SPRING 2017
POWERFUL PERFORMANCE Concordia’s PERFORM Centre is home to groundbreaking preventive-healthcare research
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NEXT GENERATION — 16 IT’S AN ATTITUDE 22 ROLOFF BENY OF OPENNESS 26 FOUNDATION Leaders illuminate what it FELLOWSHIP IN means for Concordia to be a PHOTOGRAPHY next-generation university. By Jérôme Nadeau By James Gibbons 30 A CENTURY AT LOYOLA: THEN AND NOW THE HUMAN SIDE OF HUMAN RESOURCES Loyola Campus turns 100 — and is set for the future. Department of Management faculty tap into organizational psychology By Julie Gedeon 32 to help companies motivate and 38 support their people. TAKING A BITE OF THE BIG APPLE / By Wayne Larsen STAKING THEIR CLAIM IN THE GOLDEN STATE Meet five alumni who’ve made it in New York City; plus, learn about four 50 FACULTY SPOTLIGHT: FACULTY OF FINE ARTS grads living the California dream. Concordia’s creative arts hub welcomes much good news. By Richard Burnett and Toula Drimonis 42 By Andy Murdoch
spring 2017 volume 41 number 1 concordia.ca/magazine
Cover credit: Thinkstock 3 EDITOR’S VOICE 5 CONCORDIA NEWS 15 FROM THE ARCHIVES 52 ALUMNI NEWS 57 FUNDING ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT 58 CLASS ACTS 63 WORDS & MUSIC 64 ENOUGH SAID I’M A BIG BELIEVER IN PLANNED GIVING AS A “ WONDERFUL OPPORTUNITY TO GIVE BACK. IT’S A MEANS OF ALLOCATING FUNDS TO THE CAUSES YOU CARE ABOUT BEYOND YOUR LIFETIME.
– Christine Lengvari, BSc 72, President and Chief Executive O cer, Lengvari Financial Inc. ”
YOUR GIFT YOUR LEGACY YOUR PLAN A planned gift can help fulfi ll your fi nancial, philanthropic and estate-planning goals. Concordia’s Planned Giving sta can meet your unique fi nancial needs.
CALL 5 4-848-2424, EXT. 8945, OR -888-777-3330, EXT. 8945.
To learn more about Christine’s story, watch the video at: concordia.ca/plannedgiving
c1 | spring 2013 concordia university magazine EDITOR'S VOICE
I’M A BIG BELIEVER IN PLANNED GIVING AS A “ WONDERFUL OPPORTUNITY TO GIVE BACK. IT’S A MEANS OF ALLOCATING FUNDS TO THE CAUSES Back and forth
YOU CARE ABOUT BEYOND HOWARD BOKSER, MBA 85
YOUR LIFETIME. he year 2017 is a big one for Canadian celebrations. Among other anniversaries, it’s 50 years – Christine Lengvari, BSc 72, President and Chief sinceT the historic Expo 67 and 100 years convocation at the Expo 67 site, which we means trying to align the quality of Executive O cer, Lengvari Financial Inc. after the First World War’s Battle of Vimy revisit in From the Archives on page 15. teaching and learning opportunities to ” Ridge. During this year of convergence Enough Said on page 64 also features larger trends and the grand challenges we can reflect on these milestones, re- some history. Former National Lampoon facing society,” explains Graham Carr, examine stories and think beyond the magazine editor Sean Kelly, BA 63, co- Concordia’s provost and vice-president fireworks and festivities. It’s a chance lourfully reminisces about the quirky yet of Academic Affairs. to look back and onward — for both talented novelist John Buell, BA 50, Maybe the attitude can be best Montreal and Canada. a long-time Loyola English professor. summed up by the words of 19th- The 2016-17 academic year also Yet as Shakespeare wrote, “What’s century Danish philosopher Søren denotes a significant landmark for past is prologue.” With that in mind, Kierkegaard: “Life can only be Concordia. It was 100 years ago that the this issue balances looking back with understood backwards; but it must Loyola Campus, once the grounds of a gazing ahead — as Concordia itself be lived forwards.” farm accessible only by a long buggy- does. “A century at Loyola” writer ride from the city’s core, welcomed Julie Gedeon not only recalls past its first students. They migrated from decades but paints a picture of today’s the downtown Montreal site of Loyola thriving campus. Loyola is now home to College, one of Concordia’s founding remarkable research in such progressive Concordia University Magazine welcomes institutions, into the three newly scientific fields as genomics, synthetic readers’ comments. Letters should include constructed buildings in Notre-Dame- biology and preventative healthcare, the writer’s full name, address, school(s), degree(s) and year(s) of graduation for de-Grâce. The Jesuit college expanded among others. alumni. Letters may be edited for length and and added more facilities in the In “Next generation — it’s an attitude clarity. No letter will be published without the full name of the correspondent. YOUR GIFT following years. of openness” on page 26, my colleague Concordia University Magazine is published Since those who cannot remember James Gibbons explains why President three times a year for alumni and friends of the past are condemned to repeat it, Alan Shepard calls Concordia “Canada’s Concordia University. Opinions expressed herein do not necessarily reflect the views YOUR LEGACY as we’re all aware, this issue harkens next-generation university.” of the alumni association or of the university. back to Loyola’s early days in “A century The institution has long taken an Please address editorial correspondence to: at Loyola: then and now” on page 32. enlightened view of education: for The Editor, Howard Bokser Concordia University Magazine YOUR PLAN Among the challenges the young college instance, Sir George Williams offered 1455 De Maisonneuve Blvd. W. faced was that many of its all-male part-time and evening university FB 520, Montreal, QC H3G 1M8 A planned gift can help fulfi ll your fi nancial, philanthropic Phone: 514-848-2424, ext. 3826 students headed off to Europe for the courses to those who may not have email: [email protected] and estate-planning goals. Concordia’s Planned Giving Great War, and an unfortunate number otherwise been able to access them, Editorial assistants: Louise Morgan, never returned. and Loyola provided its students James Gibbons sta can meet your unique fi nancial needs. Student interns: Jeremy Glass-Pilon, 2017 marks a celebratory anniversary leading-edge Jesuit teaching. Lucas Napier Macdonald for Concordia’s other original institu- That thinking has evolved into a For advertising information, call CALL 5 4-848-2424, EXT. 8945, OR -888-777-3330, EXT. 8945. tion, Sir George Williams University. A university-wide next-gen ethos that sees 514-848-2424, ext. 3876. half a century ago, Sir George Williams past traditional educational boundaries. Design: University Communications Services T17-38958 To learn more about Christine’s story, watch the video at: graduates participated in a memorable “When we say next generation, that concordia.ca/plannedgiving
concordia university magazine spring 2017 | 3 c1 | spring 2013 concordia university magazine setting an example
Tulsi Nowlakha Mirchandaney is managing director of Blue Dart Aviation in India.
chievement is not an exercise in solitude, but an outcome cargo airline, were unique opportunities. My time at Concordia of experiences, choices and the contribution of people helped to hone my capability and widen my horizon to be and events that have touched our lives. able to undertake my current job of leading that airline. The A positive ambience, interactions with faculty and classmates, the An event that profoundly impacted my chosen path was my repository of knowledge and time in beautiful Montreal were scholarship towards Concordia’s International Aviation both productive and enriching. MBA program. There are probably some out there taking their first A fortunate few chalk out their careers at an early age. I was tentative steps to a career that can support the supply chains not one of them. I applied for an airline job for all the wrong of many industries, and facilitate trade and commerce, as reasons, primarily to fund my future education. Yet working in does my company. I’d like to pay forward what I’m sure was the less stylish entrails of the aircraft as one of the ‘backroom the result of someone else’s generosity and give wing to a boys’ — the endearing term used for cargo employees at the few of those dreams. time — soon had me hooked. Tulsi Nowlakha Mirchandaney, AMBA 00, a graduate of Concordia’s My long, varied tenure with the airline industry and the International Aviation MBA program, is the managing director of opportunities to work with a wide cross-section of people Blue Dart Aviation, India’s only scheduled cargo airline. across the country, including with the startup of India’s fi rst
Find out how you can join Tulsi Nowlakha Mirchandaney in contributing to Concordia. Info: concordia.ca/giving | 5 4-848-2424, ext. 4856 | -888-777-3330, ext. 4856 | [email protected] #CUgiving CONCORDIA NEWS
CONCORDIA HOSTS CANADA’S FIRST NEXT CITY VANGUARD CONFERENCE
hat will Montreal look W like in the future, and how can we make it a better place now? Will there be more green spaces and bike paths? What about car-free zones and improved transportation networks? Will we make better use of abandoned buildings? These are just some of the questions that 45 urban leaders under the age of 40 niversity will address when they come U ordia
to Montreal this spring c on for the 2017 Next City C Vanguard Conference. THIS MAY, 45 URBAN INNOVATORS CONVERGE ON CONCORDIA TO CHART MONTREAL’S FUTURE. It will mark the first time the annual event will happen REDEFINING MONTREAL like Mile End, Verdun and and challenges to brainstorm in Canada. IN THE 21ST CENTURY Old Montreal, today and in and co-design a range of The upcoming experiential Each year, Next City selects the future. solutions and tools relevant leadership conference takes a different host city and a In addition to these site to a challenge that will be place from May 31 to June 3. cohort of young leaders, visits, the conference will revealed closer to the event. “This is a tremendous dubbed the Vanguards, from include a public lecture and Each group will present opportunity for Montreal across disciplines in the public conversations about their ideas at a public fo- and Concordia to showcase public, private, non-profit emerging initiatives and rum, which will include a the many next-generation and academic sectors. pressing questions in urban panel discussion by local and citizen initiatives that “Together, we are bringing development, accessibility, Big Idea Ambassadors. They are making a difference 45 young urban innovators infrastructure and public will highlight the proposed in our communities,” says from the United States and policy in Montreal. The ideas and actions that can be Concordia President Alan internationally to search program will culminate implemented over the next Shepard. “I look forward to for solutions and make in a design-thinking year, leaving a lasting mark hearing from the Vanguard positive contributions collaboration called the on the city. Fellows and learning more to Montreal,” says Tom Big Idea Challenge. To find out more about about their ideas to chart Dallessio, president, CEO Working in small groups, the Next City Vanguard a more sustainable and and publisher of Next City. the Vanguards will leverage Conference, visit concor- accessible city.” “I can’t think of a better their expertise and take dia.ca/events/conferences/ The event is a col- host than Concordia for this what they’ve learned about next-city-vanguard-2017. laboration between the event, and I look forward Montreal’s unique context —Karen McCarthy university and Next City, a to providing this city with Philadelphia-based non- ideas that will engage and profit whose mission is to inspire officials and citizens inspire social, economic and to redefine it in the 21st environmental change in cit- century.” ies through journalism and In the spirit of com- events around the world. munity engagement and Follow @ConcordiaAlumni on Twitter
Concordia’s participa- experiential learning, the to stay on top of #CUalumni news. tion is an example of the Vanguards will break out university’s commitment to of conference rooms and "embrace the city, embrace experience first-hand the #CUalumni the world", one of its nine changes and challenges fac- strategic directions. ing local neighbourhoods
concordia university magazine spring 2017 | 5
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niversity COMMUNITY U ordia c UNIVERSITY on C STEVE SHIH AND DAVID KWAN, RECIPIENTS OF A CANADA FOUNDATION FOR INNOVATION GIFT AT A TIME FUND FOR A PROJECT TO IMPROVE BIOFUEL AND VACCINE PRODUCTION WORKFLOWS.
BOOST FOR SYNTHETIC BIOLOGY RESEARCH
pair of researchers will complement existing HELP SHAPE CONCORDIA BY A from Concordia’s state-of-the-art research Centre for Applied facilities at Concordia, says SUPPORTING THE Synthetic Biology got big Kwan. Both the Centre for 206-7 news from the Canada Applied Synthetic Biology Foundation for Innovation and the Centre for Structural COMMUNITY (CFI) in February 2017. and Functional Genomics The John R. Evans Leaders — where Kwan also works — CAMPAIGN! Fund announced that it had will gain new infrastructure, awarded $100,000 to David and the funding will support Kwan, assistant professor the integrated research of in the Department of their respective teams. Biology, and Steve Shih, “Synthetic biology focus- assistant professor in the es on creating technologies Department of Electrical for designing and building and Computer Engineering. biological systems using en- The infrastructure proj- gineered organisms,” Kwan ect has a total value of about explains. “It calls for biolo- $250,000. Shih and Kwan gists, chemists, engineers were awarded an additional and computer scientists to $100,000 from the Province find collaborative ways to of Quebec, with an extra understand how genetically Powered by gifts ranging in size $50,000 coming from other encoded parts work together, and purpose, Concordia’s annual funding sources. With this and then to combine them to support, they will be able to produce useful applications Community Campaign bolsters start integrating robotics into that are beneficial to society.” teaching, research and student life at their workflow. Their goal? Shih adds, “Automation Canada’s next-generation university. To reduce the time it takes to gives scientists more produce a range of products, time for creative thinking concordia.ca/communitycampaign such as biofuels and vaccines. and design, rather than The suite of automation continuous and intensive tools they’re developing manual lab work.” #CUgiving courtesy of the CFI grant —Renée Dunk
6 | spring 2017 concordia university magazine CONCORDIA PROFESSOR’S RESEARCH HAS MAJOR SEX APPEAL
ex. It’s a powerful paraphilia, which is doing The theme of beauty Sforce that sells something that isn’t nor- and the attractiveness of perfume, chocolate mal. When you see people beauty is sometimes called and car insurance. doing those sorts of ‘erotic capital.’ It involves Each generation has things, it’s hard for most maximization of beauty to that twinkle in their of us to see how they can further one’s own personal parents’ eyes to thank be erotic. For example, goals. You can think of for their existence. most people avoid pain. examples such as Marilyn Furthermore, it's To some, they actually Monroe marrying Joe deeply problematic, seek it out in the form of DiMaggio — a top athlete — complex and sadomasochism. They and then later Arthur Miller culturally relative. find it arousing. — a top intellectual. Beauty Anthony Synnott, An example I pro- is an immense asset. retired professor of vided in my book is of In my work The Body Concordia’s Department a man in Great Britain Social (Routledge, 1993) I of Sociology and who enjoyed being explored how the notion that Anthropology, unpack- whipped to such a de- beauty equates to goodness ages sexual identities in gree that he required is endemic in our society. his latest book, The Power a skin graft from the There is a ‘halo’ effect — of Sex (Gordian Knot damage it did. There’s we input positive values on Books, 2016). Synnott little understanding of why those who are good looking. THE POWER OF SEX BY ANTHONY answers questions to SYNNOTT DRAWS ON SOCIOLOGY, extreme pain is enjoyed by Villains such as Ted Bundy, ANTHROPOLOGY, HISTORY AND provide a snapshot of the PSYCHOLOGY. some people.” Carla Homolka and Paul provocative volume. Bernardo were all physi- cally attractive. I think that’s What motivated you people consider normal Do we live in a “pornified at least part of how they got to write this book and in one culture could be le- raunch culture” as you call away with their crimes for so what did you set out to thal in another culture. The it in your book? long. People couldn’t believe accomplish? motivation and goal was to they could be so awful.” show how sexual identities AS: “I think this term came Anthony Synnott: “One are rapidly evolving and how out of the massive use of The Power of Sex is on sale thing that interested me is that’s culturally relative. internet porn, though it ex- now and can be purchased the speed of change. When In some cases, though, trapolates to advertising and through Amazon. I was growing up there was a what we’re seeing is regres- self-display of so many dif- —James Gibbons two-by-two grid. Everyone sive. In the United States, the ferent sorts. Sex buys and was either male/female or halt of funding for Planned sells everything. gay/straight. Now there’s Parenthood has made abor- intersex, transvestite, tion virtually unavailable in transgender, transsexual, some places. We aren’t al- pan-sexual, solo sexual. It’s ways talking about evolution all become very complex. when it comes to sex.” As soon as people realize that an Olympic medal- Keep in touch. ist such as Bruce Jenner Compared to other Update your records at can change sex, then peo- animals, is sex among concordia.ca/keepintouch. ple think anyone can. humans strange? Something you’ve taken for granted comes into ques- AS: “In terms of what peo- tion. At the same time, ple get up to — yes. There’s sexual things that some a chapter in my book on
concordia university magazine spring 2017 | 7
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Gwen Tolbart Alexandre Bilodeau Louise Archambault hinksto T CONCORDIA’S HOMETOWN MOVED UP SIX SPOTS TO TOP THE 2017 QS RANKINGS.
MONTREAL RANKED WORLD’S BEST STUDENT CITY
he results are in! Montreal is the best city in the world for Frederic Bohbot Régine Chassagne Tetsuro Shigematsu T students, according to the latest rankings by Quacquarelli Symonds (QS). Concordia’s urban home jumped six spots to claim first place, ahead of Paris, London, Seoul, Melbourne, Berlin and Tokyo. As Concordia President Alan Shepard stated in the Montreal Gazette, the city’s strong showing starts with Canada. The country’s education lure is no mystery. “Our universities do Debra Arbec Michael Meaney Anne-Marie Withenshaw well in international rankings,” he says. “We have the lowest cost of living and highest quality of life among G7 countries. The QS ranking reaffirms this.” You’ve come a long way since joining Matthew Stiegemeyer, director of student recruitment, is not surprised by Montreal’s rise to Best Student City. “Certainly Concordia’s 200,000 alumni family. the increased interest we’re seeing from applicants suggests TAKE that word is getting out,” he says. • Update your contact details: It’s the fourth year in a row that Montreal has climbed in PRIDE the rankings. In fact, four of the five Canadian cities on the list concordia.ca/keepintouch have moved up. QS singles out “recent political events” in the United States and the United Kingdom as a contributing factor • Write us about your in Canada’s growing desirability as a student destination. That makes sense to Stiegemeyer. “I think if you’re an recent achievements: international student looking for a welcoming place to be, [email protected] you’re looking for a city that embraces a diverse population,” he says. QS’s Best Student City rankings also reference Montreal’s affordability and a “recent renaissance” as key components of the city’s success this year. According to QS, nabbing the top spot is “the latest of a series of propitious signs for a city beginning to escape a period of economic stagnation, following positive growth forecasts for 2017, citywide initiatives designed to encourage entrepreneurship, and the recent announcement of its Join @ConcordiaAlumni on social media selection as the ‘World’s Most Intelligent City.’” —Sarah Buck #CUpride #CUalumni
8 | spring 2017 concordia university magazine SENSORY EXPLORATIONS AND THE BODY-MIND CONNECTION
ow do you define interdisciplinary research in a next- Hgeneration university? Two Concordia graduate students are answering this question through a podcast series now in its second season. Aaron Lakoff, BA 12, and Simone Lucas, MA students in the Media Studies program, are producing year two of the Beyond Disciplines podcast. The audio offering is based on a public event series highlighting some of the most exciting research coming out of Concordia’s Faculty of Arts and Science. Each niversity
episode explores a different theme through a variety U ordia
of disciplinary perspectives. c on The current season’s motto — “mix it up, experiment C boldly, and go beyond!” — refers to three of Concordia’s nine SIMONE DE BEAUVOIR INSTITUTE strategic directions. “The exciting thing for me about this HONOURS BEVERLEY MCLACHLIN podcast is how it can take ideas that are quite complex and make them accessible beyond the university’s walls,” says he Right Honourable Beverley McLachlin, LLD11, the Lakoff. “Podcasting is a quickly growing medium, and I love Tfirst woman Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada, putting ideas out there in a form that anyone can download, received the first-ever Simone de Beauvoir Institute Prize listen to and engage with.” at Concordia in March 2017. The prize recognizes women Listeners who download or subscribe are treated to some building a world dedicated to gender equality and social justice. of the community’s most cutting-edge voices sharing ideas Pictured at the ceremony at Concordia are Bram Freedman, on a common theme. The second season’s first episode, vice-president of Advancement and External Relations; “Come to Your Senses,” features researchers from the Beverley McLachlin; Kimberley Manning, principal of the English, Communication Studies and Physics departments Simone de Beauvoir Institute and associate professor in the discussing sensory studies. Department of Political Science, and Concordia President The dynamic duo promise some surprises, including a Alan Shepard. special bonus episode slated for later in the year. “Get ready,” says Lucas. “And stay tuned!” Listeners can subscribe to the podcast on iTunes, Stitcher and SoundCloud. Listen to episodes of the Beyond Disciplines pod- cast at concordia.ca/artsci/events/beyond-disciplines-podcast. —Elisabeth Faure niversity U ordia c on C
CONCORDIANS SUPPORT 5 DAYS FOR THE HOMELESS
espite a 35-centimetre blizzard, Concordia students, Dalumni, faculty and friends slept on the street to raise niversity $6,333 as part of 5 Days for the Homeless in March 2017. U The funds support local community organizations Dans la rue ordia c
on and Chez Doris. C SIMONE LUCAS AND AARON LAKOFF ARE PRODUCING THE SECOND SEASON OF THE Among those who showed their support, Concordia BEYOND DISCIPLINES PODCAST. President Alan Shepard (left) payed a visit.
concordia university magazine spring 2017 | 9 CONCORDIA NEWS niversity U ordia c on C
KYLE MATTHEWS HAS BEEN WITH CONCORDIA’S MONTREAL INSTITUTE FOR GENOCIDE AND HUMAN RIGHTS STUDIES SINCE 2008.
