Board of Governors highlights: June 2026
President Graham Carr began his remarks at the last Board of Governors meeting of the academic year, on June 11, by highlighting a few recent accolades received by members of the Concordia community:
- The Concordia University Alumni Association bestowed its Alumni Recognition Awards on May 25, including the Humberto Santos Award of Merit and Service, which was presented to Board member Rana Ghorayeb, BA 97, MEng 01.
- Five distinguished individuals will receive an honorary doctorate from Concordia as part of its Convocation ceremonies on June 15, 16 and 17. More than 6,000 Concordia students are graduating from Concordia this spring.
- Several members of the Concordia community are among the recipients awarded the insignia of the Order of Montreal and those appointed to the Ordre national du Québec.
On the research front, Carr mentioned the leading role played by Ursula Eicker, Canada Excellence Research Chair in Smart, Sustainable and Resilient Cities and Communities, and Concordia International in advancing the Statement of Principles and Call to Action on Research for Sustainable Communities at the 14th Annual Global Research Council Meeting, held in Thailand in May. Eicker presented the statement and call to action to leaders of research funding agencies from around the world, all of whom endorsed the initiative.
The president welcomed the recent joint federal and provincial announcement of nearly $10 billion for infrastructure projects in the areas of public transit, health care, housing and higher education. Concordia is working on “having transformational projects shovel ready” when the call for projects is launched, he added.
Carr was also pleased to hear of the temporary reopening of the Programme de l’expérience québécoise, which provided a pathway toward permanent residency for qualifying candidates prior to its cancellation in the fall of 2025.
Board members meet Concordia’s Olympians
In the second portion of the open meeting, Board members welcomed three Concordia students who competed in the 2026 Milan-Cortina Olympics: freestyle skier Marion Thénault, a student in aerospace engineering; psychology student Emma Nonnenmacher, who was part of France’s women’s hockey team; and Zachary Lagha, who studies contemporary dance at Concordia and competed in ice dance. Thénault and Lagha also participated in the Beijing 2022 games.
The students spoke about how Concordia has supported them as athletes by providing custom accommodations to allow them to balance their sport and their studies.