All Posts Tagged With: "Concordia"
Are men with prostate cancer “privileged”?
Anti-Movember editorial is offensive and just plain wrong
Photo by termie on Flickr
I rarely have trouble distinguishing seriousness from mirth when it comes to a piece of writing, but I had to read this post by Alex Manley more than once. Despite multiple, brow-furrowing reads, I’m still hesitant to say I think the Concordia student journalist is being genuine. But, no he can’t be! Surely he just forgot to write “PSYCH!” at the end.
If only. In his column entitled “No to Movember,” Manley lambastes all you dirty bigots who donated your money and mustaches to prostate cancer. The Movember campaign to which he refers sees men from all over the world grow their mustaches during the month of November to raise money for prostate cancer research.
Irish Studies flourishes in Quebec
Concordia’s new degree will be the first of its kind
Photo courtesy of tiagonicastro on Flickr
Only a tenth of Canada’s 4.4 million Canadians of Irish ancestry call Quebec home. And yet, it’s the epicentre of research on the Emerald Isle.
Concordia University’s School of Canadian Irish Studies—the only one of its kind in Canada—will have more than 700 students enrolled this fall, studying everything from the Great Famine to James Joyce. The first ever bachelor of arts in Canadian Irish studies will begin in January. “The success of Irish studies at Concordia is quite striking,” says Will Straw, director of the McGill Institute for the Study of Canada, “particularly since these kinds of ‘area’ studies programs are having difficulty in other universities.”
Interest in Ireland is especially high in Quebec, says Michael Kenneally, principal of the Concordia school. “Here in Quebec, if you’re interested in cultural nationalism, colonialism, post-imperial identities, partition and decolonization, rebellion and independence, Ireland is a case study for all of that.” And, he adds, “preserving the Irish language has a lot of resonance in Quebec.”
And, it seems, for the government of Jean Charest, who claims Irish ancestry through his late mother; it gave $2.5 million to the Canadian Irish Studies Foundation, which gives all of its money to Concordia. Brian Gallery, former Westmount mayor and chief fundraiser, helped add nearly $7 million to the foundation’s pot of gold.
While no one knows why exactly La Belle Province is so enthusiastic about Ireland, surely their shared history tells part of the story. Both Quebec and Ireland have had secession movements, a history of Catholic-Protestant tensions, and share the same former colonial master.
Report finds “culture of contempt” at Concordia
Montreal university needs to clarify its mission
Concordia photo courtesy of Foxtongue on Flickr
Concordia University needs to make major changes to how it’s run, according to a new report on the university’s governance.
The report, released on June 15, says that the university suffers from a “substantial degree of misunderstanding, blatantly deficient internal communications and a lot of distrust, often bordering on mutual contempt, between the various communities of the university.”
The report was written by three outside experts who were brought in after the sudden departure of president Judith Woodsworth over the Christmas break exposed deep divisions between students, faculty and outsiders on the board of governors. Woodsworth’s immediate predecessor, Claude Lajeunesse, was also forced to resign by the board in 2007. As well, the university has seen the departure of a number of vice-presidents.
According to the report, efforts to solicit the opinions of community members found that “everyone seemed quite willing, in some cases even anxious, to think the worst of someone – in some cases, everyone – else.”
While the report acknowledges that the circumstances surrounding Woodsworth’s departure contributed to the “chorus of negative response,” it says that the problems within the university go deeper.
“The depth and even the fury of that response could only have arisen in a context where long simmering governance and internal communication problems between the board and the university community… had neither been addressed nor resolved.”
Part of the problem, according to the report, is the school’s lack of direction which has led to “tension between those who uphold its tradition of accessibility and openness as opposed to those who place greater value on a development model which features research and graduate studies.”
The report recommends that the university deal with this by updating its charter to include a clear mission statement and by developing an academic plan.
The report also recommends reducing the size of the board from 40 members to 25. The smaller board would maintain the current ratio of outsiders to insiders, but it would no longer include representatives from alumni associations. As well, the percentage of faculty on the board would increase while student representation would decrease slightly.