Meet Kyle Matthews, Can you describe the work that MIGS does? executive director of MIGS KM: “Our mandate is to study, monitor and provide policy advice on what can be done to prevent mass-atrocity he Montreal Institute for Genocide and Human Rights crimes. We accomplish this by publishing academic work T Studies (MIGS) began its important work at Concordia in and providing research from a public-policy perspective, 1986. The centre’s mandate is to research and provide advoca- in particular to the Canadian All-Party Parliamentary cy and support for genocide and mass-atrocity-crimes preven- Group for the Prevention of Genocide and Other tion. In 2008 James M. Stanford, BSc 58, LLD 00, generously Crimes Against Humanity, of which MIGS is its donated a substantial gift to support MIGS and the various ini- institutional partner. tiatives it spearheads, including the Will to Intervene Project. We also do a lot outreach, such as bringing the Nobel Kyle Matthews, MIGS’s executive director since November Prize-nominated White Helmets to Concordia this past 2016, took a moment to talk about the centre and its impact December, or training diplomats, journalists, humanitarian on the wider community, and his role. aid workers and academics on all aspects of genocide prevention. We have initiated a lot of research projects Can you share a bit about your background? with various faculty departments within the university, Kyle Matthews: “I started as an intern in Albania with Care as well as within the greater human rights community in International in 1999 and then became a humanitarian aid Canada and abroad. worker with Care Canada, working in such places as Jerusalem, MIGS collaborated with Concordia’s Department of Kenya and Zambia. I then worked for the better part of seven Political Science in bringing the Global Diplomacy Lab, an years with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees initiative of the German foreign ministry, to Montreal last in Tbilisi, Georgia, Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of November. We have also begun working more on the link Congo, and then in Geneva, Switzerland. between technology and hate speech and how social media So my background was more in the humanitarian and ref- platforms are being used as a weapon to incite hatred and ugee aspects of the United Nations. Some of the work was commit violence. operational, like visiting refugee camps, but I also did a lot of We are really working on human rights issues that are so policy and diplomacy work and advised governments on cer- new that we’re carving out very interesting projects and tain issues, as well as coordinated with other UN agencies and initiatives that correspond with how the world has changed the European Union. I then joined MIGS in 2008.” since I joined in 2008.”
10 | spring 2017 concordia university magazine What is your role as MIGS executive director? and fragile states, while committing atrocities and KM: “My role is to help grow the institute. We will do that by mak- destroying cultural heritage sites. ing MIGS a platform to help Concordia be known domestically and Another big issue is the rise of populism, where there internationally as one of the leading universities concerned with is a growing pushback and anger towards terrorism and human rights. Our aim is to bring more Concordia faculty mem- immigration. There is also a rise in authoritarianism in places bers, students and alumni to our institute. We’re now developing like Russia and China, which don’t necessarily buy into human more partnerships with university departments, including educa- rights norms like torture prevention, free speech or gay rights. tion, religious studies and political science. The world has made a lot of progress and I wouldn’t be in We are also working to connect Concordia with people out- this position if I was not a positive person. I do think that side of academia who are working on issues that need expert everyone can make a difference, including our team here at advice and knowledge as they deal with global problems. I’m MIGS and the wider Concordia community, yet there are many tasked with trying to make our institute much more open to the challenges. One of the best ways is to use education to build a Concordia community and to bring people together to generate new generation of leaders, and that’s what MIGS does.” research, organize public events and promote the great work being done at Concordia related to human rights.” Tell us the legacy of MIGS co-founder and long-time leader Frank Chalk. Can you talk about some MIGS initiatives you’ve KM: “I’ve been working with Frank since 2008 and he’s been been a part of? an inspiration. He’s helped guide a lot of the work MIGS does. KM: “Our biggest initiative was the Will to Intervene Project, which He’s helped us think about the Holocaust, history, hate speech was developed jointly by General Roméo Dallaire and MIGS to and how we can apply those lessons as an institute today in the
niversity build political will in Canada and the United States to help prevent real world. Thanks to Frank and his direction and leadership, U future atrocities. The project was so successful that it generated a MIGS is well positioned and possesses the architecture to move ordia c
on financial contribution that allowed Concordia to hire another pro- to the next level.” C fessor, indicating that our work is getting some major recognition. Another ongoing initiative is the Raoul Wallenberg Legacy Can you discuss how MIGS fits within the wider of Leadership Project, supported by the Swedish govern- Concordia community? ment. We work very closely with former MP and human rights KM: “MIGS is not just a research centre — it has become an lawyer Irwin Cotler, among others. We discuss the legacy of ideas and leadership incubator at Concordia. We’re engaging Wallenberg [a Swedish diplomat who saved tens of thousands of with people from organizations, governments, museums and Jews in Nazi-occupied Hungary during the Holocaust] and how institutions. We’re serving as a platform to connect these his story and actions are still relevant today to communities all people to other networks, to the media and to policy-makers. over North America. I credit Concordia for being very forward-thinking and We also established the Digital Mass Atrocity Prevention Lab, realizing that there’s something we’re doing here now that which brings people together from Concordia and elsewhere, touches upon the world we live in today. There is a unique like the Montreal Centre for the Prevention of Radicalization need for universities to help understand what’s happening Leadng to Violence, to develop innovative solutions to counter to our society, our country and our world.” online extremism. An upcoming initiative, in partnership with Irwin Cotler Follow MIGS on Twitter, @MIGSinstitute, and Facebook, and Amnesty International, is #RightCity [May 26-27, 2017]. facebook.com/migs.montreal It will consist of a series of events held in partnership with the —Leslie Schachter, BA 03, GrDip (journ.) 13, is a Montreal City of Montreal to promote Montreal as a human rights city, freelance writer. concluding with Amnesty presenting its annual Ambassador of Conscience Award to an international human rights leader.”
Since MIGS’s founding in 1986, how have human rights issues changed? Share your news. Follow us @ConcordiaAlumni KM: “Generally there have been many improvements in certain on Facebook. countries and regions, yet we’ve also witnessed the nature of conflict change. There used to be more conflict between coun- tries, but we now see more internal conflicts. That has led to the realization that states are unable to protect their popula- tions from genocide and crimes against humanity. Thirty years ago we didn’t have concepts of failed states or internally displaced people and now we do. We’re also seeing a You’re among our 200,000 #CUalumni rise in non-state actors and terrorist groups that threaten weak
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MONTREALGAZETTE.COM CONCORDIA NEWS FROM THE ARCHIVES
THINKING OUT LOUD RETURNS A Special Convocation oncordia’s Thinking University Research Chair in Mel Hoppenheim School John Molson School of C Out LoudPUBLIC ideas festival Integrated Design, Ecology of Cinema, and Emily Business; Indigenous Culture once again brought some of and Sustainability for the Nussbaum, The New Yorker — Expression, Resistance, Canada’s topCONVERSATIONS research, media Built Environment, and Ken television critic; Business Resilience, with singer/ and academic minds to the Greenberg, urban designer Ownership Now, with artist Tanya Tagaq and university,LOOKED in collaboration ATand author THE of Walking WAYS Home. Andrew Molson, part- Heather Igloliorte, Concordia with The Globe and Mail. Other events were Future ner and chairman of RES assistant professor of The 2017 edition of Small Screen — Talking PUBLICA Consulting Group, Aboriginal Art History; and Thinking OutWE Loud kickedCONNECT Television, with (pictured) Ethan Song, co-founder of Talking Comics and Graphic off February 2 with Urban moderator Hannah Sung of Frank + Oak, and Alexandra Novels with Matthew Futures — The City Designed; The Globe and Mail, Joshua Dawson, director of the Forsythe, Concordia’s 2017 What Is Important About Neves, Canada Research National Bank Initiative in Mordecai Richler Writer- City Design? with Carmela Chair of Global Emergent Entrepreneurship and Family In-Residence. Cucuzzella, Concordia Media at Concordia’s Business at Concordia’s concordia.ca/tol HIVES C R A “The work is the important thing. You have to believe [the essence of the work is] there, and it’s going to show itself.” NIVERSITY — Robert LePage, theatre director and producer U ORDIA C ON “Can you love, honour and cherish that [writing] C SIR GEORGE WILLIAMS UNIVERSITY’S SPRING 1967 CONVOCATION WAS HELD AT EXPO 67’S PLACE DES NATIONS. idea, in sickness and in writer’s block?” — Ann-Marie MacDonald, author and Concordia’s first Mordecai Richler Writer-in-Residence hile Canada celebrates its 150th anniversary, 2017 also Amos Saunders, former headmaster of Sir George Williams High W marks the 50th birthday of Montreal’s historic Expo 67. School; and Harold Crabtree, president of the Corporation of Sir “What I write are good, old-fashioned murder mysteries, 29 The World’s Fair, considered to be the most successful of the George Williams University. niversity 20th century, was held from April 27 to October 29 mainly on Île U but the solution is science-driven.” Sainte-Hélène — now the site of the La Ronde amusement park Dupuy delivered the keynote address. He challenged the young ordia — Kathy Reichs, forensic anthropologist and author c on — and the man-made Île Notre-Dame — now home to the Casino graduates to strive to help Canada take its rightful place in the C de Montréal and Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. Both are located just world as it entered its second century. “The task of universities south of the Island of Montreal in the Saint Lawrence River. is to prepare the human structure on which Canada can develop and prosper for years to come,” he said. “Considering our 2067 — THE FUTURECAST Spring 2017 is also the golden anniversary for the graduating resources, material and culture, we should be beaming with What will shift and shape our lives 50 years from now? classes of Loyola College and Sir George Williams University, enthusiasm and dynamism.” ■ How will 2067 be different? Is our future about cyborgs, Concordia’s founding institutions. The Sir George Williams flying cars and jetpacks, or is there more? 2067 is a futurecast — Class of ’67 had a special treat: their convocation took place at Concordia’s Homecoming 2017 will take place September 14 to 17. For a podcast about the future, about new big ideas that will Expo 67’s Place des Nations on Île Sainte-Hélène. More than more information, visit concordia.ca/homecoming. shape how we live. What big ideas will come next? 900 graduating students along with 5,000 parents, relatives, What’s in your future? This is 2067. friends and other guests attended the ceremony. To learn more about Expo 67, Montreal and Canada’s celebrations and Concordia’s related activities in this special year, visit concordia.ca/events/convergence-2017. Hosted by Francine Pelletier. Honorary degree recipients that year were Jean Drapeau, mayor of Montreal; Pierre Dupuy, commissioner-general of Expo 67; Gustave Gingras, executive director of Rehabilitation Institute of — Howard Bokser Visit concordia.ca/tol2067 to listen to the podcasts. Montreal; Gunnar Myrdal of Stockholm University in Sweden;
14 | spring 2017 concordia university magazine concordia university magazine spring 2017 | 15 FROM THE ARCHIVES
A Special Convocation HIVES C R A
NIVERSITY U ORDIA C ON C
SIR GEORGE WILLIAMS UNIVERSITY’S SPRING 1967 CONVOCATION WAS HELD AT EXPO 67’S PLACE DES NATIONS.
hile Canada celebrates its 150th anniversary, 2017 also Amos Saunders, former headmaster of Sir George Williams High W marks the 50th birthday of Montreal’s historic Expo 67. School; and Harold Crabtree, president of the Corporation of Sir The World’s Fair, considered to be the most successful of the George Williams University. 20th century, was held from April 27 to October 29 mainly on Île Sainte-Hélène — now the site of the La Ronde amusement park Dupuy delivered the keynote address. He challenged the young — and the man-made Île Notre-Dame — now home to the Casino graduates to strive to help Canada take its rightful place in the de Montréal and Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. Both are located just world as it entered its second century. “The task of universities south of the Island of Montreal in the Saint Lawrence River. is to prepare the human structure on which Canada can develop and prosper for years to come,” he said. “Considering our Spring 2017 is also the golden anniversary for the graduating resources, material and culture, we should be beaming with classes of Loyola College and Sir George Williams University, enthusiasm and dynamism.” ■ Concordia’s founding institutions. The Sir George Williams Class of ’67 had a special treat: their convocation took place at Concordia’s Homecoming 2017 will take place September 14 to 17. For Expo 67’s Place des Nations on Île Sainte-Hélène. More than more information, visit concordia.ca/homecoming. 900 graduating students along with 5,000 parents, relatives, friends and other guests attended the ceremony. To learn more about Expo 67, Montreal and Canada’s celebrations and Concordia’s related activities in this special year, visit Honorary degree recipients that year were Jean Drapeau, mayor concordia.ca/events/convergence-2017. of Montreal; Pierre Dupuy, commissioner-general of Expo 67; Gustave Gingras, executive director of Rehabilitation Institute of — Howard Bokser Montreal; Gunnar Myrdal of Stockholm University in Sweden;
concordia university magazine spring 2017 | 15
PEAK
PERFORMANCE
16 | spring 2017 concordia university magazine Researchers at Concordia’s PERFORM Centre investigate paths that lead to healthier lives
PATRICK MCDONAGH
hat does it take to live a good, healthy life, from childhood to old age? Genetics plays a Wrole, yet knowledge and healthy habits provide a significant boost to one’s quality and lifespan. The search for that type of knowl- edge is being carried out at Concordia’s PERFORM Centre, an interdisciplin- ary research hothouse that opened on the Loyola Campus in 2011. Its mission is to engage the community in practical research and share recipes for lifelong health and wellness. hter c
“Our success is largely due to our ability ha c S
to link research that spans multiple dis- ie l es ciplines,” says Habib Benali, PERFORM L Centre’s interim scientific director. “I’M INTERESTED IN HOW WELL AGING ADULTS CAN MANAGE MORE THAN ONE TASK AT THE SAME TIME, ESPECIALLY HOW THE ABILITY TO MULTITASK PLAYS OUT IN MOBILITY,” EXPLAINS KAREN LI, A PROFESSOR IN CONCORDIA’S For instance, the research of DEPARTMENT OF PSYCHOLOGY. Jennifer McGrath, associate profes- sor in the Department of Psychology A MATTER OF BALANCE Li’s team of undergraduate, graduate and PERFORM Chair in Childhood Does standing on a moving bus become and postdoctoral students gave subjects Preventive Health and Data Science, more challenging with age? Using in their 60s and 70s mind-challenging focuses on how sleep impacts health and PERFORM’s functional analysis suite tasks to perform at the same time obesity in children. Other research- for assessing balance and walking, as physical activities, to see if there ers have worked with Les Grands Ballets Karen Li, a professor in Concordia’s are trade-offs between the two. The Canadiens to see the effects of dance Department of Psychology, has tested research showed that, as people age, and movement therapy on elderly pop- how well subjects can stand on stable they need to concentrate more while ulations, and studied the long-term and moving platforms. She measures they are active, to avoid stumbling. impact of a fetus’s environment and muscle activity and body movements by To help combat the issue, Li worked cardiovascular diseases on the brain. using motion-capture technology like with a group of 42 older adults to (See “Top PERFORMers” on page 19.) that used in CGI animation. develop training strategies that could
concordia university magazine spring 2017 | 17 THE RESEARCH OF JENNIFER MCGRATH, PERFORM CHAIR IN CHILDHOOD PREVENTIVE HEALTH AND DATA SCIENCE, FOCUSES ON THE ROLE SLEEP PLAYS IN CHILDREN'S HEART HEALTH AND OBESITY — SPECIFICALLY, WHY POOR FAMILIES HAVE POOR HEALTH. “This finding shows that one program doesn’t fit everyone. Training must be tailored to the individual.” niversity U ordia c on C protect or even expand their brainpow- LABEL LITERACY obesity were relatively weak. er. There is little investigation into the Suppose we are what we eat, as the old “[There’s a] need for further impact of combining mental and physi- saying suggests. Yet do we actually know public health education regarding cal exercise. She therefore explored how what we — or our children — eat? What how to use nutrition labels” — especially well combined training worked and how difference might it make if we do? as changes to labels are expected soon to best deliver it: either by doing two Nutrition labels are mandatory in in Canada and the U.S. — Kakinami’s things at once — for instance, perform- prepackaged foods in Canada, the article concludes. ing tasks using a computer while riding United States and Europe, and adult “There are a lot of gaps in how we a stationary bike — or one at a time. consumers who read these labels show measure both nutrition label use and The evidence so far suggests that per- better health. However, there has been nutrition knowledge. For example, per- forming in sequence offers the most little investigation into the impact of haps people who consistently buy certain benefit, especially improvements in parents’ knowledge on their children’s products don’t check labels because they short-term working memory. That’s wellbeing. “I’m interested in figuring already know what’s on them” she says. what we use whenever we acquire, inte- out how our home environments re- “For people who report not using labels, grate and modify new information, such late to our health and nutrition,” says do they not use them because they don’t as when we engage in conversation. Lisa Kakinami, assistant professor in know about them or because they buy Li also learned that the folks who the Department of Mathematics and fresh foods with no labels? It’s only when gain the most from intellectual exer- Statistics. we start doing research that we realize the cises are those not already doing them In a recent study published in the limitations of existing data.” on their own. Similarly, physical ex- Journal of Nutrition Education and Kakinami is now collaborating with ercise programs best assist those not Behavior, Kakinami explores how fellow PERFORM researchers Sylvia already physically active. “This finding parents use nutrition labels Santosa and Angela Alberga, along with is intuitive, but no one else has asked the when buying food Department of Psychology professor question and shown these results through for their children, Carsten Wrosch and McGill University research,” she says. “It shows that one and the relation of researchers, to investigate how people program doesn’t fit everyone. Training parents’ nutrition make up for unhealthy behaviours. must be tailored to the individual.” knowledge to For instance, if you eat junk food Her future research plans include using childhood obesity. in the morning, will you be more the centre’s MRI scanner and extensive Her results showed active in compensating for that, gait- and balance-analysis equipment that parents with to investigate whether different train- good nutrition “PERFORM CONNECTS ME WITH ing programs lead to changes in the brain knowledge generally RESEARCHERS WHO HAVE LOTS OF DATA AND WANT PEOPLE TO HELP THEM USE itself. “We can pinpoint the aspects of raised slimmer chil- IT,” SAYS LISA KAKINAMI, ASSISTANT walking or balance that are improved,” she dren, yet correlations PROFESSOR IN THE DEPARTMENT OF
ard MATHEMATICS AND STATISTICS. HER says. “We can then try to tie those in with between nutrition la- W RESEARCH EXAMINES HOW PARENTS USE NUTRITION LABELS WHEN BUYING FOOD avid any brain changes we might observe.” bel use and childhood D FOR THEIR CHILDREN.
