By 2000, in accordance to the final report of the Advancement and Alumni Task Force (October 12, 1999), the offices of Alumni Affairs and University Advancement were organizationally and geographically consolidated to integrate the alumni service and fundraising functions. Both units moved to the fifth floor of the Faubourg Building in the Summer of 2000 and became one unit: University Advancement and Alumni Relations (AAR) which was renamed University Advancement in May 2019. The unit was reporting to the Vice-Rector, Institutional Relations and Secretary-General. In November 2003, also in accordance to the Task Force report, a position of Vice-President, Advancement and Alumni Affairs was created (Board of Governors Resolution R2003-96). The position was filled in 2005. Through the years, the position portfolio and title have been modified. Consequently, Advancement and Alumni Relations have been under the responsibility of the following Vice-Presidents:
• Kathy Assayag, Vice-President, Advancement and Alumni Relations, January 10, 2005 to September 2010 (her title was V-P, Advancement and Alumni Affairs until May 19, 2005).
• Dominique McCaughey, Acting Vice-President, Advancement and Alumni Relations, September 2010 to January 2012.
• Marie-Claire Morin, Vice-President, Advancement and Alumni Relations, January 9, 2012 to May 2013.
• Bram Freedman, Vice-President, Development and External Relations, and Secretary-General, July 2013 to November 30, 2015
• Bram Freedman, Vice-President, Advancement and External Relations, December 1, 2015 to to July 6, 2018.
The Art History Graduate Students Association is the body that represents graduate students in Art History in the Concordia University Faculty of Fine Arts. It is student-run and aims to facilitate the formation of students in the Art History Graduate program by events, funding, and support.
The Sir George Williams University Academic Planning Committee originated in 1963 resulting from a widely-held feeling that academic growth was suffering from a lack of direction and cohesion. It was founded on a somewhat ad hoc basis to establish comprehensive consultative procedures for the University at the time the Hall Building was being planned and constructed. Its mandate at that time was: "To consider the total academic policy of the University, and to make any recommendations to appropriate bodies that may arise out of such consideration."
Initially it was independent of the formal University structure, the principal link being the Vice Principal (Academic) who was both Chairman of the Committee and the Chair of University Council. In the spring of 1967, after discussion within University Council, it was decided that the Committee would become a sub-committee of University Council.
The principal achievements for the initial period of 1963-1967 are the following: planning and consideration of the first graduate programmes; detailed examination of the Parent Commission Report; review of new areas into which the institution might move; establishment of ongoing five-year projections, submitted by all departments and reviewed annually.
Mr. James H. Whitelaw joined Sir George in 1954 as the first head of what became the Department of Modern Languages. In November of '67, he was appointed to the position of Curriculum Coordinator, and in 1971, he became Associate Vice-Principal (Academic Planning). Subsequently, in 1974-1975, 1976-1977 and 1977-1978 he was named Associate Vice-Rector (Academic Planning), and finally, from 1978 up to his retirement, in June 1984, he occupied the position of Associate Vice-Rector (Academic).
Through Chairman Whitelaw, the Academic Planning Committee was very involved in the developing of English speaking CEGEPs in Quebec.
With the formation of Concordia University in 1974, the Centre for Instructional Technology (CIT) at Sir George Williams University (SGWU) and the Educational Media Centre (EMC) at Loyola College combined their administrations to form the Concordia University Centre for Instructional Technology (CIT). In 1975, CIT became the Concordia University Audio-Visual Department, a name it kept until its merger with Computing Services to create Instructional & Information Technology Services (IITS), in 1998.
In the 1960s, the SGWU Centre for Instructional Technology was one of the first centralized audio-visual units among the Canadian universities. It had been established in 1964, under the name of Instructional Media Office (IMO) - which became CIT in 1969 - as a department to assist learning through the use and understanding of audio-visual technology. It was part of the Office of the Vice-Principal (Academic) and under the direction of Assistant Professor G. A. B. Moore. On October 1, 1970, the Centre was transferred to report to the Vice-Principal, Administration and Finance.
At Concordia, the AV Department has mainly been part of the Vice-Rector, Services portfolio. Its directors were Bernard (Ben) Queenan, from 1974 to 1986, and Mark Schofield, from 1987 to 1998. In collaboration with the academic sector and other service units, the AV Department identified and promoted appropriate technologies to facilitate the University audio-visual needs. It provided audio-visual equipment and expertise for teaching and learning in classrooms, laboratories and at remote locations. Its Visual Media Resources section (VMR) accumulated through the years a collection of films, videos, and DVDs for academic purposes (VMR was part of IITS between 1998 and 2003, and of Fine Arts after that. It became Visual Collections Repository (VCR) in 2018). And from the beginning, the AV department had a photographic and a graphics sections.
