Concordia Journal Home > Archives > February 12, 2009 issue >

Presidential Panels hard at work 

The consultative portion of the strategic planning process is in the home stretch before President Judith Woodsworth submits the plan to the Board of Governors for approval in June.

Over the holidays, Woodsworth created three Presidential Panels to address areas she was particularly interested in further exploring.

The panels focus on Student Experience, Employee Engagement and Community Engagement. Details of the panels’ mandates and members are available at www.concordia.ca/strategicplanning/presidentialpanels. All three panels are well on their way to reporting their conclusions to Woodsworth by late March.

Each of the panels has met several times since the term began, reviewing material collected up until now, defining terms and priorities and considering what other material or input would be useful.

Russell Copeman, chair of the Community Engagement panel, said that developing a workable definition of the panel's theme was the first order of business. The agreed-upon definition of community engagement is to, “relate the knowledge, talents and resources of the university to the needs of the community to promote social responsibility and sustainability.”

Copeman's panel will be meeting weekly and is undertaking an inventory of existing university initiatives fitting this definition as well as proposing new activities.

A meeting on Feb. 12 will seek input from alumni on the role of community engagement at Concordia. The panelists also hope to meet with students and employee leaders to discuss the issue from their point of view.

Meanwhile, the panel on Student Experience has already set up a meeting with student leaders and the Concordia Council on Student Life for Feb. 13. According to panel chair Donald Boisvert, the panel will be reporting to the President by the end of March.

The panel on Employee Engagement has begun to define terms and priorities and will be meeting weekly, calling for input as needed. Panel chair Roger Côté reports the panel is looking at both employee engagement with the university and the university’s engagement with its employees.

Information on how to reach the panel chairs is also available on the website. Their findings will be an important component in identifying the actions that will emanate from the strategic plan.