October 2023

Dear colleagues,

Lots of concerning events are happening these days yet our School is doing very well.

As I always do in the newsletter, I will share the main events that call for celebration. But before I speak to them, I would like to address the situation that will directly affect our university.

Tuition hikes

We were all taken by surprise when the Quebec government announced tuition fee changes for out-of-province and international students on October 13.

This is not good news for us. As indicated earlier in President Graham Carr’s message to our community, such a decision will negatively impact the university budget by the tens of millions of dollars per year. Moreover, it will affect the reputation of our city, renowned as one of the best student cities in the world.

However, I am encouraged by the response from the business community and Francophone universities who are asking the government to reconsider their position.

President Carr explained the reality of universities in this province and the need for better funding in The Gazette.

In case you have questions about the impact of the tuition fee hikes on our current or new students, please visit or share the Q&A website prepared by Concordia. The most important message for now is that the increase does not apply to research-based Master’s or PhD programs.

Let’s remind ourselves and the public that we are a great business school. For the last 10 years, the John Molson MBA and EMBA programs were constantly ranked among the best in Canada and around the world, three times more often than our competitors. This is quite an achievement and we certainly don’t want to lose such an advantage. Finally, whenever you have a chance, please remind our current or prospective students from outside Quebec that they are very welcome at Concordia and they will be treated equally and with respect.

QS MBA Rankings

The QS Global MBA Rankings for 2024 are out and amid the programs ranked are our MBA, MBA in Investment Management, MSc in Management, MSc in Marketing and our Master of Supply Chain Management. Of the 16,000 business schools in the world, we placed in the top 150 MBA programs. As indicated above, we continue to be recognized among some heavy hitters. Bravo!

Michel Laroche named a lifetime member of the Royal Society of Canada

It is my pleasure to share that Michel Laroche, who holds the Royal Bank Distinguished Professorship in Marketing, has been named a lifetime member of the Royal Society of Canada. This is a well-deserved honour. Michel will be publicly acknowledged at the Celebration of Excellence and Engagement event in November.

Félicitations Michel!

Open House

I’d like to acknowledge the efforts of our faculty, staff and students who participated in this year’s Open House held on Saturday, October 21.

Thank you for sharing your time to showcase all that our School has to offer. I was pleased to see so many keen potential students who are very interested in our programs. They often have friends or siblings who studied here and they want to gain the same knowledge and experience. Thankfully, the tuition hikes were not on their minds, although we must recognize that most of our visitors were locals.

National Bank Women in Leadership

On October 18, the National Bank Women in Leadership series held its inaugural event on women’s career advancement.

Panelists Sofia Quilico and Estelle Champagne from National Bank alongside Alexandra Dawson were guided in a conversation around how employers can adapt to promote the well-being of the women they employ. Tracy Hecht moderated this lively discussion. You can see photos from the event here.

Stellar showing for JMCC

The John Molson Case Competition team earned 2nd place in the finals at the Collegiate Ethics Case Competition hosted by the Eller College of Management at the University of Arizona from October 13-15. The focus of this year’s competition was Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare. Our team advanced to the finals and made the top 5 out of 26, placing second overall.

On October 21, another team was in Germany at the University of Münster Case Club. I’m happy to report that they placed 1st in the second case and earned 2nd place in their division. This is especially impressive because they were the only team in that division that wasn’t an MBA team. Congratulations to both teams, and many thanks to the coaches, especially Nora Baronian and Tim Field.

Centraide campaign

On October 12, Concordia kicked off the 2023 Centraide campaign. You can learn more about this year’s campaign and the many ways you can contribute here.

Caroline Roux and Atosa Tangestanifar are the JMSB Centraide co-leaders.

Tickets are being sold for a raffle to win one of two gift baskets, each valued at around $300 and packed with a variety of goodies. The baskets include gift certificates for local restaurants (minimum $225 in each), wine, chocolates, high-end gourmandises, scented candles and more!

You’ll have an opportunity to buy tickets at our Halloween get together in the staff and faculty lounge (MB 15.101) from 2-3 p.m. on October 31 or contact Atosa directly at extension 2793, by email at atosa.tangestanifar@concordia.ca or in her office MB 12.207. She’ll be accepting cash and e-transfers. The last day to buy a ticket is November 17.

Dean’s Awards call for nominations

These annual awards recognize faculty and staff members who go above and beyond in their efforts to support the School and the John Molson community. Read through the nomination and eligibility criteria and return the nomination form with supporting documents to Kelly Hall via email no later than November 10, 2023. We’re looking for nominations!

Save the date: The Dean’s Awards ceremony will be hosted on Tuesday, December 5, 2023. Come celebrate our awardees!

Fall convocation

But before we get together for the holiday celebrations during the Dean’s Awards, the Fall convocation will happen on Tuesday, November 28 at 8 p.m. at Place des Arts.

Please attend and celebrate our new graduates. To register, complete the online form.

It means a lot to our students to see familiar faces and their favourite professors on stage cheering for them. As we did in the past, we will book a table at a restaurant nearby so all of us who attend convocation can have a bite together before the ceremony. Stay tuned.

Special thanks

I would finally like to close this newsletter with a special thanks to Daisy Chung, Valentina Mennella and Jacklin Lu who took time to repot lots of nice little plants that you can see in our lounge. I appreciate their care in making this area even more welcoming. I invite you to keep using this pleasant environment.

Closing remarks

I hope that despite everything you are keeping well. Thank you for your continuous efforts to support each other and our students.

#WeAreJMSB

Warmest regards,
Anne-Marie Croteau, PhD, CDir
Dean