Update from the Chair of the Board of Governors

Dear members of the Concordia University community,

I trust it has been a pleasant and productive summer for all. As we begin a new academic year, I wanted to bring you up-to-date on three important issues — the launch of the process to select a new president and vice-chancellor, our progress and next steps regarding governance and our solicitation of nominations for the Board of Governors.

Selection of next president: participate in questionnaire
The search for the new president and vice-chancellor will be comprehensive in scope with an integral portion being a process of consultation. To this end, we have engaged the services of Laverne Smith & Associates, a leading Canadian firm that has worked extensively with universities across the country and beyond and has enjoyed a great deal of success.

We ask for your assistance in gathering information to inform the process. As this is a very important matter for the university, your input is critical and I would ask that you take a few minutes to help us in this important undertaking. All responses will be held in strict confidence and the inclusion of your name is optional. Please send your feedback by September 16, or better still, complete the brief survey now!

Governance update and next steps
On June 15, the Board received the report (PDF) of the External Governance Review Committee (EGRC). The Board then decided to move forward and to assess the implementation of the report’s recommendations in the context of its overall governance review.

This assessment was to include consultations with the Concordia community. More than 200 people attended an open meeting on June 28, hosted by Concordia President Frederick Lowy, to share their perspectives on the EGRC's report and recommendations. Participants included faculty, staff, students, alumni and other interested members of the community at large. We were pleased by the interest, civility and candour evident at the meeting.

Members of the Concordia community were also invited to submit their comments on the EGRC report. These comments were then shared with both the Senate Steering Committee and the Board's Ad Hoc Governance Review Committee.

The ad hoc committee, whose members include faculty, staff and student representatives, met several times this summer to review the EGRC recommendations pertaining only to the Board. The ad hoc committee did not address EGRC recommendations concerning the Senate because these must first be discussed by the Senate.

I am aware that the Senate Steering Committee also met this summer to prepare for the upcoming discussion of the EGRC report at Senate's September 9 meeting. The Board looks forward to receiving the results of this discussion and any resulting Senate recommendations.

The Board is committed to implementing the recommendations of the EGRC report regarding the Board in a timely manner. Therefore, the ad hoc committee will present its recommendations for approval at the Board's September 28 meeting. Since these recommendations involve modifications to the university's bylaws and other policies, Board members must receive this information 30 days in advance of the meeting. As a result, the proposed changes were sent on August 26 to all Board members. These documents are now available to the Concordia community on the Governance Review web page.

I invite members of the Concordia community to submit their comments on these proposed changes to Danielle Tessier, Director of Board and Senate Administration at danielle.tessier@concordia.ca. We look forward to hearing from you.

We know that this two-year process of internal reflection, consultation and external advice is likely unprecedented in university governance. Although there were some concerns expressed regarding the report, on the whole it was generally accepted. The Board's Ad Hoc Governance Review Committee, chaired by Me Rita Lc de Santis, has worked diligently during this period. I would like to thank the committee members for their tireless efforts and hard work in advancing this important task.

Call for nominations to the Board
As we implement the recommendations of the EGRC report, we are also embarking upon a Board renewal process. In order to achieve this renewal, a phased approach is being taken to facilitate the transition to a smaller Board on June 30, 2012, and to address the impending retirements of some external Governors in the interim.

To this end, the Nominating Committee of the Board is now inviting nominations for representatives from the external community to serve as members of the Board. These new members will replace those external Governors who are retiring on September 28, 2011 as well as those who will retire in June 2012.

In evaluating the nominations, the Nominating Committee will take into account the candidate's connection with Concordia, the candidate's activities in the local community, and the complementarity of the candidate's attributes to those of other Board members.

Please forward nominations, in confidence, to Danielle Tessier, Director of Board and Senate Administration, Concordia University, 1455 de Maisonneuve Blvd. West, Room GM 801-23, Montreal, QC H3G 1M8 or by email to danielle.tessier@concordia.ca. All nominations will be acknowledged and retained for consideration by the Nominating Committee in this and subsequent years.

In closing, I join President and Vice-Chancellor Frederick Lowy in being greatly encouraged by our progress over these past months in bringing the Concordia community together to discuss these important issues and the results to date in my view are very positive. The measured steps we have taken will ensure that our university continues to support the aspirations of our students, faculty, governors, alumni, staff and community.

Yours truly,

Peter Kruyt
Chair of the Board of Governors