18 | spring 2017 concordia university magazine Top PERFORMers A sample of recent research news from Concordia’s PERFORM Centre or eat more junk food because you figure ⁄ A study published in Human Brain Mapping you’ve already missed your nutrition shows that a fetus’s environment in the objectives for the day? womb can affect the brain later in life. The “By measuring day-to-day behaviours team of researchers included PERFORM we can learn what impact they have on Centre’s Linda Booij, associate professor in obesity measures and perhaps even Concordia’s Department of Psychology. cardiovascular health,” says Kakinami. ⁄ A study published in Preventive Medicine suggests that both poverty and parenting TESTING STRESS style are important predictors of childhood We all experience stress sometimes. health. Lisa Kakinami, assistant professor in It can motivate us to finish projects, Concordia’s Department of Mathematics and hter c submit assignments and get things ha Statistics, led the study, in collaboration with c S
done. “When stress is prolonged ie the PERFORM Centre. l es and chronic, it has a negative impact L on health,” says Department of “THERE ARE SIMPLY NOT ENOUGH RESOURCES FOR ⁄ Watching television for more than two HEALTH CARE, SO WE NEED TO KNOW HOW WE CAN hours a day shows a link to lower school Psychology associate professor Jean- BEST ALLOCATE THEM,” SAYS DEPARTMENT OF PSYCHOLOGY ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR JEAN-PHILIPPE readiness skills in kindergarteners, accord- Philippe Gouin. He holds the Canada GOUIN, WHO STUDIES STRESS IN PARENTS OF ing to a study published in the Journal of Research Chair in Chronic Stress CHILDREN WITH AUTISM. Developmental & Behavioral Pediatrics, co- and Health and studies the stress authored by PERFORM Centre researcher experienced by parents of children of children with autism, of typically Caroline Fitzpatrick. with autism. developing children and of children Research shows that parents of chil- with intellectual disabilities — during ⁄ Fitzpatrick also co-authored a study pub- dren with autism report more stress, their child’s transition to adulthood. lished in the Journal of Adolescent Health depressive symptoms and physical While their children are in school, that suggests high schoolers who feel less health issues than other parents. parents of children with autism receive safe at school have decreased learning po- tential and more emotional problems. “There seems to be something uniquely services through educational and stressful about parenting a child with healthcare systems. That stops when ⁄ Another study co-authored by Fitzpatrick, autism,” he says. the children’s school day ends. “This published in Intelligence, found that pre- For a study published in the inter- means a gap or loss in services for many schoolers with poor short-term recall are disciplinary journal Family Relations months or even years, creating a really more at risk of dropping out of high school. in 2016, Gouin interviewed about 60 difficult situation,” he says. “At the parents of children with autism. He same time, these parents are aging, so ⁄ PERFORM Centre researcher Claudine Gauthier, assistant professor in the measured a host of physiological in- their immune systems are becoming Department of Physics, won the na- dicators, including C-reactive protein less able to cope.” tional Heart and Stroke Foundation New (CRP) levels, that can predict increased Gouin will study the impact of this Investigator Award for 2015-16, as well as the cardiovascular risk. The higher the CRP move to adulthood, recruiting around foundation’s Henry J.M. Barnett Scholarship. level, the greater the stress. 220 parents for the study just before Gauthier’s research seeks to understand the Researchers matched these levels their children undergo this transition impact of heart diseases on the brain. with the caregiver’s ability to receive and then following them over time. formal support, such as from schools He will then compare the increased ⁄ Maryse Fortin, PERFORM Centre postdoc- and programs, and informal support risk that the three groups of parents toral associate in preventive health research, is using the centre’s advanced imaging suite from friends, family and others. “People develop for a range of chronic diseases. to study the spine and find methods of easing with greater both formal and informal The study has practical ramifications. chronic back pain. supports of types showed reduced CRP,” “There are simply not enough resources Gouin says. for healthcare, so we need to know how ⁄ The PERFORM Centre and the Paris Saint- To assess if there is direct link we can best allocate them,” says Gouin. Germain Academy Canada have teamed up between supports and stress levels, “Parents who are facing these issues for an injury-prevention program. Concordia Gouin is conducting a five-year study, want resources for their children, so students enrolled in PERFORM’s Athletic funded by the Canadian Institutes this kind of research will help identify Therapy Clinic give the academy’s young of Health Research. He is looking at what kind of resources will be most soccer players a one-hour, individualized musculoskeletal evaluation. stress in three parent groups — parents useful, and when.”
concordia university magazine spring 2017 | 19 STAIRWAYS TO something that translates to something activities reported in this data to see if it BRAIN HEALTH people can easily understand.” had the same relation to brain aging as While Jason Steffener was conducting Before joining Concordia for a two- education did.” research at the PERFORM Centre, year position as a researcher, Steffener Steffener tracked the impact of walk- he unexpectedly found himself at the performed research at Columbia ing, running, swimming, playing tennis, centre of a media frenzy. It began when University in New York City. He identi- gardening and climbing flights of stairs, his study into differences between fied markers for determining whether a finding that stair-climbing was the only chronological and brain age and their brain seemed older or younger than its exercise that showed a truly significant connection to education and physical actual age. “It’s interesting if your brain correlation to brain age. activity was published in Neurobiology of looks a little younger than your chrono- “I wasn’t expecting that. I anticipated Aging in 2016. logical age, but even more interesting that running or swimming would stand His conclusion — that levels of educa- if this can be related to something you out,” he says. “But stair-climbing? That tion and, surprisingly, flights of stairs have done,” he says. involved a lot of head-scratching.” climbed daily correlated with brains that “Until then I had focused on the ef- Steffener has two hypotheses, so far seemed younger than their chronologi- fect of education on brain aging, finding untested. The first: his data drew on cal age — was reported in newspapers, that higher levels of education were cor- people mainly living in downtown set- TV stations and science blogs around the related with younger-looking brains,” tings, who would regularly be going up globe. “I was definitely surprised by the says Steffener. “At Concordia, inspired and down subway or apartment-build- response,” says Steffener. “It was the by the PERFORM Centre’s focus on ex- ing stairs. Those who live in suburban first time I had done a press release for a ercise and healthy living across the bungalows would not have the same de- paper, but also the first time I had done lifespan, I started looking at physical mands. However, Steffener didn’t have the necessary information to explore this hypothesis. “I wasn’t expecting that. I anticipated The second: “Stair-climbing is a mod- that running or swimming would stand out. erate form of physical activity, often just a few minutes at a time, that works muscles But stair-climbing? That involved a lot and the heart,” he says. “So perhaps it’s of head-scratching.” a form of mild interval training, taking place throughout the day.” His inspiration for this study came from the PERFORM Centre. “I saw older people exercising daily at PERFORM, which gave a human aspect to the num- The Concordia University Alumni Association lets you: bers I was analyzing,” says Steffener, • Keep in touch with fellow graduates who joined the University of Ottawa’s Psychology Department in September • Enjoy exciting programs and activities 2016, although he remains a PERFORM researcher member. • Take advantage of special benefi ts and savings “After one Christmas break I chatted with an 82-year-old man who worked out nearly every day, and he complained that Find out more: concordia.ca/alumni a lack of snowfalls over the break meant he didn’t get enough workouts shovelling snow,” he says. “It made me hope — maybe at 82 I can be as robust as that guy, and looking forward to snowstorms.”
Follow the PERFORM Centre on Twitter, Save the date: @CentrePerform and Facebook, 20 7 ALUMNI RECOGNITION AWARDS PERFORM RESEARCHER MEMBER facebook.com/ConcordiaPerformCentre JASON STEFFENER’S STUDY SHOWED May , 20 7 THAT THE MORE FLIGHTS OF STAIRS —Patrick McDonagh, PhD 98, is a A PERSON CLIMBS, AND THE MORE Montreal freelance writer. YEARS OF SCHOOL A PERSON Every year the Concordia University Alumni Association COMPLETES, THE “YOUNGER” THEIR BRAIN PHYSICALLY APPEARS. honours valuable contributions made by alumni, students,
niversity friends, faculty and sta . U
ordia For more details, visit concordia.ca/alumni/recognitionawards. c on C 20 | spring 2017 concordia university magazine The Concordia University Alumni Association lets you: • Keep in touch with fellow graduates • Enjoy exciting programs and activities • Take advantage of special benefi ts and savings
Find out more: concordia.ca/alumni
Save the date: 20 7 ALUMNI RECOGNITION AWARDS May , 20 7 Every year the Concordia University Alumni Association honours valuable contributions made by alumni, students, friends, faculty and sta . For more details, visit concordia.ca/alumni/recognitionawards. Finding the sweet spot in the work world
IN AN EVER-CHANGING JOB MARKET,
GRADUATES CAN FIND NEW ROUTES
TO EMPLOYMENT OR, INCREASINGLY,
START THEIR OWN BUSINESSES JESSE STANIFORTH it’s created a lot more opportunities for “If you pigeonhole yourself into a very people to have these new businesses that specific job role, it’s going to be very dif- generation or two ago, new fill the niches the large players don’t ficult,” he says. “But if you specialized in graduates often began careers really want to touch themselves.” something very narrow, you can still le- in which they remained for As students, Desgroseilliers and verage those skills. If you have a degree Ayears, sometimes their entire working Andrew Henry, BEng 14, began a proj- in a very specific type of accounting, it’s lives. Today, however, that entire ect that became Apisen. The startup all a question of whether you can still use understanding of work is changing. works with companies to implement those skills — for a different type of ac- As Bill Morneau, Canada’s Minister of specialized electronic and electrome- counting, for financial analysis or for who Finance, told the country in October chanical systems for their products. knows what. It’s all just making use of the 2016, members of the work force need Through Concordia’s District 3 Center skills rather than trying to find that ‘uni- to adapt to the notion of “job churn” — for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, corn’ job that might never exist.” moving from one job to the next, with a the two prepared to take Apisen from an This is the way of the world, says handful of jobs over a lifetime. idea to a real-world company. Six months District 3 director Xavier-Henri Hervé, after graduation, they received investment BEng 87, LLD 11, who founded the capital and began to build their venture. centre as a way to help students gain Desgroseilliers remains connected experience with innovative and entre- to District 3 through its Innovation preneurial projects. Projects, a rigorous three-month “Thirty or 50 years ago, people stayed process for Concordia undergraduate with the same company their whole and graduate students that will challenge career,” Hervé says. “Back then the life them to create innovative solutions for expectancy of a corporation was 50 years established organizations (d3center.ca/ or more. The average age of a company is en/innovation-projects). now below 14. It’s a huge change. What Today, Desgroseilliers says he does far you have at the other end — because you less engineering than he imagined he would. have online learning and other tools — is
RYAN DESGROSEILLIERS AND FELLOW CONCORDIA Instead, his time is mostly spent managing. that people can actually grab skills fairly FACULTY OF ENGINEERING AND COMPUTER SCIENCE That’s fine — he’s found that adaptability quickly. As soon as there’s a demand for GRADUATE ANDREW HENRY CO-FOUNDED APISEN OPERATIONS SERVICES IN 2014 IN MONTREAL. is the soul of launching a business. something, like a certain type of coder, that shortage is going to last six months or a year, and then suddenly there are “If you have a degree in a very specific type more than you know what to do with.” of accounting, it’s a question of whether you BEGINNING BEFORE THEY BEGIN can still use those skills — for a different type of Since the market for jobs in art therapy accounting, financial analysis or who knows what.” is competitive and the field is small, Noriko Baba, BFA 12, MFA 16, began researching potential positions even Yet for Concordia’s newest grads, the before she entered her creative arts labour-market forecast remains coloured therapies master’s degree program. with hope. The key, however, is for job As a student, she worked as a fine arts seekers to take a different approach to mentor for Concordia’s Student Success their career options — or to look at op- Centre. Even then, she says, “I was tions such as running their own show. already job searching. I was looking for (See the sidebar “Why owning a company a supervisor — if you become a therapist is just good business” on page 26.) or a counsellor, you need a supervisor, Even though companies may not of- even after graduation.” fer the same type of job security they Because she completed an internship once did, that can create new opportu- and earned experience in a variety nities, says Ryan Desgroseilliers, BEng of different operations, Baba found a 14, CEO of Apisen Operations Services job quickly. in Montreal. “A lot of companies are For these reasons, the District 3 team
intentionally separating out the func- DISTRICT 3 DIRECTOR XAVIER-HENRI HERVÉ wants to get students acclimatized to the SAYS WE SHOULD ANTICIPATE HOW NEW tions they used to have internally, so TECHNOLOGIES WILL CHANGE THE WORLD. demands of a very modern job market
concordia university magazine spring 2017 | 23 WHY OWNING A COMPANY alone. Elbow grease keeps the wheels IS JUST GOOD BUSINESS oiled and moving. Resilient economies are characterized by people who are on the Small enterprise is Canada’s main ground starting their own companies or economic driver — and there’s acquiring existing ones. Purchasing a good reason for that. a business is an intriguing option. They can have a built- TRY ONE MONTH ENJOY FULL DIGITAL ACCESS ne of the oldest busi- in client base and have a good Onesses in the world reputation to work with. This TO THE GLOBE AND MAIL is Antinori, a family-run option tends to be less risky FOR JUST NORIKO BABA BEGAN RESEARCHING POTENTIAL Italian winemaker based in than starting from scratch. POSITIONS EVEN BEFORE SHE ENTERED HER CREATIVE Tuscany. It was founded in According to a study published ARTS THERAPIES MASTER’S DEGREE PROGRAM, WHICH HELPED HER FIND A JOB WHEN SHE GRADUATED. 1385 and, 26 generations later, by PriceWaterhouseCoopers in 2014, has the same bloodline corking bottles 60 per cent of Canada’s gross domestic ¢ GLOBE before they enter it. Students go to uni- of its signature wines. product is generated by family businesses. versity hoping to be introduced to the Many legacy companies started as fam- About six-million people are employed knowledge they need to thrive in the ily businesses. Curious, isn’t it? Longevity within these organizations. In Quebec, 99 working world, yet more and more the often favours enterprises that are backed there are more than 220,000 businesses, $19.99/month thereafter* knowledge each job requires is connected by interlocking, parent-to-child inheritance. of which 98 per cent have fewer than 100 UNLIMITED with exposure to the outside world. For just over 40 years I’ve run my own employees. Taken together, they are an “The most fundamental thing is to business — the pan-Canadian, Montreal- incredible engine for quality job creation start getting experience in your field of based real estate firm Canderel. My and the driver for our economic pros- passion and in what you see the world company’s first big development was a perity. A number of Canada’s oldest and of tomorrow being built with before you nine-storey office building constructed at most successful companies are managed graduate,” explains Hervé. “In today’s 2000 Peel St. in 1980. Today we manage by birds of the same kindred feather. The generation, it’s happening much faster almost 24 million square feet of property names of Molson, Desmarais, Thomson, than people imagine. Think of Tesla across the country. Weston and Bombardier come to mind. with self-driving cars — two years ago, While Canderel isn’t categorically An obvious question for aspiring everyone would have said, ‘Yeah, sure.’” small — not anymore — I’ve managed business owners to ask is, “Where do A father himself, Hervé says that and spearheaded its growth since the I begin?” My short answer is to start parents must be aware of how surrounded company’s infancy. Over the years, I’ve by building a tool kit that consists of we are right now by technologies poised gained insights that explain the longevity pertinent skills and experiences. Education to change forever the way we exist in the and growth of smaller businesses and, was my real starting point. world. “The startup is a job unlike any especially, family enterprises. It can be Concordia's Bob and Ray Briscoe Centre other job,” Hervé says. “As a parent, it’s summarized as: ownership and passion. in Business Ownership Studies offers a hard to imagine the startup world is not Hold that thought on the pre-Renais- certificate program to support aspiring risky. It’s a super-fast-moving world sance Antinori company and my own business owners. It’s the kind of opportu- that everyone needs to understand, but modern business. First, let’s consider the nity that makes the John Molson School of the parents of most of these 20-year- broader economic realities — and in some Business the consummate leader in hands- olds do their kids a favour by thinking cases sour grapes — that provide the on learning. differently and pushing their kids to get larger backdrop. Former Wall Street banker turned self-help the experience! More than just working According to the United States Bureau of guru James Altucher said: “If you don’t at Starbucks, or serving coffee at a Labor Statistics, unemployment rates south choose the life you want to live, chances traditional company, but doing some of our Canadian border as of 2017 have are, someone else is going to choose it for real stuff.” returned to the pre-Great Recession level you.” A way I try to inspire would-be busi- Hervé stresses that the work is out of 4.7 per cent. However, many of the jobs ness owners follows Altucher’s logic — with there. It’s just a matter of harnessing added to the market are low-wage and low- a slight modification. Create your own plan the adaptability of a workforce and skilled. Statistics Canada casts a larger net or find an area whose mission you identify SUBSCRIBER–ONLY FEATURES POWERFUL INVESTMENT TOOLS EXCLUSIVE EVENTS MUST-READ BOOKS job market very different from all in defining unemployment, which helps ex- with strongly and, most importantly, are Enjoy exclusive business, Track and manage your portfolio Enjoy exclusive events Download a selection those we’ve seen in recent memory — plain why our national rate is 6.6 per cent passionate about. investor and politics content with Globe Recognition** of complimentary harnessing it, and being able to use it as of March 2017. Quebec’s 6.2 per cent Globe eBooks to each individual’s advantage. edges on that country-wide figure. —Jonathan Wener, BComm 71, While governments have crucial pull on is chancellor of Concordia and —Jesse Staniforth is a Montreal levers that determine economic soundness, chairman and CEO of Canderel. 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T17-36938-Concordia Magazine Winter 2017.indd 17 2017-02-01 4:08 PM NEXT GENERATION
Concordia considers much more than technological change in its approach to the future of higher education IT’S AN ATTITUDE OF OPENNESS
JAMES GIBBONS about the future and how to best serve post-digital revolution,” Carr says. educational needs in a changing world.” “These include the development of oncordia President Alan In the present-day education frame- artificial intelligence and robotics.” . Shepard recently visited alumni work, “next generation” may evoke Technology certainly does plays its in Canada, the United States, 18- to 21-year olds entering university part. “It’s true that there are trans- ChinaC and the United Arab Emirates. classrooms for the first time. They’re formative, highly accelerated shifts Looking ahead to the coming decade and making their way from high school or associated with the post-digital revo- beyond, Shepard explained his vision CEGEPs to begin a new journey at places lution,” Carr says. “These include the of the future of education and of talent. such as Concordia. Within the broader development of artificial intelligence Those who attended the reunions heard public consciousness, it may conjure the and robotics.” him describe Concordia as “Canada’s exponential rate of increase, prolifera- Concordia’s own Centre for Applied next-generation university.” tion and capability of digital power. Synthetic Biology serves as an example What does “next generation” mean? Graham Carr, Concordia’s pro- of how the university is up to speed in “When we say next generation, that vost and vice-president of Academic that regard. Recently, professors David means trying to align the quality of Affairs, says there’s more to being Kwan and Steve Shih received $250,000 teaching and learning opportunities next generation than entering classes to add robotics that automate part of to larger trends and the grand or new iDevices. Yet technology cer- their research workflow. The professors challenges facing society,” Shepard tainly does plays its part. “It’s true are developing cancer-fighting drugs. explains. “Concordia’s very DNA that there are transformative, highly (See “Boost for synthetic biology is next generation. Today we are thinking accelerated shifts associated with the research” on page 6.)