According to the report, “the committee saw no evidence, although there were rumours, accusations and insinuations … that the Concordia board has systematically interfered with core academic or curriculum decision making.”
However, the committee did find evidence that board members had worked “directly with members of the administration in such a way as to bypass and, therefore, weaken the function of the President.” As a result, the report recommends making the president the only point of contact between the board and the administration.
Other recommendations include formalizing the powers of the university senate and enforcing term-limits for board and senate members. The recommendations for a smaller board and firm term-limits are in line with a university governance bill currently before Quebec’s National Assembly.
Despite the problems, the report suggests the university is doing some things right. “What is remarkable… is that under these difficult and adverse circumstances, the core activities of the university, its teaching and research, appeared relatively unaffected,” it says.
The university will hold an open meeting on the report on June 28.
Concordia student elections chief throws out vote results
Both slates disqualified, over alleged election rule violations, current executive and council to stay in power until November
Two weeks after ballot counting ended, the results of the Concordia Student Union election have been annulled.
In an email sent late Tuesday night, chief electoral officer, Oliver Cohen, informed both slates that all their candidates were disqualified, and accused them of multiple election rule violations.
Cohen also banned all members of one slate, Your Concordia, from running in any CSU election for two years, accusing the team of filing a false expense report. Your Concordia had won the executive and a council majority in the election.
The outgoing CSU executive has condemned the decision, issuing a statement calling it “shocking and unfortunate.”
“Please don’t believe for a second that any of us will have a hand in any of the rulings,” outgoing president Heather Lucas told the Concordian.
At a council meeting on Wednesday night the disqualifications were barely mentioned and Cohen was a no-show, according to the Concordian’s Sarah Deshaies.
Unsurprisingly, both slates intend to challenge the disqualifications at the union’s judicial board, which can over-rule Cohen. If the disqualifications are upheld, the current CSU executive and council will stay in office until a by-election is held in November.
The disqualifications came a week after the heads of the two slates pledged to work together on election reform. They have called for ending the practice of council affiliating with executive slates
While the results of CSU elections are inevitably subject to challenges, the last time something this big happened was in 2002. That time, the union’s judicial board nullified the results of a November by-election after the CEO disqualified and reinstated an executive slate on the first morning of voting. The nullification caused the university’s administration to sever ties with the student union until a new executive was elected in April.
Former Concordia professor who killed 4 colleagues loses lawsuit
Valery Fabrikant pursued civil suit against colleagues for 19 years
A Quebec Superior Court Judge dismissed a lawsuit brought by convicted killer Valery Fabrikant against five of his former colleagues, on Wednesday.
Fabrikant first filed the suit, against two professors in Concordia’s mechanical engineering department, in 1992, a few months before he went on a shooting rampage, which left four professors dead and another person wounded.
After the shooting, Fabrikant added three other professors to the suit, claiming that they had taken credit for his work.
The case was thrown out of court in 2007, after the judge said he could no longer remain impartial due to Fabrikant’s attitude. During those hearings, Fabrikant said his killings were justified, insulted the judge and filed motions for a larger table in the prisoner’s box. The case returned to trial earlier this year, after the Court of Appeals ruled that it had been dismissed in error.
This isn’t the only recent loss Fabrikant, who is currently serving a life sentence, has had in the Quebec courts. Earlier this month, the Court of Appeals dismissed a suit he filed against the attorneys general of Canada and Quebec. In November, he was denied leave to appeal in a suit against the prison where he is being held.
Concordia names members of governance review committee
Panel to be headed by former McGill principal, will report within 60 days of first meeting
The Montreal Gazette is reporting that Concordia has named the members of an external committee which will study the university’s governance.
The panel was struck in response to the controversy surrounding the sudden departure of the university’s president, Judith Woodsworth, in December.
