Deputy provost Lisa Ostiguy leads the charge to find Patrick Boivin’s replacement
Concordia University has set up a search committee to find a new director for the recreation and athletics department.
The search committee will be chaired by deputy provost Lisa Ostiguy, according to Mary-Jo Barr, the university spokesperson, “and also includes a student service director, a vice-president and two athletes named by the coaches from two different sports.”
Although the former athletics director, Patrick Boivin, stepped down from his position in December 2016, the school has yet to hire his permanent replacement. Boivin, who was with the university for three years and headed the Concordia Stingers rebrand in September 2015, left the recreation and athletics department to become the president and CEO of the Montreal Alouettes.
After Boivin left, Concordia fired former assistant director John Bower in January 2017, according to The Link. Bower has since become the athletics director at the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology in Edmonton, Alta.
D’Arcy Ryan, Concordia’s director of residence administration, has been the interim athletics director for nearly 10 months. Concordia University President Alan Shepard previously told The Concordian that having this many changes in an organization is normal, and the Stingers are in a renewal period.
“We took [Boivin’s departure] as an opportunity to do a full review of the program,” Shepard said, adding that academic programs typically get reviewed every five to seven years. “It’s been about nine or 10 years since we’ve done a review [of the athletics department].”
The review of the department began in January and was completed this summer. Barr said the review process involved meeting with members of the recreation and athletics staff, student-athletes, representatives from student services and Concordia Stingers alumni.
The Concordian has also learned that Jennifer Brenning, athletics director at Carleton University, was asked to assist in the department’s review.
“There was a survey sent to all members [of the recreation and athletics department] for their input,” Barr said in an email to The Concordian. “All internal feedback was summarized and reviewed with the recreation and athletics department for their further input.”
According to Shepard, Concordia funds more money into athletics compared to other universities, but he didn’t specify which universities they were compared to. He did not elaborate on what the department review meant for the search for a new athletics director.
Although the recreation and athletics department has been without a director for nearly a year, Barr said “the goal is to fill the position as soon as possible.”
Feature photo by Nicholas Di Giovanni
