MONTREAL/February 2, 2006—
In his first public speech since becoming President of Concordia University, Dr. Claude Lajeunesse addressed the Board of Trade of Greater Montreal this morning. In his speech to the sold out breakfast gathering, he offered a snapshot of the University as an integral part of the Montreal fabric and made the following commitments:
ï To publish Concordia: Central to Montreal's Future later this year. This first report to the Montreal community will present Concordia's contribution as a builder and partner, and particularly this year, to the advancement of the industrial clusters that the city has identified as strategic to its economic success.
ï To address the ìbrain drainî by the creation of a blue ribbon committee to be chaired by Dr. Arvind Joshi, Chief Executive Officer of St. Mary's Hospital, a professor at McGill University and a member of Concordia's Board of Governors. Its mandate will be to find realistic ways to convince our graduates to stay and make a life here, joining the vital communities in Montreal, Quebec and Canada.
ï To call upon both the federal government of Stephen Harper and provincial government of Jean Charest to reevaluate investment in higher education to prepare for the future. Government commitment to financing post-secondary education and research absolutely must continue, and in fact deepen if universities are to meet their societal objectives. Universities have a number of files to carry forward together, including the need to obtain our fair share of any solution to the fiscal imbalance between Ottawa and the provinces.
To view the presentation of the speech, titled Concordia: Engaged in Innovation and Agent of Social Change, please visit: http://news.concordia.ca/
Dr. Claude Lajeunesse's Speech : Engaged in Innovation and Agent of Social Change - as delivered
Dr. Claude Lajeunesse's Speech : Engaged in Innovation and Agent of Social Change - in english
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Source :
Tanya Churchmuch
Senior Media Relations Advisor
Concordia University