According to reports, the university has tapped a former McGill principal, Bernard Shapiro, to head the three-person panel. Shapiro was also Canada’s first Ethics Commissioner. Former Quebec Lobbyist Commissioner, André C. Côté, who was also a dean of law and secretary general at Université Laval, along with Glen A. Jones, an associate dean at the University of Toronto and Ontario Research Chair on post-secondary education policy and measurement, will round out the panel.
The committee is required to report to Concordia’s interim president, Frederick Lowy, within 60 days of its first meeting and its report will be made public. Members of the Concordia community will be able to make written submissions to the panel.
While there was some information about the committee’s membership, and how to make written submissions to it, posted on a couple Concordia websites, the information appears to have been taken down. I will update this post once I’ve confirmed the details with Concordia.
UPDATE: Concordia University media relations director, Chris Mota has confirmed, via email, that the details in the Gazette story are correct. Apparently the university is having some technical problems with its websites.
Link editor says steps taken to prevent conflict of interest
Editor-in-chief recuses himself from election coverage due to candidate ties.
The Link, a student newspaper at Concordia University, is taking steps to avoid the appearance of a conflict of interest due to close ties between its editor-in-chief and a presidential candidate in the upcoming student union election.
In an email to Maclean’s on Campus, Justin Giovannetti, the Link’s editor-in-chief wrote that while he would continue to edit non-election related content, which makes up the majority of the paper, he would leave the room if other editors needed “to discuss elections related issues, like supporting a candidate.”
“My role with elections material is limited largely to looking at proofs from the printers,” he wrote. “While I understand the impact that my retreat might have on quality . . . I think it’s the generally agreed upon ethical choice.”
He adds that, “the two slates, Your Concordia and Action . . . are both being covered by two journalists, with the story proposals and editing being handled by Christopher Curtis, The Link’s news editor . . . Curtis and The Link’s Managing Editor Laura Beeston, will also be dealing with non-slate related election stories as the campaign progresses.”
Giovannetti also wrote that “the newspaper’s 13 other Masthead members and the six other Board members have confirmed that they are confident in my ability to continue doing my job.”
Full disclosure: I am a former editor-in-chief at Concordia’s other student newspaper, the Concordian.
Concordia senate debates thesis secrecy
University plans to give $3 million in tuition wavers to international students
Judith Woodsworth wasn’t the only topic of discussion at a Concordia Senate meeting a couple weeks back.
The university’s highest governing body also discussed new rules governing thesis secrecy. The new rules state that in some cases “all participants to a thesis defence” will be required to “sign an undertaking of confidentiality.”
The new rules will also require professors to inform students if they have “contractual obligations” with companies which “require that research results are not publicly disclosed.”
The rules were established by Concordia’s council of the school of graduate studies in October. The university’s 2010-2011 graduate calendar contains no references to confidentiality when it comes to theses or research. Theses are generally public documents.
While senate has no say on the new rules, they were still the subject of debate. Several senators questioned whether a public university should be getting so cozy with corporations.
“Let’s not kid ourselves, [corporations] are not doing us any favours. They are gaining access to cheap labour and the minds of the next generation,” said film studies professor David Douglas.
But provost David Graham maintained that students do benefit from the experience and connections gained from working on corporate projects.
Mourad Debbabi of the Concordia Institute for Information Systems Engineering also pointed out that there were situations when researchers might have access to information that they cannot legally divulge.
Student senators also questioned whether secrecy is becoming too prevalent when it comes to theses and research.
That’s really the thing here, these rule changes are just acknowledging what’s already going on. While it’s probably better to have some rules rather than no rules, as was the case at Concordia, the new changes are pretty vague. Other schools, like Waterloo, have highly specific rules on when and how a thesis can be defended confidentially.
Concordia is also planning to give out $3 million in tuition wavers to international PhD and MFA students over the next three years.
“Most other Quebec universities currently offer tuition waivers to international students at the PhD level and so clearly we have been in an uncompetitive situation or a less than ideally competitive situation in the past,” Graham Carr, dean of graduate studies, told senate. “This is a very significant step forward, I think, in addressing that.”