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IT’S AN ATTITUDE OF OPENNESS
Yet “next-gen” goes further. “That PARTICIPATION “There are three qualities in the arts kind of research is really in the fron- BETWEEN DISCIPLINES and humanities that are essential to sci- tal lobes,” says Carr, referring to areas Rebecca Duclos, dean of Concordia’s entific progress,” says Duclos. The first within the pure sciences that, in some Faculty of Fine Arts, underscores the is improvisation — finding on-the-spot cases, sound like works of science fiction. next-generation characteristic of solutions — a trait found in the perform- Next generation is an attitude that can bringing those from different areas of ing arts. Another is intuition, which be applied much more broadly and with study and expertise together. “We can’t involves a well-honed sense of oneself greater implications. think about innovation and change if and of a situation at hand. And the last is “If you look at the humanities and arts, we’re only thinking about technology. iteration. Scientists repeat experiments part of it involves a capacity and respon- Arts and culture are pathways to to validate their results. Within the arts, siveness to change,” he says. “For example speculation and new narratives about iteration is about pushing the limits a bit — how do we deal with the diversity of in- more radical futures,” says Duclos. further each time. formation we receive that is of extremely Enter the STEM to STEAM Duclos mentions that Concordia’s mixed quality, whether it’s from investiga- movement. STEM is an acronym for nine strategic directions encapsulate the tive reporting, Twitter or elsewhere?” science, technology, engineering larger picture of what it means to be next Responding to change is one thing. and mathematics, representing areas generation. Of those institutional orien- As Carr describes it, the tuned-in nature often associated with the post-digital tations — Go Beyond — is an area where of being next-generation involves all revolution. The “A” reminds us of the the arts have a natural advantage. “I think kinds of considerations — and, ideally, critical significance of the arts to these STEAM is attractive to people because experimentations. applied fields. it’s inclusive, it tries to break down that
concordia university magazine spring 2017 | 27 THE UNIVERSITY’S SENIOR ADMINISTRATION INCLUDES CONCORDIA PRESIDENT ALAN SHEPARD; GRAHAM CARR, PROVOST AND VICE-PRESIDENT OF ACADEMIC AFFAIRS; REBECCA DUCLOS, DEAN OF THE FACULTY OF FINE ARTS; ISABEL DUNNIGAN, DIRECTOR OF CENTRE FOR CONTINUING EDUCATION; AMIR ASIF, DEAN OF THE FACULTY OF ENGINEERING AND COMPUTER SCIENCE; AND STÉPHANE BRUTUS, INTERIM DEAN OF THE JOHN MOLSON SCHOOL OF BUSINESS. borderline between knowledge creation Embedded Faculty Initiative, colleagues Libre, the off-campus co-working site in and outreach,” she says. observe and explore areas beyond their Mile End. Alongside its talks, workshops, As an example, Duclos refers to a usual focus, to renew intellectual curios- courses and research projects, the working group that pairs Concordia fine ity across the university. institute supports Futurists in Residence, arts students with neuroscientists. “We As Graham Carr says: “That’s a a group trying to tackle some of the were approached by the Brain Repair huge piece of the next-gen mindset challenges expressed by Duclos. and Integrative Neuroscience Program — to value and enable convergence. “We are creating a powerhouse of in- [BRaIN] at the McGill University Health Convergence in research, in teaching, terdisciplinarity,” says Roy. “We do this Centre,” she reports. “They wanted to in training, between what’s happening by encouraging connections between use the science and data emerging from inside the university and what’s people, to create spaces where ideas their laboratory and have artists com- happening outside.” can be freely exchanged. We cultivate municate the output to the public in boldness and creativity in the way we unexpected ways.” URBANITES approach things, to establish a vibrant The result is the Convergence Being tuned into a world beyond the intellectual environment where Initiative: Perceptions of Neuroscience university is apparent in the university’s everyone is actively contributing to (convergenceinitiative.org), which pairs global partnerships and 7,000 interna- our shared academic project.” Concordia art students with PhD and tional students, all of whom bring their Concordia’s other academic facul- post-doctoral candidates at McGill. The own socio-cultural identities. Concordia ties are also fully invested in the next 17 current projects include portraits of has gone even further with the Institute generation. “We are probing some of post-traumatic stress disorders and visu- for Urban Futures. society’s most pressing challenges,” says alizations of neurons firing in the brain. André Roy, dean of Concordia’s Faculty Stéphane Brutus, interim dean at the Duclos says it’s an illuminating ex- of Arts and Science, asks the question: John Molson School of Business (JMSB). perience for all of those involved. “It’s what will Montreal look like in the year “JMSB will continue to adapt and grow cross-cultural as well as cross-disci- 2050? “If you were to draw a demograph- to address how our new reality affects plinary. She explains that part of the ic map of where populations are going teaching and knowledge transfer to the magic is watching how the different most, you’d see what’s called a ‘gravity increased internationalization and types of training affect the perspectives distribution’ toward urban centres.” diversity of the student body.” of the researchers and the artists. It’s been estimated that as much as “A successful next-generation Together, they negotiate new entry 78 per cent of people worldwide will be engineering faculty will collaborate points to reinterpret the data while still concentrated in cities by 2050. “This with other disciplines,” says Amir Asif, respecting the science. “The questions presents all sorts of challenges,” says dean of the Faculty of Engineering an artist might ask of a neuroscientist Duclos. “How do you feed that many and Computer Science. “It will explore stop them dead in their tracks. They had people, where do you house them, will collaborations with business, health, never had their work translated through our Métro be able to transport such in- law, communication, arts, design someone else’s sensibilities.” creased numbers, what does it mean for and environmental science to address Another next-generation move with- the education system?” the economic, political, social in the Faculty of Fine Arts is to place The Institute for Urban Futures is and environmental context faculty members in various laborato- part of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences’ of the engineering and computer ries within the Faculty of Engineering Centre for Interdisciplinary Studies in science professions.” and Computer Science as well as the Society and Culture that takes advantage Other examples of Concordia’s Faculty of Arts and Science. Through the of Concordia’s membership in Temps approach abound. Trudeau Foundation
28 | spring 2017 concordia university magazine scholarship recipient Cherry Simon, In our fast-paced society with evo- NEXT-GENERATION who’s pursuing a PhD in the Department lution in technology, industry and ACROSS THE BOARD of Communication Studies, is working academics, more people want to return Other examples at the university abound. on a documentary film about prostitu- to school to build their professional tool Concordia’s District 3 Center for tion as a form of colonial and patriarchal box or hone their skills. Innovation — a startup accelerator where violence against Indigenous women and Dunnigan points out that we live lon- entrepreneurial ideas are turned into girls. “I applied to Concordia because ger and are healthier than ever before. real services and products — is one piece the communications program has a According to Statistics Canada, life ex- of the university’s larger picture and strong emphasis on research creation,” pectancy in Canada today is 81 years. strategy. (See “Finding the sweet spot in she says. That, as she adds, is a reason that old the work world” on page 22.) Another is Sandeep Singh Sandhu, BEng 12, now rules don’t apply to a new status quo. the new Aviation Think Tank — the first a senior diagnostics engineer for Tesla “Concordia’s Continuing Education is of its kind in the world — at the John Motors in Tilburg, Netherlands, ben- best known as a training ground for life. Molson School of Business. Concordia’s efited from his work terms through It offers distinct opportunities to bet- online learning platform, KnowledgeOne Concordia’s Institute for Co-operative ter answer the personal, professional (knowledgeone.ca), encompasses the Education. “You get real work experi- and organizational growth needs of our next-gen philosophy too. ence while studying, and it helps you society. One day at a time, CCE invites “One area that can serve as a case study understand which direction you want to people from different backgrounds and of how the next generation of students pursue with your career,” he says. stages of life to take part in our trend- looks for something different is Concordia setting training,” she says. Library,” says Carr. Now in Phase 3 — the TO EACH THEIR OWN “For example, we’re develop- second to last — of a massive transforma- NEXT GENERATION ing a seminar series called the Third tion that started in 2015, the space has Another ingredient of the next-gen Season. This series addresses a added new functionality. Collaboration, formula consists of education for population that has high-level com- experimentation and communication those approaching or beyond the petencies in their professions and, in tools for research have all been added traditional university years. Whether some cases, they’re retired. We find through the reimagined space. a person’s dream is to design a hit among this population a strong desire “I think what distinguishes Concordia smartphone app, learn leadership to continue to develop their under- from others is that we have a multilevel skills or find their place in the standing of life and society through approach,” says Carr. “We teach and volunteer world, Concordia’s Centre relevant and meaningful educational think about training students — though for Continuing Education (CCE) has experiences in order to continue con- also about how to incubate and encour- something for everyone. tributing to their community.” age truly next-generation research.” “We take care of students from Taking a next-generation approach Shepard adds, “Empowering and the ages of 18 to 100,” says Isabel doesn’t just impact 18-year-olds. “It is engaging our community are central Dunnigan, CCE director of centre. the next generation of all community to our mission.” Through the accelerated movements clusters,” she says. “The next generation in society, knowledge and technol- is the future. We need to stay flexible For more about Concordia's ogy development, it’s given even more and visionary in our program develop- next-generation thinking, visit people an appetite to gain an edge that ment and delivery. It’s continuous, it concordia.ca/about/next-generation. relates to either personal or profes- does not have an end. CCE’s mission is —James Gibbons, BA 11, MA 13, is a special sional needs.” to stay attentive and moving.” projects writer at Concordia.
concordia university magazine spring 2017 | 29 STUDENT PHOTOGRAPHY
HOWARD BOKSER
Photography by Jérôme Nadeau, BFA 11, MFA 16 Roloff Beny ontreal-based artist Jérôme M Nadeau, MFA 16, describes his images as “indexical traces of Foundation themselves. Two mirrors facing each other, infinitely reflecting themselves.” Fellowship in Nadeau was the recipient of the Roloff Beny Foundation Fellowship Photography: in Photography in 2014. The $10,000 fellowship is awarded yearly by the Jérôme Nadeau Concordia Department of Studio Arts’ photography program to a graduate student for his or her outstanding artistic and academic achievement. In 2013 Nadeau also won a Mildred Lande and Margot Lande Graduate Scholarship in Photography. The Roloff Beny Fellowship allows a student to pursue a photography project shown at a later date. Nadeau will ex- hibit the first instalment of his resulting work, Quiet Qualms, in spring 2017 at the artist space REPENTLESS in Montreal. Nadeau explains that Quiet Qualms was inspired by Argentinian writer Jorge Luis Borges. He used the fellowship funds to record video footage at the Borges Labyrinth of the Cini Foundation in Venice, Italy, and two other Italian labyrinths in May 2016. “Exploring mazes as unknown fields of u incidences, I want to represent reality as adea N an indecipherable, inescapable mesh,”
érôme Nadeau says. J
JÉRÔME NADEAU IS FOUNDER OF SOON.TW, In the multi-channel video A CONTEMPORARY ART GALLERY AND PUBLISHING installation Quiet Qualms, “The camera PLATFORM DEDICATED TO THE PRODUCTION OF ARTISTS' BOOKS, MONOGRAPHS AND MULTIPLES. follows a lover, seemingly distant, roaming around, seeking exit,” he writes. “Looking for something that can’t be found, a void, nothingness.” Nadeau appreciates the creative hothouse atmosphere of Concordia’s photography program. “It was a stimu- lating environment,” he says. “The ongoing conversation with professors and peers was precious.” jeromenadeau.com
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érôme J
QUIET QUALMS A timely A CENTURY AT look back and ahead as the Loyola Campus turns 100
32 | spring 2017 concordia university magazine JULIE GEDEON That future will see the Loyola Campus enter its second century, as it celebrates ndré Roy, dean of Concordia’s its 100th anniversary in 2016-17. The Faculty of Arts and Science, Jesuit college’s first buildings on the enjoys a distinctive perspective west-end Montreal site opened in the Afrom his office on the Loyola Campus. fall of 1916. Since then, the campus His workplace in the Administration has evolved as an educational and Building is one of his favourite spots at cultural hub that has maintained a the university. “It’s the ability to distinct character in harmony with its connect the past to now and the future now primarily residential surroundings. that makes me really appreciate this space,” Roy says. “The century-old architecture and elaborate woodwork have me imaging the echoing steps of the Jesuit teachers walking the corridors to their class-
rooms and residence,” he adds. niversity “Yet when I look out my window U ordia across the courtyard I see the Centre c on for Structural and Functional Genomics C ANDRÉ ROY, DEAN OF THE FACULTY OF ARTS AND SCIENCE, Building, for example, and envision IS A STRONG PROPONENT OF THE LOYOLA CAMPUS. HE REPORTS THAT A NEW PROJECT WILL HELP KEEP THE what a difference the scientific research LOCAL COMMUNITY AWARE OF THE CAMPUS ENGAGEMENTS. “THERE ARE MANY LECTURES, CAFÉ DISCUSSIONS, PUBLIC being done at this campus will make GARDENING OPPORTUNITIES AND WELLNESS ACTIVITIES to our future.” THAT WE NEED TO PROMOTE BETTER.”
THEN AND NOW
concordia university magazine spring 2017 | 33 ON THE FARM universities. “That’s why the original Work proceeded in stages to accom- After becoming an independent structures have such an Oxford charac- modate a limited budget. The first two institution in 1896, Loyola became ter to them,” says Miriam Posner, BSc buildings, the Refectory and Junior incorporated as a college by the 74, MBA 89, manager of Planning and Building — home of the high school — Government of Quebec to provide Academic Facilities for Concordia’s were the first to be constructed between a classic curriculum in English, Faculty of Arts and Science. Posner 1913 and 1916, along with the first two although it maintained French as a has worked at the university for more storeys of the Administration Building. vital component. The Jesuits, led by than four decades. Slattery, who also wrote Loyola and Father Gregory O’Bryan, arranged for Instead of designing one building, the Montreal: A History in 1962, described 42 acres (17 hectares) of farmland to architects respected MacMahon’s vision the new college and grounds as mani- be purchased from Arthur Décarie in “to follow the modern English tendency festing the rector’s taste in every way, 1900. The newly acquired property — a towards separate buildings for each de- despite others wanting greater frugality long but pleasant 8-km horse-and- partment, to connect these buildings to exercised: “For example, the mag- buggy ride from the city — remained cloisters and treat the quadrangles thus nificent solid oak doors of linen-fold agricultural for more than a decade as formed as lawns and flower gardens,” design leading to the chapel, offices funds were amassed for construction. as T.P. Slattery, BA 31, outlined in the and parlours on the main floor of the In 1912, when it became clear there Loyola College Review’s June 1915 edition. Administration Building, although lux- was no longer enough space in their The Jesuits sought architectural urious for those difficult days, are now Drummond St. building, the Jesuits de- language consistent with their valued as prized possessions.” cided to begin transforming the “Loyola buildings in other parts of the world, Protecting this valuable architecture farm” into a campus. Father Thomas a collegiate style that reflected their forms part of the current renovation of J. MacMahon, the new rector, wanted affinity with their European and the Administration Building. “We need buildings inspired by the great English American colleagues. to preserve our heritage,” Roy says. “However, we’re also creating more nat- ural light to make it a brighter space and “The Jesuits wanted architectural language to reflect the value of transparency em- consistent with their buildings in other braced by our faculty and staff.” parts of the world because this was WAR YEARS Back at the start of the First World War, important to their brand.” however, the greater thrift sought by others was raised once again as the college entered a dire financial period with so many young men sent off to Europe. The rebuilding only resumed in 1921 with the second phase of the Administration Building, and was eventually completed in 1927. All the maples now lining both sides of Sherbrooke St. in front of the campus were among the 36 originally plant- ed in 1922 as memorials to the Loyola boys who died in the Great War. One more was added a year later when an- other Loyola war fatality was discovered. Nearly 300 students and alumni had served in all. Appointed in July 1918, Father William H. Hingston had only been the new rector for a few months when he watched students leave their classrooms
34 | spring 2017 concordia university magazine for military service. The limited con- of architecture in favour of modern her career at the former Science Library struction immediately after the war structures that could be built with less in the Drummond Science Complex focused on completing a covered sta- money and time to create space for a in 1962. She witnessed many changes dium in 1924. It attracted more of the burgeoning student population. The over the next 34 years. “Loyola used to community that was already making use windowless rotunda facing Sherbrooke be a small, intimate campus where you of the outdoor fields and ice rinks for St. caused the most consternation. knew quite a lot of the people from other sporting activities. Yet function trumped form in those faculties,” she recalls. “Jesuit fathers A generous donation by Francis C. years. Cement and steel were largely still taught many of the courses, and Smith, a 1917 graduate who took the replacing brick-and-mortar structures the Loyola High School boys were required vow of poverty upon enter- everywhere in North America at that still floating about campus. There ing the Jesuit priesthood, permitted the point. Steel beams facilitated building were a lot more trees and, of course, replacement of a small original chapel structures with much larger rooms fewer buildings.” with the new large chapel and auditori- that could be divided with temporary It would be another two years — um designed by architect Henri Labelle interior walls as required and later 1964 — before Hingston Hall was built that opened in 1933, providing a place opened up again. as a student residence and the Georges of worship for English-speaking P. Vanier Library opened with space for Catholics. The chapel continues to RAPID CHANGES 150,000 volumes and 600 library us- be a place of ecumenical worship as Mary Baldwin, who became an associate ers. A later $8.5-million extension and well as other events. professor in the Department of renovation doubled the library’s seating The post-Second World War years saw Chemistry and Biochemistry, started and shelf capacity by 1989. Loyola’s college and high school enrol- ment boom. The 160 per cent increase in college population was attributed in good part to Loyola expanding its curric- “Even today, there’s more of a tight-knit ulum to include a Faculty of Sciences in 1940. The need for additional space, in- community at Loyola. Although it’s changed a cluding student accommodations, led to lot, it remains the same in some good ways.” the construction of the Central Building in 1944 in the original campus style to join up the Administration Building, Refectory and Junior Building.
MODERNISM ARRIVES Loyola’s modern age began with the establishment of the Faculty of Commerce in 1948 and the introduction of several major specialization programs, starting in 1953. In 1959, a few night courses were introduced and female students were admitted for the first time. That same year, Katherine Waters became the first woman to teach at Loyola. The English professor caused quite a kerfuffle when she ventured to borrow some coffee cups from the college dining room. The Jesuits in residence made it clear their eating quarters were still off-limits to women. hter The Drummond Science Complex, c ha c S opened in 1961, heralded an era that ie l es
broke away from Loyola’s original type L MIRIAM POSNER, MANAGER OF PLANNING AND ACADEMIC FACILITIES FOR THE FACULTY OF ARTS AND SCIENCE, BEGAN WORKING AT THE LOYOLA CAMPUS SOON AFTER GRADUATING FROM THE LAST CLASS OF SIR GEORGE WILLIAMS UNIVERSITY IN 1974.
concordia university magazine spring 2017 | 35 The Bryan Building was constructed moved into the former Loyola High what was there, let alone how wonderful in a record seven months and opened in School, and thanks to a $4-million the campus is.” early 1971 to house the communication campaign, the 570-seat Oscar Peterson Posner recalls picnic-table lunches arts and psychology departments and Concert Hall opened its doors. The hall and enjoying watermelon on hot days some biology facilities. The Department features variable acoustics to satisfy atop the Drummond Building. “Even of Journalism would be situated there different uses and often holds events today, there’s more of a tight-knit when it started in 1975. of interest to the greater community. community at Loyola because there are An increasingly active 1960s fewer places to venture off campus for student body led the college to plan TIGHT-KNIT CAMPUS lunch or coffee,” she says. “Although a dedicated building for them. The Posner has a special relationship it’s changed a lot, it remains the same Loyola Campus Centre opened six with both campuses, being from the in some good ways.” years later sporting hip orange- last graduating class of Sir George and-brown furnishings, with funds Williams University in 1974, just prior MAJOR REVITALIZATION raised partly from alumni and to its merger with Loyola to form However, the Loyola Campus entered student contributions. Concordia University. With a degree an uncertain period in the years Baldwin recalls the rampant changes in biochemistry, she was offered five before the millennium. Posner of the mid-1960s into the early 1970s. jobs on the same day, yet immediately credits Lillian Vineberg, BFA 83, “More of the Jesuit teachers were retir- became enchanted with the Loyola for heading a task force in 1997-98 ing and the student population became Campus upon her first real visit there. that recommended a revitalization of much larger and more diversified,” “To be honest, I didn’t really even the campus. Vineberg also oversaw she remembers. know where it was,” she admits. “I had some of that renewal as chair of The 1990s began with two major driven past it and wondered about the Concordia’s Board of Governors changes. The Department of Psychology building with a tower, but didn’t know from 1993 to 2003.
