Names in the News

Roland Perron was interviewed by The Gazette when the final film in the Lord of the Rings trilogy opened in December, because his life was changed by J.R.R. Tolkein’s popular novels and his scholarship. At 40, Perron came to Concordia to do a BA in English, and has gone on to do a PhD at McGill. English Professor Eyvind Ronquist told CTR that “Perron studied Old English, Middle English, and Chaucer for his BA, and he had transfer credits from the Université de Montréal for Old French and Old Irish. Tolkien thus pushed him to discover his own powers.”

Jordan Le Bel (Marketing) has been interviewed widely about his work on defining the physical and mental sensations when experiencing pleasure, including an interview on CJMF-FM (Quebec). He has invited the public to fill out his online survey at pleasure.concordia.ca.

Michael Carney (Management) has done many interviews about the struggle for Air Canada. On Nov. 20, an interview appeared in the Washington Post under the headline “Cerberus sparks dogfight for Air Canada.” He was quoted in La Presse, and on the same day in the Hong Kong newspapers Singtao Dail and the Oriental. In the Victoria Times-Colonist and the Ottawa Citizen he said that unions, creditors and suppliers are in no mood to cut Air Canada a better deal. “Wherever you look, you don’t see much room for more cost reduction other than in the employee side–and I don’t see it there either.”

Henry Habib (Political Science, retired) was interviewed by CTV about the rise and fall of Saddam Hussein.

Edith Katz, who does marketing and communications for the Diploma in Administration/Diploma in Sports Administration programs, told The Gazette on Dec. 17 how fundraising has evolved into an economic activity in its own right.

David Howes (Anthropology/Sociology) got front-page treatment on Jan. 12 in The Gazette for his latest book, Sensual Relations, which he co-authored with Constance Classen and Anthony Synnott. He was also mentioned in a December article in the New York Times under the headline "History You Can See, Hear, Smell, Touch and Taste." He was also interviewed by CBMT amd CBME-F.

On Canada Now (CBMT), Lawrence Kryzanowski (Finance) discussed the Quebec Energy Board’s decision to allow Hydro-Quebec to raise its price by 3 per cent.

The work of Michel Despland (Religion) was the focus of an article in Quebec’s Le Soleil about the thinning line separating church and state, as seen in the United States under the Bush administration. “Lyndon B. Johnson said that advancing the cause of blacks was to advance the cause of God. But he never invoked God to justify the war in Vietnam.”

On CKMI-TV (Sainte-Foy), Harold Simpkins (Marketing), discussed a new phonebook called The Pink Pages, now being distributed and targeting Montreal’s gay community.

Jeri Brown (Professor) garnered much attention from the media when she brought together Canadian Idol finalists Gary Beals and Audrey de Montigny to perform alongside her and the Jeri Brown Con Chord Singers at a benefit concert for Centraide.

Andrew McAusland (IITS) was named IT Executive of the year (2003) by Computing Canada magazine. The Gazette and Les Affaires, Montreal, both mentioned him for having introduced and developed a number of new technologies at the Concordia.

In the Windsor Star, Steven Applebaum (Management) described the open concept office design as a mistake in many big companies such as Bell Canada. “Too many companies mistake the open-plan concept for openness.”

Fine Arts alumnus Michael Thompson was given a warm greeting by his hometown of Oakville, Ontario, where he returned to show 20 of his best paintings, done in high-realist style. The show was complemented by lectures on art collecting for the new collector.

On Jan. 5, Vancouver’s Fraser Institute published a study by Stephen Gallagher (Political Science) on Canada’s refugee policy. The study was summarized in the National Post, along with most of Canada’s regional newspapers, including The Gazette. The National Post also supported the findings of the study in a lead editorial. In support of the publication, Gallagher has given numerous television and radio interviews, including an appearance on a panel discussion in Ottawa, inspired by the recent CBC drama on refugees titled Human Cargo.