The university says the wavers will benefit 35 students each year.
All-night library catching on at Concordia
Average of 500 students study after hours every night
Last year, Concordia University students approved a $1 per credit library improvement fee. As part of the deal, the university’s main library began staying open 24 hours a day, during the fall and winter semesters.
Shortly after all-night library access went into effect, the Concordian reported that few students were taking advantage of the extra hours. (Full disclosure: I was editor-in-chief of the Concordian at the time.)
But this seems to have changed, the Montreal Gazette is reporting that an average of 500 students are studying after hours every night. One student told the paper that she likes how quiet the library is late at night.
‘We will overcome the current crisis’
Tensions high at Concordia’s first board meeting since Judith Woodsworth’s alleged firing
Were Concordia University faculty consulted before the (alleged) firing of president Judith Woodsworth?
On Thursday morning, the university’s board of governors met for the first time since Woodsworth’s sudden and controversial departure in late December.
And while steps were taken to move forward, approving a plan to review the school’s governance structure, new questions were raised about what role faculty played in the process leading up to her departure.
Faculty representatives have universally condemned the process, blaming it on a secretive and powerful board executive committee acting without consultation or proper approval.
But according to Jean Freed, the part-time faculty representative to the board–a position that carries speaking but not voting rights–faculty members were consulted in the run up to Woodsworth’s departure.
“Every board member knew what was going on before Dec. 22,” she said.
Freed maintained that even though she doesn’t have a vote and is not a member of the “star chamber,” she had a say. “Every constituency was consulted.”
Freed said she is tired of people “pretending” that they didn’t know what was going on. “I think there are members of certain constituencies who’ve led their constituencies to believe this happened without consultation, without their knowledge and in my opinion that quite simply is not the case.”
Board chair Peter Kruyt had the support of a majority of board members, she said–even though no formal vote was taken–and that faculty had been outnumbered.
She added that the secrecy surrounding Woodsworth’s departure was due to the fact that it was a “matter of employment” and that board members were legally prohibited from commenting publicly, adding that Woodsworth was the only person who could have made the issue public.
“I can assure you that if your employer fired you you would not want that discussion in the papers,” she said.
Freed’s comments came towards the end of debate on a resolution to create an outside committee to review Concordia’s governance structure. If the university senate approves the plan Friday, interim president Frederick Lowy, along with the university senate, will be responsible for finding the committee members and creating their mandate. The committee would be composed of two or three experts from outside Concordia.
Throughout the meeting full-time faculty representatives criticized the actions of Kruyt and the executive, saying that their voices weren’t being heard.
When Lowy called for “people to talk to each other in a way that hasn’t been happening,” finance professor Lawrence Kryzanowski replied that, “it’s not a matter of talking it’s a matter of listening.” Kryzanowski comment was greeted with applause from around 30 professors and students who had come to watch the meeting. “People want a change in governance, there’s a real problem,” he said.
At times the meeting became tense. “It’s the chair and the vice chairs that have caused most of this problem,” said Kryzanowski,” again to audience applause.
“In your opinion,” shot back vice chair, Jonathan Wener, who was chairing the meeting.
Kruyt, arguably the most controversial member of the board was not in attendance. Wener said Kruyt was out of town on business. University officials played down Kruyt’s absence, saying it had been planed long in advance. According to one well-placed source, Kruyt is currently in China.
Throughout the meeting Lowy played the role of elder statesman. “We will overcome the current crisis,” he said. “The key activities of the university continue to perform well … academic activities in particular.”
Throughout the governance debate student representatives remained silent.
The university’s senate, the highest academic body, meets tomorrow.
Concordia’s controversial chair plans to skip board meeting
Quiet settlement of wrongful dismissal case raises more questions about former presidents (alleged) firing
Peter Kruyt, the controversial chair of Concordia University’s board of governors, is not planning to attend tomorrow’s board meeting–the first full meeting since the sudden departure of president Judith Woodsworth in December–according to Montreal Gazette columnist Peggy Curran.
