Dr. Graham Carr, President and Vice-Chancellor of Concordia University, Montréal, will be giving a talk titled “The Histories We Inherit: Concordia’s Reckoning With the Pasts of Its Founding Institutions.” The event will be followed by a reception.
A historian by training and a long-time leader in higher education in Canada, Carr returns to his alma mater to explore the role universities can and should play in addressing the legacy of colonialism and anti-Black racism on campuses and in greater society. He will explore two case studies from Concordia’s recent history: a formal apology it issued for the role systemic racism played in student protests and their aftermath in 1969 as well as its response to the role two religious orders with ties to Concordia played in Canada’s infamous residential school system. In both examples, Concordia has had to come terms with the actions of its founding institutions. Please join us as we hear firsthand how Concordia’s university leadership is charting a course forward through two of the most important cultural topics of our day.