Concordia president Claude Lajeunesse commends the leadership of his predecessor, Frederick Lowy. “I see now the situation as one of continuity,” he says. At the same time, “like any institution, we also have to renew ourselves, continue to look at what we’re doing, and see how we can improve it.”
“I always felt that Concordia was one of the
most exciting universities in Canada,” says Claude Lajeunesse,
exuding his pleasure at being back in Montreal to begin a five-year
term as Concordia’s President and Vice-Chancellor. “The
concept of Concordia — being a very open, very accessible and
very high-quality institution — was something that was attractive
to me.” Lajeunesse, who took office August 1, adds that being
located in the energetic, bilingual and multicultural milieu of Montreal,
“a city on the move,” is a great strength for a university.
Lajeunesse is no stranger to cosmopolitan campuses — the skilled
academic administrator comes to Concordia following a successful decade
at Toronto’s Ryerson University, where he oversaw a 40 per cent
increase in undergraduate enrolment and a fourfold increase in international
students. His leadership there also saw the development of a broadened
curriculum, including 14 new graduate programs, and the opening of
six new buildings.
An engineer by training (see biography below), Lajeunesse has experienced
the academic world from many different perspectives: as a professor,
researcher, administrator, and executive at major funding and research
agencies and professional associations in Canada.
Universal financial challenges
As head of the Association of Universities and Colleges
of Canada from 1988 to 1995, Lajeunesse worked to organize and represent
Canadian universities on both the national and international scenes,
and came to understand the financial challenges faced by all universities.
Due to their structure, involvement in technology and the current
intense competition for faculty and employees, “the cost of
living is increasing in universities at a much higher rate than the
normal cost of living,” Lajeunesse explains. “That in
itself puts tremendous pressure on every university to try to make
ends meet — it’s not a problem that is exclusive to Concordia.
Those who succeed are the ones who take these challenges and turn
them into opportunities.”
For universities in Canada, a key issue is their support from government
and from tuition fees — less than 10 per cent of funding comes
from other sources. In the 1960s, Lajeunesse points out, tuition in
Quebec was between $500 and $600. “At the time you could buy
a brand new car for about double that price,” he says. “Nowadays,
the tuition is $1,800, and you certainly cannot buy a new car for
$3,600. Clearly, there are many students who can afford to invest
more in their own education.”
But Lajeunesse asserts that “government should not be allowed
to increase tuition until there is a solid program of bursaries and
scholarships for students who need it. We need to provide that.”
Building sustained support
Claude Lajeunesse recognizes that some of the key
factors for Concordia’s success in the next five to 10 years
include increasing its endowment, providing more scholarships and
bursaries to its students, and continuing to modernize its buildings.
He believes that the Concordia community and its alumni will play
a major role in developing this success.
“When you call alumni, when you call the community and say,
‘We need support for our needy students,’ the response
is always the best that you can have,” he says. In other words,
the cause speaks for itself. “Excellence and support for students,
research and community involvement are very well understood and supported
by the community.”
Lajeunesse has hit the ground running. Over the past year, Provost
and Vice President, Academic Affairs, Martin Singer, in consultation
with colleagues across the university’s academic departments,
has developed an academic plan that outlines strategies and goals
for the next five years (see Moving
Ahead [pdf]). Lajeunesse affirms that the fine points, such as budget,
need to be worked out, and then over the next year the academic plan
will be rolled out across the institution.
Looking forward, Lajeunesse hopes to organize a symposium on the globalization
of education in the near future. This is an issue that should concern
Concordia, he feels. There is generally much greater mobility in today’s
world, “and if you look at those who hire our graduates, they
want them to have an understanding that goes beyond local issues,
for example, of other types of cultures.” Concordia now has
a significant number of international students, which has become an
important force within the university, he adds. At the same time,
Lajeunesse believes broadening Concordia’s horizon includes
forming closer partnerships with the other three Montreal universities.
The new president believes the goal of partnerships locally, nationally
and internationally is to ensure Concordia provides its students with
a better learning experience. “Universities are not there only
to prepare people to work,” Lajeunesse says. “They have
to be that. Nowadays people go to university to work, but at the same
time, the role of the universities is to prepare them to be better
citizens and to understand issues — that’s critical.”
One of the major issues of today’s world is the need for a clearer
understanding of international cultures and issues, Lajeunesse adds.
“And that’s one of the roles that the university should
play for all of its students.”
A brief biography
Claude Lajeunesse holds a Ph.D. (1969) and a Master
of Science (1967) in nuclear engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic
Institute in Troy, New York. He obtained his Bachelor of Applied Science
in Engineering Physics from l'École Polytechnique, l’Université
de Montréal, in 1965.
He began his career as a senior staff physicist at the Combustion
Engineering Company in Windsor, Connecticut, then became associate
professor in engineering physics at l'Université du Québec
à Trois-Rivières, becoming head of the engineering department
in 1972.
In 1974, he assumed responsibility as syndic and head of legal affairs
for l’Ordre des ingénieurs du Québec in Montreal and
four years later became general manager of the Canadian Council of
Professional Engineers in Ottawa.
In 1984, he served as director of targeted research for the Natural
Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) in Ottawa.
In 1987, he returned briefly to Montreal to serve as president and
chief executive officer of le Centre de recherche informatique de
Montréal (CRIM), an organization which brings together stakeholders,
resources and financing for the information technology sector in Quebec.
From 1988 to 1995, Lajeunesse headed the Association of Universities
and Colleges of Canada, a post he left to become president of Ryerson
University in Toronto.
See a full
biography of Claude Lajeunesse
If you have any comments about this article, contact
Howard Bokser, (514) 848-2424 ext. 3826, Howard.Bokser@concordia.ca
