by Barbara Black

It couldn’t have been a better day for the inauguration of the new home of Concordia science. The sun shone, the wine flowed and the expressions of gratitude were heartfelt as the university community and guests celebrated the opening of the Richard J. Renaud Science Complex on September 22.

Topping the list of invited speakers was Quebec Premier Jean Charest, who said he’s been intensely interested in universities as the result of representing the riding in the Eastern Townships that includes the Université de Sherbrooke and Bishop’s, and added that “now it’s our turn” to find the funds to support universities. Charest spoke with warmth and informality about the year he taught political science at Concordia in 1994-95, which he called “an absolutely marvellous experience.”

Richard Renaud, L BComm 69, the donor after whom the building is named, said that he started studying at Loyola College exactly 40 years ago. At that time, only five per cent of Canadians had post-secondary education; now, it’s four times that figure and rising. With government budgets stretched to the limit for health and education spending, he feels we must stabilize university costs.

Renaud joked that he and his wife Carolyn were able to keep up with the progress of the building that now bears his name as they often walked their dog past the Loyola Campus. He also marvelled at how Concordia has leapt ahead in the past decade under the leadership of Frederick Lowy.

Renaud paid tribute to the foresight of Lillian Vineberg, BFA 83, who chaired the committee on the revitalization of the Loyola Campus, and to Jonathan Wener, S BComm 71, head of the real estate committee of Concordia’s Board of Governors, who researched the original 1916 design of the buildings and did everything possible to make the new building harmonize with the old.

Faculty of Arts and Science Dean Martin Singer said that the new building gives everyone “a tremendous sense of accomplishment,” and it has already enabled the faculty to attract new researchers, grants and students.

The proceedings were emceed by Charles Tisseyre, long-time host of Radio-Canada’s science program Découverte. Fourth-year psychology student Sebastien Fournier gave a glowing tribute to the Science College, of which he is a member and which has moved from one of the Mackay St. annexes to the new building. The ceremony also included a native blessing and a ceremonial tree planting. Rector Lowy summed up everyone’s mood when he said, “It’s a wonderful time to be here.”

Rick Renaud, L BComm 69, thinks of Concordia as “the most under-told story in town,” and it’s hard to talk to him about his alma mater without getting an extended testimonial for the university. He’s a tireless Concordia booster, giving money for scholarships and bursaries, donating to the university’s capital projects, and persuading other Montrealers to support the cause.

Renaud is a graduate of Loyola, both the high school and the college. He became a chartered accountant and taught part-time in Concordia’s business school in the mid-1970s. He describes himself as a merchant banker specializing in restructuring, and made his career by buying companies and re-selling them. Now he probably spends about half his time being creative with his philanthropy. Renaud says he gets his biggest payback out of helping needy young people, from the exceptional Concordia graduate he is putting through medical school to the hot-meals program he started for teens in Verdun. He’s obviously taken the Jesuit motto “a man for others” to heart.

Looking ahead

Renaud reveals a forward-thinking approach — possibly a clue to his business success — when talking about Concordia and university education in general. “Sixty per cent of university graduates are women — 85 per cent in some countries,” he says. “The 21st century will be about women [achieving power through devices like] micro-loan programs.” He proudly points out how Concordia has been an innovator, but a practical, prudent one. “Big-name schools are spending billions on e-learning programs, but Concordia has been doing this for about $500,000,” he says. “Our consumers for e-learning will be baby boomers, and it’s not something that’s elite-driven. We can deliver education electronically to remote places like Lesotho [South Africa], and e-education will lower our costs.”

Ever optimistic, Renaud feels the “funding and political slump” in Quebec over the past decade helped position Concordia “for future fundraising. Our capital campaign [1996-99] put us on the map. Sure, we have had of challenges — big community donors were affected by the Netanyahu affair — but the tide is changing,” he says.

Tellingly, Renaud eagerly displays an album comprised of touching letters from students who received bursaries through the years. He’s stunned by the enormous need out there, and he would like to see his wealthy friends, and maybe some of the rest of us who are just comfortable, take a needy student under our wing to support their education.

Renaud joined Concordia’s Board of Governors in 1989, but it was the crisis of the four slain engineering professors in 1992 that really piqued his interest. He has been more active since then — as the board’s vice-chair and on its advancement committee, on the advisory board of the Faculty of Engineering & Computer Science, and as vice-chair of the Concordia Foundation.

In person, Renaud is modest, even shy. He rarely gives speeches, doesn’t want to chair Concordia’s board, and at first declined media interviews at the opening of the building named after him. (He was eventually convinced otherwise.) He did make a speech this summer in England at the invitation of the Oxford Round Table, a conference on university administration. In it, he pointed to the need for philanthropists to close the widening gap between inadequate funding and increasing need, relating Concordia’s experience.

While Renaud has no special affinity with the sciences ‹ despite his name now being attached to the science complex ‹ the idea of the new building thrills him, particularly the effect it will have on the gracious but sleepy west-end campus he knew as a student. He points out that he and Carolyn have lived their entire lives in the west end, and he’s glad to have helped infuse the neighbourhood with life.

“It makes a statement about excellence,” he says of the Richard J. Renaud Science Complex. “It’s the most modern building of its kind, in an unbelievable location. Concordia is really poised to go forward now.”