Dear members of the McGill Community,
It is our pleasure to provide you with an update on the recent activities of McGill’s Board of Governors. You can learn more about the Board’s mandate and membership on its website.
McGill University’s Board of Governors held a special closed meeting on November 10, 2023. We would like to share with you the meeting’s important discussions, decisions, and developments.
Thank you for your interest in the work of the Board of Governors. If you have any questions, ideas, or comments, please write mcgill.principal [at] mcgill.ca.
Sincerely,
Deep Saini, Principal and Vice-Chancellor
Maryse Bertrand, Chair, McGill Board of Governors
Principal’s Remarks
Principal Saini provided an update on the climate on McGill’s campuses in light of the ongoing situation in the Middle East, reiterating the University’s multiple calls for respectful discourse and compassion under the current circumstances. He further emphasized the University’s commitment to the safety and wellbeing of every member of the McGill community, while underscoring that acts of harassment or intimidation, or threats of violence on our campuses will not be tolerated.
The Principal also provided an update on McGill’s ongoing response to the Government of Quebec’s revised tuition measures that would affect the University’s student enrollment and financing. On November 6, Principal Saini, along with President Graham Carr (Concordia University) and Principal Sébastien Lebel-Grenier (Bishop’s University), met with Premier François Legault and the Minister of Higher Education, Pascale Déry, to discuss further the adverse effects of the proposed tuition measures.
At this meeting, a joint proposal by the three universities was presented, which outlined an initiative to help non-francophone students from outside the province integrate linguistically and culturally into the Quebec workforce and society. The leaders of the three universities also advocated for maintaining the current tuition for Canadian students from outside Quebec, as well as to work with other Quebec universities to find alternative ways to balance university financing with regard to international student tuition. The Government committed to reflecting on the proposal and to communicating accordingly in due course.
While McGill continues to work with the government to reach a more favorable alternative, the Principal emphasized the need to shift the focus to the longer-term and to begin exploring avenues for the University to diversify its sources of revenue and assets, thus making it more financially resilient in the face of potential future challenges.
Approval Item
On a motion duly proposed and seconded, the Board of Governors authorized the Principal to explore, in consultation with the Chair of the Board of Governors, all avenues necessary to maintain the University’s standards of excellence in support of its mission, and to report back to the Board of Governors in due course with any suggestion or proposal.