The university’s senate, student union and some alumni have called for Kruyt’s resignation, in response to his handling of the Woodsworth situation and the secrecy surrounding the departure of several other high-level university officials.
The circumstances surrounding the (alleged) firing of Woodsworth continue to remain mysterious. Earlier this month, the university settled a wrongful dismissal suit brought by two auditors who were fired by Woodsworth. The former president told Quebec’s labour review board that the auditors had lied to her and that one of them had violated university policies by signing off on expenses claimed by a subordinate for meals he attended. Under cross-examination she admitted to doing the same thing on at least five occasions. Concordia policy requires the most senior person present to claim any expenses for meals.
The university’s release announcing the settlement praises the auditors and their “honest, loyal and dedicated service.” It also states that they were offered their jobs back but declined.
A protest is planned for the meeting which will take place tomorrow morning.
While some alumni are planning to attend the protest, the university’s alumni association has backed the board. The association has also faced criticism from faculty members who are graduates of the university. Maria Peluso, president of the part time faculty association, told the Link, “they have become apologists for the Board of Governors. As an alumni member, I don’t know where the alumni got their facts from.”
Interestingly, six of the alumni association’s seven executives and six of the 13 non-executive directors come from the same faculty, the John Molson School Business. Currently, that faculty accounts for under 21 per cent of the university’s population.
Concordia denies donations have dropped
Student paper stands by story alleging alumni are closing their wallets after Woodsworth controversy
Concordia University is disputing allegations that alumni donations have dropped off significantly in the wake of president Judith Woodsworth’s departure. Claims that donations were down by up to 80 per cent appeared in last week’s issue of student newspaper the Link.
In a letter to the editor sent to the Link and Maclean’s on Campus, director of annual giving, Brad Skog, and call centre manager, Bonnie Kay, write that:
The article draws false conclusions by comparing the results of calls made during October and November (when the call centre was soliciting individuals who contribute regularly to Concordia) with January, when the bulk of their efforts have been concentrated on alumni who have never given to Concordia. Naturally, the results will differ and attempting to equate the two groups makes no sense.
Indeed, when non-donors were called during the fall semester, donor participation was almost identical (within 0.5 percent) and in January, the average gift actually increased. With respect to donations falling to “$50 on some days,” there is a grain of truth. The shift on January 10, 2011 only resulted in $30 because it was cancelled shortly after calling started due to technical difficulties with the call centre computers.
But Link editor-in-chief Justin Giovannetti is standing behind the story, which he co-wrote.
“The Link did its due diligence when reporting on the story,” Giovannetti wrote in an email. “The university had four days to respond to the story while it was being written and didn’t respond until after the national media picked up on it, the day after it was published.”
He adds that, “while the university’s position might explain a larger drop in donations, it does not explain why staff reported that callers turned down donating due to mismanagement at the higher administrative level.”
At the moment, everything seems to be pretty anecdotal. Other members of Concordia’s student press told me that alumni have gone on the record saying that they’re reconsidering future donations because of the Woodsworth situation but at least some call centre employees have disputed the article’s claims.
Lowy to make contract public
Concordia’s interim president says he is aiming to promote transparency
In a public message, Concordia University’s interim president, Fred Lowy, warned of a “hypercharged atmosphere” following the controversial departure of his predecessor Judith Woodsworth.
Lowy, who had previously served as Concordia’s president for two terms ending in 2005, is tasked with steering the university until a permanent replacement for Wordsworth can be found. While noting that Concordia’s “academic programs seem to be humming along, student enrolment is up” and that “finances are in good shape,” Lowy acknowledged that “it is clear that there is a worrisome degree of turbulence at the moment.”
Just before Christmas, the university announced that Woodsworth had resigned for “personal reasons,” but she later claimed that the Board of Governors had pushed her out. The board was immediately criticized for acting in secret. Several faculty councils passed motions condemning the incident, including the fact that Woodsworth received a $700,000 severance package. The turmoil culminated when the senate voted unanimously for board chair Peter Kruyt to resign.
