with 20 years of service and 30 people with 30 years of service — among others — at the 2016 Long Service and Retiree Luncheon.
On Monday, December 12, the university recognized a total of 167 employees who reached milestones in their careers.
The crowd was convivial, mingling and sharing anecdotes. There were 29 people with 25 years of service, 20 with 35 years, and nine with 40 years, as well as 59 retirees.
Alan Shepard, Concordia’s president, addressed the group, thanking faculty and staff for their ongoing commitment — something he sees reflected in his ongoing conversations with university alumni.
“Many say Concordia gave them a chance to transform their lives and they’re grateful to have had that opportunity,” he said.
“The work we do, the environment we're creating and the community we're building is extraordinarily important to the individuals who are coming here to get an education.”
Shepard commented on the special energy at Concordia between faculty and students, staff and colleagues, and with the larger society.
“Of our nine Strategic Directions, the most important to me is Take Pride,” said Shepard.
“I talk a lot about it when I visit with alumni and it’s equally fitting today. We really appreciate your service. It makes a difference. Universities are only universities because of the people.”
Graham Carr, provost and vice-president of Academic Affairs, spoke about the immeasurable changes to the Loyola and Sir George Williams campuses in the last 40 years — including the Richard J. Renaud Science Complex, the PERFORM Centre, the Centre for Structural and Functional Genomics and the Webster Library Transformation.
“It's incredibly exciting to be at Concordia now,” added Carr. “We are the number one Canadian university under the age of 50. We're number two in North America. It's great to celebrate that at every occasion.”
Taking the microphone to represent the honourees was Joanne Locke, associate professor emerita from the Department of Education. Locke retired in June 2015.
“Just think — I was 17 when I came to Loyola College as a student and I’m 66 years old now. So we have 49 years to cover before you get to eat your lunch,” she quipped.
In those years, Locke was an associate professor, associate dean of academic programs in the Faculty of Arts and Science, interim dean, program director and co-chair of the Department of Education, and acting director of the Student Success Centre.
She recalled with pride how her department rose to the challenge of distance learning, eventually turning a correspondence course for Corrections Canada into one of the university’s first interactive online courses.
“I joined Concordia because I like being on a team,” said Locke. “I stayed because, for me, Concordia has always been a winning team.”