Ä¢¹½¶ÌÊÓÆµ

News

Dick Pound to preside over his last Ä¢¹½¶ÌÊÓÆµ Convocation

Published: 28 May 2009

Outgoing Chancellor will continue to play important role at University

By a rough estimate, he has sent more than 25,000 Ä¢¹½¶ÌÊÓÆµ graduates into the wider world beyond the University's gates with a traditional tap on the head or handshake.

Richard W. Pound, OC, OQ, QC, LLD, the University's 17th Chancellor, will arrive at the end of his second five-year term in the last days of June, 2009. Prior to that decade of service to Ä¢¹½¶ÌÊÓÆµ, Mr. Pound, known around the world for his work as a leading member of the International Olympic Committee and past chairman the World Anti-Doping Agency, served the University for five years as Chairman of its Board of Governors.

As Chancellor, he will preside over his final Convocation ceremony on Friday, May 29, at 2:30 p.m., when graduating students from the Schulich School of Music parade on the stage under a massive white tent on the Ä¢¹½¶ÌÊÓÆµ's leafy lower campus in downtown Montreal.

"It's a great feeling," Mr. Pound said, reflecting on the Convocation ceremonies and his tenure as Chancellor. "The occasion is wonderful. As I said when I got installed, I've gone from being terrified I wouldn't get one degree to giving out thousands of them."

Mr. Pound has, in fact three degrees, two from Ä¢¹½¶ÌÊÓÆµ - Bachelors of Commerce (BCom'62) and Civil Law (BCL'67) - and a Bachelor of Arts (BA'63) from Sir George Williams University (now Concordia University). He also received a Licentiate in Accounting from Ä¢¹½¶ÌÊÓÆµ in 1964.

"Dick Pound has made an extraordinary contribution to Ä¢¹½¶ÌÊÓÆµ over many, many years," said Robert Rabinovitch, Chairman of Ä¢¹½¶ÌÊÓÆµ's Board of Governors. "He has dedicated enormous amounts of time and energy to his alma mater and set a sterling example of service - all while devoting much time to other very worthy and demanding endeavours. He has been a great mentor to us all."

As a successful tax lawyer and partner at the Stikeman Elliott law firm, as well as a published author of books on tax law and an occasional biography, Mr. Pound has made an immense contribution to Ä¢¹½¶ÌÊÓÆµ, said Principal and Vice-Chancellor Heather Munroe-Blum.

"Our Chancellor has literally served the University since coming here as a student-athlete in the late 1950s through to today. And he will continue to serve the University as he moves into other roles. He's a Ä¢¹½¶ÌÊÓÆµ icon and a Canadian icon," she said. "That he's been so devoted to Ä¢¹½¶ÌÊÓÆµ over all these years at the same time that he's been a major player with the International Olympic movement, carried out a distinguished legal career and published numerous books is nothing short of spectacular. He's set a high bar for all of us."

Mr. Pound, who will become Chancellor Emeritus, expects to continue serving the University in a variety of ways. A fervent believer in the importance of combining academic achievement with solid participation in university athletic programs, he remains an active member of Ä¢¹½¶ÌÊÓÆµ's Athletics Board.

Back to top