Lowy writes that the board has mandated him “to assist our institution to regain its equilibrium.” In an effort to promote transparency, Lowy’s employment contract will be made fully public. Joint meetings of board and senate committees are scheduled, and a joint meeting of the entire board and entire senate is being planned.
The very short goodbye
The departure of Concordia’s president is one of several mysterious, high-level exits at Canadian schools
Concordia University, with its history of student conflict, has rarely been an easy place to govern. Yet when Judith Woodsworth took over in 2008, the school was in a tough spot even by this standard. Its deficit had swelled to $5 million following a lengthy construction blitz on its campuses. The university remained Montreal’s ground zero for tensions over the conflict between Israel and the occupied territories, with protests, boycotts and heated rhetoric on both sides hogging more than their share of oxygen. To top it off, Claude Lajeunesse, the previous president, abruptly resigned from the university two years into a five-year contract, taking over $1 million in severance with him.
Woodsworth was to be a salve for Concordia’s ails. Unlike Lajeunesse, an engineer by training, she had an arts background, and according to several Concordia staff was as approachable and collaborative—a kind of mother hen, some suggest—as he was stern and aloof. If her past record was anything to go by, she was also results-oriented: as president of Laurentian University in Sudbury from 2002 to 2008, she opened a medical school and introduced six new doctoral programs. At her public introduction to Concordia staff and faculty in February 2008, she spoke of the need for listening and consensus building. She insisted people call her Judy.
Woodsworth barely outlasted her predecessor. Shortly before Christmas, the board of governors announced Woodsworth was resigning “for personal reasons.” Board chairman Peter Kruyt, instrumental in recruiting and hiring Woodsworth barely 2½ years earlier, announced the sad news. “Concordia has thrived under her direction, with significant progress and an enhanced reputation on the local, provincial, national, and international scenes,” Kruyt said.
Yet there was a twist: in an interview with CTV News earlier this month, Woodsworth herself said she would gladly have stayed on as president but was asked to leave, and that her departure was forced on her in the days before Christmas vacation. As with Lajeunesse before her, the board refused to discuss the circumstances of Woodsworth’s resignation, sending the university into familiar terrain, with faculty, staff, and students furious at how the board conducted itself, and clueless as to why she was gone. Kruyt declined to answer questions regarding Woodsworth. “Dr. Woodsworth resigned,” responded Concordia spokesperson Chris Mota to Maclean’s. (Woodsworth herself spoke to Maclean’s, but not about the specifics of her situation.)
“There’s a climate of fear within the staff at the university,” says Concordia professor Lucie Lequin, president of the faculty association. “We think that there is an occultish power at the university, and that many of the decisions are taken outside of executive meetings or within the board.” And news of Woodsworth’s resignation has travelled well beyond Concordia, with more than one well-placed observer believing her version of the story. “That the board . . . would announce and attempt to conceal the truth of this dismissal in such a clumsy and ham-fisted manner does little to inspire confidence,” wrote Torstar chair John Honderich, who knew Woodsworth from her days at Laurentian, in a letter to Kruyt earlier this month, obtained by Maclean’s. “In short, I am appalled.”
Woodsworth’s exit caps a five-year senior management purge at the university that has seen the departures of Lajeunesse and Woodsworth, and of five vice-principals—including Concordia veteran Michael Di Grappa, who also briefly served as interim president, and recently debarked for crosstown rival McGill. And if it’s any consolation to Woodsworth, she appears to be in good company when it comes to Canadian university presidents who’ve suddenly and prematurely made for the exit signs. The past five years have been marked by nearly a dozen such high-profile dismissals or resignations, reflecting what Ryerson University president Sheldon Levy calls “an acceleration of the problem” of rapid turnover in senior management at Canadian schools. These include David Atkinson, who left Carleton university in 2006, 15 months into a six-year term; former St. Thomas University president Michael Higgins, who left in 2009 after an acrimonious labour dispute; and Don Cozzetto, who abruptly left the University of Northern British Columbia in 2008 because “he was tired of being a scapegoat,” as one sympathetic board member told the Vancouver Sun.
