“A place where people come to stay”

Carolina Willsher, Concordia’s associate vice-president of Human Resources, may have put it best: “There are not many sectors or, indeed, many organizations that can boast of having employees that have been with them for 45 years,” she said. “But we are one of them.”

On December 2, at the 2013 Long-Service and Retiree Luncheon, the university paid tribute to current members of its faculty and staff who reached career milestones ranging from 20 to 45 years of service, along with a number who have recently retired. Nearly 200 members of the Concordia community gathered to honour their colleagues.

Nathalie Hodgson, an archivist in Records Management and Archives, has been at the university for 25 years. While many things have changed during that time, the feeling of being a part of a community has not.

“Concordia has stayed an environment where you come to work every day and you feel that you have value,” she said. “I think this is something that’s always been there and always will be — and that, for me, is very important.”

Though he only joined Concordia a year ago, Benoit-Antoine Bacon, provost and vice-president of Academic Affairs, was heartened by his colleagues’ commitment to the university. “As a newcomer, I’m so pleased to see that this is a place where people come to stay.”

As President Alan Shepard noted in his address, this year’s attendees reflected Concordia’s international character.

They all showed an indelible sense of community, Shepard said, and their support has played a big part in shaping the university and its reputation.

“This is a strong institution whose work is going very well,” he said. “We’re making strong and important contributions to Montreal, as well as to Quebec, as well as to Canada and even to the world. Concordia is doing well because its people care.”