Originally intended as a teaching-aid department, the AV Department early opened its facilities to University community at large, particularly to students (e.g. to CUTV members). For instance, in 1975 the Department established a learning centre called AVISTA (Audio Visual In-Service Technical Area) to help students and faculty members learn to handle audio visual material, equipment and techniques. AVISTA became MITE-AVISTA in November 1989, when it installed a Multi-media Interactive Technology Environment (MITE).
The AV Department also had successful experiments in early distance education with local television channels, in the 1960s and 1970s (e.g. University of the Air). From 1988, it became responsible for the Concordia participation to CANAL Education Television, a Quebec consortium of education institutions which provided facilities for the broadcast of courses on the television network.
To provide information on its services, the AV Department published between 1987 and 1994, a newsletter called Fast Forward. Educational Technology, Concordia University Television (CUTV), Fine-Arts, Cinema, and Modern Languages were some of the heavy users of the AV Department facilities. The links with the Education department were particularly strong as one of its Faculty member, Gary Boyd, was also Assistant Director, Research and Development, of the AV Department for most of its existence.
The Board of Governors is the senior governing body of Concordia University and is responsible for establishing the legal and administrative framework of the university. In 1973, the initial composition of the Board of Governors was the product of the revision and amendment of the Sir George Williams University (SGWU) charter to include representatives of both SGWU and Loyola College in the context of their merger for creating a new university. On August 10th 1973, the Corporation of SGWU adopted Special By-Law “C” which enacted a change of name to CONCORDIA UNIVERSITY– UNIVERSITÉ CONCORDIA. By-Law “D” was also adopted, which established the governing and administrative structure of the new university. The meeting was adjourned. A new meeting was convened the same day at which corporation and board members resigned and elections were held for new members of the Corporation and of the Board of Governors, in conformity with the revised new structure. During the election which followed, Dr. John W. O’Brien was appointed Rector and Vice-Chancellor and Father Patrick G. Malone was appointed Vice-Rector and Principal of Loyola Campus. At its next meeting, on September 6th 1973, the Board of Governors approved the membership of six associated committees and the constitution of the University Senate. The new university received its legal and official establishment from the Quebec Government only a year later, in August 1974. Meanwhile, the meeting minutes of the Board of Governors and its associated committees were, most of the time, identified as those of “SGWU (to be known as Concordia University)”.
The Commerce and Administration Students' Association (CASA) was formed in 1985, when the Commerce Students' Association (CSA) of Concordia University's Sir George Williams campus merged with the Commerce Students' Society (CSS) of Concordia University's Loyola Campus. Both the CSA and the CSS were formed in the 1950s. CASA is funded by the Concordia Association of Commerce Students Inc. (CACS), accredited in 1989 following a referendum to secede from the Concordia University Students' Association. Commerce students' fees are collected by CACS and redistributed to CASA which uses this money to fund activities, projects, and services offered throughout the academic year. Its officers are elected by undergraduate commerce and administration students.
The Centre for Building Studies (CBS) was established in January 1977 to serve the building industry through teaching, research, and development program. Then located at the corner of Guy and Ste-Catherine, it was officially opened by the Quebec Minister of Education Jacques-Yvan Morin on February 17, 1978. Dr. Paul Fazio, who created the CBS, was its director until 1997. In May 1997, the CBS and the Department of Civil Engineering were united in one academic and administrative unit called School of Building which was renamed the Department of Building, Civil and Environmental Engineering in November 1998. The Centre for Building Studies remains an active research centre within the Department.
The Concordia Centre for Broadcasting and Journalism Studies has been involved with the study of media since 1981, as a research centre and as an archive. The centre prides itself as a hub of intellectual engagement with media by sociologists, journalism and communication scholars, historians, and literature specialists.
The Concordia Centre for Management Studies (CCMS) was created in 1980 by Pierre Simon, Dean of the Concordia Faculty of Commerce and Administration, with the aim the improvement of existing links between the University’s business school and the business community its services. The CCMS ceased its activities in 1987.
The Council is responsible for the governance of the academic affairs of the Faculty of Fine Arts and for making recommendations concerning academic matters to Senate.
On June 14, 1974, the Board of Governors authorized the establishment of a Faculty of Fine Arts. The new faculty being in its early states of development, an Interim Council of the Faculty of Fine Arts was established by Senate on February 21, 1975 and was subsequently approved by the Board of Governors. The Interim Council was asked to study its composition and make recommendations to Senate which was done on January 28, 1977. Senate recommended a permanent composition of the Council on January 28, 1977, subsequently approved by the Board of Governors. It had its first meeting on March 4, 1977.
