Board of Governors and Senate highlights: May 2026
President Graham Carr reflected on “a milestone week for Concordia” as he addressed the Board of Governors at its May 14 meeting and Senate at its last meeting of the academic year, on May 15.
Earlier in the week, the university celebrated a landmark $15 million gift from entrepreneur, investor and astronaut Mark Pathy for the creation of a space institute at the Gina Cody School of Engineering and Computer Science. Carr said he was “extremely grateful” for Pathy’s vision and generosity. “I think it’s going to be a game changer for the university, for our students,” he added, thanking all the Concordia staff members involved in the lead-up to the transformational donation and the organization of the announcement event.
On May 4, Concordia officially launched its new School of Performance, where the departments of Contemporary Dance, Music and Theatre will be integrated under a single structure within the Faculty of Fine Arts, making it the first interdisciplinary hub of its kind in Quebec.
And on May 5 and 6, more than 360 people gathered at the Electrify Society Summit. The event, organized by Concordia’s electrification research program Volt-Age, brought together academics, scientists and students, as well as industry, government and community representatives.
At the Board meeting, the president noted that Concordia welcomed many government officials at these and other events the university held recently. He thanked the government relations team for all their work. The presence of such guests is important in showing Concordia’s outstanding work, Carr said, and “how we can provide solutions and convene conversations that are hopefully helpful in the public realm." He cited as an example a recent talk with Canada’s Minister of Indigenous Services (and Concordia graduate) Mandy Gull-Masty, Ghislain Picard, former Chief of the Assembly of First Nations Quebec-Labrador, and Joe Deom, an Elder from the Kahnawà:ke Longhouse.
Accolades
2025-2026 has been a “year of pretty exceptional accomplishments by students, faculty and staff,” Carr told Board members.
Among these, three Concordia researchers have been selected to the Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation’s 2026 cohort. Steven High, a professor in the Department of History, has been named a Fellow, one of the foundation’s most prestigious distinctions, while PhD candidates Célia Bensiali-Hadaud and Guillaume Jabbour are among this year’s 18 Scholars. More than 700 students had applied for the doctoral scholarships.
Mia Scroggins-Hadley, who is completing a BFA at Concordia, is among the new recipients of the McCall MacBain Scholarships, which fully fund graduate studies at McGill University.
Wendy Mbog, a Computer Science undergraduate student, won first prize at Délie ta langue, the pre-eminent francophone public speaking competition for Quebec and Canadian students. The prize comes with a $5,000 bursary offered by the government of Quebec.
Members of the student-led Concordia Moot Law Society captured gold at two of Canada’s flagship national moot court competitions, beating out teams from institutions with fully established law schools.
For the second time in three years, Concordia has been named one of Canada’s Greenest Employers for 2026. The award, presented by Mediacorp Canada Inc., organizer of Canada’s Top 100 Employers, recognizes organizations that embed sustainability into their operations and foster a culture of environmental awareness and action.
STRIVE final report
Carr also spoke about the final report of the Standing Together against Racism and Identity-based Violence (STRIVE) Task Force, which was published on April 15. He explained that the university is now finalizing the terms of reference of the implementation committee that will be tasked with looking at how to best action the set of recommendations included in the report. The president thanked all those who participated in the work of the committee and subcommittees.
New programs in artificial intelligence
Several motions proposing new academic programs were passed at the May 15 Senate meeting, including one around the creation of a Bachelor of Engineering and a Bachelor of Science in Artificial Intelligence.
The market demand for talent trained in artificial intelligence is "unambiguous and accelerating," said Mourad Debbabi, dean of the Gina Cody School of Engineering and Computer Science, who put forward the motion. “Demand for AI fluency has grown seven-fold in two years, from one million to seven million workers globally,” he added. The Gina Cody School’s proposed programs are meant to help address the gap between the number of workers Canada’s technology sector needs and the number of students currently graduating.
The university must still obtain approvals from the Bureau de coopération interuniversitaire and the Ministry of Higher Education before it can launch the two bachelor’s degrees. A motion to create a Minor in Artificial Intelligence was also passed.
Seven new microprograms
Three faculties presented proposals for new undergraduate microprograms, with the Faculty of Arts and Science introducing four. The microprogram in Economic Policy is targeted primarily at working professionals, for example individuals involved in policy analysis, while the microprogram in Religious, Cultural and Ethnic Literacy may be of interest to employees of public-facing services who want to learn more about cultural diversity. The Faculty of Arts and Science also introduced microprograms in Computational Physics and in Jewish Studies, as well as a Minor in Physics.
The John Molson School of Business put forward a motion for a microprogram in Production Accounting for Film and Television and the Faculty of Fine Arts for a microprogram in Songwriting and Music Production, both meant to fill labour market needs identified in these sectors.
Senate also approved a graduate microprogram in Global Health Entrepreneurship. Created in line with the School of Health’s objective of blending knowledge from multiple disciplines to offer new training avenues in health, the two courses that make up the program were informed by contributions from the Faculty of Arts and Science, the John Molson School and the Gina Cody School. The program is aimed at equipping mid-career professionals with competencies to develop innovative solutions to global health challenges.
Process change
Finally, given the increased number of program proposals being brought to Senate, a motion was presented to authorize that any new program with no resource implication be included on the consent agenda of Senate. “No resource implication” means that no additional physical or personnel requirements are needed for the implementation of the program.
Matters are included on the consent agenda when they are of a routine nature and have gone through the relevant governance and review process, prior to final approval. For example, any new program proposal is still submitted to the Academic Programs Committee for review of its academic implications.
The president reminded senators that an item on the consent agenda can be moved to the regular agenda as per the procedures of Senate. After a discussion on the matter, the motion was passed.