Many of the presidents are victim, say colleagues at other universities, of more business-oriented boards and government-imposed fiscal restraints. Ryerson’s Levy says he doesn’t know the particulars of Woodsworth’s case, but that exits like hers are often a result of the increased acrimony between business and the academic side brought on by a demand on universities to do more with less. “It’s easier to fire the coach,” he says.
He sees it partly as a question of divided loyalties. “The board might have certain business objectives it wishes the president would realize,” he says, “while the faculty, students and staff have a different set of academic objectives they want you to achieve. The tougher the fiscal situation is, the more pressure on presidents to balance expectations and do both the left and the right at the same time.”
The business community is certainly well represented on Concordia’s board of governors. Kruyt himself is president and CEO of Victoria Square Ventures, an investment firm owned by Montreal-based Power Corporation. His colleagues on the executive, nominating and senior salaries standing committees at Concordia include Montreal real estate mogul Jonathan Wener, BCE Emergis e-commerce founder Brian Edwards and Aéroports de Montréal president and CEO James Cherry. “Whoever controls those committees controls the university,” says Enn Raudsepp, professor emeritus of journalism at Concordia.
Yet, as Woodsworth herself points out, a business-minded board isn’t a problem in itself. “Having people from business on university boards, or the boards of other not-for-profit organizations, can be a good thing,” she told Maclean’s. “I think sometimes we lose sight of the fact that we still have a bottom line, and we have to balance the budget. You need people looking over your shoulder telling you that. They bring those qualities, but it is also important for them to be aware of the realities in a university and to try to understand the academic culture.”
Whatever her relationship with the board, Woodsworth did have her critics among students. Student union president Heather Lucas signed a letter of non-confidence in her leadership last fall, in part due to her support of tuition hikes. Nevertheless, the CSU issued a statement condemning “the abrupt dismissal of Concordia’s second president in three years,” which has caused “a serious crisis of confidence at our university.” In the long run, such acrimonious departures will mean universities will have difficulty recruiting top talent to fill the job without bulletproof contracts and huge pay increases, says William Barker, president of the University of King’s College. “Do people really want to go to a place that has had so much turnover?” he asked. “The universities themselves might not know what they want in a president, so you’re caught in a crossfire that you weren’t even aware of.”
Senate calls for Concordia board chair to resign
‘Having the senior administration of the university decapitated is extremely unstable’
On Friday Peter Kruyt, chair of Concordia University’s board of governors, dismissed the suggestion that he should resign amid the controversial departure of president Judith Woodsworth just prior the Christmas break. However, later in the day, Concordia’s senate voted to call for his resignation. Several senate members expressed their disappointment with the board before the motion passed unanimously. Although the university first claimed that Woodsworth left for “personal” reasons, it was later discovered that she was pushed out. She is the second president to leave mid-term since 2007. “Having the senior administration of the university decapitated is extremely unstable,” William Lynch, chair of the department of electrical and computer engineering said. “I cannot exaggerate the level of demoralization,” Brad Nelson, chair of the classics department added.
Former prez takes reins at Concordia
Board chair considered resigning but will stay on
Concordia University has officially appointed an interim president after the Board of Governors voted unanimously in favour of Fred Lowy on Friday. Lowy is a former Concordia president who left the post in 2005 after serving two terms. He will run the administration while the university searches for a permanent replacement for Judith Woodsworth who left just before Christmas. Although the university initially said Woodsworth left for “personal” reasons, it is now widely believed that she was pushed out by the board, though chair Peter Kruyt says confidentiality rules prevent him from discussing the case in public. Several faculty councils have called for the resignation of Kruyt and other board members, but he says he will remain, although he did consider leaving.
