Member, Board of Governors

Concordia University, Edmonton, Canada, 2011-2014

Concordia University of Edmonton (formerly Concordia University College) was founded in 1921 by the Lutheran Church. I was invited to serve on the Board of Governors as a community member. During my tenure, one of the Board’s achievements was for Concordia to gain university status. In fact, 2011-2014 were pivotal years leading to a total re-focusing of Concordia. Edmonton is located south of large Indigenous communities in northern Alberta. Concordia provides small class sizes, exceptional academic support, and large student residences with space for most of its students to live on campus in a supportive and safe environment. These factors attracted a significant number of Indigenous students from remote northern communities to attend Concordia for their university education. Indigenous youth are now the fastest growing demographic in Canada. Concordia is in a unique position to serve this growing population but its history as a Lutheran college created barriers. During my time on the Board, we changed Concordia from a religious (Lutheran) institution into a non-denominational university for all. It was a total re-focusing of Concordia, and we achieved this against strong resistance from the Lutheran church establishment and their appointed Board members. Concordia’s new constitution and management structure are designed to provide a supportive environment for all student groups and ensure that in particular the Indigenous students receive a high quality university education.