Spring convocation moves to Molson Centre

Due to a protracted labour dispute involving the technicians at Place des Arts, four of Concordia's five spring convocation ceremonies will be held at the Molson Centre, two of them in the evening. It may be the home of the Canadiens hockey team, but organizers say you'll never know it.

Registrar Lynne Prendergast said that unlike last fall's convocation at the Palais des Congrs, creating a warm, theatre-like ambience will not be a problem. Only one end of the Molson Centre is being used, and it will be curtained off from the rest of the arena. The seats are tiered, unlike those at the Palais des Congrs, where large video screens were rented to ensure that all the audience could see the presenters.

Full instructions for the graduating students are included in their information packages, which were mailed to their homes. Their families and the general public will use the regular Molson Centre entrances.

Concordia is co-operating with McGill University in its arrangements, as McGill will be holding its convocations during the same period. There will be plenty of time to change signs and flags between events.

Five honorary doctorates will be awarded at spring convocation, one at each ceremony.

The Fine Arts convocation, to be held June 6 in the Oscar Peterson Concert Hall on the Loyola Campus, will see the presentation of an honorary degree to Jean Sutherland Boggs, former director of the National Gallery of Canada and an authority on Edgar Degas.

James M. Stanford, chair of Petro-Canada and a Loyola College graduate, will be given an honorary doctorate by Commerce and Administration at an evening ceremony on June 7 in the Molson Centre. This will mark the first time in recent memory that Concordia has held an evening convocation.

At the Arts and Science ceremonies on June 13, the recipient in the morning will be Ann Saddlemeyer, scholar of Irish studies and former Master of Massey College, University of Toronto, and at the afternoon event, it will be Barrie J. Frost, a leading scholar in neuroscience and psychology from Queen's University, in Kingston.

Engineering and Computer Science will confer an honorary doctorate on Serge Godin, founder of the CGI Group, at an evening ceremony on June 13.

A total of 3,307 students have applied to graduate this spring. This breaks down by Faculty as follows: Commerce and Administration, 800; Engineering and Computer Science, 490; Arts and Science, 1,672; Fine Arts, 345.