Concordia president says she was asked to leave
Confusion remains over Judith Woodsworth’s departure
The sudden resignation of Concordia University president, Judith Woodsworth, continues to breed confusion throughout the campus.
Despite an announcement from the university that Woodsworth had left voluntarily for “personal” reasons, even she offers a conflicting view. “I would have been happy to continue as president, but some board members said that they had lost confidence and they felt I should step down,” she told the Globe and Mail. “I was not given the reasons, so that’s all I can tell you.” The university maintains the story that Woodsworth left on her own accord, pointing out that the Board of Governors did not vote on her departure.
Woodsworth, who left midway through a five-year term, is the second president to leave in three years. Claude Lajeunesse left the top post in 2007, and, like Woodsworth received a hefty compensation package. No fewer than five vice-presidents have also left the university in the past five years.
Lucie Lequin, president of the faculty association, says the high turnover will deter quality candidates from seeking administrative posts. “Who will dare apply for the position?” she asked.
Was Concordia president fired?
Students’ union asks for clarification
Shortly after Concordia University announced the resignation of President Judith Woodsworth for “personal” reasons, the CBC reported that she was in fact fired. No explanation has yet been provided by the university for the sudden departure of Woodsworth, who left halfway through a five-year term, but CBC claims “multiple sources” have “confirmed” that the president was ousted. Woodsworth’s predecessor, Claude Lajeunesse, who was appointed to the top job in 2005, also left partway through his term in 2007. A students’ union councilor called the lack of explanation “concerning,” and the Montreal Gazette argued the lack of stability in the president’s chair points to “an unfortunate inability to run a university” on the part of the board of governors.
Concordia loses another university president
Judith Woodsworth gets $700,000 severance package after stepping down for ‘personal reasons’
Concordia University will be going into the new year without a president, after Judith Woodsworth stepped down for “personal reasons,” the university announced Wednesday. Woodsworth, who was appointed in 2008, leaves after only two-and-a-half years of a five-year term. The university’s statement noted that Woodsworth “leaves Concordia as one of the province’s only universities with a balanced annual budget and with one of the smallest accumulated deficits.” Despite leaving her term early, Woodsworth will receive a $700,000 payout equal to two years pay. Woodsworth is not the first Concordia president to leave office mid-term in recent years. Claude Lajeunesse, appointed to the top job in 2005, left in 2007. An interim president will be named in January.
Italian painting stolen by Nazis recovered by Concordia
Manhattan art dealer returns painting originally owned by German-Jewish Max Stern
A Canadian university is announcing the recovery of a late 16th century Italian Baroque painting that was looted by the Nazis from a German-Jewish art dealer.
The 1595 painting of St. Jerome by Ludovico Carracci was one of hundreds of paintings owned by Dr. Max Stern. The art dealer was forced to sell his art at auction in Cologne, Germany, in 1937.
Officials with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement turned over the work Wednesday morning to Stern’s estate, which was left to Concordia University in Montreal and two other universities.
An ICE spokesman said the painting was taken back to Montreal.
It’s the second painting once owned by Stern to be recovered in less than two weeks.
The painting had been hanging in the living room of Manhattan art dealer Richard L. Feigen. He said he returned the work of art after reading about the recovery of the first painting – a 1632 Dutch Old Master called “Portrait of a Musician Playing a Bagpipe” – in a newspaper.
The article said the painting had been sold at the Lempertz Auction House in Cologne – the same place Feigen bought his painting in 2000 for about $54,000.
Feigen said he called an assistant, who immediately checked with the Max Stern Art Restitution Project and discovered the painting was on a list of missing works.
“I felt the only thing to do was return it,” Feigen said in an interview. “It was a stolen painting and it had to be given back.”
Stern escaped to England in 1937. He later moved to Canada and became an art dealer again.
He died in 1987.
On the Net:
Max Stern Art Restitution Project: http://maxsternproject.concordia.ca/
- The Canadian Press
