Concordia president Woodsworth resigns suddenly

Justin Giovannetti
The Link (Concordia University)
MONTREAL (CUP) – Only halfway into her term, Concordia University’s president stepped down for “personal reasons” on Dec. 22.
While the embattled president will receive $703,500 – the equivalent of two years’ salary – under the terms of her contract, sources in the university claim that Concordia’s board of governors presented Judith Woodsworth with an ultimatum: resign and collect severance, or face an embarrassing public dismissal.
The president’s resignation was similar to that of her predecessor, Claude Lajeunesse, who left Concordia midway through his contract in Oct. 2007 at the board’s urging. At odds with a board staffed overwhelmingly by the same members that saw Woodsworth go, Lajeunesse took the $1 million remaining in his contract when he walked away.
“I am deeply grateful to Judith and wish to recognize her leadership, achievements and commitment over the past two and a half years,” stated Peter Kruyt, the chair of the board, in the university’s press release. “Concordia has thrived under her direction.”
While Woodsworth’s administration may have seen the university’s first strategic framework, the last four months of her term were marked with a series of resignations and dismissals on her watch and other stumbles that, according to sources, sealed her fate.
In Oct. 2009, the president raised the ire of students when she told The Link that the American model of tuition would be a good model for Concordia. The statement was taken as a sign of support for increased tuition – a position that was clarified in August when the president called for Concordia’s tuition to increase to $5,000 a year by 2020.
Earlier, in Sept. 2009, Woodsworth fired Saad Zubair and Ted Nowak, two of Concordia’s auditors, because they had allegedly charged $250 worth of restaurant meals to the auditing department’s expense account and concealed it from the president.
The firings would haunt the president, as she was called in front of Quebec’s Labour Review Board on Nov. 2. During a long cross-examination, the auditor’s lawyer, Rolland Forget, made the president admit to engaging in the same behavior that led her to firing the two auditors.
The Labour Review Board has yet to rule on the validity of the firings of Zubair or Nowak.
The Labour Review Board also found that Concordia paid for Woodsworth’s husband, Lindsay Crysler, to fly with her on a number of business trips. Other expenses, such as the president’s trips to China, India and the 2010 Olympic Games, were also questioned.
The ASFA head expressed great disappointment at the size of the president’s severance package, es- pecially at a time when students are facing significant tuition increases.
“That money is student money and it should be used towards stu- dent projects,” said Green.
University spokesperson Chris Mota could not comment on the situation or about the possibility of clashing within the administration.
“The plan at this point is to appoint an interim president fairly soon,” said Mota, who added it could take six months to a year to find a permanent replacement.
Bram Freedman, Concordia’s vice-president of external relations, has been named acting president until an interim president can be named.
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