After being aborted last fall, the race for the rectorship is relaunched at the University of Quebec in Montreal (UQAM), where three professors with a long track record are vying for this coveted position.
After a month-long nomination period, from January 9 to February 9, three people were selected to run for the position of rector, currently occupied on an interim basis by the vice-rector of development human and organizational, Louis Baron. The latter came to temporarily fill the seat left vacant by the rector Magda Fusaro, whose mandate ended on January 7.
A new rector was initially to be chosen last fall, but no consensus had emerged in the UQAM community between the two candidates then in the running, which forced the holding of a new race for the rectorship.
This time, three candidates are on the starting line. Among them is François Audet, who has been a professor at UQAM’s School of Management Sciences (ESG) since 2012. He is also director of the Canadian Observatory on Humanitarian Crises and Action, affiliated with UQAM. It is moreover to the humanitarian field that Mr. Audet devoted more than fifteen years of his life, before his career in the university field, which led him to work for various organizations, including the Croix- Canadian Red and CARE Canada.
“My extensive experience in managing complex programs, my multidisciplinary academic background, my vast local and international network as well as my public notoriety are elements that anchor my profile with the universes of UQAM”, wrote Mr. Audet in his letter. of motivation. If he becomes rector of UQAM, he undertakes, among other things, to mobilize the UQAM community “on the 2024 strategic planning process” of the establishment. He also promises to use his “network with the Quebec government” to “ensure that our funding is maintained”.
“Underfunding”
The professor in the Department of Accounting Sciences Lisa Baillargeon proposes to tackle as a priority the “under-funding” of UQAM, which “does not date from yesterday”. “It is becoming more and more difficult to implement our mission. And I believe that this is one of the main challenges to prioritize since it directly affects the academic heart of our institution, its operation, its agility, in short, its response to the needs of the various communities,” wrote Ms. Baillargeon. in his cover letter.
She undertakes, if she obtains the position of rector, to meet with the Minister of Higher Education, Pascale Déry, in order to initiate a discussion on the financing of UQAM “with regard to its unique and broader role than that of charter universities of comparable size,” she continues.
Lisa Baillargeon is also director of the Institut du patrimoine at UQAM and a member of the board of directors of the Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal. In June 2021, she had also obtained a three-year term as vice-rector for studies at the University of Quebec in Chicoutimi. However, she left this function less than a year later.
From Luxembourg to Montreal
After having been rector of the University of Luxembourg for five years, from January 2018 to December 2022, Stéphane Pallage is now trying his luck at UQAM, where he has evolved since 1995 as a professor in the Department of Economics at ESG UQAM . He was then dean of faculty, from 2013 until his departure for Luxembourg.
“I am applying for the post of rector of UQAM because I deeply believe in this university and its potential and because I think I can defend its interests well and breathe new life into it,” said Mr. Pallage in the description of his candidacy.
If he obtains the coveted position, Mr. Pallage undertakes, among other things, to help UQAM become “a destination of choice” for a greater number of French-speaking students, in addition to putting pressure on Quebec to obtain more funds intended in particular for the “recruitment of students from the Francophonie”. He also wants to help UQAM act as a “motor” for the revitalization of the Latin Quarter.
Candidates will have the opportunity to answer questions from the university community during an event organized by UQAM on March 21. A consultation will then take place from March 23 to 30 to determine the person who will win this race for the rectorship.