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for the communication studies and journalism departments. LOYOLA TODAY The building is designed to integrate new technologies, including a fully digitized radio and television broadcast operation, network In the past 15 years, the Loyola Campus has emerged as a major cen- access, high-tech classrooms, new media and computer labs, and tre of science research, and is home to an impressive number of new studios with a full array of high-end audiovisual equipment. and upgraded buildings. Here is an overview of the buildings added or renovated in the 21st century. 3 PERFORM Centre: Opened in 2011, the centre brings researchers, students and the community together in a leading- 1 Richard J. Renaud Science Complex: Opened in 2003, edge clinical research facility. Its purpose is to create a highly the state-of-the-art teaching and research facility houses the integrated and comprehensive environment that promotes healthy natural sciences, laboratories, a biology greenhouse and adjacent living. Research at PERFORM focuses on how to best manage injury, incubators adapted for research needs. The complex is named chronic disease and quality of life by making changes in lifestyle after Richard J. Renaud, BComm 69, a philanthropist and long-time and behaviour. (See “Peak PERFORMance” on page 16.) Concordia supporter. 4 Centre for Structural and Functional Genomics: The state-of- 2 Communication Studies and Journalism Building: By 2005, the-art core genomics facility opened in 2011. The work being done at the former Drummond Science Building was renovated and expanded the centre is more relevant than ever, as the emergence of genomics,
36 | spring 2017 concordia university magazine The university’s Master Space Plan among the humanities, social sciences and community-oriented space, 2000-2015 has since opened a new and science sectors within the Faculty and to interact with another segment chapter for the campus, introducing of Arts and Science (concordia.ca/ of the city,” he adds. an impressive slate of facilities for the beyonddisciplines.) He expects Concordia to become bet- sciences, preventive healthcare and “The events seek to foster a sense of ter recognized over the next decade on research, as well as other studies. (See curiosity and community by inviting the strength of the groundbreaking, “Loyola today” on page 36.) participants to discuss a wide variety multidisciplinary research and innova- “Loyola is attracting some of the of timely topics — from gene editing tion taking place at Loyola. “I would like world’s brightest young faculty because to the role of our senses in research,” Concordia to become a world-leading they recognize that the campus and the says Elisabeth Faure, the faculty’s com- game-changer over the next century in a university have become an important munications advisor. “By inviting the way that makes both our university and hub of multidisciplinary scientific community at large to attend these the City of Montreal proudly stand out research,” Roy says. “The surrounding events with Concordia’s faculty mem- on every map,” he says. community is also slowly recognizing bers and researchers, we hope to share the increasing role that this campus our academic project within and beyond Concordia and Héritage Montreal are is taking in promoting overall health the university’s walls.” working together to establish a regular tour and wellness.” Roy hopes to see more such commu- of the Loyola Campus to make its iconic nity engagement as Concordia makes its buildings more familiar to Montrealers and COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT Loyola strengths better known. “I also visitors to the city. For instance, the dean headed the wish for every student to have the op- creation last year of the Beyond portunity to take at least one course at —Julie Gedeon, BA 89, BA 01, MA 09, Disciplines event series to promote an Loyola during his or her studies in order is a Montreal-area writer exchange of information and dialogue to experience this more contemplative and writing instructor.
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synthetic biology and bioinformatics has revolutionized the way refectory is the final jewel in the crown of the renewed quadrangle,” the pharmaceutical and agricultural industries conduct research says John Lemieux, BA 66, who co-chaired the Loyola Refectory and development. Restoration Campaign. He adds that the restored building symbolizes “a reconnection between the alumni and Concordia, 5 Recreation and Athletics Complex: Upgrades at the and a recognition of the Jesuits' legacy on Loyola Campus.” Recreation and Athletics facilities began in 2003, adding two new playing fields with top-notch artificial surfaces and outdoor lighting. OTHER CHANGES: The Jesuit Residence received a In 2009, the south field obtained a seasonal dome, and four years complete overhaul to provide 52 residence bedrooms by 2006. later the Ed Meagher Arena ice rink was enhanced to meet NHL The Vanier Library Building obtained integrated compact standards. Further improvements are in the works. shelving and better facilities for collection services in 2013. Hingston Hall also received a facelift, along with two new 6 Loyola Jesuit Hall and Conference Centre: As the result auditoriums. The original Vanier Library Building dating of a successful $4-million fundraising campaign, the Refectory, back to 1964 became the Vanier Extension after the new one of the original Loyola Campus buildings, was renovated and Vanier Library opened in 1989. In 2005, the second and third transformed in 2012. The work restored many of the Refectory’s floors of the older building were renovated and refitted to special features and once again made this historic building an accommodate the specific needs of the Department of important gathering place for community and social events. “The Applied Human Sciences.
concordia university magazine spring 2017 | 37 TAPPING INTO THE FIELD OF ORGANIZATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY, KATHLEEN BOIES SEEKS OUT NEW WAYS OF TRAINING FUTURE ORGANIZATIONAL LEADERS. niversity U ordia c on The human side C of human resources
Researchers at the Department of Management search for psychological clues to help organizations better administer their most valuable assets: people
WAYNE LARSEN business studies. To reveal methods to Boies’s early academic interest in the train effective leaders, improve employ- field of organizational psychology has efore Concordia’s John Molson ee wellbeing or help women rise in the over the last few years slowly evolved School of Business (JMSB) ranks, Department of Management fac- into a focus on leadership development. donned its current name in ulty employ theories of organizational She eagerly dispels a common mis- B2000, it was known as the Faculty of psychology to examine the human side conception that leaders are born and not Commerce and Administration. When of corporate industry. made, citing results of a major study she people think of business schools like “I’ve always been interested in co-authored six years ago. This study re- JMSB even today, they might first psychology,” says Kathleen Boies, quired a student actor from Concordia’s consider the commerce side — finance, Concordia University Research Chair in Department of Theatre to play a manager accountancy and marketing. Leadership Development and profes- who displays different leadership behav- Yet the administration end of things is sor in the Department of Management. iours in a series of scenarios developed as vital as ever, as companies continually “I’m really interested in how leaders by a professional stage director. Each of seek to improve their management, can shape how other people think — by these scenes was filmed and shown to human resources and organizations. their vision, by how they articulate it and 44 teams of subjects as they carried out a Concordia research in this field by how they shape how people think to- “resource-maximization” project using taps into areas outside of traditional gether,” she says. Lego blocks.
38 | spring 2017 concordia university magazine “If an actor can be trained to display these
different leadership behaviours, then other WORK-LIFE BALANCE people can also be trained to do the same.” AND CAREER GOALS Boies’s other current study looks at the differences between men and women in “Working with an actor and a stage the structured technique, while the their respective career advancements. director was fun to do,” Boies relates. other half are following the regular Undertaken in collaboration with “This actor displayed various leader- coaching process. Tracy Hecht, associate professor in ship behaviours under experimental “We’re following them over a period the Department of Management, the conditions, which led to different lev- of several months and looking at their study uses data collected mainly from els of performance and different types coaching process and whether or not healthcare professionals and students. of communications within the teams. they become more adaptable and It aims to shed light on how men’s and In the end, there were some really in- flexible in the end,” she says. “We think women’s career paths generally differ — teresting differences, depending on the that if you can extract more meaning and how that affects their assumption leadership style the actor displayed.” from your experiences, you’ll gain a of leadership roles. That study’s methodology better understanding of how to act in “One of the hypotheses we have is underscores Boies’s assertion that different situations and have a better that women go through life stages dif- leadership can be taught. “If an actor understanding of your environment and ferently than men,” says Boies. “At the can be trained to display these different what behaviours are appropriate in time leadership opportunities happen, leadership behaviours, then other different situations.” many women are at a stage of their life people can also be trained to do the niversity
U same,” she says. ordia c on
C ENHANCING THE COACHING EXPERIENCE Boies is currently working on two large-scope projects, both funded by Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada grants. One, in collaboration with Louis Baron of Université du Québec à Montréal, requires what Boies calls a “quasi- experimental methodology” and aims to improve the executive coaching experience. Boies and Baron work hands-on with several local com- panies, mainly in the financial and transportation sectors. They have organized a process by which people being coached for leadership positions are subjected to one of two different methods. “We have people in the field who are starting a coaching process, and we assigned some of them to a structured coaching — a way to think about your experiences to extract more meaning from them,” says Boies. “You go through experiences and you may learn nothing from them, but this coaching technique k might make your experiences more c meaningful.” For this study, half of hinksto those being coached have been assigned T
concordia university magazine spring 2017 | 39 it’s not even the most common way,” BATTLING BURNOUT she says. Only one quarter of the couples The interrelated factors of stress, in our study of dual-income couples work-life balance and employee burn- with young kids were neo-traditional. out form a large part of the research of On the other hand, approximately Alexandra Panaccio, associate professor 45 per cent held egalitarian identities. in the Department of Management. Of these couples, both mom and dad “I was a lawyer for a short period of want to provide financially and be role time before realizing I wanted to be models for their kids. Both want to in academia,” says Panaccio. “I was provide hands-on care at home.” interested in leadership at all levels
ry The study found that these identi- of an organization, not just at the top, u e l
F ties trickle down into the day-to-day and became interested in employee decisions and routines of dual-income wellbeing by examining the relationship hristian
C couples. “So it’s not always mom who you have with your workplace.” MONTREAL NATIVE TRACY HECHT’S WORK will rearrange her work to take care One of Panaccio’s main areas of SEARCHES FOR WAYS TO HELP INDIVIDUALS ACHIEVE WORK-LIFE BALANCE. of her kids. In fact, much of the time, interest in employee wellbeing is dad is doing the same,” Hecht says. occupational burnout. Symptoms of “We cannot continue to assume that the all-too-common condition include where it’s not really possible for them moms will be unavailable to work be- the chronic fatigue, lack of motivation, to engage in those activities — and that cause of sick kids or need to leave work anxiety and depression that come might explain some of the differences in early to pick them up. We need to rec- about as a result of their jobs. This the representation of women and men ognize that there are many ways to be a often leads to employees taking in top-level positions.” dual-income couple — that couples are prolonged stress leaves. “There’s Much of this has to do with work-life creative at finding ways to balance work a lot of research on this because balance, Hecht explains. “I’ve been do- and family, that there are both men and burnout issues are very costly for ing a lot of work on the work-home women who want career advancement, organizations,” she says. “People interface, trying to understand what it’s and both men and women who want to who stay with an organization for all like to be a person who plays multiple care for their families. We need more the wrong reasons are more likely roles and how working parents manage organizational structures to support to experience burnout. Even if it’s a to both engage in their work while rais- those efforts and fewer assumptions good job with a good salary and great ing a family simultaneously — which can about the roles that men and women benefits, you can still burn out if you be a struggle for many people,” she says. play in the workplace and at home.” stay for instrumental reasons.”
CHALLENGING TRADITIONAL ROLES ALEXANDRA PANACCIO, WHO EARNED A LAW DEGREE FROM UNIVERSITÉ DE MONTRÉAL Hecht’s own research examines working BEFORE SWITCHING TO ACADEMIA, INVESTIGATES WAYS OF AVOIDING EMPLOYEE BURNOUT. parents’ roles within the family. “When we think of a traditional family, we often think of a family with dad as the breadwinner and mom as the caregiver,” she says. “A slightly more modern version is the neo-traditional family, in which dad has a ‘career’ and mom has a ‘job.’ In this neo-traditional model, mom is in the workplace but she is still assumed to be the caregiver at home, and dad’s role at home is still to be the financial provider.” This view of families is outdated, Hecht points out. “In research conducted by my doctoral student, Heather Cluley Bar-Or, we find that this neo-traditional model is not the only
way to be a dual-income family; niversity U ordia c
40 | spring 2017 concordia university magazine on C says Chadwick. “Women are asked to lean in and fight to get a seat at the table, to have an impact — which is great. But if you look at the numbers, nothing’s really changing. We call it the ‘stalled gender revolution.’” Citing hurdles such as work-life balance, discrimination and biases, Chadwick points out that women face many challenges in fitting into traditionally male-dominated niversity
U leadership roles. “So I’m trying to
ordia understand how we can help women c on
C lean in and take on these leadership INGRID CHADWICK RESEARCHES HOW WOMEN TACKLE BUSINESS LEADERSHIP ROLES. roles if there’s really not much in it for them. This is where we started the study, thinking there’s got to be a “Burnout issues are very costly for positive side to the story.” organizations. People who stay with an Chadwick and Byrne are interviewing subjects from a wide variety of profes- organization for all the wrong reasons sions and industries, including fashion, law enforcement, academia, manu- are more likely to experience burnout.” facturing, information technology and publishing. “So far we’ve interviewed Although today’s employees tend to necessarily high-level jobs — but they about 25 women in senior leadership jump from company to company more have to balance these jobs, their stud- roles and it’s been fascinating to hear frequently than those of previous gen- ies and then their personal lives,” says their stories,” she says. “We’re seeing erations, a change of employer might Panaccio. “Often they don’t have kids, some patterns in their experiences so not diminish the risk of burnout if an but maybe they have parents or siblings far, where absolutely there are challeng- employee remains in the same job. they have to care for. They have their per- es to get into senior leadership roles, For example, an engineer specializ- sonal sphere, their school sphere and particularly related to how they balance ing in quality assurance who frequently their work sphere — which is a lot! So being a woman and a leader.” switches employers yet is really not that it seems to be very worthy of investiga- Many of these women are mothers, passionate about that area of engineer- tion. If we understand how people can Chadwick adds. “They try to be proud ing remains at risk, she points out. be equipped to deal with these stressors, of that and in the process they are role Panaccio adds that stress is certainly maybe there’s a way we can intervene models for their children,” she says. not limited to those in the workforce, and early on for future employees.” “You may not always be present at the lately she has been looking at the ways in school plays but you offer a lot of other which students find life balance and deal THE STALLED GENDER REVOLUTION things, such as the notion of being a with daily stress. “It’s well documented Factors of stress, balance and life stages leader and giving them some of that to that students experience a lot of stress also figure in the research of Ingrid follow as an example. More generally, throughout their studies,” she says. “But Chadwick, assistant professor in the these women really appreciate how their much of this stress occurs during the Department of Management. Her leadership role enables them to have first year of university, where there’s a current project, in collaboration with a positive impact and to develop and big transition from being in CEGEP [or Alyson Byrne of Memorial University empower others in their organizations; high school for those outside Quebec] in St. John’s, Nfld., focuses on women this is a much more encouraging side to being in what is almost a workplace in leadership roles — the promotion of female leadership that we don’t hear environment in terms of responsibility of women in the workplace and what’s much about.” and the teamwork requirements, and you really in it for them when they do attain have to manage a lot more things.” leadership positions. —Wayne Larsen, MA 14, is a Montreal Many students have even more on their “There’s a high demand for women freelance writer. plates than full-time employees. “Most of in leadership; organizations are being our Concordia students have jobs — not pushed to help facilitate their success,”
concordia university magazine spring 2017 | 41 TAKING A BITE OF THE BIG APPLE k c
42 | spring 2017 concordia university magazine hinksto T CONCORDIA ALUMNI ENJOY A NEW YORK STATE OF MIND
Although Concordia’s 200,000-plus alumni can be found around the world, the largest international contingent go to sleep each night in or around the City That Never Sleeps. Wall Street, Broadway, the United Nations and more have enticed nearly 1,000 grads to the New York City region. (Many have also been lured to California — see the sidebar “Staking their claim in the Golden State” on page 48.) We introduce you to five alumni who have succeeded in making it there.
THE ART OF DIPLOMACY Michael Grant, who’s represented Canada around the world, now relishes his United Nations posting eteran diplomat Michael Grant, BAdmin 92, finds the Vmultilateral world of the United Nations very different from his previous international postings.
As ambassador and deputy permanent representative of rant G Canada to the United Nations, Grant works with a dedicated l hae c i
team representing Canada across the complete spectrum of M
UN bodies and activities in New York City. He also chairs the rtesy u o c
Working Group of the Whole of the UN’s Special Committee on
Peacekeeping, as well as the Ad Hoc Advisory Group on Haiti as hoto P part of the Economic and Social Council. Grant also co-found- MICHAEL GRANT (RIGHT), AMBASSADOR AND DEPUTY PERMANENT REPRESENTATIVE OF CANADA TO THE UNITED NATIONS, SAYS DIPLOMACY IS “ESSENTIAL IN OUR POST- ed the Bridge Group on UN budget issues to help find common GLOBALIZATION WORLD.” ground between member states. Grant, who joined External Affairs and International Trade person, co-operating on a different issue.” Canada in 1994, served as Canada’s Ambassador to Libya Grant loves living in New York with his family. “It is one from 2012 to 2013, following assignments in Serbia (1995), of the great cities of the world,” he says. “I’m from New Turkey (1996-1998), Argentina (1998-1999) and Mexico Brunswick, and there are elements of New Yorkers that remind (2001-2004). me of Maritimers: they are people who grew up on the coast. “In this diplomatic world you are committed to serving I call New Yorkers the most direct polite people in the world abroad,” says Grant. “Going from Libya to New York, I went from because they are polite at heart but they can be a little bit in a place where security was our number one concern, to a city your face, which is fun.” where I no longer had a protection team. But the adjustment was Grant tips his hat to Concordia and Montreal. “They gave me mostly going from a bilateral to multilateral world at the UN.” a good understanding of what it was like to be a Canadian in the No matter where he is posted, Grants says what he likes most world,” he says. “At Concordia, sports — rugby — shaped my ex- about his job is representing Canada. “It sounds a little corny perience as much as academics. We were just a bunch of guys who but that still gives me a thrill,” he says. enjoyed rugby and we still get together each year in New York Grant reveals that there is behind-the-scenes camaraderie City at a tournament we started in the Big Apple in 1989.” at the UN, despite public differences. “I have 192 interlocutors Having travelled widely, Grant underscores “the tremendous — the UN has 193 members — so on a daily basis I am engag- system of education we have in Canada. When you have con- ing with various levels of depth with 30 or 40 counterparts,” versations in various parts of the world, inevitably somebody he explains. “Everybody recognizes you are here to defend and in that chat will have studied in Canada or wants their kids to advocate for your national positions. That is the nature of di- study in Canada,” he says. “Concordia, like a lot of universi- plomacy. But at the same time we are all human beings. You can ties in the country, is world class. I’m always out there selling be in a meeting room at one moment for a robust heated de- Concordia. I think it’s a tremendous school.” bate, and the next moment you could be sitting beside the same —Richard Burnett, BA 88 k c
concordia university magazine spring 2017 | 43 hinksto T
hard c FROM POLITICAL SCIENCE i R
TO WEALTH MANAGEMENT ie ul J f o Julie Richard took chances on her way to a rtesy successful career u o C
oday Julie Richard, BA 96, holds the impressive title of JULIE RICHARD IS CHIEF COMPLIANCE OFFICER OF PRIVATE BANKING FOR BROWN Tchief compliance officer (CCO) of Private Banking for BROTHERS HARRIMAN IN NEW YORK CITY. financial services firm Brown Brothers Harriman in New York City. Yet when she graduated from Concordia with a BA in “I loved London, but when he [the boyfriend] was trans- political science in 1996, she wasn’t sure what she would do ferred back to NYC I decided to broaden my skills,” she says. with it. Since the Canadian economy was struggling at the time, “I went from a hedge fund lawyer to working as a broader asset she looked south of the border. management lawyer. I started working at AXA Advisors, where “I took a gamble and invested a fortune to attend law school I could cover broker-dealer, investment-advisor and invest- in New York City, where starting salaries are three times what ment-company act issues.” they are in Montreal and where I assumed I could network Three years later Richard joined Bear Stearns. “Well, we all myself into a job,” Richard says. know how that ends,” she admits — the global investment bank Richard contends that the quality of her law school educa- failed in 2008 as part of the global financial crisis and reces- tion wasn’t half as good as the one she received at Concordia sion. “I did meet my husband there, so it was worth it,” Richard — at 20 times the cost. “Everything, however, went according adds. to plan and I managed to graduate magna cum laude and land She was later recruited to spearhead the hedge fund practice a job at a premier New York law firm,” she says. “People don’t of a New York law firm. In 2011 her old boss at AXA Advisors appreciate how good they have it in Montreal and at Canadian — then CCO at Brown Brothers Harriman — asked her to join universities.” her. Richard jumped at the opportunity and has been at Brown Brothers Harriman ever since. A CAREER IN HEDGE FUNDS Several corporate restructures later, Richard is now CCO, Richard knew even then that she wanted to specialize in hedge Private Banking. “Change management and multitasking are funds, which use high-risk investment methods in hopes my forte, apparently,” she says. of realizing large capital gains. So she took the step towards Richard only has good memories of her time at Concordia. becoming a financial services lawyer. When her former “I loved it there,” she says without hesitation. “Most of the pro- boyfriend was transferred to London in 2002, Richard left fessors were passionate and the school was always supportive. her dream job in New York for a British law firm, where she While getting an education is much cheaper in Canada, the had to requalify as an English solicitor. She was there for quality of graduates is impressive.” Richard notes with pride almost three years. that her nephew is now attending Concordia. “I love staying involved with the university as much as I can,” she says. “Other successful Concordia NYC alumni I know also “People don’t appreciate how feel the same way, and we all like to get together as often as we good they have it in Montreal and can and reconnect.” —Toula Drimonis, BA 93 at Canadian universities.”
