Board of Governors in brief

→ Interest-free loans

A concern brought to the Board of Governors meeting held Friday morning was the financing of KnowledgeOne, the company that runs eConcordia. Governor Lawrence Kryzanowski from the John Molson School of Business said he was “uncomfortable” with the lack of information surrounding an interest-free loan given to the company by Concordia. Considering that KnowledgeOne, which operates eConcordia, is losing money Kryzanowski asked for more transparency on the issue.

It also appears that Concordia’s $1.4 million interest-free loan issued to former Concordia President Frederick Lowy has not yet been repaid. It was addressed at the meeting and confirmed by university spokesperson Chris Mota that Lowy will reimburse the loan as soon as he is able to sell his condominium. The asking price for the Doctor Penfield Avenue penthouse is $1,399,000.

→ Financial questions

Governor Norman Ingram, the chair of the history department, suggested that Concordia’s senior administrators have benefited from an increase of approximately 10 per cent in salaries. Ingram emphasized that this raise in income favoured non-academic positions and that the BoG “should be concerned” about the increase in some areas more than others. Governor Lex Gill agreed, asking for a document outlining provincial regulations regarding salaries and bonuses for senior administration. Chair Norman Hébert said that the BoG will present a report to “shed light” on the questions.

→ A motion for bicameralism

The BoG passed a motion to approve changes to the university’s bylaws in an effort to make Concordia’s governance more bicameral. In lieu of opening the charter, articles 36 and 62 were amended and earned the approval of Senate. The amendments ensure that BoG cannot invalidate a motion passed by Senate without the approval from a joint meeting between Senate’s steering committee and BoG’s executive committee. Furthermore, Senate will no longer derive its authority from the BoG and is the final authority when it comes to academic matters. This motion stemmed from a recommendation from the Shapiro Report issued in 2011 that suggested the BoG held too much power much over Senate.

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