Board of Governors

Concordia’s Board of Governors is the highest decision-making body and the primary governing body of the University.

The Board of Governors is Concordia’s highest oversight body. It is responsible for supervising the general operation of Concordia University, particularly with regards to financial matters. It oversees the strategic direction and growth of the University. It also has jurisdiction over assets and properties and final authority over the hiring and evaluation of Senior Administrators. The Board is also responsible for setting the fees that students pay to the University.

The Board is made up of 15 external governors (members who come from outside Concordia) and 10 internal governors. The 10 internal spots are taken up by the President, five full-time professors, one part-time professor, one staff member, one graduate student, and one undergraduate student. Undergraduate students also won the right to appoint a secondary governor who can participate on the Board, but who cannot vote. Both undergraduate positions are appointed by the CSU, and our primary governor is the CSU’s General Coordinator.

It should be noted that before the reduction of the Board from 40 members to 25, which took place in 2012, undergraduate students held 4 seats. That means that our representation on the Board fell from 10% of voting members to 4% of voting members. The inclusion of an alternate governor helps somewhat, but their lack of a vote remains a point of contention for undergraduate students.

Despite the fact that external governors on the Board are supposed to represent the community at large, there tend to be many members who are CEOs and executives of large corporations, energy firms, and mining companies. These members clearly have interests that diverge from most of the Concordia community.