Sketch-A-Week

The search continues for Concordia’s next president

Selection process to remain secret

By Alyssa Tremblay
Assistant news editor

September 27th, 2011

After inviting students and staff to voice their opinions over the summer, the next steps in Concordia’s search for a new president and vice-chancellor now lie in the hands of the advisory search committee, which will deliberate behind closed doors until a suitable candidate is found.
The committee, established by the Board of Governors last March with the purpose of selecting the next president, is the only group allowed access to the feedback and recommendations that were gathered via online survey.
The committee’s 14 members consist of Board of Governors chair Peter Kruyt and selected representatives from the BoG, the administration and support staff, full-time members of all four academic faculties, and part-time faculty members.
Both graduate and undergraduate students will be represented in the proceedings by their respective student union presidents, Robert Sonin and Lex Gill.
Committee members are not allowed to discuss their deliberations with the public and the university presently has no plans to release any of the information collected in the feedback surveys.
“The search for the president is a confidential process,” said Concordia spokesperson Chris Mota. “The university sees no contradiction between the transparency of the process and the confidentiality required to do the job right.”
Kruyt sent out an email to the Concordia community last August asking for their feedback regarding the selection of a new president. The message included a link to a survey hosted by Canadian executive search firm Laverne Smith & Associates Inc., from which names could be submitted for presidential nomination as well as general comments. The deadline to submit online recommendations was Sept. 16.
The position of president has been vacant since last December when Judith Woodsworth was ousted by the BoG halfway through her term. Former rector Frederick Lowy then became interim president in February 2011. He will remain in office until August 2012, unless a new president is appointed before then.
Lowy praised the survey in a mass email welcoming the campus community back for the fall 2011 semester, describing the process as “part of our commitment to ensure that the search for our next president will be as transparent and inclusive as possible.”
SIDEBAR
The advisory search committee consists of these 14 members:
Peter Kruyt
Annie Tobias
Jonathan Wener
Bram Freedman
Lucie Lequin
Norman Ingram
Nabil Esmail
Masha Salazkina
Raafat Saade
David Douglas
Robert Sonin
Lex Gill
Joanne Beaudoin
Suzanne Downs