In brief

 

Conference on France-Quebec

An office has been established in Quebec for the Centre for Franco-Quebecois Inter-university Co-operation, a bilateral government agency.

The CCIFQ was established in Paris in 1984 and managed by a Quebec university professor, but did not have an office in Quebec until last October, when French physicist Antoine Khater arrived in Montreal to set up the bureau.

Dr. Khater has had several meetings at Concordia this year, and expects to meet with the deans and associate deans to identify ways to enhancing research co-operation here and in France. He says he expects this to lead to enhanced mobility for students, as well.

The CCIFQ is organizing a conference in Montreal next month on these issues, and Concordia will give a reception in the J.W. McConnell Building atrium for the 200 participants.

Attendee Fadi Fadel safely out

Those who knew Fadi Fadel during his years at Concordia were relieved to hear he emerged safely from his ordeal in Iraq. Fadel was kidnapped, held and manhandled over 10 days despite being a Canadian and a worker for the International Rescue Committee, a humanitarian organization based in New York.

While several newspapers have said Fadi is Concordia graduate, our records show that this is not strictly true. He was in the BCompSci program from 1991-93, then switched to the BA program from 1994-98, where he studied in the Applied Social Science program.

We send him and his family our heartfelt best wishes.

Appointment

Philip Willis has joined the Institute for Co-operative Education in the new post of Senior Advisor. He comes from the private sector and will bring his business knowledge to the ICE.

His focus includes management of the Co-op, business development with new and existing partners in the ICE program at Concordia University, as well as spearheading new professional development for the students.

Philip comes to this position from the EMBA of the JMSB.

Future of Linguistics

A committee chaired by Vice-Dean of Arts and Science John Capobianco is considering the future of the linguistics program, whose three full-time professors have asked to become independent from the Department of Classics, Modern Languages and Linguistics. Admission has been suspended for 2004-05 while the matter is discussed.

Capobianco’s committee encourages briefs from faculty and students, particularly those in linguistics, and expects to deliver the report in early May.

Appointment

The Faculty of Fine Arts is pleased to announce the appointment of Lina Uberti as Communications and Special Projects Advisor. Prior to joining Concordia, Lina was the director of the School of Fine Arts at the Saidye Bronfman Centre. She has a BA in Art History from McGill University and is active in many community and professional organizations.

You can reach Lina at 4606 or by email at Lina.Uberti@concordia.ca.

Clarifications - ‘02-’03 Rector's Report

In the At-a-Glance section, the Department of Management (ext. 2924, 2905) was accidentally left off the list of JMSB departments.

Dr. Stephen Snow was on a sabbatical leave in 2002-03; Lenore Vosberg was the Acting Director of the Centre. Dr. Miranda D'Amico, Associate Professor, Education, has been Director of Research since the Centre started in 1996.

Aside from the financial support from the Birks Family Foundation, the Lloyd Carr-Harris Foundation was among several major supporters of the Centre.

There is not yet a Music Therapy program in Creative Arts Therapies, as was announced in the Rector's Report. John McKay is a professor in Computer Science and the Department of Mathematics & Statistics.

- Laurie Zack

Isolated case of meningitis

On the morning of Monday, April 19, the university was advised that a student had been hospitalized with a suspected case of bacterial meningitis.

The Public Health Department worked with the staff of Health Services and the affected academic department to assess the potential risk to the Concordia community.

They have created a team of five or six professionals who are contacting or have contacted all individuals who had close contact with this student.

Close contact would include those who lived in the same home, shared dishes, cigarettes, etc, or were in close physical contact for a prolonged period of time. He or she would have had to been in contact with the student during the 10 days prior to his hospitalization.

Public Health says there is no danger to the Concordia community, and our thoughts centre on the recovery of the affected student.

For more information, please contact Health Services, at ext. 3569, or e-mail healthy@alcor.concordia.ca.

EMBA in Paris

The John Molson Executive MBA Program enrolled the third entering class of its two-year Paris Option on April 8. Another 20 students entered the program, bringing the current total to 38.

Professor William Taylor, director of the John Molson EMBA program, said he was encouraged by the steady increase in enrolment.

“Our high standing in the Financial Times rankings and our increased enrollment each year are signs of our growing reputation in France and Western Europe.”