44 | spring 2017 concordia university magazine CHAMPION OF ATHLETICS During his time at Loyola College, one of Concordia’s AND COMMERCE founding institutions, Levesque participated in varsity skiing and other intramural sports, and was inducted in the Paul Levesque has represented Canada in the New York City investment and amateur sport circles for Concordia University Sports Hall of Fame in 1983. In 2011 nearly five decades he received the Benoît Pelland Distinguished Service Award from the Concordia University Alumni Association at its 20th he life and times of Montreal-born Wall Street investment Annual Alumni Recognition Awards Banquet. Tbanker Paul Levesque, BA 57, have been nothing less than “I was a normal student, not overly competitive, and I extraordinary. In 1960, Levesque began his career at Canadian enjoyed my time there,” Levesque says of his Loyola days. stock brokerage Nesbitt Thomson, before joining Shields & “I do miss Montreal a little. I love the city, but there is always Compnay in New York City in 1968. something going on in New York. If I want to go to a hockey “I thought they wanted to hire me to open an office in game, I’ll call up Glen Sather, the president of the New York Montreal, but their intention was to have me move to New Rangers, who is a good friend of mine: ‘Hey Glen, I’m coming York,” Levesque recalls. “So I thought, what the hell, I’ll go over tonight for the game.’ This city offers everything you could down and give it a try for a couple of years. If I make it or not, possibly want, and I live in the middle of it all.” I can always come back. And I’ve been in New York ever since!” —Richard Burnett He joined investment banking firm Coady Diemar Partners as senior advisor of Investment Banking in 2004. Levesque has seen it all, yet says one moment that stands “I flew to Abidjan, stayed above others is 9/11, when this quintessential New Yorker — who lives on Park Avenue in Manhattan — was actually visiting at the Canadian embassy, Quebec at the time. “I have a country house in Cacouna, Que., and drove to Tabou for the located near Rivière-du-Loup, and was down there when I got a call from my sister telling me to turn on the TV,” Levesque says. ceremony, where I was robed “That was a big shock. I got back to New York five days later.” and anointed with oils.” SPORTS INSIDER As a star amateur athlete, Levesque’s bobsleigh and luge career highlights include Canadian national team gold medals at various championships, and he participated in the 1968 Grenoble Olympic Games as a Canadian National Luge team player and coach. Then in 1977 Levesque founded the hugely success- ful Canadian Association of New York’s Annual Hockey Achievement Award Dinner. The association turned the din- ner into an annual event with Levesque at the helm for over 30 years. Levesque continues in the role of chairman emeritus. hy p ra
The dinner benefits local New York charities, and honourees g
over the years have included hockey legends Gordie Howe hoto (1984), Maurice “Rocket” Richard (1985), William “Scotty” /PBL P u
Bowman (2002) and Wayne Gretzky (2012). a l
His own honours include the 2012 Queen Elizabeth II B yan Diamond Jubilee Medal. In 1986 he was made an honorary tra- R ditional chief of Tabou in Côte d'Ivoire, in appreciation of the PAUL LEVESQUE RECEIVED THE CONCORDIA UNIVERSITY ALUMNI ASSOCIATION’S BENOÎT growing co-operation between Canada and that country. “I flew PELLAND DISTINGUISHED SERVICE AWARD IN 2011. to Abidjan, stayed at the Canadian embassy, and drove to Tabou for the ceremony, where I was robed and anointed with oils,” Levesque recalls. “It really was quite something, one of the most rewarding trips I’ve ever been on.”
concordia university magazine spring 2017 | 45 CHASING A DREAM Tyler Chase has stayed the course through the challenging world of indie filmmaking fter years working in independent film and theatre, td
filmmaker Tyler Chase, BFA 79, hopes to conquer both L E
A G worlds with her new documentary film Touched by Duse about ORA
Eleonora Duse (1858-1924), the Italian actress considered to L’
be the mother of modern acting. rtesy u o Chase, born in Sherbrooke, Que., at age 11 moved to Montreal, c / os
the city she calls home and where she studied at Concordia in the ll eva
late 1970s before moving to New York City in 1979. C “I came to New York because I was a theatre major isette at Concordia, where my mentor was Professor Norma L TYLER CHASE, RIGHT, WITH ACTORS ELLEN BURSTYN AND JENNIFER DALE. THE ACTORS Springford,” says Chase. “She was an amazing woman who took PARTICIPATED IN CHASE’S DOCUMENTARY TOUCHED BY DUSE, A TRIBUTE TO THE me under her wing, and who thought I could make a go of it in PIONEERING ITALIAN ACTRESS ELEONORA DUSE. New York. So I came here and, with a scholarship, studied with Uta Hagen and Herbert Berghof at the HB Studio.” Touched by Duse, is a collaboration with Canadian actor Jennifer Chase then worked as an actor, director and playwright, pro- Dale and features the participation of American film stars Ellen ducing Off- and Off-Off-Broadway shows before returning to Burstyn and Paul Sorvino. school, completing her studies at the New York University film “We’ve already had a few screenings, but right now I’m trying program. While at NYU she shot her 16-mm narrative short to get an interview with Al Pacino for the film because Pacino film about a violent gay bashing, Urban Inquisition, on location loves Duse,” Chase says. in New York’s West Village in 1998. “The film was very gritty Chase says New York showbiz is not all glitz and glamour: and well received at the New York International Independent “The journey has been tough,” she admits. “You know, a lot of Film and Video Festival,” Chase says. “It was ahead of its time, documentaries that you see are prefabricated. Mine are real. before Boys Don’t Cry. A year later I followed that up with a short And it takes time and a lot of patience. You have to be very satire called Fowl Play, starring Jack Mulcahy.” dedicated, and I really hope 2017 is our breakthrough year.” Although she considers Montreal home, Chase has no plans STAR POWER to leave New York anytime soon. “New York is very expensive,” Chase would continue as a freelance photographer and director she says. “I rent, it’s impossible to buy at this point, but obvi- of photography over the years. At the same time, she worked ously I love New York — otherwise I wouldn’t be here.” to complete her own independent films through her indie film Chase is proud that Concordia helped shape her career. and entertainment company, L’ORAGE Productions, which she “Concordia was one of the most wonderful experiences of my founded in 1998. Chase says her upcoming documentary film, life,” she says. “To have someone like theatre professor Norma Springford believe in me was valorizing because I was a tough little girl. I was stubborn and not very social, and she would “I was a theatre major at talk to me for hours in her office. She was a tiny little thing but I looked up to her. She taught the directing course when Concordia, where my mentor I was there. Just to have one person like that believe in you — was professor Norma Springford. it changed my life.” She was an amazing woman who —Richard Burnett took me under her wing.”
46 | spring 2017 concordia university magazine SEARCHING FOR THE beyond just sitting in the classroom answering questions — BEST IN THE BIG APPLE’S prepared me for business and it gave me a very well-rounded CORPORATE COMMUNITY education,” she says. “I honestly went in there — and I tell people this all the time — not even really knowing what the dis- Patricia Lenkov is a proud Montrealer in NYC cipline of accounting was. They did a very good job of giving us atricia Lenkov, MBA 86, a highly regarded expert on a strong foundation in all of the disciplines of business.” P board recruiting and board diversity, has worked for some After graduation, Lenkov left Montreal for about six years, of the largest and most successful executive search firms in then received a call from a former professor, Alan Hochstein, the United States. She founded and became president of her who told her a position was opening up as assistant director of own firm, Agility Executive Search, in New York City in 2008. the MBA program. She accepted the challenge. Lenkov’s role Clients have included one of the largest private equity firms in was to oversee the program’s operations. “It was so interest- the world, a senior-living company based in Iowa and a large ing for me to go back and experience the MBA program from dental insurance company. an administrative and leadership role. It felt like coming full “You might say I started at the top,” Lenkov says. “Early in circle, really,” she says. my career I had the good fortune to learn from the very best. Concordia had a great MBA program with great teachers. What “In many ways, NYC is like I loved about it was that it included many people who worked during the day and were completing it at night. The combina- Montreal on steroids.” tion of younger, just-graduated students and working students provided for a very good dynamic.” HOLDING HER OWN IN NYC Lenkov says the quality of her Concordia education has been Lenkov then moved to New York City and spent a decade a valuable asset for her career. “The MBA Case Competition at top-level executive search firms before founding Agility and opportunities to get hands-on experience — above and Executive Search. “I’ve been in NYC 20 years now,” she says. “Even though people say it’s the centre of the business world, Montreal has a very cosmopolitan, sophisticated attitude about it, too. For better or for worse, we’re interesting, diverse, funky, we cross the road on a red light, we don’t really pay attention to all the rules. I think NYC is very much like that, so moving here wasn’t really a major adjustment for me. In many ways, NYC is like Montreal on steroids.” Lenkov cites the integrity of Montreal and Canadians in general, and the education she received here, as major reasons for her success. “It allowed me to walk into the largest recruiting firm in the world and go into the boardrooms of the largest companies in this country and hold my own with the CEOs and the Ivy League-educated boards of directors. And that’s something I feel I owe to Montreal.” Lenkov remains grateful to her alma mater. “I feel very close to Concordia and very loyal,” she says. “I’m proud to be part of the community and toot its horn whenever I can.” enkov L
ia —Toula Drimonis c atri P f o
rtesy u o C
PATRICIA LENKOV, PRESIDENT OF AGILITY EXECUTIVE SEARCH, SPOKE WITH CONCORDIA JOURNALIST-IN-RESIDENCE PATTI SONNTAG AT CONCORDIA’S WOMEN AND LEADERSHIP (CONCORDA.CA/WOMEN) IN NEW YORK CITY IN 2016.
concordia university magazine spring 2017 | 47 STAKING THEIR CLAIM IN THE GOLDEN STATE We introduce you to four of the many Concordians who have headed west and found success in California.
NOT YOUR Airstream trailer and had it MUSIC TO the latest would-be hit song FATHER’S retrofitted with three stylists’ HER EARS and engage them with the BARBERSHOP stations, a waiting area and a artist. So in 2013 she started Livia Tortella’s music restroom, all equipped with Black Box, which offers a Alumnus Kush Kapila is marketing business reshaping the haircare electricity, running water and taps into the market’s complete marketing package industry by bringing air conditioning. new needs that incorporates the latest the salon to the busy The resulting experience of ways to develop and brand professional sitting in the salon on wheels he life of Livia Tortella, an artist. was almost identical to going T BA (comm. studies) 91, “We help artists learn how inding time to visit a hair to a salon — without the need would be the envy of any to manage their social media F salon can be a challenge to travel. The true innova- music junkie dreaming of with the right content, the for those with already-full tion came by teaming up with making it big in New York right pictures, the right vid- schedules — including Kush large companies and offering City or Los Angeles. Today eos, and we show them how Kapila, MCSc 04. “I found the Sterlings Mobile’s services she runs her own music to communicate with their process of getting a haircut to their employees. “We go strategy and marketing fans directly,” she says. one of the more frustrating to the site and then the com- company, Black Box, in Tortella credits tasks that I had to do every pany will pay us a flat fee for the City of Angels. Yet a Concordia’s Department month,” Kapila says. being there,” Kapila explains. successful career in the of Communication His exasperation sparked “The companies see a lot of competitive and ever- Studies with giving her the a creative idea to shape a new value for the productivity changing music world came multifaceted and practical style out of an old business of their employees.” after a lot of hard work and training she needed to work model. If professionals are Kapila says his time keen insight. in music marketing and, too swamped to go to the sa- at Concordia planted the After Concordia, the most recently, launch her lon, what if the salon came to entrepreneurial bug in him. former entertainment own successful business. them? That’s the concept of Working on his master’s editor at The Link student “I really enjoyed my Kapila’s company, Sterlings thesis in computational newspaper climbed her experience at Concordia Mobile Salon & Barber Co. visualization and way up the music industry and what I learned in the Kapila had been working bioinformatics, he says, ladder and landed in Los communication studies as a product manager for a “was a great experience Angeles. With the rapid shift program just helped me medical device company in for trying to figure to streaming from online throughout my entire career,” the Greater San Diego, Calif., out something and be music libraries, Tortella Tortella says. “I definitely area. In 2011, after raising the self-sufficient.” saw a need to help music want to pay it forward.” necessary funds, he bought an —Jeremy Glass-Pilon labels attract listeners to —Sue Montgomery ott l e g a a ll b ar adi b B A
k c i ason N J k c hinksto T 48 | spring 2017 concordia university magazine eeve R
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FROM was one of the last couple HANDLING PR the way that helps you grow CONCORDIA days of prep, one of those FOR SILICON and expand,” she says. TO DISNEY long workdays. We were VALLEY The summer during her shooting in Toronto and “UNICORNS” master’s studies, the native Lauren Kisilevsky is there were a lot of moving of Williams Lake, B.C., VP of Original Movies Media Studies grad at the Disney Channel parts with the production, so Rebecca Reeve took an found an internship in San there was a lot of pressure,” unusual route on her way Francisco, the mecca of auren Kisilevsky, BA she recalls. “At the end of the to running a successful techies. “Once I arrived, L(comm. studies) 99, day I was like, ‘Wow, all those public relations company I realized I couldn’t ever live enjoys the fast pace of the years of training was what I in San Francisco anywhere else,” she says. Hollywood film industry. needed and why I was there ebecca Reeve, MA After graduation, Reeve Clearly that enjoyment has to make those decisions.’” R (media studies) 07, started her career in public translated into success. Kisilevsky cites her has taken an unconventional relations. Now she runs In March 2016, Kisilevsky Concordia studies with path to her current place her own full-service public became vice-president helping her establish and in public relations in San relations firm, Rsquared of Original Movies at the grow her career. “I came Francisco. Her undergrad Communication. Disney Channel, part of the up through the Liberal Arts degree was spread over five Three of her clients are Disney|ABC Television Group. College and it really taught years and three institutions. worth over a billion dollars, After arriving in Los me how to think critically At the age of 23 she was or what they call “unicorns” Angeles in 1999, the and to read, two skills which writing speeches for Gordon in Silicon Valley and in- Montreal native embarked I apply in my job on a day- Campbell, then premier of clude tech giants like Slack, on an impressive journey in to-day basis,” she says. British Columbia. “I realized which develops software that Tinseltown. Kisilevsky joined Despite the California I needed to find a way to do allows employees to bet- Disney Channel in 2010 as sunshine, Kisilevsky — something else outside of ter communicate and share director of Original Movies. currently working on an government,” she says. documents with one another. The 2014 Disney Channel upcoming Disney Channel Reeve decided to swing her “It’s been seven years and Original Movie How to Build original movie — loves her writing career to technology I’ve been very fortunate in a Better Boy was “the first hometown of Montreal. She and applied to Concordia’s the people I’ve met along the movie I oversaw from start to says, “A year-and-a-half MA in Media Studies pro- way,” Reeve says. “My firm's finish,” she says. “The first ago, I had an opportunity to gram. It was an introduction clients make products that day I was on set for the film shoot a movie there, Bad Hair to a very different set of ideas tens of millions of people use Day — which was awesome!” and thinking. “It was chal- and are leading trends in the —Richard Burnett lenging in the best way, in workplace and at home.”
concordia university magazine spring 2017 | 49 FACULTY SPOTLIGHT FACULTY OF FINE ARTS niversity U arr C y l mi E
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Art’s Indigenous 1 LINDSAY NIXON IS INDIGENOUS EDITOR-AT-LARGE FOR CANADIAN ART, CANADA’S ART MAGAZINE
niversity OF RECORD. U editor-at-large 2 JOANNE MITROVIC HELPED ORGANIZE ordia
c LOUDSPEAKERS, A CONFERENCE FOCUSED ON
on 2 GENDER AND RACE IN AUDIO TECHNOLOGIES AND C MUSIC PRODUCTION, AT CONCORDIA IN FEBRUARY. ANDY MURDOCH PANELLISTS INCLUDED SOUND ARTIST KATHY KENNEDY, CO-FOUNDER OF STUDIO XX, AND JULIE SLICK OF THE ADRIAN BELEW POWER TRIO. oncordia graduate student And of course, there’s Montreal. She’s 3 GOVERNOR GENERAL’S AWARD IN VISUAL AND Lindsay Nixon, BA 16, recently especially excited about Dayna Danger. MEDIA ARTS RECIPIENT LANDON MACKENZIE IS A C PROFESSOR AT EMILY CARR UNIVERSITY OF ART snagged a sweet part-time position. “She’s in our Department of Studio Arts AND DESIGN IN VANCOUVER. Nixon, a nehiyaw-saulteaux-Métis and has a show on now, which is really 4 IF I LOVED A COWBOY... LEAVING HER FINGERPRINTS OVER EVERYTHING SHE DOES, 1995, from Saskatchewan, is Canadian Art amazing,” Nixon says. BY LANDON MACKENZIE magazine’s new Indigenous editor-at- Nixon was attracted to Montreal large. The job? Fifteen hours a week of attracted for the freedom and opportu- writing, editing and building a network nities it provides as well as the strength of First Nations, Métis and Inuit artists of Concordia’s Art History program. of Catherine Wild, former dean of across the country. “I’ve been able to cultivate a very close Concordia’s Faculty of Fine Arts, and “I’m excited to bring new voices into Indigenous community here. There’s funded by the generosity of Erin Hogg. the contemporary art arena that haven’t still a really intense urban presence of “Erin was interested in making a been there before,” says Nixon, who’s Indigeneity,” Nixon says. “Another big substantial donation over a number currently completing an MA in art his- part is having Indigenous faculty. The of years,” says Wild. “She’s a very tory. “I think that there are a lot of mentorship I’ve received from Heather thoughtful donor, one who was looking Indigenous women and two-spirit folks Igloliorte has made a huge difference in to find a way to meet a need that existed who deserve the same kind of coverage, my career, and the program is supportive or in doing things that made the student who are just as talented.” of Indigenous students.” experience better.” Nixon believes something special is Wild, now a professor in Concordia’s happening in Indigenous art today. “In NEW WILD TALKS Print Media program, suggested a gift Regina and Winnipeg, there is a huge re- ew York artist Mark Dion spoke that created an annual lecture linked surgence,” she says. “In Vancouver, people Nto a packed theatre at Concordia to an opportunity for a unique stu- are really strong and their art represents that. in January at the inaugural Faculty of dent experience with the invited Toronto has some cool stuff happening Fine Arts Wild Talks Seminar Series. speaker. Departments could propose too, especially around queer Indigeneity.” This series was named in honour individuals as long as they have a
50 | spring 2017 concordia university magazine niversity U arr C y l mi E f o ALUMNI TAKE HOME cross-departmental pull and would A culture shift began quickly. agree to stay for a few days. Students and faculty members proposed MAJOR AWARDS rtesy u o
C “The fact it’s named after me came syllabus changes, new ways to encourage enowned Canadian painter Landon later! I wasn’t part of that discussion,” female applicants at Portfolio Day and a R Mackenzie, MFA 79, was named Wild reveals. “I think some folks in the conference to open discussion around one of the recipients of a 2017 Governor dean’s office were involved, but I don’t the issue. General’s Award in Visual and Media really know how it unfolded. It was a Mark Corwin, current music depart- Arts in February. rts
A very thoughtful and touching comple- ment chair, Rebecca Duclos, dean of “I think a GG Award is the pinnacle
ine tion gift.” the Faculty of Fine Arts, and Kimberley of your career in Canada because a lot F f o
m In addition to his artist talk, Dion Manning, principal of the Simone de of the awards we have are for younger u se u led a screen-print workshop, in Beauvoir Institute, became champions artists, which is totally appropriate,” M l collaboration with faculty member of the cause. “A lot of it is the process of Mackenzie says. “When I won the
ontrea Jenny Lin, MFA 01, for graduate and learning who to approach,” Mitrovic says. Quebec Biennale of Painting in 1981, M undergraduate students. “If you want to get something done you that certainly launched me. This award tion c e
ll just say, ‘OK, who’s your boss? And who’s is nice recognition because I’ve actually o C JOANNE MITROVIC: their boss?’ Someone’s going to listen.” worked hard for 40 years, and it’s a BREAKING THE Her hard work peaked in February peer jury.” SOUND BARRIER with Loudspeakers, a conference fo- Mackenzie taught in Concordia’s id you know that less than five cused on gender and race in audio Studio Arts program from 1978 to 1985 Dper cent of sound producers and technologies and music production. before joining the faculty at Emily engineers in the recording industry Panelists included sound artist Kathy Carr University of Art and Design in are women? It’s a reality not lost on Kennedy, co-founder of Studio XX, Vancouver in 1986. She was appointed undergrad Joanne Mitrovic, and one and Julie Slick of the Adrian Belew full professor at Emily Carr in 2008. she is determined to shake up. Power Trio. Her large-format paintings can be Mitrovic is in her final term of “Sound is one of the most male- found in the collections of such muse- Concordia’s Electroacoustic Studies. dominated fields out there. Audio and ums as the National Gallery of Canada, Three years ago, she was often the technology are very linked together, Vancouver Art Gallery, Montreal sole woman in her class. She began a so really, we’re talking about the whole Museum of Fine Arts and Musée d’art campaign to make the program more tech culture,” Mitrovic says. contemporain de Montréal. accessible and, as result, Concordia Before she graduates, she and stu- As well, a national jury selected is on track to correcting the gender dents from her Gender in Sound group Concordia graduate Brian Hunter, BFA imbalance. By the 2016-17 academic are planning to host workshops for high 07, as the winner of this year’s RBC year, eight women started the program school and college women to improve Canadian Painting Competition. After and the overall gender disparity their sound skills. “After I helped with “passionate and heated deliberation,” continues to shrink. “I kept pushing. Rock Camp for Girls over the summer, I they selected Hunter’s submission, I wouldn’t let it go. I kept knocking knew that working with youth would im- Two empty trays mounted vertically on doors,” she says. prove the Electroacoustics program.” (2015), for the $25,000 grand prize. Last year, when a good friend It’s a test for a larger project, planned Established in 1999 with the sup- dropped out, Mitrovic decided to for next year, with Kimberley Manning’s port of the Canadian Art Foundation, stage an intervention. She reached out Critical Feminist Activism in Research the national competition aims to nur- to Liselyn Adams, then chair of the group. Manning’s six-credit The ture visual artists early in their career by Department of Music. Adams held a Feminist University Seminar has set providing them with a forum to display brainstorming session with students aside five spaces for electroacoustics stu- their artistic talent to the country. and faculty. “We all agreed that this is dents to continue Mitrovic’s work. “All of a problem, that we could do better,” this is a result of Joanne,” Manning says. Mitrovic says. “We discussed affirmative “She really embodies what I mean when action and what plan we could get going I say we can establish the first feminist by next year.” university at Concordia.”