In the 1990s the Concordia Graduate History Students' Association organised annual conferences called History in the Making, to allow graduate students in history to present papers in their respective fields. The conferences were not restricted to Concordia students: invitations were extended to universities in Québec, Ontario, the Maritimes, and the northeastern United States.
In 1986, the Concordia University Office of the Rector became concerned with the rising of social and health issues related to HIV/AIDS. In 1988, the possibility of establishing a HIV/AIDS policy to protect persons studying or working at Concordia, living with HIV or AIDS, began to make it-self clear. After a consultation process, on December 1, 1988, the University Guidelines on HIV/AIDS Related Concerns was approved by the Rector, the Vice-Rectors and the Secretary-General. This policy made provisions for the following:
A HIV/AIDS Resource person to work with the University’s Health Services to provide confidential information, counselling and referral services;
A part-time coordinator working with departments, associations and individuals to develop an on-going training and information programme to counter the effects of misinformation and the possible discrimination it breeds;
A HIV/AIDS Advisory Committee to implement and update the new guidelines on a regular basis.
In the same month, the HIV/AIDS Advisory Committee was established. In 1993, the Committee, with a group of faculty and staff, founded the HIV/AIDS Project. That same year, the HIV/AIDS Lecture Series was launched. Speakers are social, scientific, medical, arts and community leaders who provide public lectures in their respective areas of expertise. In 1994-1995, the Course HIV and AIDS: Cultural, Social and Scientific Aspects of the Pandemic was introduced. Enrolled students have to do an internship in an HIV/AIDS community organization. As course projects, students are asked to produce creative works which are exhibited in a gallery at the end of the academic year. In 1998, the Minor in Interdisciplinary Studies in Sexuality was introduced. In 2001-2002, an on-line course HIV/AIDS: An Interdisciplinary Introduction was launched. It is offered throughout Canada.
September 1998: Establishment of the Concordia Institute for Canadian Jewish Studies, thanks to a $1 million donation by Andrea and Charles Bronfman and the Seagram Company Ltd during the Campaign for a New Millennium. The institute is dedicated to the study of the Canadian Jewish experience through research, education, and community partnerships. CICJS supports a wide range of projects of local, national, and international interest, which contribute to this field of inquiry.
January 1, 1978: At the University Senate meeting of December 16, 1977, Vice-Rector, Academic (Arts and Science) Russell Breen announced that as of January 1, 1978, there would be only one Chairman, C. Stephen Casey for the merged department of Classics. Since the signing of the merger of 1974 (and the first Concordia University Undergraduate Calendar published in 1975), the department had appeared with distinct Chairmen for Loyola and Sir George Williams campuses.
December 18, 1996: Merger of the Department of Classics and the Department of Modern Languages and Linguistics and therefore the establishment of the Department of Classics, Modern Languages and Linguistics.
The Centre for Mature Students (CMS) facilitated the recruitment, registration, retention and graduation of mature students and supported learning opportunities for the non-traditional students within Concordia University. Established in 1978, it was among the five colleges created by Concordia at the Faculty of Arts and Science. In 1987 (effective June 1, 1987), the Centre for Mature Students extends its services to all Faculties of the University and reported to the Vice-Rector, Academic. With the creation of the School of Extended Learning in 2007, the CMS became part of the operations of the School’s Centre for Continuing Education, under the name of Student Transition Centre.
The Concordia Physics Students Association (CPSA) provides a voice for undergraduate students involved in physics or physics-related courses.
Source: Concordia Physics Student Association Web site.
Founded in 1978, Lesbian and Gay Friends of Concordia (LGFC) was formed primarily as a mutual support group for gay persons in the university environment. Eventually a new goal was added: to bridge the gap of misunderstanding and hate which have developed on all sides of the sexual divide. The association changed its name to the gender-neutral Concordia Queer Collective in 1992.
Computing Services provided computing, information management and data communication services to the University community until 1998. Before their merger that created Concordia University in 1974, Loyola College and Sir George Williams University had their own computer facilities, Loyola had the smaller ones. In the fall of 1974, they were combined to form one single unit with a central office in the C Annex (on Sir George Williams Campus), where the main computers were, and two branches, Loyola and offices in the Hall building. In 1989, the Concordia Computer Centre became Computing Services. In 1998, Computing Services was merged with the Audio-Visual Department to create Instructional & Information Technology Services (IITS).
The Canadian Society of Civil Engineers was formed in 1887. The first members were Thomas Keefer, Casimir Gzowksi, and other civil engineers. By 1918, the Society's members included other disciplines so the name was changed to the Engineering Institute of Canada (EIC). In 1970 the EIC took steps toward becoming a federation of learned engineering societies and the Canadian Society for Mechanical Engineering, the first constituent within the EIC, was formed. The Canadian Geotechnical Society, the Canadian Society for Civil Engineering, the Canadian Society for Electrical Engineering, and the Canadian Society for Engineering Management followed. On August 27, 1985, the CSCE became incorporated. Student chapters of the CSCE have been established in Canadian universities and colleges which offer a civil engineering program. Student chapters offer undergraduate technical programs, often in conjunction with local CSCE sections, and opportunities to meet with practising civil engineers in the community.
