Associate Professor of Management Robert (Bob) Oppenheimer has been appointed director of the Centre for Mature Students. Bob has been with Concordia University for 28 years. He teaches a range of management courses, including Organizational Behaviour, Human Resource Management, Entrepreneurship, and Negotiations and Conflict Resolution.

The Centre for Mature Students is dedicated to providing academic advice and support for the university’s mature students, who are defined as those who are over 21 and do not have the normal entrance requirements for university. Mature students comprise about 10 per cent of the student population, and to provide service and support to them, the Centre has three full-time advisors, Anne Marie Ferrari, Brigeen Badour and Nelly Trakas, and a part-time advisor, Steven Clark. The Centre is also supported by approximately 40 faculty and staff members who are Fellows of the Centre.

The mission statement of the Centre says: “Concordia University has a long history of making education accessible to men and women of all ages and academic backgrounds. Through mature entry, those lacking the regular pre-university requirements can still earn university degrees and certificates.

“The mission of the Centre for Mature Students is to facilitate the recruitment, registration, retention and graduation of mature students and to support learning opportunities for the non-traditional students within Concordia University.

Since the retirement of the former director Mary Brian, there have been two acting directors, Professor Randy Swedburg and Associate Dean of Graduate Studies Jim Jans.

Jans commented: “The staff of CMS — Brigeen, Anne Marie and Nelly — should be commended for having kept the CMS functioning at a high level during the four years that they were without a permanent director. Now, with Bob stepping in with his skills and personality, I expect enthusiasm around the CMS will be even higher.”

We wish Professor Oppenheimer and his team all future success.