concordia university magazine spring 2017 | 51 ALUMNI NEWS
For news on the full slate of recent and future Concordia Advancement and Alumni Relations events in Montreal, across Canada and the world over, visit concordia.ca/alumni.
To listen to podcasts or watch videos of Advancement and Alumni Relations events, please visit concordia.ca/alumni/podcasts and concordia.ca/alumni/videos.
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JMSB Women in Business REAL ESTATE, REAL ADVICE LOS ANGELES Real estate brokers Ann Malka, 3 Concordia President Alan Shepard BFA 03, of Team Ann Malka Real and Bram Freedman, Concordia vice- Estate, Monique Assouline, president of Advancement and External BComm 97, of Engel & Volkers and External Relations, and Leisha Relations, are pictured with Peter Montreal, and Amelia Grich, BComm LeCouvie, senior director of Alumni Lenkov (centre), attendee 86, executive 05, MBA 10, of Londono Realty Group, Relations, were also in attendance. 4 producer of Hawaii Five-O and MacGyver, joined Tingyu Zhou, assistant professor at Paramount Studios in Los Angeles. of Finance at the John Molson School HOW VIRTUAL REALITY IS While visiting with Lenkov, they met of Business, at Concordia on January CHANGING OUR WORLD Henry Winkler (inset), who played the 30, 2017. They advised a group of young Panellists Marc-Olivier Lepage, COO beloved Fonzie on the 1970s show Happy alumni on the pros and cons of buying and co-founder of Vrvana, Awane Days. Lenkov and Winkler and are or renting. 3 Jones, Chief Brand Evangelist at co-executive producers of MacGyver. 1 5th Wall, Matthew Boerum, CEO and FLORIDA co-founder of Audible Reality, Inc., TORONTO Concordia President Alan Shepard met and Samuel Poirier, co-founder of Local alumni came to network and Florida-area alumni February 9, 2017, Retinad, came to Concordia to consider schmooze with fellow Concordia grads at to talk about the Future of Talent at the the long-term effects of virtual reality. Cocktails and Connections in Toronto at Bal Harbour home of Ben Wygodny, BA The alumni event was held March 7, The Citizen on January 26, 2017. Joining 69, and Susan Raymer, BA 71. Raymer 2017, part of Engineering Week the crowd were Simin Seifzadeh, is pictured (right) with Lillian Vineberg, at Concordia. 5 MBA 16, Mathew Pizzanelli, BA 13, BFA 83, former chair of Concordia’s Frédérique Bournot, BA 11, and Jillian Board of Governors. Bram Freedman, Larkin, BFA 08. 2 vice-president of Advancement
52 | spring 2017 concordia university magazine To listen to podcasts or watch videos of Advancement and Alumni Relations events, please visit concordia.ca/alumni/podcasts and concordia.ca/alumni/videos.
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STINGERS NEWS
WOMEN’S HOCKEY: Head coach and former Olympian Julie Chu was recent- ly named Réseau du sport étudiant du Québec coach of the year. The Stingers 6 made it to the U Sports Women’s Hockey Championship for the first time since 2005. JMSB WOMEN IN BUSINESS CONFERENCE MEN’S HOCKEY: Under head coach Marc- The John Molson Women in Business André Élement, BA 11, the team made great Club, in collaboration with the John strides in 2016-17. For the first time since Molson School of Business alumni 2001, they advanced to the second round of chapter, hosted a day-long confer- the Ontario University Athletics playoffs. ence, Looking Back, Moving Forward, at Montreal’s Omni Hotel on March 11, WOMEN’S BASKETBALL: The Stingers 2017. Among those at the conference played in the Réseau du sport étudiant du were Debra Arbec, BA 89, news anchor Québec finals for the first time since 2013. for CBC Television; Ven Virah, BComm 10, award-winning professional speaker FOOTBALL: The Stingers’ 2017 schedule and event master of ceremonies; event is available at stingers.ca. co-organizer Magalie Han, BFA 08; and Caroline Codsi, president and founder of La Gouvernance au Féminin. 6
concordia university magazine spring 2017 | 53 ALUMNI NEWS
Top 10 Young Alumni to Watch with Gowling WLG’s business law team 4 Originally an electrician, Daniel Blaikie, hese 10 young Concordia alumni in Toronto. Scissons also works with MA 10, was elected Member of Parliament T are quickly making names for Peacebuilders, helping graduates of the for Elmwood-Transcona, Man., in 2015. themselves in their varied fields. program reach their educational and He sits on the Winnipeg Labour Council employment goals. As well, he acts as a and previously worked as a minister’s 1 Former Stingers wrestler Tyler consultant for the University of Toronto assistant for the Government of Manitoba Marghetis, BSc 07, MTM 09, was a four- Varsity Blues football program. and an organizer for the federal NDP. time U Sports champion. Marghetis is pursuing a PhD in cognitive science at 3 Monica Lafon, BA 09, was an 5 Daniel Grozdanov, BSc 10, is the University of California, San Diego, international student blogger while at founder of Imagine360, a Montreal- and hopes to enter academia. He has Concordia. She is now communications based immersive experience company spoken publically at several high schools and PR manager at the Centro Mario that’s an international leader in virtual about his experiences of coming out and Molina in Mexico City. Lafon is tours, virtual reality and 360º videos. competing in sports as a gay athlete. also founder of lemonsea.org, which Imagine360 has collaborated with aims to raise awareness about ocean Google Street View. It provides footage 2 Nick Scissons, BA 08, a former acidification. She previously worked for businesses, organizations and Stingers football player, earned a law for Mexico’s Ministry of the Interior, tourist destinations, increasing interest, degree from York University’s Osgoode Ministry of Foreign Affairs and engagement, business and traffic among Hall Law School. He is now an associate president’s office. 18- to 34-year olds.
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54 | spring 2017 concordia university magazine 6 Frances Wilk, BA 10, is senior 8 Ian Bradley-Perrin, BA 12, MA 15, 10 Alessia Priolo, BSc 15, is founder manager for talent acquisition for was the coordinator of Concordia’s of Sincop8ed Noize, a Montreal-based Montreal-based Breather. The web and Community Lecture Series on HIV/ music and artist promoter. Sincop8ed mobile application allows users to tap AIDS. Bradley-Perrin made POZ Noize produced ROCKALYPSE, a into a network of beautiful on-demand magazine’s POZ 100 list, which features series of four shows that featured 24 work and meeting spaces. Wilk is re- leaders in the fight against HIV/ groups competing to perform in Italy. sponsible for developing Breather’s AIDS. He is now pursuing a PhD in A musician herself, Priolo is working growing staff. The company has ex- sociomedical sciences at Columbia on her first solo album. panded to Toronto, New York City, Los University in New York City. —Beth McKenna Angeles, Boston, London and beyond. 9 Visual artist Chloe Wise, BFA 13, 7 Florence Gagnon, BFA 11, has had was featured in Elle magazine’s “15 a major impact on Quebec’s LGBTQ Women Artists who are Changing Their community through several leadership World — and Ours” in December 2016. roles. The multiple award-winning Her striking work has been included Gagnon is founding publisher at Lez in many publications, including Vogue, Spread the Word, a board member for Vice and The New York Times, and she’s Montreal Pride and an administrator exhibited in Montreal, New York City, of the Quebec Gay and Lesbian Geneva and Toronto. Chamber of Commerce.
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concordia university magazine spring 2017 | 55 ALUMNI NEWS
REWARDING ACHIEVEMENT, SUPPORTING NEED
Donor and Student Awards Concordia’s undergraduate students benefit from increased donor support for ach year members of the university scholarships and bursaries Ecommunity gather to recognize the achievements of award-winning HOWARD BOKSER students along with donors who help propel Concordia as a next-generation university. The 2017 Donor and Student Awards Celebration took place at oncordia’s donors continue to increase their giving Montreal’s Hotel Omni Mont-Royal to the university — and students are direct recipients of this support. on March 29. 1 The evening’s speakers were C Bram Freedman, vice-president, Administered through the Financial Aid and Awards Office, Advancement and External Relations; each year Concordia’s undergraduate students have access to a Natalie Fletcher, Concordia PhD wide range of entrance and in-course scholarships, based on student and recipient of the J.W. academic achievement, and entrance and in-course bursaries McConnell Memorial Doctoral for those in financial need. Fellowship; Olivier Hinse, BA 16, recipient of the Georgian Hockey And the numbers and worth of these awards continue Award in Memory of Paul Lemire; to climb. In the past five years, the total dollar value of Randall Kelly, BComm 78, CEO and undergraduate scholarships and bursaries jumped by nearly chief investment officer, Formula 30 per cent. As illustrated below, the yearly increase from Growth Ltd.; and Concordia President 2014-15 to 2015-16 was significant — funds for scholarships Alan Shepard. 1 and bursaries were up more than 13 per cent — and displays Among the crowd were student 2 3 Concordia’s real momentum. Jeremie Mede Moussa and donor Calvin Kalman, professor in Concordia’s Department of Physics 2 ; donor Michael Bleau, student Julia Marie Stoll and donor Ivonne Medina, MBA 11 3 ; students Sierra Lapointe 2015-16 and Patricia Petit Liang 4 ; and student Olufunke Bamgbade. 5 2014-15 Joining them were donor Christine 877 Lengvari, BSc 72, third from right, Recipients and students Kawish Lakhani, Amin 777 Bouabdellah, Patricia Pop, Nixon Recipients Sivarajah and Julia Perugini. 6 4 5 $1,667,024 $ Total Funds $1,424,290 $ Total Funds SCHOLARSHIPS
BURSARIES 553 547 Recipients Recipients
$698,822 $740,178 $ Total Funds $ Total Funds
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56 | spring 2017 concordia university magazine concordia university magazine spring 2017 | 21 REWARDING ACHIEVEMENT, SUPPORTING NEED Concordia’s undergraduate students benefit from increased donor support for scholarships and bursaries
HOWARD BOKSER
oncordia’s donors continue to increase their giving to the university — and students are direct recipients Cof this support. Administered through the Financial Aid and Awards Office, each year Concordia’s undergraduate students have access to a wide range of entrance and in-course scholarships, based on academic achievement, and entrance and in-course bursaries for those in financial need.
And the numbers and worth of these awards continue to climb. In the past five years, the total dollar value of undergraduate scholarships and bursaries jumped by nearly 30 per cent. As illustrated below, the yearly increase from 2014-15 to 2015-16 was significant — funds for scholarships and bursaries were up more than 13 per cent — and displays Concordia’s real momentum.
2015-16 2014-15 877 Recipients 777 Recipients $1,667,024 $ Total Funds $1,424,290 $ Total Funds SCHOLARSHIPS
BURSARIES 553 547 Recipients Recipients
$698,822 $740,178 $ Total Funds $ Total Funds
concordiaconcordia universityuniversity magazinemagazine springspring 20172017 || 5721 CLASS ACTS
Alumni with more than one degree Minister of Public Safety and Mohan Munasinghe, Ed Collister, BA (hist.), from Concordia, Sir George Williams Emergency Preparedness. 75 MA (econ.), who shared 77 recently earned an MA and/or Loyola are listed under the 2007 Nobel Prize for in ethics from the Université their earliest graduation year. The Hon. Joel Peace, received an award du Québec à Rimouski. Ed’s 64 Silcoff, BA, recently for Outstanding Lifetime thesis research was in the area The Hon. John retired as a judge of the Contributions to Energy of organizational ethics, more 53 Major, BComm, LLD Quebec Superior Court. He Policy from Maithripala specifically, on how managers 03, is a retired Justice of the has joined LCM Attorneys in Sirisena, president of Sri of community organizations Supreme Court of Canada. He Montreal as senior counsel. Lanka, in December 2016. express their ethical leadership. was recently named chair of the new Canadian Firearms Janet Mrenica, BA Advisory Committee by 84 (urban design), BComm Ralph Goodale, Canada’s (acct.) 92, is director of program compliance for the 2 Community Infrastructure Branch of Indigenous and 1 Northern Affairs Canada. “The creation of this function
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1 Anthony J. Batten, BA 64, recently had two of his works accepted into the 4 Chrissy Cheung, BFA (design art) 00, curated the exhibition SAUCY by the collections of the Canadian Senate and House of Commons. The works were part of a Canadian artist collective PAINTER8 in Vancouver. SAUCY was held at the Red Gate Arts portfolio he produced over the last five years after receiving special access to the interiors Society in April 2017 and will appear at Creative Coworkers from May 5 to June 3, 2017. of Parliament’s Centre Block. 1) Senate of Canada chamber observeroftime.com 4) Piquant
2 Susan Shulman, BFA (studio arts) 96, participated in a number of group and solo 5 Erin Rothstein, BFA (art hist. & studio arts) 08, paints hyperreal images of food. exhibitions in Montreal in 2016, including at Cheval Blanc, Arts NDG, Gallery Abyss, Fresh Her series The Tasting Room recently received a Scotiabank Viewers Choice Award and Paint Gallery and Mariposa Café. susanshulman.com 2) Bunny Face support from the Ontario Arts Council. erinrothstein.com 6) Haagen Dazs
3 Shelley Freeman, BFA (studio arts) 99, exhibited new paintings of underground and underwater spaces at The Gallery at Victoria Hall in Westmount, Que., from March 8 to April 7, 2017. shelleyfreeman.ca 3) Crossroads
58 | spring 2017 concordia university magazine Former Concordia varsity athletes and coaches Linda Macpherson, Sherry Romanado, EMBA 11, Member of Parliament for BA (rec. & leis. Studies) 86, basketball, Kathleen Casey Cook, Longueuil–Charles-LeMoyne, Que., met with retired Lieutenant- BA (leaisure studies)82, field hockey and ice hockey, Judy General and MIGS Montreal Senior Fellow Roméo Dallaire, Ware Weil, BA 78, ice hockey, Maryse Godbout, field hockey LLD 13, an internationally known advocate of peacemaking, and ice hockey, and Wendy Jamieson (not pictured), soccer and peacekeeping and peacebuilding, in March 2017. The two ice hockey, played in the 55-Plus Canada Games in Brampton, discussed the important challenges facing Canadian veterans. Ont., in August 2016. Their team took home the silver.
corresponds to the significant 30TH REUNION blues, folk, hip-hop and every of a BBC documentary increase in infrastructure strain of rock imaginable.” in December 2016. funding available for First Robert Francis, Nations communities’ needs.” 87 BComm, MBA 91, is Christopher DiRaddo, Janet is in her third year as president of PEAK Financial 25TH REUNION 98 BA (comm. studies & president of the Financial Group in Montreal. Robert journ.), recently initiated Management Institute Canada, was named 2016 Financial Anik Vigneault, BComm a reading series for LGBTQ Capital Chapter. She has a Personality of the Year 92 (mktg.), writes, “I have writers, The Violet Hour, held master’s degree in public in the Multidisciplinary owned and operated a beer- every two months at Stock Bar in administration, holds the Firms category by Finance et and wine-making shop in Montreal’s gay village. A special designations of Chartered Investissement. PEAK Financial Montreal’s West Island for the Violet event took place at Blue Professional Accountant, Group, with $9 billion in past 24 years. I am involved in Metropolis on April 28, 2017, Professional Financial assets under administration, is the home-brewing community and one will be held during Accountant and Certified among the leading independent and have served on a couple Pride Montreal in August. Procurement Manager, and is financial dealers in Canada. of committees to further the Christopher is the author audit committee certified. hobby. A few of my former of the book The Geography of Alfonso Maiorana, BA customers have turned their Pluto. christopherdiraddo.com Marianna Simeone, BA (comm. studies), is a veteran hobby into a career and are 86 (Italian), was appointed camera operator. Alfonso now working as professional Dominique Ritter, GrDip Quebec Delegate in Rome co-directed Rumble: The brewers or have opened up (journ.), was recently in January 2017. Marianna Indians Who Rocked the World, their own microbreweries.” appointed editor-in-chief is a veteran journalist and which screened at the 2017 of Reader’s Digest, based in communications specialist, Sundance Film Festival in Sarah Dudley, BFA Montreal. Dominique will and was founder and president Park City, Utah, in January. 94 (studio arts), studied lead the magazine’s editorial of Montreal communications Rumble covers “the major at the Tamarind Institute of vision and oversee content and public relations firm influence of Native Americans the University of New Mexico on all platforms. She joined MS Media. She was also on popular music. Various in Albuquerque. Sarah is a Reader’s Digest Canada in executive director of the Italian indigenous musicians, from master lithographer. She and 2011 and was most recently the Chamber of Commerce in Charlie Patton to Buffy Saint- her partner, Ulrich Kuehle, magazine’s executive editor. Canada from 1986 to 2000. Marie, Link Wray to Robbie own fine arts printmaker Robertson, played a huge part Keystone Editions in Berlin. Helena Arroyo, BA in the development of jazz, They were the subjects 04 (human environment), was recently selected to be
concordia university magazine spring 2017 | 59 KUDOS
Maya Johnson, 1 BA (journ.) 06, is Quebec City Bureau Chief for CTV News Montreal. She was named Anglophone Television Personality of the Year at the 2017 Gala Dynastie. The gala was held at Montreal’s Olympia Theatre in March and marks the end of Black History Month. It honours the work and talent of actors, members of the business community and radio and television personalities from Montreal’s Black community. 1
I Am the Blues, the latest film by Daniel Cross 2 (centre), BFA 91 (film prod.), MFA 98, won two Canadian Screen Awards on March 12: the Ted Rogers Best Feature Length Documentary and Best Cinematography in a Feature Length Documentary. Daniel is associate professor in the Film Production program at Concordia’s Mel Hoppenheim School of Cinema and founder of EyeSteelFilm. He is pictured with CBC Documentary Channel producer Bruce Cowley (left) and the award-winning cinematographer John Price, MFA (studio arts) 96. The film’s crew included Emmet Henchey, BFA (design for the theatre) 95, on sound and editor and assistant cameraman Ryan Mullins, BFA (film studies) 05, GrDip (journ.) 08. 2
Jacques Gallant, 3 BA (journ.) 13, is one of 12 journalism students and early-career journalists chosen for a Fellowship at Auschwitz for the Study of Professional Ethics. Jacques will participate in the two-week program in Germany and Poland this summer. The program examines the conduct of media professionals in Nazi-occupied Europe of the 1930s and 1940s as a way to reflect on contemporary journalism ethics. Jacques is a staff reporter at the Toronto Star.
