ConU announces presidential candidate

Alan Shepard currently works at Ryerson University. Photo by Colin McNeil, The Ryersonian

Concordia’s presidential search committee announced Dr. Alan Shepard as its candidate recommendation for the position of university president.

A joint meeting between the Board of Governors and Senate to introduce presidential candidate Shepard will be held in the D.B. Clarke auditorium on April 24 at 12 p.m. The meeting will be open to the Concordia students, faculty and staff.

The Presidential Search Committee unanimously recommended Shepard, the current provost at Ryerson University, for the position. Shepard would replace interim President Frederick Lowy, who took the position in January 2011 following the abrupt departure of former president Judith Woodsworth.

Committee member and Concordia Student Union President, Lex Gill, believes Shepard’s academic background and his “fresh and young perspective on governance and university affairs” will be beneficial to the university.

“I feel positively about Dr. Shepard,” Gill said. “He’s very dialogue-focused and building relationships which I feel is what Concordia University needs right now.”

Concordia also announced the appointment of Norman Hébert Jr. as the new chair of the Board of Governors .

Norman Hébert Jr. was appointed as chair of the Board of Governors upon the recommendation of the university’s governance and ethics committee. His three-year term will begin on July 1 2012. For six years Hébert served as a member of the advisory board of the John Molson School of Business and is currently vice-chair of Concordia’s board.

Hébert will be replacing current chair Peter Kruyt, whose resignation has been called for on several occasions by the Senate and student groups in 2011.

In March, The Concordian reported that Hébert was absent from two of the three board meetings held last fall.

In addition, Provost David Graham announced the appointment of Steve Harvey as the new dean of the JMSB. His five-year term will take effect on July 1, 2012.

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