The CSCE Concordia promotes civil engineering by informing the student body of upcoming competitions and conferences. The Canadian Society for Civil Engineering - Concordia Student Chapter has been the host of an annual bridge-building competition since 1984.
Source: Canadian Society for Civil Engineering Web site.
The West Indian Society was created in 1953 at Sir George Williams University. With the adoption of a new constitution at the end of 1969, the society changed its name to the Caribbean Students' Union.
The original idea for a single, united students’ association at Concordia started even before the university was created in 1974 by the merger of Loyola College and Sir George Williams University (SGWU). As early as 1972 negotiations took place between the Loyola and SGWU undergraduate student associations and went on for some years before reaching a final structure. In March 1979 undergraduate students from Loyola and SGW campuses voted in a referendum and approved the formation of the Concordia-wide Students' Association, to represent all undergraduate students: Concordia University Student Association (CUSA). On April 2-5, 1979 the first election for the CUSA co-presidents and legislative council was held. Agop der Khatchadurian and Louis Francescutti, were the first CUSA co-presidents.
In a referendum held in March 1982, students voted for incorporation in principle. CUSA was incorporated by Quebec, on September 3, 1982. In March 1983, students voted 84 per cent in favour of CUSA’s new and improved by-laws, taking legal ownership of the Association from the university administration to the students. Elected officers would be accountable to the undergraduate student body, the shareholders of the corporation. In 1984, CUSACorp was created, a wholly owned subsidiary of CUSA whose sole purpose was to provide and run student entertainment services at Concordia, namely the Loyola Campus Centre and Reggie’s Pub on the downtown campus.
In March 1994, undergraduate students agreed in a referendum to change the name of CUSA to the Concordia Student Union (CSU), and additionally supported several restructuring motions. A major change saw the replacement of the co-president system with the election of a single CSU president. In April 1994, Marika Giles was elected as the first CSU president.
On March 29-30, 2000 undergraduate students voted in a referendum to end the appointment of the CSU vice-presidents. Starting in 2001, all presidential candidates would run for office with a slate of vice-presidents, ending over 20 years of their being appointed after the general elections.
Concordia Student Union has been publishing, at the beginning of every academic year, the CSU Student Handbook.
The Department of Accountancy is one of the largest in Canada, with programs at both the undergraduate and graduate levels.
May 21, 1981: The Board of Governors approves the creation of the Department of Art History (it was previously a Faculty of Fine Arts programme under the Visual Arts Division).
The Department of Applied Human Sciences was established in November 1997 with the amalgamation of the Department of Applied Social Science with the Leisure Studies Program.
The Department of Applied Social Science was created in1963 at Sir George Williams University, simultaneously with the Centre for Human Relations and Community Studies under the vision and guidance of Principal Robert C. Rae and Dr. Hedley G. Dimock, who became the first Chairman of the department and Director of the Centre. The Centre was a research, consultation and training service of the Department. In November 1997, the Department of Applied Social Science was amalgamated with Leisure Studies to establish the Department of Applied Human Sciences.
January 1, 1978: At the University Senate meeting of December 16, 1977, Vice-Rector, Academic (Arts and Science) Russell Breen announced that as of January 1, 1978, there would be only one Chairman, Robert M. Roy for the merged department of Biology. Since the signing of the merger of 1974 (and the first Concordia University Undergraduate Calendar published in 1975), the department had appeared with distinct Chairmen for Loyola and Sir George Williams campuses (Richard T. Cronin and Hildegard E. Enesco (Biological Sciences), respectively).
The department has its origins in the respective programs of Civil Engineering of the University’s two founding institutions: Sir George Williams University (SGWU) and Loyola College. At SGWU, a formal department of Civil Engineering was established at the end of the 1960s. In May 1997, the Department of Civil Engineering and the Centre for Building Studies (CBS) were united in one academic and administrative unit called School for Building which was renamed Department of Building, Civil and Environmental Engineering in November 1998.
January 1, 1978: At the University Senate meeting of December 16, 1977, Vice-Rector, Academic (Arts and Science) Russell Breen announced that as of January 1, 1978, there would be only one Chairman, Roderick E. Townshend for the merged department of Chemistry. Since the signing of the merger of 1974 (and the first Concordia University Undergraduate Calendar published in 1975), the department had appeared with distinct Chairmen for Loyola and Sir George Williams campuses (Mark Doughty and Roderick E. Townshend, respectively).