3 part of the national campaign rich comedy series that puts 10TH REUNION Jonathan Villeneuve, for Uniterra, an initiative that unlikely pairs in conversation. 09 MFA (studio art), is sends people from Canada It’s like stumbling into an Khadija Baker, BFA a Montreal visual artist to share their skills with alternate universe where 07 (painting & drawing), specializing in digital arts communities in Africa, Asia Nancy Drew and Wonder MFA (studio arts) 13, is a and public art. He was the and South America. In 2016, Woman are rivals thrown Montreal-based artist of designer of Loop: Giant Helena was able to combine together to solve a case Kurdish-Syrian descent. Illuminated Wheels, an her market research skills through Twitter, and where Khadija’s multidisciplinary interactive art installation with her environmentalism Nietzsche and Charlie Chaplin installations — using textile, unveiled in January at Place experience for the Uniterra are roommates driving each sculpture and audio/video des Festivals in Montreal’s team in Guatemala. The team other mad with passive — investigate social and Quartier des Spectacles. compiled data and analyzed new aggressive notes.” The podcast political themes centred on ways to respond to Guatemala’s is available at stitcherpremium. the uncertainty of home as it Guillaume Collin, ever-growing waste crisis in com/penpals. Sign up and use relates to persecution, identity, 13 BFA (film production), the Lake Atitlán region. the promo code PENPALS displacement, and memory. and Vincent Toi, BFA (film to get the first month free. Her most recent work explores production), co-produced the Cristal Duhaime, BA the social aspects of violence in short fiction film The Crying 06 (comm. studies), and the Arab world and specifically Conch. The film was selected Mira Burt-Wintonick, how it affects women and for the Berlinale Shorts, BA (comm. studies) 07, are children. khadijabaker.info part of the 67th Berlin Film working on their podcast, Pen Festival in February 2017. It Pals. “Pen Pals is a sound- was the only Canadian entry
60 | spring 2017 concordia university magazine SAVE THE DATES: The Walrus Talks Concordia experts will again participate in the Walrus Talks series. The talks will cover the theme of disruption. October 10: Bader Theatre, Toronto October 24: National Arts Centre, Ottawa November 9: Theatre Junction Grand, Calgary
In memoriam Stuart McLean, BA 71, LLD 14, best known to legions of fans for his warm and humorous CBC Radio show The Vinyl Café, passed away on February 15, 2016. He was 68.
The Vinyl Café debuted in 1994 and featured music by Canadian artists, essays and stories. Most memorably, the program featured Stuart amusingly recounting the ongoing saga of a fictional Toronto family. He was born in Montreal and attended Sir George Williams University, one of Concordia’s founding institutions.
McLean also taught broadcast journalism at Ryerson University in Toronto from 1984 to 2004 and then became a professor emeritus. He was named an Officer Up With Women (upwithwomen.org), launched by Lia of the Order of Canada in 2011 and received honorary Grimanis, attendee 97, was recognized with a Women of degrees from a number of Canadian universities, including Worth award and grant from L’Oréal Canada in March 2017. Concordia in 2014. Lia is pictured at right with actress Blake Lively.
Suraj Sadan, MA (art ed.) 80, held an exhibit called Faces Uri Levine (second from left), co-founder of the popular of Peace and Freedom in Delhi, India, from January 30 to navigation app Waze, spoke to a room of attentive entrepreneurs February 3, 2017. The exhibit featured 20 of his portraits of at Concordia’s District 3 Innovation Center on March 23. He Mahatma Gandhi. It was presented by the Department of was invited by Canadian Friends of Tel Aviv University. Levine Art, Culture and Language of the Delhi Government. Suraj is pictured with Concordia President Alan Shepard, Meir has also drawn portraits of former Indian prime ministers Buber of Tel Aviv University and Bram Freedman, Concordia Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi, among many others. vice-president of Advancement and Alumni Relations.
concordia university magazine spring 2017 | 61 IN MEMORIAM
Walter Kelsey, BComm 38, James A. Redmond, BSc 63, Harry J. Zarins, GrDip (DIA) Denis Labranche, BComm 87, Nov. 13, 2016, Vancouver. Nov. 19, 2016, Georgetown, Ont. 77, Dec. 26, 2016, Ottawa. Sept. 20, 2016, Montreal. He was 101. He was 86. He was 65. He was 73.
Saul Gerson, BSc 46, Nov. 11, Donald I. McAnespie, Cert 65, Denis C. Gobeil, BComm Hyman Mestel, BA 88, Dec. 7, 2016, Montreal. He was 94. Jan. 5, 2017, Windsor, Ont. He 78, GrDip 86, Nov. 2, 2016, 2016, Montreal. He was 84. was 75. Montreal. He was 63. John H. Walsh, BA 48, Dec. 22, Maria T. Freeman, BA 89, Dec. 2016, Calgary. He was 90. William M. Hawes, BSc 68, Oct. Nancy D. Gobeil, BA 78, Dec. 30, 27, 2016, Montreal. She was 81. 28, 2016, Ottawa. He was 70. 2016, Hudson, Que. She was 62. Isidore Greenbaum, BA 50, Laurel E. Woodcock, BFA 90, Dec. 29, 2016, Montreal. Paul E. Pidcock, BSc 68, July 1, Gordon Irving, BSc 78, Jan. 24, Jan. 7, 2017, Guelph, Ont. She He was 92. 2015, Timmins, Ont. He was 99. 2016, Orleans, Ont. He was 62. was 56.
Raymond R. Coté, Attd 51, Apr. Eli Abraham Schneider, BSc Albert Spiegel, BA 78, Nov. 29, Gloria McCormick, Cert 95, BA 13, 2016, Montreal. He was 83. 69, GrDip 84, MA 94, June 1, 2016, Los Angeles, Calif. 99, Sept. 22, 2016, Longueuil, 2016, Montreal. He was 72. He was 86. Que. She was 72. André Bérard, Attd 52, Mar. 9, 2016, Montreal. He was 84. Pierre Béliveau, BComm 69, Oct. Robert Chartrand, BA 79, Nov. 16, Yvonne Sandor-Bercovici, BA 21, 2016, Montreal. He was 69. 2006, Las Vegas, Nev. He was 63. 96, Jan. 1, 2017, Florida. She Roger A.Z. Latour, BComm 52, was 62. Oct. 20, 2016, Montreal. Elena Castracane, BA 69, Léon René de Cotret, BA 79, He was 89. Dec. 11, 2016, Montreal. June 3, 2016, Montreal. He was 59. Alexandra Olsen, BA 98, MA She was 70. 04, Nov. 24, 2016, Montreal. F. Gordon Clark, BComm 55, Sandi I. Lax, BA 79, BFA 87, She was 41. Oct. 19, 2016, Victoria. Howard L. Brenhouse, BComm Jan. 7, 2017, Montreal. He was 84. 70, Dec. 29, 2016, Montreal. Vishal Sardana, BComm 00, Robert J. Lough, BComm 79, Dec. 22, 2016, Dorval, Que. Gerald Long, BA 55, June 28, Angela Litman, BA 70, Nov. 27, Nov. 2, 2016, Toronto. He was 57. He was 41. 2016, Montreal. He was 84. 2016, Montreal. She was 79. Leslie A. Brooks, BA 80, Dec. Shannon M. Williams, BA 00, Thomas R. Turnbull, BComm David Willson, BA 70, Nov. 3, 2016, 31, 2016, Montreal. He was 78. July 10, 2016, Ottawa. He was 55, Dec. 7, 2016, Calgary. Hawkesbury, Ont. He was 70. 39. He was 89. Daniel Erban, BA 80, MSc 83, Peneloppe Ann Kitching, BSc Jan. 3, 2017, Montreal. Rachel Lefebvre, PhD 02, Dec. Leo Labrosse, BComm 56, July 71, Dec. 13, 2016, Port Moody, He was 65. 3, 2016, Melbourne, Fla. 17, 2016, Montreal. He was 90. B.C. She was 84. She was 43. Fern S. Butler, BA 81, Dec. 25, Harold Granitz, BComm 58, Dec. Gary Sullivan, BA 71, Nov. 29, 2016, Ottawa. She was 78. Henry Szefer, BA 07, Apr. 3, 15, 2016, Montreal. He was 80. 2016, Montreal. He was 72. 2016, Victoriaville, Que. Joseph H. Audate, BSc 83, He was 63. Keith G. Lawton, BComm 58, William F. Rathborne, BComm June 18, 2016, Chapais, Que. Jan. 2, 2017, Montreal. 72, Sept. 16, 2016, London, Ont. He was 61. Renée Fairweather, Cert 08, He was 78. He was 70. May 14, 2016, Ottawa. Trisha Mae Johnson, BA 85, She was 54. Kenneth P. Riley, BComm 59, William E. Shoup, MA 74, Dec. 10, 2016, Currys Corner, Nov. 18, 2016, Ottawa. July 18, 2016, Winnipeg. N.S. She was 70. Pierre-Alexandre Fortin, BA He was 91. 14, June 15, 2016, Longueuil, Christopher (Chris) Mark Caroline Belafi, BComm 87, Que. He was 27. J. Fraser Martin, BA 60, Cleaver, BA 75, May 27, 2016, June 16, 2016, Montreal. Nov. 26, 2016, Hudson, Que. London, Ont. He was 64. She was 52. He was 77. Donald C. Thompson, BComm Frances Karanofsky, BA 87, Robert F. Ellis, BSc 62, Dec. 7, 75, Sept. 9, 2016, Georgetown, Dec. 26, 2016, Montreal. 2016, Montreal. He was 75. Ont. He was 73. She was 88.
62 | spring 2017 concordia university magazine WORDS & MUSIC
Fair ladies, great mistakes and .400 hitters
JEREMY GLASS- Moss Hart intersected with The Great Mistake restore their friendship. PILON, BSC 14 their real-life biographies. Mysteries (Dundurn Press, From Plateau Mont-Royal The little book examines $8.99), a new youth-fiction to Machu Picchu, Peru, and n Les Juifs du Québec: gender codes in the musical. series by Sylvia McNicoll, beyond, the comic, erotic, In Canada We Trust. Garebian is an award- BA (Eng.) 78, introduces tender and harrowing Réflexion sur l’identité winning author of 11 books animals, mystery and story investigates themes québécoiseI (L’ABC de and lives in Toronto. humour in a neighborhood of mortality, idealism and l’Édition, $24.95), Victor setting. Twelve-year-old transgressive art. Code lives Teboul, BA. (Fr.) 69, tackles Witness the astonishing Stephen Noble epitomizes in Peterborough, Ont., the controversial issue of Jews images of Antarctica and today’s anxious child, and is also the author of and other minorities’ absence its frozen grandeur in the afraid of making mistakes. the collection of stories from La Belle province’s second photography book He copes with his fear by In a Mist (2007).
memory. While they certainly by Arnold Zageris, BSc analyzing, ranking and, With the baseball season just played a role in Quebec (psych.) 69. Having spent in a way, celebrating his underway, Steve Myers, history, he contends these 13 years travelling across errors. The Best Mistake GrDip (journ.) 10, pitches groups are not regarded by Antarctica with his camera, Mystery will be followed by in with Dreaming .400 media and in history books as often balancing his tripod The Artsy Mistake Mystery in (Summer Game Books, participants in the building in a Zodiac boat buffeted by August 2017. The award- $18.32). The collection of 11 of a French-speaking nation. ocean currents, Zageris’s winning McNicoll lives in short stories is a celebration Teboul holds a PhD from the Antarctica (Fitzhenry & Burlington, Ont., and is of the game — in the seductive Université de Montréal, is the Whiteside, $75) brings the author of more than swing of a girl who turns author of several essays and the reader to the world’s 30 novels. tinsel into gold; in the novels and the editor of the southernmost landscape, passion of an orphan on a online magazine Tolerance.ca. complete with fantastical Devon Code, MA (Eng.) quest to reach the Astrodome; shapes and compelling, 07, recently published his in a vision of the future in Keith Garebian, MA 71, natural beauty. Zageris’s debut novel, Involuntary which players are made, not recently published his work is in private, corporate Bliss (BookThug Press, born. The Montreal-based 22nd book, Lerner and and public collections, $20). Situated in modern- Myers is self-professed part Loewe’s My Fair Lady including at the Museum day Montreal during a baseball nut, part poet. (Routledge, $10.95), a study of Contemporary Canadian weekend in late August, of how the roles of actors Art, the National Gallery Involuntary Bliss follows —Jeremy Glass-Pilon, BSc 14, is Rex Harrison and Julie of Canada and the Canada two young men who come a Concordia Graduate Diploma Andrews and director Council for the Arts. together in an attempt to in Journalism student.
concordia university magazine spring 2017 | 63 ENOUGH SAID
A reminiscence hives c r
by way of A
introduction niversity U ordia SEAN KELLY, BA (ENG.) 63 c on C John Buell, BA 50, began teaching Build English in 1950 at Loyola College, one of Concordia’s founding institutions, and dreams remained at the university until retiring in 1987. His novel The Pyx, originally published in 1959, has been reissued by Véhicule Press in its Ricochet Books Canadian noir series. Below is an excerpt of the new introduction by Buell’s former student, Sean Kelly.
SEAN KELLY WAS AN EDITOR OF NATIONAL LAMPOON MAGAZINE AND HAD A SUCCESSFUL CAREER AS A WRITER. n 1959, when his novel The Pyx was HE NOW TEACHES IN THE HUMANITIES AND MEDIA STUDIES DEPARTMENT OF THE PRATT INSTITUTE IN BROOKLYN, N.Y. published, John Buell was a 32-year- (INSET) JOHN BUELL AT LOYOLA COLLEGE IN THE 1960S; THE PYX (1959) WAS THE FIRST OF HIS FIVE NOVELS. old professor at Loyola College, where I was a first-year student and he saved He surreptitiously placed a matchbook I realized that he, a chain smoker, had my life. on the table in front of me. Matchbook given up cigarettes for Lent. Throughout my spotty adolescence covers sometimes feature ads for trade An annual feature of Jesuit schools I had written a great deal of stuff that I schools or restaurants, but this one bore is a retreat, several days of tedious, believed to be poetry. Professor Buell a cartoon of an owl, captioned “Hooty compulsory chapel attendance based on was kind enough to show some of my the Owl.” The thought that it had been the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius. work to a real poet, his friend Daniel someone’s job to dream up those words But one afternoon in 1961 we beheld not Berrigan, S.J. It was Father Berrigan’s and write them down, get them ap- another fearsome black robe ascending considered opinion that I should stick proved by a higher up, then have them the pulpit, but Professor Buell, wearing to prose; thus I was spared the wretched set in type made me laugh — there’s his tweed jacket. I was so astonished to ALUMNI INSURANCE PLANS existence and early suicide that every no other word for it — hysterically. see a layman preaching in church that fake poet deserves. Professor Buell scowled a Zeus-like I can’t recall the subject of his homily. Loyola had just instituted an honours scowl and I scurried, giggling, out of the But I do remember how he concluded: We are all bound by familiar milestones in life — and the financial English program. I took, and found room. “I can’t bless you, but we can all bless stimulating, and did rather badly in, One evening I was invited to his home ourselves.” responsibilities that come with them. Whether you’re raising a family or a roof over two of Professor Buell’s classes. He was to discuss plans for the next college That, a year before Vatican II, had a your head, make sure you’ve got the right insurance plan in place for your family. a brilliant teacher, provocative, strict, Drama Society production, in which thrilling whiff of heresy. Find out how Alumni Insurance Plans can help. amusing, sometimes funny, always he always took an interest. Hanging on The Loyola Chapel also happens to be intense. He always wore a grown-up a living room wall of the Buell home the last place I saw Professor Buell. We Term Life Insurance • Income Protection Disability Insurance tweed jacket and tie to class. Scruffy as we was a very large, framed print of Dali’s were among those attending the funeral were, we did not think of him as a pal. Christ of St. John of the Cross. Playing of Father Gerald MacGuigan, S.J., long- • Health & Dental Insurance • Major Accident Protection I saw him seriously angry only once. softly on the phonograph was the Missa time chairman of the English department In his Shakespeare seminar, he and sev- Luba, a recently recorded setting of and a teacher generations of us genuinely To learn more visit manulife.com/alumnimilestones or call toll-free 1-888-913-6333 en students sat around a table, all of us the Latin Mass sung by a Congolese venerated. It was widely believed that smoking furiously. When I realized, to choir. Evidently, I was in the presence Father MacGuigan kept a list of gradu- my dismay, that I was out of matches, I of a practising Catholic intellectual. ates, his “Silver Seven,” who would go silently, so as not to interrupt the fellow Of course, he had never flaunted his on to do great things. We all hoped we who was reading his paper aloud, sig- faith in class. But for six weeks in the were on it — but we were certain that John nalled the person next to me for a light. spring he was always pretty cranky; now Buell’s name led all the rest. Underwritten by The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company. Manulife and the Block Design are trademarks of The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company and are used by it, and by its affiliates under license. 64 | spring 2017 concordia university magazine © 2015 The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company (Manulife). All rights reserved. Manulife, PO Box 4213, Stn A, Toronto, ON M5W 5M3.
162104 Alumni Multi_Concordia_1.indd 1 2016-08-04 12:23 PM Build dreams
ALUMNI INSURANCE PLANS
We are all bound by familiar milestones in life — and the financial responsibilities that come with them. Whether you’re raising a family or a roof over your head, make sure you’ve got the right insurance plan in place for your family. Find out how Alumni Insurance Plans can help.
Term Life Insurance • Income Protection Disability Insurance • Health & Dental Insurance • Major Accident Protection
To learn more visit manulife.com/alumnimilestones or call toll-free 1-888-913-6333
Underwritten by The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company. Manulife and the Block Design are trademarks of The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company and are used by it, and by its affiliates under license. © 2015 The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company (Manulife). All rights reserved. Manulife, PO Box 4213, Stn A, Toronto, ON M5W 5M3.
162104 Alumni Multi_Concordia_1.indd 1 2016-08-04 12:23 PM 16-474_MacleansDigitalArchives_Concordia_OUTLINES.indd 1 2016-08-30 2:11 PM