Concordia's Thursday Report

Photo by Andrew Dobrowolskyj

Concordia gets advice from the top

Finance Professors Khaled Soufani (centre) and Harjeet S. Bhabra were among the faculty and students who enjoyed a talk by the Hon. John Manley recently. The federal finance minister was the keynote speaker at the annual conference of Concordia’s Finance and Invesment Students’ Association, held the evening of May 21 at the Ritz Carlton Hotel.

Manley, who is also deputy prime minister and is running for leadership of the Liberal Party of Canada, told the students how he approached the federal budget last February — with typically Canadian caution. He had just returned from spending a long weekend with other G7 finance ministers in Deauville, France, and said that Canada was the only economy not currently heading downward.

All budget choices are political choices, he warned the students, but public life is a great way to contribute to society. “Rare is the day I don’t wake up saying, Am I ever lucky!” However, he told the students they should only go into politics if they really like people, and have enough self-knowledge to withstand a lot of criticism. Concordia CFO Larry English was also a speaker at the conference.

Experts on Japanesse business to talk here

International experts will be talking business — Japanese business — at Concordia from June 5 to 8.

The Association of Japanese Business Studies (AJBS) Conference is a chance for about 75 specialists from Asia, North America, and Europe to promote multidisciplinary research and advancements in this area of the Far East. Concordia management professor and conference co-organizer Jean McGuire is one of the organizers.

The agenda includes issues relating to the changing economy, corporate governance, women in business, information technology, human resources management, and the future of the auto industry. Among the keynote speakers is the Consul General of Japan in Montreal, Tetsuo Shioguchi. For more information, visit the AJBS Web site, at www.ajbs.org.

- Mirjana Vrbaski

Click photo to enlarge.

Photo by Andrew Dobrowolskyj

ContEd signs contract

In early May 2001, the Centre for Continuing Education and its instructors’ union, CUCEPTFU, began work on a third collective agreement.

By mutual agreement, interest-based bargaining was used. Before sitting down at the table, both sides sent their negotiating teams for a two-day training session with the Quebec Ministry of Labour.

With the signing on June 2, the Centre becomes the first department at Concordia University to have successfully implemented interest-based bargaining. The approach is intended to be less adversarial and allows both sides to explore issues through areas of common interest rather than positional perspectives.

The Shuffle 2003

September 19, 2003

1 p.m.

Spring 2003 convocation dates

Faculty of Arts & Science – Thursday, June 12, 10 a.m.
Honorary doctorates: Neuroscientist and Nobel laureate Eric Kandel
and neurobiologist Larry Swanson

Faculty of Arts & Science – Thursday, June 12, 2:30 p.m.
Honorary doctorates: Molecular biologist and Nobel laureate Sidney Altman
and biologist John Tyler Bonner

Faculty of Engineering and Computer Science - Thursday, June 12, 7 p.m.
Honorary doctorates: Gilles Ouimet, chairman of Pratt & Whitney Canada,
and Tom Brzustowski, president of NSERC

John Molson School of Business - Friday, June 13, 9:30 a.m.
Honorary doctorates: Investment counsellor Stephen A. Jarislowsky
and Robert E. Brown, former CEO/president of Bombardier Aerospace

Faculty of Fine Arts - Friday, June 13, 3 p.m.
Honorary doctorate: Actor/artistic director Richard Monette
Ceremonies will take place in the Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier, Place des Arts.

Museum Day at Ellen Gallery

The 17th edition of Montreal’s Museum Day took place Sunday, May 25, and once again Concordia’s Leonard & Bina Ellen Art Gallery was on the itinerary.

Activities at the gallery included walk-in tours of the current exhibit, The Dress Show, throughout the day; a performance by Catherine Sylvain called Femme-Chute; a workshop called Dressed to Play, exploring identity through the use of costume and Polaroid.

Museum Day invites Montrea-lers to visit their museums, large and small, free of charge, in an effort to raise awareness of the city’s cultural institutions.

U de M rector to head CREPUQ

Robert Lacroix, the rector of the University de Montreal, has been elected president of CREPUQ, the association of Quebec universities (Conférence des recteurs et des principaux des universités du Québec).

He succeeds Pierre Lucier, president of the Université du Québec, who becomes a vice-president, along with Concordia rector Frederick Lowy. Janyne Hodder, principal of Bishop’s University will be secretary-treasurer.

On sabbatical in Europe? Want to go on exchange?

Academics in Europe have built a Web site that provides them with ideas on speakers at conferences and contacts for exchanges. If you are planning to spend some time in Europe, it could be useful.

Go to www.sigu7.jussieu.fr/quebec/ccifqprofqueb.php.

The following is a site for scholars particularly interested in Quebec: www.sigu7.jussieu.fr/quebec/ccifqchercheurs.php.